Argentine superstar Lionel Messi arrived in Kolkata in the wee hours on Wednesday but more than 1500 frenzied fans were left heartbroken as securitymen whisked the Argentine superstar away through the VIP gate.
The football-crazy city did not witness the same turn-out when Diego Maradona visited about three years back as the Kolkatans then had lined up on the streets while state government officials had come to welcome him at the airport.
But the euphoria was exactly the same as the fans with many wearing the Albiceleste colours painted the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Dum Dum in white and sky blue.
Holding Argentina flags and lifesize Messi cutouts, the fans poured in since 2am, more than one hour in advance of the Argentine star's arrival. There were also few Tricolours seen flying high among the white and sky blue colours.
The football-crazy fans danced and cried deliriously, shouting "three cheers for Messi, three cheers for Argentina," as near stampede like scenes were witnessed outside the airport.
Lionel Messi, who arrived in the wee hours on Wednesday, defied jet lag and fatigue to join his teammates for a full practice session under new coach Alejandro Sabella at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan here this evening.
During the team's first full practice session, the Albicelestes slugged it out on the artificial turf of the stadium for more than an hour ahead of their FIFA International friendly against Venezuela here on Friday.
Messi, who led Barcelona to a 5-0 rout of Villareal in Sunday's La Liga clash, seemed relaxed and was equally agile along with the likes of Javier Mascherano, Gonzalzo Higuain and Sergio Aguero.
Sporting a pair of green sneakers, Messi enthralled with his magical left-footer as his powerful shots kept flying into the net with total perfection.
But the highlight of the practice session was new coach Sabella's main focus on team co-ordination and the last line of defence, goalkeeping. 
Throughout the session, he gave special attention to the three Argentine custodians -- Sergio Romero, Estaban Andrada and Mariano Andjar.
Soon after the practice match, the Argentine midfielders and forwards tested their shooting skills in turn, even as Sabella made his support staff give some muscle relaxing exercises to the rest of the players.
What followed next was a brief team meeting where Sabella took stock of the players' fitness.
Although no spectator was allowed inside the stadium during the training session, many gathered to get a first glimpse of Messi.
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