Gernot Rohr recalls Benin’s historic night with Lionel Messi

“No one managed to get his shirt,” Gernot Rohr said of Benin’s historic evening with Lionel Messi. The Benin coach witnessed Argentina’s farewell to the forward’s international career at close quarters and shared his memories on the programme Rothen s’enflamme on RMC.

After 208 appearances in Argentina’s shirt, Messi put away his international jersey. In a photograph from the evening, Benin’s shirt was alongside his. Rohr reflected on what the occasion meant to his team: “We are very happy to be part of history, especially for a great man of football like Lionel Messi. And playing this match at the Monumental was an extraordinary adventure for my young players.”

The celebration did, however, leave the Benin players disappointed: they were unable to get close to the star afterwards. “The only downside is that the Argentinians gave nothing to our players. Not even a photo of Messi,” Rohr said.

The coach had hoped for a shirt swap. “We wanted to exchange shirts; we didn’t get a single one. They didn’t even let us into their corridor. Security turned everyone away. Players came with their shirts to swap with other (Argentinian) players. We tried everything, but nothing worked. I was able to give my 2018 Messi shirt (which the Argentine star had signed for him after a match against Nigeria at the World Cup) to the coach (Lionel Scaloni). He got him to sign it and gave it back to me. I waited half an hour, but it doesn’t matter.”

That disappointment did not diminish the memory of an exceptional experience for the Cheetahs. “It was fantastic but without stress. The result wasn’t the most important thing. For us, from a sporting point of view, it was about learning and giving our young players a very rich international experience that nobody could ever have imagined living through,” Rohr said.

A former Bordeaux player and coach, Rohr reached a UEFA Cup final with the Zidane generation. On RMC, he recalled an evening that proved memorable for Benin and its young players alike.