🇲🇽 With CR7 absent, can Mexico win back its fans at Estadio Azteca?
El Tri is repairing its relationship with the fan base, trying to forge a deeper bond than supporters have with one individual player.
There were supposed to be three star attractions for tomorrow’s reopening of the Estadio Azteca: The gleaming, remodeled stadium itself, the Mexico national team and Cristiano Ronaldo.
But a hamstring injury means that Ronaldo has not traveled to Mexico City. Will the other two draws be big enough for a glorious return to the upgraded home?
Mexico manager Javier Aguirre hopes so. “The scene will be spectacular, with the fans,” he said this week. “You already can feel this World Cup environment with the playoff in Monterrey and Guadalajara, the games in Europe. We’re here. This is the last moment of preparation before the World Cup.”
But even with the anticipation of a home World Cup, Ronaldo has sucked up most of the oxygen in the city - even in his absence.
Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have a tendency to do that. Soccer debates with nothing to do with either Ballon d’Or winner are derailed or routed back to Ronaldo v. Messi debates. We’ve been waiting for years to see who would replace those players as the consensus best duo in the world. There are candidates, but no one has been able to displace either player as the object of fans’ attention.
So powerful is the hold Ronaldo has on many fans, that there are reports of a social media campaign to chant Ronaldo’s name in the 7th minute of tonight’s match.
But does the hyperfocus on an absent player detract from with El Tri want to accomplish?
