There is only one day left to see the Argentine National Team again, which will face
Curaçao
in Santiago del Estero to close this post-Qatar friendly tour.
But the game hides many interesting stories behind it, especially due to the peculiarity of the rival team, which has a country with just over 150,000 inhabitants, and players like
Richairo Zivkovic
, who suffers from plane travel but accepted the call-up just to face to
Lionel Messi
.
Zivkovic is a 26-year-old Dutchman who wears the colors of FC Emmen, in the Eredivisie.
He did all the training in the Netherlands national team, where he played for the Under-18, Under-19 and Under-20 teams and even played for Ajax
.
However, a family link gave him the chance to play for the Curaçao team, which had been looking for him since he was young.
Although he always let the opportunity pass, this time,
he went another way...
Zivkovic (left), with Curacao.
Of course, it is that this time, the proposal came with another flavor:
that of being able to face the Argentine National Team, world champion, and Messi, the captain of the champions.
Zivkovic did not hesitate, and in an interview with
Dagblad Noorden
, he told how he made the decision, which was not easy either since he must take pills to travel by plane.
“I used to have an international career with the Orange (Netherlands) or the Serbian national team in mind, but I don't think that is feasible at the moment.
And meanwhile Curacao kept asking.
However, he used to live abroad, so he always took advantage of international breaks to return home.
Because I am now living in the Netherlands again, when they approached me again I thought: You know what?
I just do it,"
Zivkovic said.
Zivkovic, when he was presented at Red Star Belgrade.
When asked about the possibility of facing Messi, the player did not hesitate.
"Of course, that was also a reason for accepting the invitation,"
he said.
And between laughs, he commented that it is an opportunity to avenge the Netherlands after that meeting in the quarterfinals with the Albiceleste:
"The possibility of being able to give Lionel Messi a (sports) beating and take revenge for the victory over the Orange.
No , nothing crazy, ha. It's a nice thing, I've never been to Argentina. I'll soon enrich my experience."
It was there that he revealed his terror of air travel.
"I'm afraid of flying. That often causes me stress, especially during takeoff and during turbulence
. I often take a pill, but sometimes it doesn't work. Flying is, let's say, not my kind of sport. But I have to do it, I have no other choice," Zivkovic said.
Zivkovic, with FC Emmen.
(Photo: Twitter)
“Many hours on the plane, about seven training sessions and two games.
I discussed it with the coach, but in the end the choice was mine and I consider myself capable of coordinating things well.
I can also handle the lack of sleep and the jet lag”, closed
optimistic Zivkovic, who started his debut in the loss against Canada last Saturday.
look also
The reactions of the press in Italy and the witty memes after another Retegui goal with the Azzurra
This was the closing of the Kings League before 90,000 people: champion with an Argentine figure and the Camp Nou asking for the return of Messi
