'Messi excited to play at Salt Lake'

Argentina national team's chef Diego Iacovone was amazed by the seating capacity of the Salt Lake Stadium the venue for his team's friendly against Venezuela on September 2.

Iacovone, who arrived in Kolkata on Sunday along with four other technical staff members, revealed that skipper Lionel Messi is eager to set foot on the  turf of the 1,20,000 capacity Salt Lake Stadium. "Argentina has never played in front of such a big crowd," said Iacovone.

When asked if Messi is aware of  the Kolkata stadium's ability to accomodate over a lakh, Iavone said: "Yes, Lionel (Messi) is aware of this. He is excited at the prospect of playing here."

Argentina's new coach Alejandro Sabella is expected to arrive today along with 18 of his players. However, Messi and Javier Mascherano will follow a day later after playing Barcelona's opening La Liga fixture against Villareal.