Kolkata: The Mecca of Indian football, Kolkata had a date Tuesday with French football superstar Thierry Henry as he enthralled the crowd here at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium by lighting the lamp at Atletico de Kolkata’s home game against Mumbai City FC. Along with ISL chairperson Nita Ambani and ATK co-owner Sanjeev Goenka, the Frenchman was the special guest for the game
Wearing a black T-shirt, grey jeans and black sneakers, the 39-year-old France 1998 World Cup winner was all smiles as he walked around the centre of the pitch flanked by organisers of the ISL.
The stadium roared in unison as the announcer spelt out his name for the first time as Henry walked into the ground waving to his fans.
Just before the start of the game Henry shook hands with players of both the teams and then sat glued to the proceedings on turf. During the interval Henry was felicitated by former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and Goenka.
After the game while talking to reporters, Henry stated that the fight for the Ballon D’Or award will again be limited between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
“Those (two) guys are just abnormal. I’ve never seen players like them before. They score 50 goals, 60 goals in a season. That’s simply unbelievable,” Henry stated.
The Frenchman said personally he would love to see Messi win the award for the sixth time. “I have played with Leo, so you know how I would feel if he wins. It is difficult to see anyone coming between him and Ronaldo this time also,” the Arsenal legend added. He also praised former France teammate Zinedine Zidane at the way the latter is coaching Real Madrid.
Press Trust of India