Tag: Argentina

Al Pacino tells Argentina’s national team how much he loves them ahead of Copa America final

Today in unexpected messages of support, we have Al Pacino expressing his love for Argentina ahead of their Copa America final against Chile.

This makes a whole lot more sense when you know that Pacino is dating actress Lucila Sola, who is from Argentina and has apparently gotten the Oscar winning actor to watch her national team play.

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DTotD: Argentine player knocks out referee with one punch after getting booked

Today in massive overreactions, we have the case of Alejandro Roncaglia, brother of Argentina national team defender Facundo Roncaglia. But while Facundo is representing his country at Copa America, Alejandro is playing in a regional league and taking out his aggression on match officials.

Roncaglia was shown a yellow card and responded by throwing a haymaker that caught the ref square in the jaw, knocking him out cold.

According to Clarin, the referee was taken to a hospital and has no memory of what happened. He did say that Roncaglia’s parents apologized for their son’s awful behavior, though. It’s just a shame they couldn’t teach their kid to use his words, too.

This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events. 

Video via Brasil Mundial FC 

Wrong anthem played for El Salvador before friendly against Argentina

If there’s one place in the United States that would know the Salvadoran national anthem, you’d think it would be Washington, DC. Not only is it the nation’s capital and diplomatic hub, but it also has a large Salvadoran community. But when El Salvador and Argentina lined up for the anthems for a friendly at FedEx Field in front of nearly 59,000 people, the anthem that was supposed to be El Salvador’s definitely was not.

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Leo Messi and 7-foot-7 Gheorghe Muresan pictured together at an NBA game

In Washington, DC for Saturday’s friendly against El Salvador, the entire Argentina squad went to the Washington Wizards-Indiana Pacers NBA game on Wednesday night. This provided the opportunity for a truly delightful image: 5-foot-7 Lionel Messi shaking hands with 7-foot-7 former Wizards (then Bullets) center Gheorghe Muresan, the tallest player in NBA history.

The Wizards also presented Messi with the No. 10 jersey, eliciting mental images of the Argentine nutmegging opponents on the court with a basketball. And if you think Messi would be too small to compete in the NBA, remember that ex-Washington point guard Muggsy Bogues was just 5-foot-3.  Read more