Who is Antonia Farías, the woman who embraced Lionel Messi and starred in one of the most emotional moments of the Qatar 2022 World Cup

After years of suffering, Messi finally gave it up. Rosario’s man was decisive at every stage of the journey, thus leading the Argentine national team to obtain the third World Cup in its history. The captain was accompanied by several players from the so-called “old guard”, such as Otamendi and Di María. In addition, some who had their first experience in the World Cup have joined, such as De Paul or Julián Álvarez. But also an entire team of the delegation who took care of making them feel at home in the Doha University bunker and who were reflected in the celebrations.

After consecrating himself to penalties, and in the middle of the celebrations on the green grass of the Lusail stadium, Leo Messi was seen melting into a heartfelt embrace with a woman who, like the captain, wore the Argentine shirt. The cut of the emotional moment has been around the world and social networks, also generating confusion.

And it is that in principle many had confused Antonia with Celia, Leo’s mother. This is because the video shows the delegation’s chef from behind, and one of the few things that can be perceived is Leo’s uncontrollable emotion at the moment of the meeting.

Who is the mysterious woman? The protagonist is none other than Antonia Farías, one of the cooks of the Argentine delegation. The 42-year-old has been with the national team for a decade and received the well-deserved recognition on Sunday.

Antonia not only appears as one of the key pieces of the delegation at Ezeiza’s camp, where she cooks for the players, but she also accompanies the team on their every trip, and this trip through Qatar was no exception.

Together with Diego Iacovone, Antonia is in charge of directing and managing everything related to gastronomy around the Argentina national team, and had previously starred in the occasional photo with the national team players. Before this trip to the Middle East, the woman had already had the opportunity to accompany the team in the World Cup in Russia, as well as in the most recent Copa América played in Brazil and in the Final played at the legendary Wembley stadium. .

Farías is one of the two female representatives of the delegation, together with the head of marketing, Verónica Miele. In this historic month lived in Qatar, the party was complete, but Antonia had already had to celebrate on more than one occasion, and not just in terms of titles. In 2018, for example, the competition coincided with her birthday, so she had the luxury of cutting the cake alongside Lionel Messi and young Nehuén Pérez, two of whom also have a birthday in June.

In mid-2021, with the Copa América in full swing in Brazil, the situation was quite similar. Antonia celebrated her 41st birthday, and she did so in the company of over 100 members of the delegation. That participation ended in the best way and the woman made headlines for the first time. That July 10, Farías was the only woman in the champion photo, so more than a half began to delve into what is now one of the topics of the day: Antonia’s outstanding work within the national team.