The record broken by the duel between Chile and Argentina

At Metlife Stadium, the end of the match is nearing when an attractive figure can be seen. For Chile, it is clearly not the score of the match that gives victory to the trans-Andean team, even if the surface to look at is the same: the electronic board where the goals are counted and other aspects that allow cut. cutting-edge technology available in the screen.

The figure is attractive. It appears that 81,106 spectators attended the victory of Lionel Scaloni’s team over Ricardo Gareca’s team. . Isolated data already attracts attention.

In Europe, we also take note of the figure, but rather to establish a comparison which, in this scenario, becomes historically relevant. The attendance during the clash between La Roja and the Albiceleste exceeds the maximum number of participants for a duel for the European Cup, recorded in 1964, when almost 80,000 spectators gathered at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid to watch the final of this tournament. that Spain and the Soviet Union contested .

In any case, the comparison escapes absolute figures. Necessarily, other factors must be taken into account: The first is that the capacity of American theaters is, in general, greater than that of European theaters. .

The second, however, is the most important: Argentina is the team in which Lionel Messi plays, the figure on whom the Americans have built everything to focus their attention on Major League Soccer, a competition that, in normal times, would not generate significant revenue. call. In fact, even the presence of La Pulga does not put it on par with more traditional leagues and even the million dollar bet on the Arabs attracts more attention.

This explains, for example, that The presence of the star attracted many fans to the stadiums who were theoretically neutral, due to their origins, but who did not hesitate to replace the shirts of their country of origin to be in tune with the atmosphere of veneration around the player from Rosario. . Even Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, cannot escape this logic, who, of course, cannot carry the Albiceleste, but he dedicated a happy birthday to the native of Rosario.

Another important aspect, of course, is the Argentine fans who follow the Albiceleste with complete independence. The flag in Times Square, although masterfully destroyed by the Chilean fans who paid to display an image of Alexis Sánchez holding the Copa América Centenario, had already given a strong signal.

The authentically trans-Andean fan base It is made up of a large community residing in the North American country and many travelers who have traveled to witness what could be one of the last exploits of the Rosario native in high competition. . This figure could increase as the decisive matches of the competition approach. And not to mention facing a possible final. The figure could have been even higher. if there wasn’t a list of 12,000 baristas whose doors were closed due to their history of violence in sports venues .