Jersey detail shows no one cares about Socceroos in China in the middle of Lionel Messi mania
How a little jersey detail you may have missed proves no one cares about China’s Socceroos as the country gets caught up in Lionel Messi mania
- Australia played friendlies against Argentina
- Match was played in Beijing, China
- Argentina made a telling change to the jersey
Australia’s match against World Cup winners Argentina made history in many ways, but one curious detail on the Socceroos strip showed why they were anything but the main attraction in China.
Nearly 70,000 fans were crammed into Beijing’s newly rebuilt Workers’ Stadium on Thursday night to watch the friendly, but you could count the number of Socceroos fans on one hand.
An image shared by KEEPUP, the A-Leagues’ social media platform, showed a hardened Australian supporter flanked by thousands of Chinese fans wearing Argentinian jerseys.
Observant football tragedies also noted that while Argentina wore jerseys with their names written in Mandarin on the back, the Aussies wore their signature strips with their names written in English.
That was due to the huge demand for Argentina’s top players, especially Messi’s famous number 10, with almost no interest in the Socceroos.
The Argentina shirt featured player names in Chinese as a marketing ploy to cash in on Messi fever
The Chinese public was almost entirely pro-Argentina and the majority wore Lionel Messi’s famous number 10 shirt to support their hero
The Aussie players stuck to their traditional strip as they didn’t exactly break records at the merchandise stands
Football is not a dominant sport in China, with the national team ranked 79th in the world and 11th in Asia.
China’s PR squad made its only appearance in the 2002 FIFA World Cup final and has not won the Asian Cup since its inception in 1956, although China did win the 2022 Women’s Asian Cup.
Despite this, China has a significant fan base for Messi. Although he had not played in the country prior to this international friendly, the superstar has visited several times for promotional events and friendlies.
Every time he was there, he was met with a huge reception from Chinese fans who turned up in droves to catch a glimpse of their idol.
Tickets went on sale for between A$600 and A$1000, with 68,000 bought by eager Messi fans in minutes, despite China not even playing in the game.
Although the night was a big celebration for the Socceroos and Aussie football fans, the Chinese crowd didn’t really care about Messi’s opposition on the night
Former Paris Saint-Germain Argentine striker Angel Di Maria bears his name in Mandarin during Chinese New Year in 2018
Olympique de Marseille have also worn their names in Mandarin on their jerseys to honor Chinese New Year and appeal to the Asian market
Fans also bought rooms in five-star hotels for the chance of sharing the same building as their idol.
AFP even reported a case of a fan hiding in a concierge’s closet at the Four Seasons hotel in Beijing hoping to meet Messi.
Messi didn’t disappoint his Chinese fans either, scoring his fastest-ever international goal as Argentina emerged victorious 2-0.
Argentina is not the only football team to use Mandarin on their shirts to meet Chinese demand.
PSG and Marseille called their names in Mandarin in a 2018 Ligue 1 clash in honor of Chinese New Year, celebrated by an estimated 2 billion people worldwide each year. PSG has continued the tradition ever since.
Inter FC is also responding to the trend, with sweatshirts and sweaters with the Year of the Ox logo in 2021.
Messi’s FC Barcelona have also worn special jerseys with Mandarin player names in the past, but only to take the field and for promotional photos, swapped with their regular jerseys before the start of the game.