Laser-lit skylines, packed stadiums, frenzied fans

Delhi gets ready for Argentinian superstar days after chaos in Kolkata, even as football fever grips the country

- ANUSHKA BHARDWAJ, AJINKYA KAWALE & ISHITA AYAN DUTT

(From left) Argentinian football star Lionel Messi at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday; fans on a rampage at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Saturday after Messi left following a brief appearance

(PHOTOS: REUTERS)

New Delhi is going all out to ensure that when the GOAT comes calling, none of the Kolkata blues dampen the big Monday mood.

With Lionel Messi’s landing in Kolkata — his first stop on a three-day, four-city India tour — at 2.26 am on Friday ending with fans on the rampage, the Argentina superstar’s Delhi outing promises to be a heightened security affair.

Reports indicate that no less than 2,500 police personnel will be deployed in and around Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium), where Messi will play a nine-a-side exhibition match in the afternoon before felicitating players of Punjab-based Minerva Academy, winners of three major international youth tournaments this year. Nearly 30,000 spectators are expected to witness the event live. Traffic restrictions have been announced from 10 am till 5 pm in central Delhi.

The megastar will then head for high-profile meetings, including one with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, while a much-awaited meeting with cricket legend Virat Kohli is also expected to take place in the capital.

While Messi’s India tour kicked off to a chaotic start in Kolkata, fans in Delhi remain thrilled and hopeful of catching a glimpse of their icon. “In 2011, watching him play in Kolkata was an exhilarating experience. Fifteen years on, it will be in my own city,” said Arijit Roy, a Messi fan since 2006. “This time, he comes as a World Cup champion — this would be our little World Cup moment.”