The albiceleste tide is a constant in this America Cup. The proportion of t-shirts Argentine National Team before those of Chili It was from 20 to 1, much greater than those experienced in Atlanta five days ago. This time, in the imposing MetLife – much larger in capacity with 82,500 locations– the muscle of the Scaloneta fans landed in New Jersey.
And that was seen in the flag-off that was organized 24 hours before the game in Times Square itself, in the heart of New York. But also in this cement giant that is located in East Rutherford and that was surrounded by smoke coming from the grills located above the parking lot, a few meters from the main entrance.
I was walking there Alberto Martinezthe father of Dibu, dressed in his T-shirt of the Argentine National Team and that he waits for the access to the stadium to open. He doesn’t want to talk, because he already gave about “eight or nine” notes during the day.
Of course, the heat is, at times, unbearable. The thermometer exceeded 35 degrees this Tuesday, although a soft but permanent breeze helped a lot.
And among all those cars that began to be located among the groups of Argentine fans, one stood out that took all the flashes. A “Scaloneta-mobile”, a Mercedes Benz C-280 disguised as the Argentine National Team. Is property of Ricardo and Franco, father and son united by their passion for the Albiceleste.
“We are Argentines who have lived here for a long time and it is as the song says, it is something that cannot be explained,” he explained to Clarion the father of the family who placed a flag on the hood and added a replica of the World Cup, the golden boot for Messi and the Copa América.
“We always have it prepared but this one took us a month, it was not planned that we would come with this one, but the truck broke down. The other one was better, but we saved it for the final in Miami,” said Ricardo, with a significant physical resemblance to Diego Armando Maradonawearing a wig similar to 10 and a crown.
“It’s something that is in you, right? The passion never goes away, it is also transmitted,” said Franco, who was born in the United States, and chose to play at being Messi for a while, putting on a bisht similar to the one with which Leo received the World Cup in Qatar 2022. “He wears it because at home we are Argentina, he is Argentine too,” dad Ricardo completed.
There were Chileans in the surroundings, who also opted for the barbecue to kill the anxiety of waiting for the game. “Here they come to the home of Chile,” they say, confident in the memory that in 2016 allowed them to beat the Albiceleste on penalties, causing Messi to resign.
There were some discussions while The level of alcohol in the blood was rising among the fans of two teams with historical and even political significance.
The image inside the stadium was an albiceleste postcard, much more than the one Atlanta gave away. A small group located just behind the goal that Dibu Martínez defended in the first half tried to take the lead with the songs, but they did not have much success. It is more of a spectacle than an Argentine-style court.
Hopefully this time, there will be another ending.
