07.04.2010 13:27
World’s press hails the ‘Messiah’
www.fcbarcelona.cat
Leo Messi is the centre of attention in the sports press around the world. In the case of the British papers, two of the most popular tabloids used a play on words to define the Argentinean as “Messiah”.
The best in the world'; 'Pure genius'; ‘Perfect 10 ';'God lives in Catalonia '. These are
just some of the headlines that have filled newspapers around the world in reaction to
Messi’s fantastic performance against Arsenal. They all agree that Leo is the best player in
the world.
The British press
True to their usual style, two British tabloids – The Sun and The Daily Mirror –
employed the same play on words to describe Leo as the Messiah while Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger
told reporters: “He’s Playstation”, a sentiment echoed in ‘The Times' and
on the BBC website.
Italy takes note
The Italian media were also keeping a close eye on Barca and, especially, Messi
– no doubt with a semi-final clash against Inter Milan very much on their minds. 'La Gazzeta
dello Sport' headlines with 'Forward Messi', while 'El Corriere dello Sport' describes him as '
paranormal '.
France, Argentina and Germany
France’s flagship sports paper, 'L'Équipe', tells its readers that “God lives in
Catalonia”. Meanwhile, in his native Argentina, the online edition of 'Olé' shows a photo of
Messi sitting on the pitch celebrating a goal.
Finally, in Germany, ‘Bild’ describes last night’s match as ‘The
Messi Show’.
Barca v Arsenal dominates TV
The match between Barca and Arsenal was shown live on Spanish TV and watched by an average of more
than 8,300,000 million spectators, an audience share of 46,3%. This makes it the most watched
programme so far this year.