Hearts beat with unique force. Tears here, tears there. Total emotion and gratitude. Also nostalgia for what will no longer be. All because of Angel Di Maria, That man often punished for his adventures Selectionthat talent that didn’t give up until breaking the wall, that star who said goodbye to the albiceleste as a champion of everything, with the most absolute recognition, wrapped in love… The best ending.
The Argentina-Chile preview had Fideo as its protagonist. After being crowned two-time champion of the Americas and confirming that he would not play for the Albiceleste again, the AFA decided to pay tribute to him in Buenos Aires. As was fitting. And it was at the Monumental stadium.
Di María was moved by the standing ovation that the crowd gave him, with a video of his daughter Mia, with a greeting on the giant screen from his friend Lionel Messi from the United States… The number 10 asked him “forgiveness for not being there on such a special night.” And he remarked: “Who would have said everything we went through in the National Team, everything we lived through. Beyond everything we had to go through, we ended up champions of everything. Enjoy because you deserve it. We will miss you very much.” Afterwards, the players who played against Chile entered the field, all wearing their identification number, 11.
Di María spoke to the people, of course. He thanked all his teammates: “To all of them, the youngest, some older ones who still pretend to be young… Thank you because you gave me the chance to win everything. I always said it and I repeat it again, it is thanks to them that I am leaving in this way today, with this tribute and all this affection.” And he added: “Now I am just another fan. I will be up there with my family, I will continue to be at the Copa América and the World Cups supporting them. We will surely continue on this path, because they have a lot of balls.” And then his teammates from the National Team lifted him up again and again. There he went, Angelito, up, towards the sky…
There were 145 matches and 5 titles: Gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Copa América 2021, Finalissima 2022, World Cup 2022 and Copa América 2024. In those finals he was decisive and scored goals in all but the last one. Angel Di María was a tremendous footballer for the Argentina National Team, one of the best in history, the best in this time after Lionel Messi. And he had the end he deserved.
Afterwards, Fideo watched the match, enjoyed the rout and returned to the field to be part of another tribute, the tribute to the two-time champions of America for their recent consecration in the United States. There Rodrigo De Paul took the microphone and managed everything singing different chants of the National Team. Lautaro Martínez also took over.
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There were several choruses dedicated to captain Lionel Messi, who surely watched everything from Miami. The players shouted and jumped like fans. They hugged each other and danced around the Copa America. And the fans exploded. Yes, it was also the night that the two-time continental champions deserved.