Bloomfield Stadium on a holiday Saturday is one of the most desolate places in Israel.
The nearby garages are closed, there is plenty of parking and you can't even buy hot borax.
Yesterday, even though the Premier League is still on summer break, the peace was broken.
Under the auspices of the French Super Cup that will be held there tonight between PSG and Nantes, hundreds of restless people gathered around the entrance of the players, trying to fish out every detail of information concerning the location of the bus of the French champion that made its way to the press conference and the final training.
The common denominator of most of them - a shirt of Leo Messi in the team or the national team - revealed the main reason for the commotion: the desire to see the Argentine with their own eyes.
Although PSG is not new to the landscape of Tel Aviv in July-August, last year it arrived here with a secondary squad, which had difficulty providing enthusiasm off the pitch and even more difficulty providing ability on it when it lost 1:0 to Lille. This time, even Without Kylian Mbappe, who remained in Paris due to suspension, the French champions reminded how big the football of the greats is.
Markinius and his friends, yesterday in Tel Aviv, photo: Udi Tsitiat
While the selfie-thirsty fans gathered outside the stadium, everyone was inside.
The businessman Sylvain Adams, of course, the TV crew of the official PSG channel, Zofi Avdia Blok is great as usual, and also commentators, journalists and media people from France to Argentina.
The role of the latter, not surprisingly, is to put a camera on Leo Messi, and take pictures.
Messi is an extraordinary phenomenon.
When the PSG players took to the grass for the final training session, which was open to the media and a limited number of fans, the indifferent Argentinian drew all the attention to him.
Every touch of the ball and every little gesture towards the stands was greeted with huge roars from the fans - the vast majority of them teenagers and children who must have returned home hoarse from the screams of "Messi!"
the incessant
Ramos with Hakimi.
The veteran brakeman is responsible for the atmosphere, photo: Audi Citiat
The clown, the jet, and the snap
In the training itself, which was fascinating to watch, it was possible to notice nuances that are difficult to see during a game.
Sergio Ramos, for example, is quite a clown, the new acquisition, Vitinia, seems to have acclimated well, Nuno Mendes is an abnormal jet, and next to Leo Messi will always be Neymar.
These two, who don't move from each other and always pair up when coach Galtier wants to get along in pairs, create the feeling that there is a special connection between them.
When Neymar was injured and sat down on the grass, Messi came to check that everything was fine and was relieved to be informed that this was indeed the case.
The Brazilian quickly got to his feet, and in his first touch after that sent a bomb into the connections that reminded the fans that there was another star here.
Neymar, much more than Messi, was the most common name in the press conference that preceded training.
Coach Galtier, for whom this will be the official debut game since arriving from Nice, made a lot of reference to the situation of the Brazilian, whose last season ended with boos from the stands.
"He is a professional and determined for a new and important year," said Galtier, "he is excellent for now, we look forward to seeing him in action."
Captain Markinius added: "He likes challenges, and he is very competitive. He worked hard in the offseason to be in shape and we all see it."
PSG players, yesterday in Bloomfield, photo: Udi Citiat
"The Second Group"
Marquinhos, like many others, was not here last year when the title ran away to PSG.
That loss to Lille is probably one of the reasons why the French champions came here with the strongest squad at their disposal.
The second reason is the opponent, Nantes, or as they called it last night around Bloomfield - "the other team".
Even though it won the French Cup with a victory over Nice, which Galtier coached last year, and even beat PSG twice in the last three meetings, the general attitude towards the team borders on indifference bordering on ignoring.
Given that PSG is here with a host of stars, including Leo Messi, Nantes is a supporting player who will stand out in this event.
"Antoine knows PSG and knows me, and we know that we will have a very difficult game," mentioned Galtier, "this team has a fighting spirit and it proved it last season more than once."
Ten minutes to the end of the open practice, Messi went down to the dressing room, waved goodbye to the few fans, and put an end to this special evening.
As soon as the Argentine disappeared, so did the excitement.
The crowd began to clear out, the journalists went to cover the other team, and Bloomfield returned to being desolate as every Saturday off.
Tonight, when Messi and PSG return, he will come back to life.
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