Your daily smile: Lionel Messi stuns reporter who gave him a good luck charm

A heartwarming moment from the world's biggest soccer tournament.
 By 
Marcus Gilmer
 on 
Your daily smile: Lionel Messi stuns reporter who gave him a good luck charm
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Lionel Messi and the Argentina national men's soccer team squeaked by Nigeria and into the knock-out round of the World Cup on Tuesday in very dramatic fashion.

But it seems he had a little help thanks to a gift from a reporter: an amulet from the reporter's mother (or wife, depending on the translation) that he gave to Messi on the day of Argentina's first match of the tournament (versus Iceland). After Tuesday's big win, the reporter, Rama Pantorotto, asked if Messi still had the amulet.

You damn well bet he did.

Messi left Pantorotto in awe as he showed the reporter that he still had the amulet around his left ankle. Whether it helps bring Messi and company good luck in their next match against France this weekend, well, we'll just have to wait and see. But at least this moment will linger to warm our cold, dead hearts.

[via Reddit]

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Marcus Gilmer

Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.


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