The show before the spectacle

The FIFA’s World Cup has increasingly become a celebration not just of football but of football as entertainment.

So, on the eve of the final, the governing body transformed the Javits Center beside the Hudson into a fan park. Hundreds queued for hours and paid between USD 60 and 80 to watch Argentina skipper Lionel Messi, coach Lionel Scaloni, Emiliano Martinez, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and captain Rodri share a stage with Novak Djokovic, Tom Brady and Kevin Durant, who swapped their sporting greatness for the role of celebrity interviewers.

Rio Ferdinand and comedian Kevin Hart played masters of ceremony, filling the gaps with jokes and banter to ensure that the crowd felt their tickets were worthwhile.

For FIFA — which has spent this tournament monetising almost every available minute from sponsored water breaks to introducing a 30-minute halftime for Sunday’s Super Bowl-style show — it was another reminder that the World Cup has become as much about the spectacle as it is about the sport.

Messi, who skipped the official FIFA press conference upstairs where Emiliano represented Argentina, answered questions from Brady and Djokovic. The loudest laughs came when Brady brought up the famous photograph of a 20-year-old Messi bathing an infant Lamine Yamal during a Barcelona charity photoshoot.

“Lamine is truly amazing,” Messi said. “I’ve followed him a lot because he plays for a club I love so much. He has a chance to achieve something historic. We’re going to try to make sure that it doesn’t happen this time. We’ll try to put on a good match, but I hope he and his team don’t put on a good one,” the 39-year-old added with a smile.

The most memorable moment, though, came after the microphones were switched off. Scaloni walked over to de la Fuente, his former coaching instructor, and embraced him warmly. Later, the Argentina coach laughed about the unusual setting. “I told Luis that I came because of him. I came to this event because Luis was there. I respect and admire him so much.” It was a fitting line for an afternoon that felt surreal.

Messi chatted with Brady, Djokovic and Durant downstairs while, two floors above, the accredited media — many of whom had travelled almost as extensively as the finalists themselves across this World Cup — were denied the opportunity to question the captain of an Argentina side standing one victory away from becoming only the third nation to successfully defend the crown.