Hundreds of fans celebrated the return of the Argentina team to Buenos Aires on Monday night, beating drums to celebrate their victory in the Copa America final against Colombia in Miami.
The Albiceleste players who returned to Argentina greeted fans outside the Argentine Football Federation headquarters in the Buenos Aires suburb of Ezeiza from a bus, although most of the squad remained in the United States, including captain Lionel Messi.
“It was a great match, the players gave their all, they are great”one of the supporters on site told journalists. Argentinians of all ages had come to applaud, to the sound of drums and cymbals, their team’s victory over the Colombian selection (1-0), thanks to a goal by striker Lautaro Martinez in extra time.
Striker Angel Di Maria, who announced that this final was his last match for the national team, was among the players returning home, to the delight of the fans. “Stay, please, if you can, if you want, if you feel like it.”an Argentina fan pleaded on the TyC Sports channel. T-shirts, caps, flags and stickers in the team’s colours were on offer from vendors, as were others in Di Maria’s name.
Celebrations cut short
“Messimania” was also strong, with one man wearing a giant mask of Messi offering to take pictures for a fee.
Early Monday morning, thousands of Argentines gathered to celebrate around the Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires, the team’s second Copa America, after a first trophy in 2021.
The celebration ended abruptly after more than four hours of revelry, when police moved in with water trucks to clear the streets, causing a stampede among the crowd of hundreds of people still there.
The Copa America final was also marred by scenes of chaos in Miami, with fans trying to enter the Hard Rock Stadium without tickets, creating a dangerous gridlock at the gates, according to organizers, leading to an 80-minute delay before the match started.