Among many things Keralites are fond of, football has a special place. The FIFA World Cup and Copa America are "celebrated" like a local festival all around the southern state with streets and roads decorated with flags and festoons of different teams.
Brazil and Argentina, the two traditional powerhouses of the game, enjoy great fan-following among Malayalis who rarely miss a fixture between the two great rivals. And Friday's friendly between the teams was hosted by Riyadh - the Middle Eastern city that has a sizeable Malayali workforce.
A video of a Kerala fan trying to talk with Argentina's talismanic skipper Lionel Messi has gone viral on social media. The man, sitting somewhere behind the Brazilian goal in the gallery, is heard pleading with Messi not to score. The man, apparently a Brazil fan, is scared that Argentina fans back in his home town will eat his head if Messi scores and Argentina wins the game.
"Messi, please don't score. Lads back home will give me no peace... don't score Messi, Boys of Mavoor (a town in Kerala's Kozhikode district) will keep disturbing me, Messi...," the man behind the camera is heard screaming. Another person is heard calling out Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker's name in Malayalam as he prepares to face the spot-kick.
At first, it seemed like the man's wish was going to get fulfilled, as Alisson dived in the right direction to stop the shot. The man even screams in happiness thinking that the danger has passed - before the Barcelona superstar taps in the ball from the rebound. The video ends as the crowd around the stadium rises to celebrate the goal.
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It was the only goal of the game and the "La Albicelestes" won without conceding. Brazil, who were playing without the injured Neymar, lost their chance to go one up earlier when Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus rolled a spot-kick wide.
"It's important to win and it is always nice to beat Brazil, for the rivalry, which feels a lot of late. This is good for everything that is to come, to continue growing while looking towards the qualifiers and the next Copa America," Messi said after the match.
The meeting between the two South American giants was the second in Saudi Arabia in little over a year. Brazil beat Argentina 1-0 in Jeddah in October 2018. Brazil also defeated Argentina 2-0 at home in the semi-finals of this year's Copa America, a controversial match that left Messi complaining the hosts had benefited from favouritism.