Fans take photos of Lionel Messi on the bus on June 12, 2023. Photo: VCG

Chinese fans have showed warmth and friendly welcome toward Lionel Messi, a seven-time Ballon d'Or winner and tried their best to get an opportunity to have a face-to-face meet with the football star, as a friendly match Thursday night at the Beijing Workers' Stadium received global media attention.

A Messi-led Argentina eased past Australia with a 2-0 win in Thursday's friendly match between the two sides at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing. The roar of the fans echoed around the stands, with spectators at the stadium chanting the name of Lionel Messi, according to videos appearing on social media.

Messi scored a stylish goal in just the second minute, making it the fastest goal in his career. German Pezzella added the second goal for Argentina in the second half.

Official figures showed the attendance at the stadium was 51,385, though some believe the number was higher, as the stadium's capacity is 68,000, according to media reports. The Global Times observed many fans wearing Argentina's famous blue-and-white-striped jerseys queuing up to enter the stadium to watch the match.

After a happy trip to China with Argentina national football team, Messi wrote on his Sina Weibo account thanking all the Chinese fans for their support.

Media from the world also marveled at the enthusiasm shown by Chinese fans for Messi. "It was a sea of blue and white Argentina jerseys in the Chinese capital on Thursday night - and nearly all of them had the name Messi on the back," the BBC reported on Thursday.

"You should zoom into this picture! That's called impact," Messi's fan club account @WeAreMessi, with 1.1 million followers tweeted on Thursday, referring to a picture of fans wearing blue and white Argentina jerseys standing at the spectators stand to cheer up for their idol.

More dramatically, during the match, a male fan invaded the pitch to hug Messi and ran over to Argentine keeper Emiliano Martinez, before being escorted away by security staff with a smile in his face.

"This smile on the fan's face even after getting caught shows what it means to fulfil your dream of meeting Leo Messi," @WeAreMessi tweeted.

Some Chinese netizen said this also made people feel the passion for sports, with others commenting that this illegal behavior should be stopped immediately.

The 18-year-old man, surnamed Di who invaded the pitch on Thursday night, has been placed under administrative detention in accordance with the law, the Chaoyang public security authority in Beijing said on Friday.

Di will not be allowed to enter the stadium to watch similar competitions within 12 months, according to the authority. Di also apologized for his behavior and said he hoped other fans will follow laws and regulations, said the authority. "The fan's action caused the game to be stopped for a time," the authority said in a statement.

"I wanted to take a photo with Messi and get Messi's autograph," he said in a later interview, noting that his actions set a wrong example.

It is reportedly that Messi and his teammates had to stay in the hotel and canceled one outdoor training because the fans were too "enthusiastic". A netizen wrote via Chinese-twitter like Sina Weibo that they camped out in a toilet at the sports center where Messi and his teammates were scheduled to conduct an outdoor training before the match, for three hours in order to see Messi in the flesh.

Due to security concerns, the organizers cancelled all offline activities scheduled for Messi's trip, including a long-awaited fan meet and greet, according to media reports.

There were still a large number of fans waiting outside the west gate of the Workers' Stadium, looking forward to seeing their idol Messi when the Argentina team bus departed after the match on Thursday, local media reported.

Messi also joined an exclusive livestreaming event on Taobao, Alibaba-backed e-commerce platform, on June 14. During approximately 15-minute show, Messi recalled his impression on Beijing when he and the Argentine soccer team came to Beijing last time to attend the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008.

China and Argentina have maintained a friendly relation. Representatives of the governments of China and Argentina have signed a cooperation plan to jointly promote the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, according to the National Development and Reform Commission on June 4.

Global Times