Hear
ATLANTA (special envoy).- The heat wave that started this weekend in much of the USA It hit hard in this area of the south. The argentine national team faced his first day of official preparation heading to this Thursday’s debut in the Copa América with a stifling 37 degrees. That is why the technical team that commands Lionel Scaloni He arranged for the players to spend Father’s Day in the city center hotel before leaving for their first training session. There were calls with family members and concentration as a prelude to the great goal of 2024 for the world champions.
As happened less than two years ago in Qatar, the team arrived united and with a fixed idea. Be in the final of this tournament. That time, in the Doha desert, the delegation led by Scaloni stayed for more than a month on the Qatar University campus, in a remote location with almost no contact with the public. Now, the selection will rotate in each city. In Atlanta, for example, He stays in a five-star hotel, right in the center. Already this Saturday’s arrival was accompanied by dozens of fans who gathered on the sidewalk of the charming Down Town in the capital of Georgia.
After five in the afternoon on Sunday, Ángel Di María, who says goodbye to the national team here, Nicolas Otamendi and “Dibu” Martínez They were the first to get on the blue bus printed with the logo of the America Cup. Few Argentines have arrived from Ezeiza for now. Those who are in Atlanta to cheer on the team are mostly Argentines residing in the United States and, especially, Latinos who adore the great captain of the team.
The city awaits the arrival of thousands of fans for the debut. But this Sunday, the protagonists were dozens of Mexicans and other Central and South American countries. Messi is the great magnet and that is why he generates madness even in some Americans. However, the majority of the locals in the capital of Georgia for now are indifferent to the start of the Cup. “Are you in for a congress?” asked the disoriented driver who took the LA NACION team to the center. “America Cup? “Soccer?” he asked without much interest.
The leaders who are part of the delegation were the first to board one of the two buses that took the selection to the Kennesaw State University campus, a property located 40 kilometers from downtown. When Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia He left the hotel, a fan shouted “great Chiqui” at him. As if he were just another player, he greeted and took refuge under the air conditioning inside the bus. Marilis and Carolina are Venezuelans and have been working here for three years. They both have friends and family in Buenos Aires and ask: “Who is that man?”, in reference to Tapia. Everyone comes to see the captain.
Messi’s magnet exerts a incomparable attraction throughout the Hispanic community who lives here. Lorena is Mexican, from the southern state of Chiapas, and she arrived in Atlanta with her husband, Oscar, and her little son, Ismael, four years ago. “There are better and worse things about my country,” this 39-year-old woman who cleans houses tells LA NACION. “Here the food is much worse and there is no care for the environment, but of course, the economy is much stronger. That’s why we came,” she says about her decision to settle thousands of kilometers from her birthplace.
But there is something that unites it with football and the Copa América, which is the arrival of the Argentine captain to the city. Lorena, Oscar and Ismael gathered at the door of the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel on Saturday and Sunday to see the greatest idol of the little one in the family. “It is a dream come true for us to see it happen, even if it is from afar,” admits Lorena.
“It’s hotter here than in Qatar,” María and Joaquín, a couple from Tucumán who work in Marietta, a city near Atlanta, complained with a laugh, and who celebrated when the official tournament fixture chose the team to debut here.
The place where Messi and the rest of the delegation rest is one of the most recognizable towers in the city. With their 72 floors and more than a thousand rooms, he Westin Peachtree It is located near the Olympic Park where the 1996 Games were held and the World of Coca Cola, one of the icons of the city. The selection occupies three floors starting at 40. In addition to all the comforts of a five-star hotel, The place has a revolving restaurant at the top, which allows some Panoramic views Stunning views of Atlanta and its surroundings.
In addition to being an icon, the restaurant Sun Dial made world news due to a tragedy that occurred in 2017. A five-year-old boy, who had arrived with his family to spend the weekend in the city, became trapped between the rotating floor and one of the walls and died. Due to this event that shocked the entire country, the place was closed for several months.
The grand premiere of this Copa América, the most expensive and the most convened in the history of the oldest national team tournament, It will be this Thursday night at the Mercedes Benz stadium. Built in 2017, it cost about 1500 million dollars. The popular NFL team Atlanta Falcons and the MLS soccer league franchise Atlanta United play there. It has a retractable roof and was built with more than 18,000 steel sheets. The giant screen is amazing.
Before the start of Argentina-Canada it is planned a show at the height of the great American events. It will be the Colombian Shakira the one that gives voice to the beginning of the contest, as happened in the world cups of 2006, 2010 (with the “Waka Waka”) and 2014.
The million cup, with Messi as “local” and the farewell to Di María, is presented as the great objective of this selection. The illusion is already underway.
