There was a lot of partying Buenos Aires and in the metropolitan area of the capital of Argentina to celebrate the arrival of the three-time world champions in the country.
Lots of parties and lots of people.
The presence of fans was so great that the open car carrying the players was unable to reach the Obelisk, in the center of the city, the place with the highest concentration of fans and where some of them performed à la Spider-Man, climbing the monument.
According to the AFP news agency, there were between 5 million and 6 million in the streets to celebrate the Argentine feat in Qatar World Cup.
The security, said the authorities accompanying the so-called “caravan of glory”, was compromisedand the bus route sequence had to be aborted.
Around 4:30 pm, after slowly covering 12 km (the total would be 70 km) in intense heat, Lionel Messi and company used City Hall helicopters to return to their point of origin, the AFA (Argentine Football Association) facilities, where they had been earlier in the day.
O landing at the airport Ezeizain Greater Buenos Aires, took place shortly before 3 am this Tuesday (20).
Messi, star and captain of the team, got off the plane next to coach Lionel Scaloni with the FIFA Cupher inseparable companion since she received her at the Lusail stadium – she even published a photo as if she were sleeping next to her.
Already in the first hours of the delegation on Argentine soil, during the early morning, there were thousands of people wanting to celebrate the champions, so much so that the way from the airport to the AFA training center, also in Ezeiza, was taken by fans.
While the athletes took a few hours of rest, the fans began to fill the points where the champions could pass, such as Plaza de Mayo and around the Casa Rosada (headquarters of the Presidency), as well as the Obelisk. Afterwards, the players left to fraternize with them.
To contain the heat of more than 30°C, water jets were thrown at the fans, who never tired of singing that they were world champions.
In Plaza de Mayo, the expectation for the arrival of the biggest idol, Messi, and the other players was great, and the plan was not to leave the foot until they appeared and waved.
“We’ll stay here all day, or until they [jogadores] arrive. Maradona came here, and Messi will come too. I’m sure,” said administrative assistant Luciana Tadeo, 44, who was accompanied by her husband and 5-year-old son.
She made mention of Diego Armando Maradona (1960-2020), one of the greatest players in football history, who captained Argentina to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
But, to her frustration and that of thousands dressed in alvicelste who sang songs, shouted and jumped non-stop, Messi did not appear there, or anywhere in the central region of Buenos Aires.
Not for lack of will, but for impossibility in urban mobility. The crowd was so large on the way that the players’ bus stopped, started, stopped, started, moving at minimum speed.
Then there was a change in plans and the deployment of helicopters.
“The world champions are flying over the route in helicopters because it was impossible to continue on land in the face of the explosion of popular joy,” wrote Gabriela Cerruti, spokesperson for the Argentine Presidency, on social media.
The presence of the champions at Casa Rosada was even considered, so that they would wave from the balcony to the fans, however, in light of the chaotic situation, this was discarded.
The president of the AFA, Claudio Fabián Tapia, upon confirming the closure of the caravan, exonerated himself, in a publication on a social network, of responsibility: “We are not allowed to greet the people who were at the Obelisk. The same security bodies that escorts won’t let us go forward”.
The route was diverted to Parque Roca, about 15 km from the Obelisk, where the helicopters were waiting for the athletes.
In a statement, the Argentine Federal Police said that a helicopter “takes on board captain Lionel Messi, Lionel Scaloni and Rodrigo De Paul, who are carrying the World Cup”.
According to the text, they would fly over the Obelisk and other areas where fans gather “to greet people” before returning “to AFA property”.
A little later, the Argentine sports newspaper Olé published that Messi and fellow striker Di María had already arrived, in a private flight, in Rosario, their hometown.
Until the beginning of the night, the day marked by crowds, joy and a dose of disappointment due to the logistical failure had registered a death, of a 24-year-old man who fell off a roof🇧🇷 Another 31 people required medical attention.
A confrontation between fans and firefighters was also recorded at the Obelisk itself, at night. Men had climbed the monument, as shown by the newspaper La Nacion, and firefighters were called in to remove them. They were not well received.
