Rosario, the factory of football champions

There are only a handful of minutes left before kick-off and anxiety runs through the bar. A man implores the sky. ” Come on “, shouts an impatient fan. A song rises, taken up by all: “Rosario encourages you / We are going to spend our whole life there (…) Here the greatest in history have played / Leo Messi and Maradona. “

This Sunday, August 22, supporters of the Newell’s Old Boys club gathered in a café in downtown Rosario, Argentina, in front of theclásico, exceptional match occurring on average twice a year, in which their club faces their historic local rival, Rosario Central. The tension is palpable: “I got herpes. What joy ! What emotion ! “, exclaims Albertina Fior, a 42-year-old nurse, without taking her eyes off the screen that broadcasts the meeting, played without an audience due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 300 kilometers north of Buenos Aires, the other capital – that of football – is entirely captivated by the clash between the two clubs.

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In Rosario pushed the greatest talents of the round ball, in the first place the new recruit of PSG, Lionel Messi. Born in the third largest city in the country, “Leo”, as they say here, went through the training center of Newell’s Old Boys.

In the current group photo of the Parisian club, the Argentines are, apart from Leandro Paredes, all linked to the port city: winger Angel Di Maria, originally from Rosario, was trained at Central, coach Mauricio Pochettino started his career with the opposing club and Mauro Icardi, who left his country as a child, was born in Rosario. The city also irrigates Marseille with its talents, with its trainer, Jorge Sampaoli, who started at Newell’s.

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“We are a nursery, smiles Guillermina Rueda, 32-year-old pastry chef and Newell’s fan. Seeing Messi where he is fills me with pride, and now I’m also a supporter of PSG. “ Watch and red t-shirt – the club’s color with black – Evangelina Gaido, 45, sat her 11-month-old baby on a bar table. Dressed in a bodysuit and socks in Newell’s tones, stoic in the hubbub, the little girl is encouraged to sing and clap her hands.

“Love for football is the identity of the city”

“The passion for football is a family affair, my parents met while celebrating a championship victory”, says the musician, who took part two years ago in the founding of the first feminist group of female supporters within the club. “With the development of women’s football, I am optimistic that my daughter can choose to be a player, if she wishes”, she enthuses. Baby’s first name: Amelia, like one of Newell’s stands.

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