And one day Lionel Messi cried. And Emiliano Martínez, Rodrigo de Paul, Ángel Di María and Lionel Scaloni also cried. And 80,000 Argentines who crowded the River Plate Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires this Thursday to the shout of “Muchachos…”, the anthem that accompanied the world champions on their journey to Qatar. Then the anthem sounded and the tears returned. La Albiceste returned home so the party never ends. The party was the least. Panama was a respectful guest of the host; It would have been distasteful to ruin such an event. Argentina finally won 2-0. The celebration was perfect: in the 43rd minute of the second half, Messi scored the 800th goal of his career from a free-kick and was one step away from reaching 100 with Argentina’s Camisea. “Messi, Messi,” they sang in the stands. Everything is so that the spell that Argentina have had since the final against France at the Lusail Stadium just over three months ago will not be broken.
The Argentine team owed this party. The ecstasy of four million Argentines left a bitter taste last December 20th when they arrived with the World Cup and had to complete a route that had to be covered by bus and helicopter. Now they had free field for themselves, without victory pressure. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) viewed the game as an honor rather than a sporting event. There was music at the beginning and half-time, quite a novelty. And Scaloni tried to get as many players on the pitch as possible. They had been at the stadium for eight hours. To avoid crowds, they arrived very early and in groups in small vans.
The challenge for the organizers was to manage the rush for the world champions. Nearly two million people attempted to purchase a ticket through the AFA’s digital ticketing system. An hour and a half after takeoff, there was no space left. Then resale was activated and many fell into the trap. The television showed distraught fans who found their tickets at the turnstile to be counterfeit.
“I bought them on Instagram for four times their value,” resigned a man in his forties, accompanied by his son. They had traveled from Formosa, 1,100 kilometers north of Buenos Aires, and were now on the street. Journalists didn’t have it easy either: 131,000 accreditation applications were missed by the majority.
Argentina’s fans celebrate before the match between Lionel Messi’s team and Panama’s team in Buenos Aires March 23, 2023. EMILIANO LASALVIA (AFP)
Half an hour before the game, thousands who crowded outside the security fences without tickets clashed with stones with the police. But when the Argentinian team took the field, the football returned, the goals and the heat from the fans. And finally the prices. Messi and Scaloni received theirs, and even AFA president Claudio Tapia held up a plaque between whistles. At the height of the celebrations, the stadium joined in a “Go ahead, Champion,” the original shout dedicated to the captain. And then there was a replica of the World Cup for each of the players, who became fans and shouted “guys…” again. To conclude, Sergio Goycochea, goalkeeper of the winning team Mexico 86-turned-TV presenter, asked Messi to lift the trophy.
“Personally, I’ve always dreamed of celebrating with you guys,” Messi told the entire stadium. “I come to my country, Argentina, to win a Copa America and now a World Cup. Today is the day we all celebrate, but I don’t want to forget all the colleagues who have done everything before. It wasn’t given to us, but they deserve the respect of the Argentine people because they gave up everything for this jersey,” he said, warning: “Let’s enjoy the third star because we don’t know when we’ll get another one fetch. Winning the trophy is very difficult.” Messi didn’t stop smiling while his children played on the field.
Lionel Scaloni could barely speak as he grabbed the microphone in tears. The stadium sang his name. “It’s all because of you,” he said. Messi smiled like a kid on his birthday. He raised the cup again, turned around and cried again. “We are world champions,” Goycochea exclaimed euphorically. La Scaloneta was home again.
Argentina national team players elevate the World Cup during the ceremony in Buenos Aires, AGUSTIN MARCARIAN (Portal)
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