My buddy Tim and I flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the hope of seeing a pair of Argentinian soccer, er, futbol matches as part of Event No. 24 of my Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project.
We’d secured tickets prior to leaving the U.S. for the River Plate–San Martin match that occurred on Sunday. It was an absolutely fabulous experience and the host River Plate squad, in front of nearly 80,000 home fans at their historic Estadio Mas Monumental, won the match, 2-0, with both markers coming on our end of the pitch.
What we did not have tickets for before leaving, was the final home World Cup Qualifying match for the Argentinian national team. That match is Thursday night against Venezuela, also in Monumental. That match is significant because most folks in the know believe it will be Lionel Messi‘s final competitive home match for the national team before he retires following World Cup 2026.
Tim and I received word we’d have a ticket and the manner in which to pick it up. (On a street corner, cash, and tickets exchanged; the whole thing seemed fairly seedy until the person with the ticket agreed to give us a lift back to where we were staying.)
So, we now wait for another day to witness this historic match. I’m left to wonder how loud the crowd will be for Messi has he’s introduced and, presumably, pulled from the game at some point in the second half.
So glad you two acquired legitimate tix for this game and didn’t have to cross half of Tokyo at the crack of dawn to come up empty handed. Hopefully Venezuela’s defense isn’t as smothering and effective as the Seattle Sounders’ defense, so you can see Messi score. He looked so frustrated Sunday night in Seattle, as my Seattle Sounders secured the 5th and final trophy a North American professional club can acquire. And yes, only the Seattle Sounders have completed that achievement.
Seriously, have a blast, I’m jealous!
Ah, memories:-) Thanks, it should be quite a celebration regardless of the outcome. Looking very much forward to it.
Good for you guys! Hope Messi notches a marker and sends the
home crowd into a “frenzy”!!
OK, who wrote this!?! Had no idea you were soccer fluent.
What an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing your journey!