A blue and white wave flooded the streets of Buenos Aires yesterday to greet the world champions who returned to Argentina with the World Cup trophy from Qatar.

The Argentinean’s rampage of excitement and adoration began even before the plane carrying the mission and trophy landed at 2:30 local time yesterday (helped by a presidential decree declaring December 20, 2022 a public holiday). When the plane door opened and Leo Messi appeared with a trophy in his hand, the night turned into a day of flashes, mobile phones, fireworks and torches. The bus ride through the crowd from the airport to the federation’s office was difficult.

The open-top bus traffic became even more difficult at noon, when more than 3 million people gathered in the city center, as a result of which its route was also changed. At the end, the players boarded helicopters and flew over the crowd.

The image of hundreds of blue and white balloons launched into the skies of Buenos Aires was especially impressive. The idea of ​​some fans to rename Avenue Santa Fe in the capital as Avenue Lionel Messi was also great. Messi himself never let go of the trophy and, as evidenced by a photo taken by his wife, the captain of the Albicelesta slept with him in his arms.

• A sports fan died when the flag he was wearing around his neck got caught in the wheel of the motorcycle he was riding, causing him to suffocate.