- Title: ARGENTINA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: World Cup stops in Argentina as part of tour.
- Date: 14th February 2010
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JULIO OLARTICOECHEA, 1978 WORLD CHAMPION, SAYING: "I remember when I grabbed it. I don't have pictures with the Cup but I do have an image, when we went by that you have to raise it. The only thing that I thought of was how heavy it was! That's all. That's what I remember: how heavy it was and how pretty it is. It's like a girlfriend!"
- Embargoed: 1st March 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Argentina
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA5T5XP6DWR4UWF1APNK4EDSFRV
- Story Text: World Cup trophy stops in Argentina on tour ahead of 2010 tournament in South Africa.
In soccer-crazed Argentina, fans got a chance to get up close and personal with the FIFA World Cup trophy on Saturday (February 13) as it arrived at the Ezeiza Soccer Stadium in Buenos Aires.
After a musical performance from South Africa-- which will host this year's World Cup-- visitors were treated to a film about the history of the World Cup.
Argentine fans eagerly waited to see the official presentation of the trophy as it arrived to their home country as part of an 83 nation tour.
The trophy will be on display through Monday (February 15), when it will be shown in the Orfeo Stadium in the Argentine city of Cordoba.
But the only people who are allowed to touch the trophy are players who've won the World Cup, like 1986 world champion Jose Luis 'Tata' Brown.
"The fact of being in power again, of having the Cup, of being able to kiss it, really is a very pretty, very special moment which is very difficult to explain, understood only by those of us who have at one time had the possibility of winning it, of having it of kissing it," he said. "It's the maximum of what a soccer player can aspire for; it's the most valued Cup."
Argentine World Cup winners who attended the event included Mario Kempes and Leopoldo Jacinto Luque of the 1978 team and Sergio Batista, José Luis Brown, Oscar Garré, Julio Olarticoechea, Enrique Bochini and Carlos Tapia of the 1986 winning team.
The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola which began in Zurich, Switzerland on September 21 of last year will cover a total distance of 134,017 kilometers (83,275 miles) before reaching 2010 World Cup host country, South Africa on May 4. The distance is three times the circumference of the entire globe and will be traveled over 225 days. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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