Argentine Stars Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul Fly in Helicopter Over Parade Due to Crowd Size
Argentine national soccer team stars Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul, along with coach Lionel Scaloni, were forced to fly in a helicopter over the center of Buenos Aires after their bus got stuck in the massive crowds gathered to watch the parade celebrating the country’s World Cup victory, Argentine federal police said on Tuesday.
A bus carrying the entire team departed from the Argentine Football Association’s (AFA) headquarters and was set to head to the Obelisk, a historic monument in the capital.
However, the bus was not able to progress due to crowds gathered on the streets, Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia, the president of the Argentine Football Association said on Tuesday.
“They won’t let us go to greet all the people who were at the Obelisk, the same security agencies that escorted us, won’t allow us to move forward,” Tapia said.
“A thousand apologies on behalf of all the champion players.”
At least one person has died in Buenos Aires amid the celebrations this week, according to a statement from the city’s health ministry sent to CNN on Wednesday.
A 24-year-old man was taken to the Fernandez Hospital early Monday morning after he sustained a head injury after falling from a roof, according to the Buenos Aires city health ministry statement.
The man passed away at the hospital on Tuesday.
The players were flown over the Obelisk and other areas and then flown back to the AFA training site in Ezeiza, outside of Buenos Aires, police said.
State-owned Télam news agency reported that four million people came out to see the parade in Buenos Aires, citing police.
According to Argentine outlet InfoFunes, Messi and Ángel Di María flew back to their districts in their native city of Rosario, Sante Fe province, by helicopter after arriving by plane to Rosario’s local airport.
Messi eventually arrived at his house by car to be greeted by a huge crowd of fans celebrating his triumphant return, chanting “Dale Campeón, Dale Campeón” – “Let’s go champion.”
Fellow Santa Fe natives Scaloni and forward Ángel Correa also flew back, but InfoFunes reported this was via a late airplane flight.
The post Argentine stars Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul fly in helicopter over parade due to crowd size was originally published on CNN.
