Leo Messi

There were 23 players (plus the technical team), but only one managed to keep the most desired shirt of all. Leo Messi’s. The lucky one was Eloy Room, the goalkeeper who this morning conceded three goals scored by the greatest star of the Argentine national team, in a 7-0 victory over Curaçao. After the meeting, with the new trophy in his hands, and full of pride for having it with him, the 34-year-old guardian, linked to Columbus Crew, explained how he managed to get it. The first attempt, he reveals, was to try to help Lucas Zelarayán, an Argentine who is his teammate. “Before the game I asked him if I could do something to get Messi’s shirt. This is because he knows some players from the Argentine national team. He told me he was going to try, but that what I had to do was do it myself, because as it would be expected that everyone would want Messi’s shirt”, began by reminding the goalkeeper, who then detailed how he dealt with the ‘shirt operation’. “At half-time I went with him to the tunnel and that’s when I asked him for the shirt. He immediately said yes, he would give it to me after the game. I thought ‘I said it now, but later it will be forgotten'”. The final whistle has arrived and with it the moment of truth. “He walked away from me, so I called him over. He was like, ‘Oh yeah, we have to change shirts.’ I walked over and he immediately gave me his. I congratulated him and he congratulated me on the saves I did. It’s good to hear that from a great player. It was kind and sincere”.

The feeling of accomplishment for getting Messi’s shirt, it should be noted, had already been shared on the pitch, during the quick interview with TyC Sports. “It’s a dream come true. Everyone is a Messi fan and I played against him. It was a tough game, he scored me a few goals but I also stopped some of his shots. I have to save them well for the YouTube video. I won’t take his shirt, never again. Not even to sleep! No one is going to take it from me, it’s mine! I have to protect it”, he had said after the meeting.