Argentina’s Copa America champions return to a hero’s welcome in their homeland as hundred of people crowded to see them come home.
Lionel Messi and co were treated to the sight of a sea of people clamouring to surround their team bus on its arrival in Buenos Aires from Rio de Janeiro.
Argentina beat their fiercest rivals Brazil 1-0 in the Copa America final at the famed Maracana stadium on Saturday, thanks to Angel Di Maria’s goal.
The win gave Argentina their first major trophy since 1993, when they last won the Copa America, and almost as importantly, Messi got his first winner’s medal with the national team.
‘I had been very close (to winning a title) for many years. I knew that it was going to come right at some point, and I think there is no better moment than this,’ said Messi, who will be 35 by the time of the World Cup in Qatar next year.
‘We are still not aware of what we did, but it will be a match that will remain in history not only for being champions of America, but also for beating Brazil in Brazil,’ he added.
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Argentina players celebrate with Messi, who ended his wait to win a trophy with his country
Messi was later reunited with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo in his hometown of Rosario. Roccuzzo had been unable to travel to the Copa America because of Covid restrictions.
The jubilant crowds around the team bus paled into insignificance compared to the hundreds of thousands of Argentinians celebrating the victory nationwide.
