BUENOS AIRES/BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian fans were planning victory celebrations in advance of Sunday’s Copa America final while Argentines hoped Lionel Messi and their other heroes could pull off another triumph before some of them end their international careers.
Forward Angel Di Maria, 36, has already said the Copa will be his last tournament for defending champions Argentina, while captain Lionel Messi, 37, and defender Nicolas Otamendi, 36, are also nearing the end of stellar international careers.
“If Di Maria retires from soccer tomorrow, we’ve honored him and all the goals he scored,” said Buenos Aires restaurant owner Christian Franco, who is serving special beef schnitzels ahead of the game depicting the faces of Di Maria and others.
Messi’s face adorns the “Mila-Messi” dish: a play on the word “milanesa”, which is a popular breaded meat offering.
Victory over Colombia in Florida would represent Argentina’s third consecutive international title with Messi at the helm, after the 2022 World Cup and 2021 Copa America.
But with more than 1,000 games under his belt in a glittering career, Messi is suffering with muscle injuries, is not in Argentina’s squad for the Paris Olympics and has said he is no longer at an age where he can play all the time.
Try telling fans that though.
“Messi hasn’t retired yet, the World Cup is next!” insisted Guillermo Farfan, 21, in Buenos Aires, hoping he would lift the Copa on Sunday and then go again in 2026.
COLOMBIAN CONFIDENCE
Though Argentina are ranked first in the world, with Colombia 11 places lower, their opponents are on a roll: they beat heavyweights Uruguay en route to the final and are on a remarkable unbeaten run of 28 games.
“Colombia couldn’t have done better in this Copa America,” said 45-year-old Andrea Archila, already planning her post-match street celebrations in Bogota on Sunday. “We are going to win.”
President Gustavo Petro has declared in advance that government offices will close on Monday if, as fans believe, Colombia win their first major trophy since 2001.
Back in Buenos Aires, few Argentina fans said they had post-match celebratory plans in case that brought bad luck.
“You can’t assume a win,” said chef Damian Zanotti. “But we are confident.”
(Reporting by Noelle Harff in Buenos Aires and Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota; Editing by Lucinda Elliott and Andrew Cawthorne)
