World Cup 2022: Messi gives Lloris 1990 banner from Argentine collector over FA blunder

An unbelievable incident has been uncovered by Argentine media in recent days, concerning the historic final of the 2022 World Cup against France, where the “Albiceleste” were crowned world champions.

The incident concerns the usual exchange of souvenirs between the captains of the two teams before each game, which Argentina was completely unprepared for as it had no… flag!

Although Lionel Messi usually passed the federation’s flag to the opposing captain in the previous matches, there was none left for the final.

The solution came from an Argentinian who has lived in Qatar for 18 years and has been supporting the mission by staying in the country since the tournament began.

Javier Malouf is also known for his incredible football collection, which includes heirlooms of all types and eras. In fact, he’s holding Diego Maradona’s shirt, which he wore against England in 1980, while he’s also published a book called “La Camiseta de River” (as a River Plate fan).

On the eve of the final, Malouf invited a group of around twenty of his compatriots to a barbecue, including four players from the 1986 world champions.

The joy was interrupted by a phone call from a man from the federation desperate for a banner for the finals. Malouf had two in his collection, one from 1990 and a more modern one, but he didn’t have them at home and made an appointment the next morning.

When he found them, he sent a photo of both and the federation chose the one from 1990, from a friendly between Argentina and Switzerland. The Europeans were coached by Uli Stilicke, who became the final recipient of the banner and took it everywhere he worked. Destiny led him to Qatar between 2008 and 2014 and so the flag passed to Malouf.

The federation took the banner a few hours before the final, cleaned it, trimmed the dangling threads and improved its image as much as possible. It was then left in Messi’s locker in the dressing room to be handed to Hugo Lloris before kick-off.

All is well at last as this error went unnoticed and may have brought good luck to champion-crowned Argentina. The only downside is that Maloof is looking for the banner again to add it back to his collection and so far he hasn’t been able to get it back.