DOHA: On their way to Argentina’s decisive game against Poland, Mohit Daga and Aayush Verma approached the stadium carrying a massive painting of their heroes Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona with the World Cup trophy.
Daga had spent 17 days painting it. It weighed 5 kilograms. An offering. Anything for Messi. “He is the epitome of everything.
He is the source of inspiration and happiness,” said Daga, who is from Kolkata, India. “He brings happiness to our life.” Argentina are finding a legion of passionate superfans from India, Bangladesh and other Asian countries at the World Cup in Qatar.
Thousands have traveled to the Gulf nation specifically to see Messi and his team with their own eyes, while many others are among migrant workers that make up about 90 percent of the emirate’s population of 3 million.