By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Every four years, all stand for just one game, the World Cup final. The whole planet stops for 90 minutes (possibly more if the score is tied after regular time). The French national team will try to defend its title from Russia, while Argentina is rooting for Lionel Messi to win it for the first time for the South American country since 1986.
Amongst passionate fans of La Albiceleste is the basketball star of Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and the 27-year-old playmaker from Quilmes, Luca Vildoza. As a big Boca Juniors fan, one of the biggest South American clubs from Buenos Aires, he shares his fellow countryfolk’s passion for football.
He even watched the group stage game between Serbia and Switzerland with the Crvena Zvezda’s fans in Aleksandar Nikolic hall after beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Round 11 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.
Of course, he will support Messi and his teammates today for the big final, watching from Serbia, where he will tonight play another game for Crvena Zvezda against Mega in the ABA League (8 pm, CET). “It’s gonna be a hard game, but I think Argentina found their rhythm that was missing for the first game of the World cup,” Vildoza said to Eurohoops.
He expects one of the greatest football players of all time to lead Argentina to their third FIFA World cup trophy.
“Messi is leading everything, and everybody is following him. It’s going to be difficult. After all, it’s the final, but I think we can beat them. The team deserves it, especially Messi,” the Argentinian confidently concluded.
Luca is enjoying his time in Belgrade, playing great, and receiving fantastic support from the fans of the defending champions of Serbia. The Argentinian flags kept showing up on the stands of Aleksandar Nikolic hall, and the fans even chanted: “Argentina, Argentina” during the victory against Zalgiris last week, while Messi and his teammates fought against Croatia in the semifinal.
“That’s amazing,” Vildoza said of the flag-waving fans. “To feel that love from the fans, that’s awesome, so I tried to give them that love from our side, so I am happy to share it with them,” he said after the game against the Lithuanians.
The word got all the way to Argentina, and Luca said that Serbian fans share the same passion as his people. “It was incredible! Wherever I looked, everyone was telling me how the game was coming ha ha ha. And in the end, they ended up shouting Argentina, Argentina. They are sick like us (the Serbs). They live it with the same passion,” Luca told Diario Registro. “To feel that love from the fans, that’s awesome.“