There were 23 players (in addition to the technical team), but only one managed to keep the most coveted jersey of all time. Leo Messi. And the lucky one was Eloy Romm, the goalkeeper who this morning conceded three goals scored by the greatest stars of the Argentine national team, in the 7-0 win over Curaçao. After the meeting, with the new cup in his hands, and with great pride in having it with him, the 34-year-old regent, associated with the Columbus Crew, explained how he had managed to obtain it. He revealed that the first attempt was to try to assist Lucas Zilarayan, the Argentinian who was his teammate. “Before the match, I asked him if I could do something to get Messi’s shirt. This is because he knows some players from the Argentine national team. He told me he was going to try, but what I had to do was do it myself, because as expected everyone wants Messi’s shirt,” He began by reminding the goalkeeper, who then explained how he handled the ‘shirt-off’. “At half time I went with him into the tunnel and that’s when I asked him for the shirt. He immediately said yes, he’ll give it to me after the game. I thought ‘I said it now, but later it’ll be forgotten'”. The final whistle came and with it the moment of truth. “He walked away from me, so I called with it. He was like, “Oh yeah, we have to change shirts.” I walked over and gave it to me right away. I congratulated him and he congratulated me on my warnings. Good to hear that from a great player. He was kind and honest.”

It should be noted that the sense of accomplishment in getting Messi’s jersey was already shared on the pitch, during a quick interview with TyC Sports. “It’s a dream come true. Everyone admires Messi and I played against him. It was a tough game, he scored some goals for me but I also blocked some of his shots. I have to save them well for the YouTube video. I’ll never take his shirt again, not even sleep! He won’t take it.” One of mine, it’s mine! I have to protect it,” he said after the meeting.