Fans spend the night at the Obelisco, and Argentina prepares for the champions

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The day following Argentina’s world title was a hangover for fans in Buenos Aires. One group spent the night at the Obelisk, the epicenter of celebrations in the Argentine capital. Some took the decision because, at dawn on Monday (19), there was no longer public transport or taxis to take them back.

There are reports of entire families and groups walking more than 70 minutes during the night to their homes or to points where they could take a ride to other cities in the province.

Others stayed at the Obelisk to save their seats, as the initial forecast was that the bus with the champion players, coming from Qatar, would arrive this Monday at 7 pm in Argentina. Soon, everyone was thwarted by traffic police and prefecture cleaning cars. They would have to leave.

So much the better. The flight was delayed and the street celebrations with the players will only take place from the early hours of Tuesday (20).

In addition, it was necessary to repair the door of the Obelisk, broken by more violent fans, clean up the graffiti that polluted the main monument of the city and restore traffic in the city.

Apart from those returning from there or from bars that stayed open late, usually still half drunk, the streets were completely empty in the early hours of the morning.

Traditional kiosks, which open early, as well as cafes, waited a little longer than usual to open. “A little bit is for security, but also because everyone celebrated until late yesterday,” said Meylin Zhau, owner of a Chinese market in the Chacarita neighborhood.

There were reports of some incidents. Dumpsters overturned or damaged because fans climbed onto them to celebrate. And visibly disturbed people followed the streets, sometimes without realizing that they were walking in the middle of the road, causing detours and near accidents.

In the upscale area around Shopping Alto Palermo, some people from the neighborhood were drinking coffee as if the euphoria had already passed. The owner of the place, however, had her makeup all smudged. She had worked all day and, unable to go home, she slept behind the counter. “Lack of waiters yesterday [domingo] because of the game, and today they are not willing to come. Looks like I’m going to have to stay here all day again today”, said Susana Carnero, 52. The curious thing is that she didn’t speak with anger, but with a smile on her face and the white and celestial brilliantine still stuck to her skin.

A few minutes later, the calm in the cafe changed. Three young men, apparently drunk and up all night, were pushing and shouting up the street. One of them ran to one of the tables and grabbed a knife, started threatening the others, he was bleeding. The customers jumped back, some women protecting babies. The bar owner screamed, and the boy, bleeding, ran away.

Those who woke up with the same party spirit as the day before started heading towards Ezeiza, still not knowing how access to the players will be when they arrive. Organizers speak of a likely salute still on the airport runway, around 2am. From there, they would leave by bus to the AFA building.

The debate was still open, as some players said they did not want “political” photos, not even with the president of the association, much less with president Alberto Fernández, who invited them to the Casa Rosada.

The representative said that if there were celebrations in front of the seat of government, he could declare a national holiday this Tuesday. However, given the resistance of the team to greet the president, the idea may not go ahead.

There were no representatives of the Argentine government in the match, only the former opposition president, Mauricio Macri, who intends to return to dispute in 2023. On the French side, was Emmanuel Macron. Fernández did not want to go so as not to open a flank for criticism of a very expensive trip for the president in the midst of an intense economic crisis and inflation reaching 100%.

An alternative that was discussed in the early afternoon was for the players to go straight to the Obelisk, in an open bus, and from there to their homes.

But even the prospect of not seeing them in the airport corridors did not deter the fans, who arrived with flags and occupied the airport hall. Ezeiza employees began to separate the boarding area from the others, so that the arrival of a crowd would not disturb passengers with flights at these times.

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