A scandal was experienced this Monday in the final of the Montaigú International Soccer Tournament, which takes place in that city in the Vendee region, France; it is a traditional international competition for the Under 17 category, although it is not the FIFA World Cup for players of that age. Brazil beat Argentina 2-1 and became champion. But the result ended up being an anecdote after what was experienced at the end of the match. The players of the team led by Diego Placenta did not support some of the provocations in the celebrations of their rivals and it began in a pitched battle between the soccer players of both countries. A situation that lasted for a few seconds, but could then be stopped.

When the match referee blew the whistle for the end of the match, the Brazilian team began with a celebration on one side of the field. Some Argentines fell to the ground, heartbroken by the defeat, but there was also another situation. Some charged of the Scratch players did not like the Argentine youth and there the madness was unleashed. Agustín Ruberto and Gianluca Prestianni were the two youngsters who reacted the most

Punches, shoves, insults, and a moment of tension took a long time to end because, despite the fact that many wanted to stop the fight, they originated again in other places on the field. Between collaborators, judges, and some soccer players, the violence came to an end.

It was not the only incident that occurred between Argentina and Brazil in international youth tournaments. In the 1983 South American Championship, at the Hernando Siles stadium, the final of the South American Championship that the national team lost 3 to 2. After the third Brazilian goal, Dunga insulted goalkeeper Luis Islas and Mario Vanemerak.

The Argentine midfielder reacted and began to hit each other from all sides. The players continued with runs and blows –especially Islas, Carlos Enrique, and Oscar Olivera-. Carlos Pachamé, coach of that team, also participated in the incidents. The police assaulted an Argentine photographer. The match was suspended.

In the 1991 U-20 World Cup in Portugal, Argentina lost 3-0 to the local team and was eliminated. The situation did not end there: there were three expelled soccer players (Paris, Pellegrino and Juan Esnaider, who tried to hit the judge with a header), a questionable attitude where there were also insults to the referee and the coaching staff led by Reinaldo Merlo. FIFA’s punishment was harsh: it suspended the U20 team for two years, which prevented it from playing in the 93 World Cup; Esnaider was disqualified for a year from international matches.

What happened somewhat tarnishes the commandments imposed by Pablo Aimar absorbed from his Pekerman training, one of the promoters of Fair Play of the AFA youth teams. José’s legacy went far beyond the titles they won but was also based on the formation of footballers as people.

In 2019, before the U-17 World Cup in Brazil, in the game room of the Ezeiza venue, the coaching staff posted a poster with “8 commandments” to be followed by the promises under the title “our values”. Sense of belonging (give everything for the shirt), Determination (resolve bravely), Humility (admit mistakes, let ourselves be helped), Generosity (give more than our 100%), Enthusiasm (wanting to do, spread), Respect (for please, thank you, excuse me, good morning), Teamwork (no one is as good as all of them together) and Commitment (always). The enumeration ends with a motivating phrase for the youth: “Wear this shirt… If you are excited to think about it, imagine living it!!!”.

Brazil kept the title

The team led by Diego Placenta lost this Monday against Brazil by 2-1 in the final of the international friendly tournament in Monteigu, in France, and thus could not defend the championship obtained in 2019. In this way, it is the first final that it loses the youth team in this competition. The other two times he did the Olympic lap was in 2002 and 2019.

Barely 2 minutes into the match, Canarinha struck first: from a deep pass between the lines, an error by Froilán Díaz, who finished off against Endrick’s body and the ball rebounded to the back of the net. Not the best start for Argentina. But ten minutes later, he was going to react. Agustín Ruberto took a loose ball in the area after a poor Verdamarelo clearance and took out a spectacular bicycle kick to equalize.

But after 35 minutes, Brazil would go back to the front. A penalty was charged by the referee for an alleged foul by González on Endrick for a push inside the box. Luis Guilherme converted the maximum penalty and with his third goal in the competition he made it 2-1 shortly after the end of the initial stage. Argentina tried to equalize and prowled the Brazilian box, but again the best chances were from Brazil. Another error by Froilán Díaz, giving a rebound on an uncomplicated free-kick by João Henrique, and João Pedro shot straight to the post.

Despite the albiceleste search, the tie did not come and finally, Brazil kept the title. The Argentine youth, however, had a great tournament with wins against Belgium (2-1), Portugal (3-0), and France (2-0), but they could not crown it against a very good Verdeamarela team. A classic that shows that the two South American powers continue to bring out players for the future.