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Little Messi shoulders big weight for his club

By Tang Yue (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-06 11:04

Barcelona player and Argentine international Lionel Messi holds a gold-plated miniature replica of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during a media conference in Beijing August 5, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

Diminutive Barca forward pushed into the spotlight during team's Asian tour

BEIJING - FC Barcelona's Asian tour schedule is tight. For its star player, Lionel Messi, it's almost suffocating.

The famous club arrived in Beijing on Thursday morning, just five hours after its friendly match in South Korea.

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However, with eight Spanish national team members absent from the squad, almost all the focus is on the diminutive Argentine forward.

Barca touched down at the Beijing Capital International Airport at 2 am, but that did not stop more than a hundred fans from greeting their idol, holding banners bearing his name.

Eleven hours later, Messi was the only Barcelona player present at the Audi Barcelona China Tour news conference, which saw more than 200 reporters from China and abroad focus all of their attention on the petite star.

Despite looking tired after the trip and bending over the table for some rest, Messi smiled and posed for photographs and responded to questions.

Such was the interest in Messi that the host team Beijing Guo'an's representatives were not asked a single question.

Messi struck twice in Barca's 5-2 victory over the South Korean K-League All-star team in Seoul on Wednesday night and is expected to be on target at the Bird's Nest on Sunday night.

He promised to do his best in familiar surroundings.

"It's not my first time in Beijing. I was here with the Argentine team for the 2008 Olympic Games," Messi said. "As a striker, I always want to do my best and to score as many goals as I can."

Fans swarm to the coach taken by Barcelona players after arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Thursday morning. Provided for China Daily

The Argentine also said he was fit enough to play in the match against the South Koreans despite earlier reports claiming he was pressured to play in the match due to contractual obligations.

"My body had no problems at all. I didn't feel anything wrong during the pre-match training, so I played," said Messi, who was substituted in at the 30th minute and played to the end of the first half, scoring two goals in the last three minutes.

"South Korea was strong and I just tried my best to score. Thanks to my ability and luck, I did it two times during the last few minutes."

The match on Sunday will mark the second encounter between the 2009 European champion and the winner of last season's top-flight domestic league.

Barcelona made its first appearance in Beijing with Messi, Ronaldinho,

Samuel Eto'o, Deco and co in 2007 and defeated the local side 3-0 in Beijing's Fengtai Stadium in front of about 20,000 fans.

"I know something about Beijing Guo'an. They are the champions of the domestic league and they are a good team," Barca coach Pep Guardiola said.

Not surprisingly, the host team appeared humble when asked about its chances against Barcelona, which holds a 21-0 overall scoreline against Chinese teams.

"As a coach, I'm happy to see our team has the chance to play against one of the top teams in the world," said Hong Yuanshuo, head coach of the Beijing team, after being prompted by the press conference's host.

"It's hard to predict the result, but I hope our players play their best and show the skill and spirit of Chinese league champions."