What was not seen about the return of Daniel Passarella to the Monumental: behind the scenes of his arrival and the reaction of the fans

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Daniel Passarella greets River supporters on his return to the Monumental (Nicolas Stulberg)
Daniel Passarella greets River supporters on his return to the Monumental (Nicolas Stulberg)

This Sunday was not one more for the fans of River Plate, who upon returning to the Monument found their house practically completely renovated. The location of the popular ones was modified, three of the four new lower grandstands were released and the public is now much closer to the action, fulfilling a request from the people that had been going on for many years. The Antonio Vespucio Liberti was renovated, matching the standards of first world stadiums and becoming the one with the largest capacity in South America.

Martin Demichelis’s team victory to Argentine Juniors; however, the focus was also on another person, one of those who knew how to be one of the most loved in the institution and today has several detractors. After almost a decade (her last day of hers was when she lost the elections in 2013), Daniel Alberto Passarella returned to River Plate as part of the tribute to the world champions in Qatar.

The Kaiser shone with the River Plate shirt (he won 7 local titles) and then had an excellent career at Fiorentina. He is the only footballer who won the World Cup twice (captain of 78 and was part of the 86 squad). After hanging up his boots, he also stood out as a coach. In the Millionaire he had two cycles and won three championships.

That helped get him elected president in a close election against Rodolfo D’Onofrio, who later led a highly successful term. However, the management of Daniel Alberto in the leadership role was highly questioned and led to the unexpected relegation of the Millionaire to the Second Division of Argentine soccer.

At the end of his term, he never showed himself publicly inside the Monumental, until yesterday…

Daniel Passarella, present at the tribute to the champions in Qatar (Nicolas Stulberg)
Daniel Passarella, present at the tribute to the champions in Qatar (Nicolas Stulberg)

Approximately an hour before the game, while the squad led by Martín Demichelis went out onto the field of play to carry out the pre-competitive movements, the former central marker of the band returned to what used to be his home. with a sling, product of an injury to his arm, He entered a vehicle through the parking lot on Sáenz Valiente street and then went through the rings of the Monument. Those first meters, Daniel Alberto did accompanied by his family, headed by his son Lucas, who was the link with the current leadership to coordinate the details of his stay in the tribute to the champions. Along with them was also a security person.

“I don’t know how people will treat me, I came because they invited me”, was one of the concise answers that the former Fiorentina gave when asked when he entered the stadium.

The River Plate video in tribute to the world champions

Simultaneously, in the Sívori Baja and Baja Inferior and Centenario Baja and Baja Inferior, the club’s fans raised Argentine flags with the legend “Thank you champions” and the Millionaire, with the phrase “Cradle of Champions”.

Around 7:00 p.m., a video was shown on the stadium’s giant screen in honor of the players who passed through the Núñez team and who raised the third star embroidered on the National Team’s shield. When it was finished, five men from the youth academy of the institution appeared on the scene -from a distance, although always close to the club- to thank the people for their support during their journey through Arab lands: Guido Rodríguez, Germán Pezzella, Gonzalo Montiel, Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez.

The flags in honor of the champions (Nicolas Stulberg)
The flags in honor of the champions (Nicolas Stulberg)

Then there was one of the first surprises of the afternoon: from the Sívori Alta some flags were displayed with gigantographies of several of the world champions kissing the cup or gold medal. The personalities that appeared in the rostrum were Pablo Aimar (member of the coaching staff), Franco Armani, Guido Rodríguez, Germán Pezzella, Enzo Fernández, Julián Álvarez, Exequiel Palacios and Gonzalo Montiel. In the center, captain Lionel Messi.

Flags in River for the champions in Qatar

During the delivery of medals and plaques to Armani, Aimar and Roberto Ayala, the public honored River Plate’s motto of “living and playing with greatness”, since there were neither chants nor whistles against Daniel Passarella. From the four sides of the Antonio Vespucio Liberti first dropped the classic “Give it champion”, and then finished off with “this is the millionaire’s crazy band”. It is worth noting that the image of the Kaiser, nor that of the rest of the honorees (Negro Enrique, Pato Fillol, Beto Alonso and Cabezón Ruggeri also said present) were exhibited on the giant screen during the minutes that the event lasted.

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There was also a party at halftime. While the firefighters threw water to cool the public in the oppressive heat in the city, another emotional video made those present emotional. Along with a play of lights, the screen showed images of when construction began on the River Plate house in 1936. He also reviewed the great feats at the Monumental, his unbreakable bond with the Argentine team, emblematic recitals and the transformation that the stadium underwent over the years.

Of course, the party ended up being complete thanks to the reaction shown by the team of Martín Demichellis (another who returned to the Monumental -now as coach-) to turn the score around thanks to the penalty goals from the Colombian Miguel Borja and Esequiel Barco .

Keep reading:

What changes will the River fans see in the Monumental, how much the capacity and the prizes and punishments amounted to
With the presence of Passarella, this was River Plate’s heartfelt tribute to the world champions with Argentina
The secrets of Enzo Fernández’s diet and his “allowed cabal” before the matches