ARGENTINA: A group of Argentine football fanatics to convert a hollowed-out bus into a cross-country motorhome to take them to the World Cup

Record ID: 447757

  • Title: ARGENTINA: A group of Argentine football fanatics to convert a hollowed-out bus into a cross-country motorhome to take them to the World Cup
  • Date: 1st March 2014
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FEBRUARY 27, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FRIENDS ARRIVING FOR PRESENTATION OF "TREKKING TO THE WORLD CUP" BUS TO BE CONVERTED INTO MOTOROME TO TRAVEL TO WORLD CUP FRIENDS GETTING ON BUS AND CHANTING INSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JUAN MARTIN ALFIERI, SAYING: "There was a direct need to find accommodation to travel to the World Cup and we came up with this idea on the same night. In regards to how we get there, we are many and one person said, 'For me the best way to get there is to buy a bus, transform it to a motor home and go to the World Cup like that.' We toasted the idea without knowing what we got into. But what happened the next day was a blur. One of us named Juan Pablo was the motor for the project and said we will do it." GROUP OF FRIENDS PLAYING FOOTBALL WITH FORMER ARGENTINE GOALKEEPER SERGIO GOYCOHECHEA (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) AUGUSTO RAMOS BERNARDIS, SAYING: "Football is like music, a universal language that generates the empathy of ten friends to buy a bus and work (to fix it), to get together every weekend and work is really what gets people." MEDIA AT PRESENTATION OF BUS FRIENDS INSIDE BUS PHOTOS OF BUS IN ITS ORIGINALLY STATE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JUAN MARTIN ALFIERI, SAYING: "We have an ideal journey, we have an ideal bus to follow the (national) team from June 15 in the Maracana to July 14. Also in the Maracana, we hope we can win the final against the Brazil and be able to stay in the city, close to the stadium or wherever, on top of the bus celebrating (a World Cup win). For us it would be the icing on the cake of a dream we've made happen over a long time." FORMER MARADONA MANAGER GUILLERMO COPPOLA AND SUPPORTER OF THE PROJECT COPPOLA HIDING PRESENT WHICH IS REPLICA OF WORLD CUP TROPHY FRIENDS LOOKING AT REPLICA FRIENDS CELEBRATING IMAGINARY GOAL
  • Embargoed: 16th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA8MEM1CQFCH1QR5J0F0PUXITSZ
  • Story Text: A group of football-obssessed mates in Argentina are set to make their World Cup dreams come true, with the help of a beat-up old bus and some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) of open road.
    Ten friends from Argentina's Parana, Entre Rios region have banded together to transform a hollowed-out bus into a modern motor home to follow the Argentine national side as it chases its third World Cup title.
    One of the brains behind the scheme, Juan Martin Alfieri, said the idea had come quickly.

    "There was a direct need to find accommodation to travel to the World Cup and we came up with this idea on the same night. In regards to how we get there, we are many and one person said, 'For me the best way to get there is to buy a bus, transform it to a motor home and go to the World Cup like that.' We toasted the idea without knowing what we got into. But what happened the next day was a blur. One of us named Juan Pablo was the motor for the project and said we will do it," he said.
    Attracting the attention of local football greats such as former goalkeeper Sergio Goycohechea and the manager of national legend Diego Maradona, Guillermo Coppola, the friends are well on their way to making their football dreams come true.
    Having secured media sponsorship for the re-fit, the group will meet every weekend in the lead up to the tournament to convert the bus into a 12-bed vehicle complete with its own kitchen, dining room and living quarters.

    "Football is like music, a universal language that generates the empathy of ten friends to buy a bus and work (to fix it), to get together every weekend and work is really what gets people," said Augusto Ramos Bernardis.
    With Group F Argentina set to play in Rio, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre, the team will have their work cut out for them as they crisscross Brazil for all matches.
    The icing on the cake for the group's World Cup dream would be an Argentine victory in a grand final showdown against bitter rival Brazil.

    "We have an ideal journey, we have an ideal bus to follow the (national) team from June 15 in the Maracana to July 14. Also in the Maracana, we hope we can win the final against the Brazil and be able to stay in the city, close to the stadium or wherever, on top of the bus celebrating (a World Cup win). For us it would be the icing on the cake of a dream we've made happen over a long time," said Alfieri.
    But whether their beloved Argentina takes the top prize at the 2014 World Cup, the group will have their own replica trophy to follow them on their Brazil trek.
    Argentina will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria in the first round of the 2014 World Cup.
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