Argentina’s government had to cancel the country’s ceremonial national team tour to win the World Cup, through the streets of the capital, Buenos Aires, in an open-top bus, and replace it with transporting the players by helicopter as enthusiastic fans celebrated in the streets of the city.
The players began displaying the championship trophy at the start of the bus tour, which was to last 8 hours.
But the festivities in the crowded streets turned into a kind of chaos, forcing officials to reconsider.
“It was impossible for the tour to continue on the field, due to the wild celebrations,” Gabriela Ceruti, spokeswoman for the Presidency of the Republic, said on her Twitter account.
Clips on social media showed fans jumping onto the bus, climbing onto the roof and carrying players, and some fans falling as the bus passed under a bridge.
And the Argentine government declared a public holiday on Tuesday, on the occasion of the victory over France in last Sunday’s World Cup final.
According to local estimates, the number of fans who took to the streets to welcome the Argentine national team in the capital exceeded 4 million people.
With the arrival of the national team plane at the airport in the early hours of Tuesday, the players left the Federcalcio training site for the heart of the capital, for a journey of approximately 33 km.
The tour was to continue up to the Obelisk statue, one of the symbols of the capital, where hundreds of thousands of fans gathered in a festive atmosphere, waiting for the national team.
But the police refused to continue the tour to the Plaza de la Repubblica, where the statue stands, after the festivities turned into chaos.
Czech Tapia, president of the Football Association, tweeted: “I apologize to you thousands of times on behalf of all heroic players. What a pity.”
And while most of the fans were wearing the national team’s blue-and-white shirts, the arena was transformed into a kind of sea, waiting for the players to arrive.
There were several banners with pictures of star Lionel Messi, and the late star Diego Maradona, captain of the national team that won the country’s last title in the 1986 World Cup, which was held in Mexico, and which is considered one of the best footballers in history.
Once the procession began, hundreds of fans followed it, running or on motorbikes, as it made its way to the heart of the city.
“It was crazy,” said Catillas Gomez, a 25-year-old fan, “it’s the best thing in life.”
“It’s an overwhelming happiness to see all these people at the top, celebrating together, hugging, hugging, we are all one today,” she added.
As for Messi, the player and Paris Saint-Germain captain who contributed greatly to their title conquest, he was sitting quietly among a group of his colleagues on the roof of the bus.
Hours ago, the player posted a picture of him sleeping and embracing the World Cup on Instagram.
And the country is still celebrating from the end of the tournament, after a marathon match against France, so much so that the country won its third world title, after 36 years.