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Argentina humiliated by ‘Copa Conquistadores’ final
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 1, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The first ever Copa Libertadores
final between Argentina’s two most popular clubs was supposed to be the
“match of the century” and a football festival that would propel the country
back into the spotlight following yet another World Cup debacle.
Well, Argentina is back in the spotlight but for all the wrong reasons and
the decision to play the twice-postponed “superclasico” final second leg
between Buenos Aires arch rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors in the homeland
of Latin America’s colonizers, is a painful humiliation.
All over social media, the prestigious competition — the most important
club tournament in South America — has been rechristened the “Copa
Conquistadores de America.”
In one meme on social media there is a picture of Christopher Columbus
landing in South America to initiate the European colonization of the
Americas and holding aloft the Copa Libertadores trophy, whereas he’s usually
depicted with the flag of Spain’s Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella of
Castille and King Ferdinand II of Aragon.
“It’s as if we weren’t allowed to dance the tango. We’re destroying
football,” lamented Gustavo Alfaro, the coach of Argentine team Huracan.
“We don’t want hooligans or complicit authorities. They’ve no right to take
River-Boca away from us.”
For the first time ever, a Copa Libertaodres final will be played outside
the continent, with Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium picked as the
unlikely venue.
It all came about because last weekend the original second leg clash at
River’s Monumental stadium — the first leg finished 2-2 at Boca’s Bombonera
ground — was called off after Boca players were injured when their team bus
came under attack from their rivals’ fans.
Windows were shattered, spraying players with broken glass while police
fired tear gas to disperse the troublemakers, but that entered the team bus
and left Boca’s footballers suffering from smoke inhalation.
Boca refused to play the match and it was postponed 24 hours, only to then
be called off indefinitely the next day.
Boca petitioned South American football’s governing body CONMEBOL to be
awarded the trophy but that was rejected on Thursday.
CONMEBOL, which is headquartered in Paraguay, decided Argentina was in no
fit state to host such an important match and ordered it played elsewhere,
with Real president Florentino Perez jumping on the opportunity and offering
use of the Bernabeu for free.
– ‘Everybody lost’ –
“Why did they accept so easily that this match wouldn’t be played in
Argentina?” asked analyst Alejandro Wall on the Tiempo Argentina website.
“What they’re doing is stealing from Argentine football. And those who are
punished are the 60,000 people who waited” in the Monumental stadium, not
once but twice for hours on end hoping to watch the historic match, but to no
avail.
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For sports newspaper Ole, “River lost, Boca lost, the country lost the
possibility of having a party and we lost the fans: they took away the dream,
the desire and the enthusiasm.”
Argentine great Diego Maradona, who won the league with Boca in 1981, was
enraged.
“If the family of a fan wants to see the match, how does it pay to go to
Madrid?” he said.
Evidently, some people have the means. Argentina’s ambassador to Spain,
Ramon Puerto told TyC Sports channel that “two airlines sold all their seats
in three hours.”
As for the match ticket price, it’s expected to cost between $100-$300.
– ‘Barrabravas’ –
Worse still, some expect the hooligans blamed for causing the postponement
to be among the 80,000 fans packing out the Bernabeu.
“It would be surprising if they didn’t go in big numbers, from both clubs,”
said former player Jorge Valdano, a sociological writer.
That’s a frightening proposition. Argentina’s problem with football-related
violence is well documented, with more than 300 people killed in the last 50
years, according to one charity.
The hooligans, known as “barrabravas” in Argentina, run mafia empires in
cahoots with club bosses and corrupt cops. They’re seen as a scourge but if
anyone has the means and motivation to travel to the game, it will be the
barrabravas, who control the ticket touting market.
As for Real’s Argentine coach Santiago Solari, who began his career at
River, it will be bittersweet watching the Libertadores final.
“It’s an honor to give a good ending to such a fraught final,” he said.
However, he pointed out that “the reasons that brought the match across an
entire ocean have broken hearts.”
Not only that, it’s left an entire country aware of its impotence.
“The Madrid final is a kick in the soul of every Argentine football fan,”
said Ole.
“That it’s being played in Madrid sounds great, but for the marketing;
great for the global business of football; great for taking away the identity
of a game that should be played in the humid, chaotic and our own Buenos
Aires.”
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