City of Joy breathlessly waits for their tryst with ‘Dibu’ Martinez

The excitement to watch maverick Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has reached fever pitch in the city. One of the heroes of Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar last December, he would be in the city from July 3 to 6 for a series of events, from meet and greet sessions to an interaction with schoolchildren at Santosh Mitra Square and the inauguration of gates named after Pele, Diego Maradona and Garfield Sobers at the Mohun Bagan Club.

The penalty shootout hero of the final against France, Martinez would reach the city in the wee hours of Monday from Bangladesh, where he had met Prime Miner, Sheikh Hasina. The brainchild behind his visit is Satadru Dutta, a sports promoter and business consultant, who has helped bring a host of football legends such as Maradona, Pele and Cafu among others to Kolkata. “Martinez is aware that Argentina has a huge fan following in the Indian subcontinent,” he said.
Martinez, though, had a small confusion. “He thought Kolkata meant Bangladesh. So clarity had to be given that though they speak the same language, one is a country, and the other a city in a state. The common denominator between the two is football and the massive fan following for Argentina and Brazil,” said Dutta.
Satadru dutta and Emiliano Martinez. (Credit: Satadru Dutta Facebook)
Besides the fan following, another pull for Martinez was that Maradona has visited the city. Understandably, tickets for the events he is attending have sold like hot cakes. For one meet and greet session, tickets are priced as high as Rs 1,25,000. “One ardent fan has bought 12 of those,” Dutta revealed. Other ticket prices are priced at an affordable range, from Rs 199 to Rs 699.
Football and food trail
Martinez’s visit will also feature a culinary session. On the sidelines of a segment titled Tahader Kotha, he will get a taste of authentic Bengali cuisine, including the Bengali staple of ilish (hilsa) and chingri (prawn).
Closer look at Martinez’s menu. (Credit: Satadru Dutta Facebook)
Martinez has been made aware of the culinary rivalry between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, and how after a game, fans of the winning team celebrate devouring the unofficial “team fish”. “He is certainly looking forward to it, and will get to see how the dishes are prepared. We will also ask him to wear the traditional dhooti ( Bengali dhoti kurta ) while he has chingri maach er malai curry and ilish bhaapa’. “Martinez will be asked to pick a favourite dish,” said Dutta before adding, “He has been told it is not a football der but a food ball der and illish and chingri are associated with Bengali emotions.”
Incidentally, Martinez knows ‘chingri’ as lobster but has no idea what illish is – something that will disappoint East Bengal fans. To stay in shape, he will train for a minimum of two hours at the gym.
Fans wait in queue at the Mohun Bagan Ground to buy tickets to see Emiliano Martinez. (Credit” Satadru Dutta Facebook)
Cutouts, fans
Among other preparations, there is a 25-foot cutout of Martinez, which will spring in Lake Town. Some diehard fans like Arijit are also getting tattoos of Martinez inked on their body. Among them will be a tea stall owner who painted his store in Argentina’s national colours of blue and white and sold free ‘chai’ (tea) the day Argentina won the cup. He will get to meet Martinez during the talk show.

The Aston Villa stopper is also expected to meet West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Sourav Ganguly, the former cricket captain. Martinez, too, seems excited for the trip. He has already shared a message on his Facebook wall. “I know Kolkata and Bangladesh have huge Argentina fans and I am very excited to meet them. Thank you Satadru for this initiative! Ami tomader bhalo bhashi ( I love you all) !,” Martinez signed off on Facebook.