Pablo Aimar’s cry, Lionel Messi’s idol, moves Argentina in the World Cup

If the image of Lionel Messi’s goal against Mexico drove Argentines crazy, it wasn’t the one that went viral on social media. The video of Pablo Aimar, coach Lionel Scaloni’s assistant, crying on the bench was as displayed as the kick of the number 10 from outside the area, last Saturday (26).

A historic midfielder for River Plate and a member of the national team’s coaching staff, Aimar is Messi’s idol.

“He was the short, skilful hooker, who always had the ball glued to his feet. That’s what I wanted to be”, confessed the six-time best striker in the world.

Aimar’s reaction at the Lusail stadium was surprising due to his discreet personality on the sidelines. He forms, alongside Walter Samuel and Roberto Ayala, the group of former athletes who advise Scaloni in his decisions. One of the biggest names in the history of River Plate, the point guard also played for Valencia (ESP) and Benfica (POR).

Messi’s adoration of Aimar is at the root of the rumor that, in fact, the Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) athlete supports River, not Newell’s Old Boys, a team from his native Rosario.

He even auditioned and was approved for the Buenos Aires team, but there was no vacancy in the accommodation, and a manager said that in the youth team of the club there were ten more boys just like Messi. This gave rise to one of the most curious stories of the ace’s life.

A friend would have promised that they would stay at his grandmother’s house in the capital so they could play for River, but later changed his mind because Lionel sat on the seat next to the window and refused to change places.

Hired by the AFA (Argentine Football Association) to work with the youth teams, Aimar accompanied the main team to Qatar. He is a beloved name among gamers. Especially for Messi. The fact that one of his masters was Marcelo Bielsa – the coach who took him to the World Cups in South Korea and Japan, in 2002, in 2002, helped in building his formative profile, and whose philosophy is a game based on possession of the ball and on the almost amateur watching football.

Aimar did not give interviews after the match to explain the tears, but about a month ago his mother, Mary Giordano, died of a heart attack.

The goal that moved Messi’s idol took Argentina out of the choke. A shot from outside the area that paved the way for the 2-0 victory over Mexico. Result that kept the selection alive in Group C of the World Cup. In the debut, alviceleste had been defeated by Saudi Arabia by 2 to 1.

“We were dead”, admitted Messi after the victory in Lusail.

A draw or defeat would put Argentina’s continuity in the Qatar Cup at risk. The last time the team was eliminated in the group stage, in 2002, Aimar was in the squad. He was also part of the first World Cup, in Germany, in 2006. It was when, controversially, coach José Pekerman did not field him in the quarterfinals against Germany, which ended with elimination on penalties.

The crying seems to corroborate Scaloni’s statement that there is nothing more his team can do to make the fan identify with it.

But it was Scaloni himself who disagreed in the discussion about Aimar’s tears. In the video that won the nets, the technician is seen saying something to his assistant, covering his mouth to avoid lip reading. Possibly scolding him.

“I don’t agree with this idea that it’s more than just a football match. We have to correct that. It’s difficult to make people understand that tomorrow the sun rises, the selection wins or loses, and that the important thing is to do it what one should, if things were done in the best possible way, as we do”, he opined.