Benin Keeper Marcel Dandjinou: 'We Are Not Tourists in Argentina'

Benin's goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou has a clear plan for Lionel Messi's farewell night at the Monumental: stop him. In an interview with Marca hours after landing in Buenos Aires, the 28-year-old said Benin are in Argentina to compete, not to sightsee.

The shot-stopper facing Messi gave Marca a fiery interview

Marcel Dandjinou did not fly halfway across the world to watch. Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca within hours of touching down in Buenos Aires, Benin's first-choice goalkeeper laid out his brief for the biggest night of his career: keep the ball out, no matter whose boots it comes off.

The 28-year-old, who plays for Kruger United in South Africa's Betway Premiership, knows exactly who stands in his way at the Monumental. Lionel Messi will walk out for his 208th and final Argentina cap in front of a sold-out crowd, and Dandjinou fully expects the hosts to throw everything at him.

"For me, this match is not like any other match," Dandjinou told Marca. "I think it is an opportunity that will not come again, because it is Messi's last match. It is a special match. But, look, we are here for Argentina and for Messi, but we must not forget that we represent our country too."

"We are not here to be tourists"

Benin have been cast as the supporting cast in Messi's farewell production all week, a footnote to the main event. Dandjinou rejected that framing outright, and he did it with the most quoted line of the interview.

"We are here to defend Benin," he said. "This is football: eleven players against eleven. We can win, or draw, or they can win, but it is football. We are not here to be tourists in Argentina; we are here to play and to compete. It will be a great day in our lives."

His message matters because the build-up has been dominated by Benin's off-field troubles. Reports of Benin players enduring hotel problems, missing flights and training difficulties have shadowed the squad's arrival. Dandjinou would not accept the narrative, telling Marca: "We did not face any problems. We are fine here in Buenos Aires. Why do you say that? The truth is that we have had good conditions."

Would he let Messi score a farewell penalty? Not a chance

Then came the question every goalkeeper dreads. Picture it: the final minute at the Monumental, Messi still without a goal, Argentina awarded a penalty, and Leo walking up to the spot. Would Dandjinou let it in, just for the occasion?

He did not hesitate. "No, no," he said. "I am a goalkeeper, and my job is to save the ball. Even if it is the final minute and a penalty is awarded, if Messi takes it, I will try to save it. It is that simple: it is football. Yes, we are here to celebrate Messi, but no one has asked us to give him a goal. And knowing Messi, there is no need to give him anything. If he wants to score, he has to do his best to achieve it."

That answer will sting the tens of thousands hoping to see Messi's 208th cap end with a goal, but it also guarantees the competitive edge this friendly needs. A gift goal against a keeper who was trying to save it would cheapen the memory, and Dandjinou knows Messi would want it no other way.

Admiration runs deep: "Leo is a legend, a true legend"

Beneath the fighting talk sits a genuine reverence. Dandjinou grew up in Benin watching Messi the way most footballers of his generation did, from afar, on television, as someone from another world entirely.

"For me, Messi is one of football's legends," he said. "We grew up watching him play. He is one of our favourite players. To be able to play against him now, on the same pitch, is incredible. I never imagined this would happen, but it will happen on Tuesday. For me, Leo is a legend, a true legend."

Pressed on whether Messi is the greatest of all time, he answered diplomatically but warmly: "We grew up watching Messi and Cristiano. They taught us a lot about football. They have been competing for a long time. For me, Leo is one of the best players in this sport, indeed one of its kings."

His admiration is shared inside the Benin dressing room. Veteran keeper Saturnin Allagbe told French outlet RMC Sport that playing against Messi would be "a powerful moment, one of those you never forget in a career," calling him "a legend, the king of world football."

Every Benin player wants the same souvenir

Asked whether the squad had drawn lots to decide who gets to ask Messi for his shirt after the final whistle, Dandjinou laughed off any notion of an orderly queue. The farewell jersey might be the most contested piece of fabric in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night.

"If you asked any player in my team, he would tell you he wants his shirt," he said. "So it would be great if they made a lot of shirts and gave one to each player. Because if only one of us goes to ask for the shirt, I do not think it will be easy: we all want one."

Messi has already prepared for the night's memorabilia demand, with the gold-trimmed farewell kit created especially for the occasion. Dandjinou's hope of one shirt per player might be optimistic, but few will leave the Monumental without something to remember the night by.

The man in the way: who is Marcel Dandjinou?

While the world knows Messi, the man tasked with spoiling his night is far less famous, and his path to this stage is a story in itself. Dandjinou spent four and a half years at modest JDR Stars in South Africa's second tier before joining Kruger United just over a year ago, where he became first choice as the club began its promotion season.

He was the only goalkeeper from the Motsepe Foundation Championship selected for Benin's AFCON squad earlier this year, playing three matches at the tournament, and he has held on to the national team gloves under coach Gernot Rohr. Five and a half years after arriving in South Africa from Benin, he will walk out against the greatest player of his generation in front of 85,000 people.

"It would be a great honour for me to play, and that memory will remain engraved in my mind forever," he said. "During my career I will be able to say: I was there, in the last match of a legend, in Messi's last match. It is incredible."

What it means for Messi's farewell night

Tuesday's match is the first-ever senior meeting between Argentina and Benin, and Argentina's players have made clear they want to send Messi off with a win. Dandjinou's interview guarantees at least one opponent will make them earn it the hard way.

Argentina's recent friendly form suggests the hosts will create chances: a 4-0 win over Bolivia and a 7-0 thrashing of Burkina Faso, both without Messi, have the world champions in ruthless mood. Messi himself returns to the side after sitting out those two games, with Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso also joining the farewell group.

Whether Dandjinou can deny him is the night's great unknown. He will try, and he will say so proudly. "No one has asked us to give him a goal," the keeper said. "And knowing Messi, there is no need to give him anything."

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