The madness for the national team has already arrived in Santiago del Estero: the fury for Messi in a hotel full of fans and Dibumanía

If last Thursday at the Monumental was a real madness of love on the part of the Argentine fans, the welcome that the World Champion team received in Santiago del Estero, the province chosen so that the interior of the country could also seeing up close to Lionel Messi and company, he was by no means left behind. Hundreds of people from Santiago took to the streets Late at night to see the team bus that brought the Qatar Cup go by.

“Even when a president arrives, this kind of spectacular operation is not carried out,” says the taxi driver who transports Clarín’s envoys from the Vicecomodoro Ángel de la Paz Aragonés airport to the center of the capital Santiago. Emilian, the taxi driver in question reveals that he is the father of the famous ragman Rusherking, partner of actress China Suárez. “He gets along well with Rodrigo De Paul”, she tells of her son’s relationship with football. But he doesn’t give any further details and as the journey continues, the billboards at the sides of each path accompany him indefinitely. “It’s six kilometers of travel, absolutely all fenced off,” he adds.

As Emilio says, who chooses to continue doing his job beyond the enormous public success of his artist son, the deployment of the police is spectacular. The billboards form a perfect worm from the exit of the airport to the door of the Hilton Hotel, where the national team is waiting for this Tuesday’s match from 20:30 with Curaçao. “In order to be able to work these days, they gave us special permission to enter and exit the airport. Anyone who does not have this permission cannot log in. This was mainly due to the arrival of the national team ”, she specifies.

The visit of the world champion team is a novelty. It’s the one to remember an Argentinian team that was crowned with the biggest trophy of all playing in another territory of the country other than Buenos Aires, you have to go back more than 40 years ago. From 1986 to 1990, they never staged matches away from Buenos Aires. But from 78 to 82 yes. In that period, 15 official class A duels were played, of which 5 were divided between Mar del Plata (2), Mendoza, Rosario and Córdoba.

Likewise, Santiago is a place known for the Scaloneta. In mid-2021, before playing the Copa América which ended with obtaining the title at the Maracana, Argentina faced Chile (it was 1-1) for the qualifiers. That crossbar had a very particular detail: it was the debut of Emiliano Martínez’s goal, who came on due to the absence of Franco Armani, who was positive for the coronavirus. Also that evening, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero and Julián Alvarez made their debut, all protagonists of Qatar 2022.

Santiago del Estero is preparing for the end of the endless champions party. The Madre de Ciudades stadium will be packed with 42,000 spectators and you will vibrate with your idols, but you can also enjoy the shows of La Mosca, La T y la M, Los Totora, Banda XXI, Q’Locura and DJ Meme Bouquet. The anthem will be sung by Los Manseros Santiagueños, Héctor Garnica and Las Mullieris. The court gates will open five hours before the initial whistle, at 3.30pm. The programming will be similar to what happened at the River, with shows in the queue, at halftime and at the end of the evening, which will also close this unforgettable tour for the team that conquered its third star on Arab soil.

We saw an anticipation of what will be experienced at the stadium in what was the arrival of the Selezione in this province. More than 1,500 local police officers took part in the operation. They will be joined by thousands more for the friendly with Curaçao. From the outset, the surroundings of the albiceleste bunker here were filled with fans, mostly families with boys wearing the shirts of Messi or Dibu Martínez, the most applauded.

“I want to tell Dibu that I love him, I have seen all his saves at the World Cup. I want you to sign my shirt. I’m an archer to himI like him more than Messi”, Isabella’s voice is heard behind a mask of Emiliano Martínez. She, a 10-year-old girl, is fully dressed as a goalkeeper for the national team and her mother accompanies her by her side: “I’m putting up with my daughter is a Dibu fan,” she explains with the face of a proud mother. “Thanks Dibu for the saves, thanks for the third,” adds Aaron, also 10 years old.

“I come to see Tagliafico, I like it”, confesses Jésica (37), surrounded by the friends she has made in these hours under the scorching sun of northern Argentina. But Lionel, Messi and Scaloni immediately shouted from the sides. Valentina (19) has an intact smile even though she didn’t get tickets for the match: “It was impossible to get anything.” Ximena (21) adds: “And the resale is very expensive, they ask from 40 to 300 thousand pesos for a ticket”. Raúl (20) is happy to see them go by: “For us, who don’t have access to many things, it’s a privilege that they are here.”

The passion for the Scaloneta explodes in Santiago, which is overflowing with love for the world champions. An event that would surely be repeated in every corner of the country. An eternal “Thank you”, for eternal glory.

Santiago de Abroad. Special delivery