Sea of people welcome Argentina to bring home the Cup
At 2:23 am on Tuesday, December 20, Buenos Aires time, the plane waiting for the Argentine team to land at Ezeiza airport after the 2022 World Cup championship. The pilot on the ARG 1915 plane hung the Argentine flag on the windshield when the plane stopped. The door opened, captain Lionel Messi came out first at 2:56, wearing a medal around his neck, and continuously raised the gold cup and smiled. This moment became Argentine football history, with its first World Cup title in 36 years.
On the way from the plane to the team bus, Messi also raised the gold cup a few more times. Around, his teammates sang Muchachos - a cheering song for this team at the 2022 World Cup. They got on an open-top double-decker bus to go to the headquarters of the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) only about 5 km away.
However, it took 80 minutes for Argentina to arrive at AFA, when hundreds of thousands of people surrounded the team bus on the Ricchieri highway and nearby roads. The car seemed to be in the middle of a sea of people at more than 3 am in Buenos Aires, with a speed of less than 4 km / h, like a pedestrian.
Messi even nearly had an accident in the car, when he and players like Nicolas Otamendi, Rodrigo de Paul or Leandro Paredes sat in the back seat with the highest position. Busy talking, this group almost got entangled in a power line crossing the road. Only when reminded by their teammates did they rush to stoop down and avoid the wires. As for Paredes, even touching the wire without any problems, and they continued to sing shoulder to shoulder.
After arriving at AFA, teachers and students Lionel Scaloni were greeted with a series of fireworks for nearly three minutes. Here, they rest with their wives, children, girlfriends and relatives for a few hours. The previous 80 minutes had been a rehearsal parade. The main parade will start at noon in Buenos Aires (around 10pm, Hanoi time).
The Argentina team will start the main parade from the Ricchieri highway to Dellepiane Street, 25 de Mayo highway, the Obelisk statue on 9 de Julio Avenue, Libertador Avenue, Figueroa Alcorta Avenue, Libertador Street, General Paz Avenue and then back. Ricchieri highway and Ezeiza airport. The parade is expected to last nine hours.
However, tens of thousands of people gathered around the Obelisk early in the morning to reserve their seats. This venue once attracted more than a million people to celebrate Argentina's 4-2 victory over France on the penalty shootout of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on December 18. Before the plane number ARG 1915 landed in Ezeiza, it also flew over the Obelisk and then returned to the airport.
Millions of people are expected to attend Argentina's main parade, when Messi won the gold cup for the first time to mark his full career. Earlier, the Argentine government declared December 20 as a national holiday to celebrate the team's victory.
