I’m sure as I write this, I don’t only speak for myself. When, only a few days before we opened camp to play the opening two group games in the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, we received word that we will be travelling to Buenos Aires to play a friendly match against Argentina in a final testimonial to the great Lionel Messi, we were filled with silent and controlled ecstasy.
Silent and controlled because we had to lead from the front, as technical crew members, not to show emotion in such a way as would shift focus from the two important games we needed to navigate – a tricky away game to group favourites Burkina Faso, then a ‘home’ tie with Mauritania in Abidjan.
We had an unspoken rule not to talk about Argentina until after those two games – not even to enquire from the authorities about how we will get there, or how we will leave the place to go back to our respective bases afterwards.
Kudos to everyone on the team, it worked. We remained focused and came off with a respectable point from Burkina Faso and won our home game against Mauritania 2-1. Four points out of a possible six, putting us on top of our group after the first two games, was a respectable return.
It was after that we then shifted our focus to the Argentina trip. How we would travel…,thirteen long hours from Paris to Buenos Aires, not forgetting the first 6 hours from Abidjan to Paris and the layover. A whole day’s worth of travel in three groups, to play this match.
But to many like me, well worth the hardship. This was a monumental match in all ramifications. First game Benin will play against a non-African team in the 3-and-a-half years I’ve been working there. The highest profile game Benin will ever have played at international level. And the fact that we, Benin, are playing in a historic game that draws the curtains on the international career of the person who, to me, was the greatest player that the world has ever seen. And I will be in the dugout, sharing the same pitch with this enigma who entertained us with skill, precision, power and brilliance since the very first time I watched him live in Holland 21 years ago, during the FIFA World Youth Championships (the U20 World Cup).
There was a lot of hype around the game. And if it was ever in doubt, the esteem which Argentines hold Messi is just……out of this world. And rightly so. It was a beautiful story from start to finish and a crowning moment to a very illustrious career.
That the guy played all 90 minutes of the game was testament to the fact that, as we say in my part of the world, there is indeed life in the old dog yet. It was a delight to watch, I’m sure, for the neutral. On our part, we were on the losing side – a 3-0 pasting that didn’t exactly tell the whole story. We played well and competed well, especially in the first half of the game.
Their quality showed in the second half, with the main man himself setting up two of the goals and scoring a penalty. It was indeed all about Lionel Messi, and did he deserve it!
But that was where the beautiful story ended. And while it is always good to sing the praises of whatever we all do that is good, we must also not be hesitant in pointing out areas where there could be problems, underlying or obvious.
As a team, the Guepards of Benin came out to honour Messi. The team travelled in most challenging conditions to give the man a befitting sendoff. We also played a competitive game against the World Cup finalists and I thought we showed that since we took charge of Benin football’s national team in 2023, we have made big progress and we are definitely on the rise.
What struck me was the very obvious and blatant refusal of the Argentina team to want to have anything to do with my team after the game. Handshakes at the end of the game were hurried and impersonal. And any attempt by our players to get close to the man they came to celebrate was rebuffed rather in a very hostile manner by the security operatives on ground. They clearly collectively did not want to be on the same place with my Benin team. It was rather disturbing.
Some of our players who are quite young, who grew up idolizing Lionel Messi wanted to catch a glimpse of him, take photos and shake his hand. That did not happen.
When they mounted a guard of honour for him, someone suggested that our team should line up and applaud him as he walked through. The rate at which the security operatives dispatched the little huddle of players that had formed – you’d think my boys were mobsters on riot!
As we were busy debating whether this was a job of security operatives going too far with instructions on crowd control, the final blow came.
Lionel Messi was leading a lap of honour around the pitch as the crowd was applauding him. He walked with his team mates all round the perimeter of the pitch, slowly and soaking the applause. Again toward the end of the lap, some of my players lined along what was to be his natural path to end the lap of honour. He was leading. My boys were there. Just wanting him to walk towards them and for them to applaud and appreciate him. Right at the very last moment, Leo made a wild detour and, consciously avoiding the crowd of Benin players that had formed, walked toward the centre of the pitch.
That was a new low for a man revered by many and who, in many young African minds, could do no wrong.
It begged the question – if it was England or Spain that had come to play that testimonial against Argentina to give a send off to Messi, would they have been treated the way Benin was treated? If Benin was so distasteful to them in such a way, why did they agree to share a pitch with them for 90 minutes?
Not a single word of acknowledgment of the opposition that made the game possible.
It felt like inviting people to a wedding party, and the bride and groom sit at a table amongst their friends, finish the party and walk past other guests who made the event a well-attended one with their presence, without as much as a ‘hello and thanks for coming’!
Messi’s story is a beautiful one. And nothing will take what he’s done for football from him. But the events post-match, the way security was pushing and shoving fellow players who just wanted to show some respect and appreciation for a legend of the game, left quite a bitter taste in the mouths of many leaving Buenos Aires the next day.
The words of one of the local media people who covered our journey from day one followed me ‘I am not proud of what I saw tonight. I feel sad that it happened and I am an Argentinian’. People saw it. And it very clearly spoke volumes about where we are in the drive to build equality and diversity in our sport.
It’s back to the drawing board for us now, as we need to now focus on continuing our quest to qualify for back-to-back AFCONs for the first time in Benin history. We have November games coming up against Central African Republic, home and away. We will remember the good that we had in Buenos Aires, the experience, the hospitality of the people and the fantastic ambience that came from being a part of this historic event. And hope that somehow, football can learn from the ills of what we experienced on Tuesday 6 October.
Respect is supposed to be mutual. And in football, we show respect.