One young boy wasn’t able to meet his hero Lionel Messi but had a pleasant surprise anyway.
When Felipe Mejia heard that Argentina were eating at the Fogo de Chao restaurant in Palo Alto, California, he did not hesitate to take his son to the door.
Felipe Jr. wanted to ask his hero Lionel Messi to sign the Barcelona shirt he had received for Christmas. His father, a Mexican American who has lived in the United States for 25 years, is a football fan and had raised his son to love the game. His mother hails from Colombia, whose red kit the youngster was wearing.
Close to 10pm, a black people-carrier arrived at the restaurant and Felipe Jr. had his heart in his mouth – but when the door opened it wasn’t Messi, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain.
In fact it was the Chile team’s bus, with Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and Gary Medel among the stars coming out for dinner following the Copa America opener between hosts the US and Colombia.
Felipe Jr was delighted nonetheless, posing and chatting with Alexis, another one of his heroes. He also got to meet Vidal, Medel and several others in what was a memorable night for young Felipe....
- Goal