Video: Messi went out to the balcony to celebrate his birthday with the fans in New Jersey :: Olé

Lionel Messi surprised once again. When night fell in New Jersey, he decided to give the fans a gift. On his 37th birthday, the captain of the National Team looked out of a window of the Hilton Short Hills hotel and made the 200 people waiting in the parking lot delirious.

“Messi, Messi,” sang the fans who, when the version began to circulate, gathered at the door of the hotel. They arrived and, mostly locals and Central Americans – Argentinians were the least -, tried to add color to the night before the game with Chile. On the 10th he arrived from training, first he went through the room, took a bath and then decided to go out through the balcony, to thank so many signs of affection that he received throughout the day.

On the 10th the day began with calls from his children and Antonela, as well as his parents. The obligatory posts arrived, until before practice the traditional photo was taken with the cake, along with his closest teammates from the National Team. “Thank you very much for all the greetings and congratulations!! Another year that coincides with my birthday being with the National Team… So just celebrating a little and we continue preparing for our next game. Hugs!”.

The 10th came out around 9:20 p.m. to the balcony and surprised the fansFirst he greeted alone, moving his arms and while listening to them singing “Happy birthday to you.” Then, journalist Cirstobal Soria, from El Chiringuito, appeared on the scene, agitating the fans to sing more and more. In the end, Messi was left alone again, until his companions at the small table, Di María, De Paul, Lo Celso and Paredes, appeared.

At one point Leo was expected to come out to the hotel balcony as soon as they had arrived from practice, but it took almost an hour, since on the 10th he was on a video call with his family. Antonela and her three children were at the debut, along with Leo’s parents and siblings, and they are expected to arrive in New York for Tuesday’s match.

After going out to the balcony and after dinner came the internal recognition. On the 10th he blew out the candles together with the chefs Diego Iacovone Antonia Farías, who also have a birthday on the same day as the 10th. And then came the gift from the president of the AFA, Chiqui Tapia: a painting that has the number 37 in gold and the colors of the National Team.

Like every year, Lionel published a message on social networks thanking everyone who greeted him on his birthday. “Thank you very much for all the greetings and congratulations!! Another year that coincides with my birthday being with the National Team…”, he comments along with a smiling face emoji. But of course, in times of competition, the multi-time champion does not lose the main focus: beating Chile to ensure qualification for the Copa América playoffs. “So just celebrating a little and continuing to prepare for our next game. Hugs!” the captain concluded in his post.

He is always with Leo. When he cried after Brazil 2014, Chile 2015 or USA 2016, even when he reached the top of the world there in Qatar. Marito, the Argentine National Team prop man, poses among the players. He is one more. He smiles and understands himself with kids who, despite the generational difference, integrate him into the group. And of course, after so many pale moments, he also celebrates the present of this National Team together with the captain.

Behind the “Scaloneta” there is a moving story of a man that few know. This is Mario De Stéfano, better known in the world of football as “Marito”, a historic worker for the Argentine Football Association (AFA), who works as the team’s prop.

He is in charge of putting together the entire locker room for the representation of the Argentine delegation in each match. Furthermore, he is the one who protects that treasure that every player, fan, and/or fan wants to have after each match, Messi’s 10. Furthermore, he is someone very close to the players who take advantage of Marito’s good vibes and predisposition, whenever they can they ask him for a t-shirt to give as a gift. “When he arrived he was an introverted kid. He didn’t speak, he touched his nose. He told her to come drink mate. When something happens to the player, the first place he goes is to the props,” Marito said about Messi.