Fate, always capricious, has wanted Leo Messi's first game is in the Reims field, the first great giant of French football and the first European Cup finalist in 1956 against Real Madrid. The Argentine star twill end his first minutes with PSG at the home of Raymond Kopa, one of the best players in the history of France and who also had a successful stint at Real Madrid.
In Reims, the city that raised the “Football Champagne” to the skies, Messi will make his debut against a team that has fallen into disrepair in recent years. Under the guidance of Albert Batteux and Raymond Kopa, the French team he reached the final of the 1956 European Cup displaying offensive football and also invented the famous “Champagne corner”, which is the short serve we know today.
Kopa, who could not win the European Cup with Reims in a historic final (4-3 ended up winning Real Madrid), He signed for Real Madrid in 1956, being the first Frenchman in history to win the Orejona in 1958 against Fiorentina. Precisely, the historic French player beat Reims in another final, this time in 1959, which earned him to be chosen in 1958 as the second best player in the world.
The current Reims is not the one from the 1950s that became an indomitable giant in French football. Currently, the team is trained by, like Messi being a PSG player, another ex of Barcelona, Óscar García. The Catalan coach has started Ligue 1 with three draws in the first three days and hopes to win his first game against the almighty PSG, which, like Reims in its day, has become the team to beat in France. Messi's debut at Auguste Delaune will undoubtedly be one of the most anticipated in French football history.