‘The first without you, daddy’: Arturo Vidal’s intimate and heartfelt celebration after his first title with Flamengo

Arturo Vidal is happy. Exultant. The penalty shootout angst definition is over, Flamengo beat Corinthians and the King adds a new title. The Brazil Cup it’s the 24th crown in the San Joaquin-born midfielder’s prolific career . this recording allows you to extend the advantage you have over Claudio Bravo in the ranking of the most successful Chilean footballers in history . He now has two more trophies than the Betis goalkeeper. It also adds to the list of countries in which it has been dedicated and fills one of the few gaps that remained in the showcase: that of a cup obtained in South America different from those he had bred with Colo Colo . Out of the corner of her eye, she looks at another, her last great dream: the Copa Libertadores, which the red and black team will define on Saturday 29 with Athletico Paranaense . You will have time to think about it.

This Wednesday, Vidal had plenty of reasons to be happy. To the title was added, too, andthe recognition he received when he had to leave the pitch at minute 63, when he was replaced by Matheuzinho . It is true that he came out with a long face and that David Luiz had to come out to comfort him by the decision that the technician Dorival Júnior had adopted, but it is also true that the Maracanã collapsed when the Chilean left the field of play: “Vidal, Vidal, Vidal”, was heard from all sectors of the mythical room . Later, glass in hand, disappointment would give way to joy. However, this time there would be important nuances regarding the other consecrations of the midfielder.

Vidal was accompanied by his main affections. An examination of the past reveals the presence of his mother, Jacqueline; of his girlfriend, Sonia Isaza; of its representative, Fernando Felicevich; and his physical trainer, Juan Ramírez, and the friends he usually has around him. Too bad, it was a special occasion: it was the first definition with the shirt he always said he wanted to defend after its successful passage through Europe. The place where you have chosen to be.

But there was another reason to give a different connotation to the new conquest: eight days ago Vidal had lost his father, Erasmo, he was found dead at the Club Hípico de Santiago following cardiorespiratory arrest and hypovolemic shock . The relationship between the two had been full of ups and downs, although lately it had managed to come back together. Yet, faced with a complex dilemma, and despite being offered a charter to travel to Chile and attend the funeral , Vidal chose to stay, to give priority to his professional commitments, and traveled with his teammates to Sao Paulo, to participate in the first leg of the definition that was yesterday in possession of the rubo-preto team. Even so, he tried to always stay connected at the difficult time of the family . And although in the first hours he made no mention of death, even putting an image of his move to the city considered the financial center of Brazil, as the hours passed he said goodbye to his father with affection . There were messages of affection towards “the old chokita and, also, a live broadcast in which he broadcast the fireworks that one of his brothers, Sandrino, set off in his honor. His sister, Ámbar had posted a message regarding family reconciliation: “We forgive you, dad.”

After the coronation, Arthur thought of Erasmus again. In one of his Instagram stories, in which he alternated his own images with the quotes from the greetings he received, he posted an image in which they appear together. The message is eloquent and significant:The first without you, dad ”.

The coronation with the Fla comes, in fact, to become a kind of relief in a particularly difficult year for the King. On the football level first, because he had to leave Inter Milan, a team in which he also won crowns, but failed to establish himself as an exclusive figure, and leave Europe, a continent in which he has managed to carve out a prominent place among the most important footballers in the world.

On a personal level, in the meantime, he has also suffered particularly violent blows. Besides the death of the father, the year was marked by the breakdown of the relationship with Carlos Albornoz, the cousin he had come to regard as a father figure and whom he ended up accusing of mismanaging his affairs. In recent weeks, yes. the lights emerged from a redial of the link .

The other blow is sporting: Rodelindo, the professional wing of Rodelindo Román, of which Vidal is his main shareholder and benefactor, lost the category and went from the second division to the third division A, which, in practice, the refers to amateurism. However, in San Joaquín they are clinging to the option of deciding to freeze relegation, with the desire to increase the number of clubs next season. Currently, the competition is hosted by 12 establishments. To make matters worse, last weekend he harshly criticized the Hippodrome de Chile for the result of a race in which one of his horses participated. Independencia has threatened to take legal action against him.