9 Years After Brawl With Lionel Messi, Ex-La Liga Star Named as Coach of a Sao Paulo Club

Lionel Messi has garnered some infamy for his involvement in certain on-field scuffles. A Dime a dozen El Clasico matches have seen his tempers flaring. Anyhow, Messi has contributed so immensely to soccer that his monumental fame will diminish whatever ill-repute he garnered from such confrontations. However, certain players have garnered attention solely because they locked horns with the Argentine.

Last year, Paraguay’s Antonio Sanabria made news after a viral clip showed him spitting on Messi during an Argentina game. Former defender Weligton Robson is another player who turned heads after a fight with the World Champion in a Malaga-Barcelona clash.

However, the days of infamy seem to be gone for Weligton, as he has now landed a coaching job. Sao Paulo-based club America SP announced him as its new head coach on Sunday. America SP competes in the 4th tier of the Campeonato Paulista- in Sao Paulo. Born in Sao Paulo, Weligton started his soccer career by playing for local club Olimpia’s youth team. After a few years, he would leave for the Portuguese league and later take his talents to Spain.

The Brazilian defender first experienced top-flight soccer with Switzerland’s Grasshopper Club Zurich. A year later, the Swiss club loaned Weligton to the La Liga’s Malaga. The Brazilian became a dependable defensive force in Malaga, wearing their colors on 285 occasions from 2008 to 2017.

However, that glorious stint also saw the most infamous, or perhaps the most famous, incident in Weligton Robson’s career. In the heat of the moment, he knocked Lionel Messi down during a Malaga-FC Barcelona game.

When Weligton went chest-to-chest with Lionel Messi!

Lionel Messi and Weligton Robson first crossed paths in 2009. Though Weligton had then taken Messi down with an abrasive tackle, the physical play did not escalate. 5 years later, the two would meet again and then tempers flared on the pitch. In 2014, in a Catalan-Andalusian clash, FC Barcelona played Malaga in a league tie. The match ended as a draw, but Messi and Weligton gave fans enough drama to remember.

In the concluding minutes, La Pulga verbally confronted the defender. The latter took offense and grabbed Lionel Messi by the chin, eventually sending him to the ground with a harsh push. Weligton subsequently received a yellow card for the physical act.

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In an interview after the game, the Brazilian said in his defense that Lionel Messi had used derogatory words to infuriate him. Nonetheless, he added that such things are common occurrences in matches and they always stay on the field. Besides, the defender has come a long way since the scuffle, as he now manages a club in his hometown.

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