Messi Wows Tokyo Fans in Friendly Defeat by Kobe

A young fan holds up a placard to cheer on Lionel Messi in Tokyo - AFP
A young fan holds up a placard to cheer on Lionel Messi in Tokyo - AFP
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Messi Wows Tokyo Fans in Friendly Defeat by Kobe

A young fan holds up a placard to cheer on Lionel Messi in Tokyo - AFP
A young fan holds up a placard to cheer on Lionel Messi in Tokyo - AFP

Inter Miami's Lionel Messi pleased Tokyo fans on Wednesday in a friendly match that ended in a 4-3 penalty shootout loss to Vissel Kobe after the game ended goalless.

It came days after his absence on the pitch in a recent Hong Kong friendly had angered fans there.

He started on the bench in Inter Miami's pre-season game against J-League side Kobe, worrying 28,614 spectators at Tokyo's National Stadium, who chanted "Messi, Messi" in sporadic attempts to bring out the star, AFP reported.

They however began to sense their good fortune early in the second half, when the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and other substitutes began warming up, pleasing hundreds of fans who were seated just behind the Inter Miami bench.

The moment came around 15 minutes into the second half, when the World Cup-winning Argentine replaced David Ruiz, sending the ecstatic crowd into a moment of roaring frenzy that was followed by passionate cheers at his every touch.

In the 79th minute, he dribbled solo into the Kobe box and fired in a close-range shot that was saved by goalkeeper Shota Arai.

Vissel had also showed promise especially early in the match with former Japan international striker Yuya Osako hitting the post 15 minutes into the game.

A minute later, Osako struck the woodwork again.

Kobe won the penalty shootout, with Messi no taking part.

The game drew a sharp comparison from Sunday when Messi and the team's co-owner David Beckham were booed by tens of thousands of fans in Hong Kong after the star did not play in a friendly.

During a press event in Tokyo on Tuesday, Messi said his leg injury was improving but refused to say whether he would play in the Tokyo game.

Tickets for the Japan leg of the US Major League Soccer (MLS) club's globe-trotting pre-season tour cost between 10,000 yen ($68) and 200,000 yen ($1,346) with "special experience" packages priced even higher.

On Sunday in Hong Kong, a crowd of nearly 40,000 who paid for similarly expensive tickets were involved in angry scenes after Messi stayed rooted to the bench during his side's 4-1 win against a Hong Kong select XI.

The Hong Kong government demanded an explanation from the match's organizers, who had sought public funding for the event.

The organizers said they had withdrawn the government grant request after Messi's no-show.

Miami's win in Hong Kong was their first in five pre-season matches.

They drew 0-0 in El Salvador, lost to fellow MLS side FC Dallas and then twice to club sides in Saudi Arabia.

Messi came on as a substitute six minutes from the end of the game in Saudi Arabia last Thursday.

They have one more friendly, at home to Argentina's Newell's Old Boys next week, before the new MLS season starts on February 21.



Olympic Cauldron to Rise into Paris Skies Each Night

 Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 27, 2024. A general view of the balloon and Olympic cauldron in Jardin des Tuileries. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 27, 2024. A general view of the balloon and Olympic cauldron in Jardin des Tuileries. (Reuters)
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Olympic Cauldron to Rise into Paris Skies Each Night

 Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 27, 2024. A general view of the balloon and Olympic cauldron in Jardin des Tuileries. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 27, 2024. A general view of the balloon and Olympic cauldron in Jardin des Tuileries. (Reuters)

The Olympic cauldron that made a stunning first flight at the Paris Games opening ceremony will sit on the ground during the day and rise again every evening.

Paris Olympics organizers said that from Saturday, the cauldron attached to a balloon will fly more than 60 meters (197 feet) above the Tuileries gardens near the glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre museum from sunset until 2 a.m.

During daytime hours, 10,000 people each day can get free tickets to approach the cauldron, which is the first in Olympic history to light up without the use of fossil fuels.

Organizers said the electric flame uses 40 LED spotlights “to illuminate the cloud created by 200 high-pressure misting nozzles.”