Huge crowds welcome Argentina team after World Cup victory

Thousands of fans lined up in the middle of the night to try to get a glimpse of the Argentina soccer team that won one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time ahead what is scheduled to be a day of celebrations in Buenos AiresMembers of the team led by captain Lionel Messi were all smiles as they descended from the plane in Ezeiza right outside Argentinas capital shortly before 3 am on Tuesday onto a red carpet that had been rolled out for the squadMessi was the first player from the plane carrying the World Cup flanked by coach Lionel Scaloni who put his arm around the captain as they walked past a sign that read Thank you championsThe players were welcomed by rock band La Mosca singing Muchachos a song that was written by a fan to the tune of an old song by the band and became a popular unofficial anthem for Argentine fans at the World Cup in QatarThe newly crowned champions of the world boarded an open top bus and several including Messi could be seen singing the words to Muchachos while they waited for everyone to get on to travel to the headquarters of the Argentine Football AssociationThe bus moved at a snails pace as fans many of whom were waving Argentine flags swarmed the bus on a highway eager for a glimpse of the players as law enforcement officers tried to keep them at bayThroughout the trip Messi held on the World Cup as players waved to fans and often sang along with themIt took the bus around one hour to travel approximately 11 kilometers 68 miles from the airport to AFA headquarters where the players were welcomed with fireworksAlso readFIFA World Cup 2022 Itrsquos Argentina nowThey will sleep at AFA headquarters for a few hours before boarding the bus later Tuesday to the Obelisk the iconic Buenos Aires landmark that was a sea of people Sunday afternoon after the team won the countrys third World Cup and its first since 1986President Alberto Fernaacutendez declared a national holiday on Tuesday so the country could celebrate the victoryThe day after the streets of Argentina turned into massive parties following the Sunday victory many kept a close eye on the flight that brought the players home to celebrate As the plane got closer to Argentine soil almost 200000 people were tracking its path online and news channels gave live coverage of the arrivalIn the afternoon people started arriving at the airport and outside the AFA headquarters in hopes of getting a glimpse of the teamMany were also already at the Obelisk seemingly ready to spend the night there to ensure a prime spot for Tuesdays festivitiesSeveral players posted photos of the plane ride on social mediaMessi held the World Cup on the plane Nicolaacutes Tagliafico meanwhile posted a photo of the World Cup buckled into an airplane seat as if it were just another passengerAs of early Tuesday morning there were no official plans for Fernaacutendez or any other political leaders to take part in the celebrations despite earlier rumours that the players would go to Government House which was offered up for the celebrations according to Security Minister Aniacutebal FernaacutendezThe World Cup and the success of the Messiled squad has brought muchneeded good news for a country that has been stuck in economic doldrums for years is suffering one of the worlds highest inflation rates and where almost fourin10 people live in povertyFernaacutendez retweeted several messages of congratulations for the World Cup victory from other world leaders including Russian President Vladimir PutinThank you for this greeting President Putin Fernaacutendez wrote on Twitter after a telephone call with the Russian leaderLet the happiness that today unites Argentina with so many countries in the world serve as an example Our societies need unity and peaceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever