World Cup 2018: How a mother’s token of love changed Leo Messi’s fortunes

It was a glorious night at the St. Petersberg Stadium in Krestovsky as Argentina and Lionel Messi finally got what they had come for – a victory – scrambling through the group stages and into the knockouts, having defeated Nigeria 2-1 to finish second and set up a date with France in the pre-quatterfinals on June 30.

Messi netted the opener after two wonderful touches with his left foot, while Marcos Rojo scored four minutes away from the final whistle, triggering wide celebrations both inside the stadium and outside it. Argentina had qualified.

But amidst all those celebrations, what went unnoticed was a token of mother’s love. A red ribbon that a mother had gifted Messi, in hope that it may change his fortune. It did change and not just Messi’s but Argentina’s too, sending ‘La Albiceleste‘ from the brink of exit straight into the knockouts.

As reported in The Independent, the ribbon apparently was given to Messi by a Argentine journalist named Rama Pantorotto, who after interviewing the Barcelona star following Argentina’s 1-1 draw against Iceland handed him the ribbon stating that his (Pantorotto’s) mother had asked him to to pass it on to the forward.

“My mum told me to give this to you, my mum loves you more than she loves me. I carry her red ribbon for good luck, if you want it, I can give it to you. It’s from my mum so make sure to keep it safe because you’re kind of jinxed now,” said Pantorotto as quoted by The Independent.

Messi then took the ribbon and left and the matter was soon forgotten. But on Tuesday after Argentina defeated Nigeria 2-1 to advance to the knockouts, Pantorotto once again stopped Messi after the match and said, “I don’t know if you remember, but my mother gave you a ribbon.”

He however would not have ever expected the kind of answer Messi gave. Smiling at him, the goal-scorer replied “look at this”, before pulling down the sock on his left foot and revealing the same red ribbon tied around his ankle.

Pantorotto stood in disbelief as did the other journalists who had gathered at the media mixed zone. He then took out his camera and screamed, “Mum, Messi wore it.”

The ribbon certainly had changed Messi’s fortunes and with it Argentina’s too. It has gained a greater importance, the emblem of a mother’s love for her country’s son.