Everyone saluted Pumpido on 40 years since Mexico 86, except… | OneFootball

As part of the 40th anniversary of the historic triumph of the Argentina National Team at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the football world came together to honor the heroes of the second star. One of the main focuses of the tributes was Nery Alberto Pumpido, the starting goalkeeper of that team led by Carlos Salvador Bilardo and Diego Armando Maradona.

However, the celebrations exposed a striking and painful institutional absence in the capital of Santa Fe. Unión, the club where the goalkeeper began his football career and which served as his true golden cradle, was the great absentee of the day, issuing no public or official message for the Tatengue legend.

Gianni Infantino’s international show of affection

The silence from the red-and-white leadership stood in sharp contrast to the international impact of the occasion. Among the huge number of messages and displays of affection received by the current Deputy Secretary General of Football and Development Director at CONMEBOL, one very special greeting stood out.

Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, personally made sure to send his congratulations and recognition to Pumpido. The top figure in world football praised the Santa Fe native’s career and his crucial role in that 1986 feat, further elevating his stature on a global scale.

An absence that is making noise in the Tatengue world

The lack of an official greeting from Club Atlético Unión did not go unnoticed by fans or the local press. Pumpido is not only one of the greatest sources of pride to come out of the club’s youth system, but also one of the select few footballers produced by the city’s academy ranks to lift the World Cup.

While the highest authorities in the sport paid tribute to the champions of Mexico, Tatengue’s striking oversight of one of its favorite sons left a bitter taste on a day that should have been one of pure celebration for Santa Fe.

Greetings from Encuentro Unionista and Siempre Unión

The opposition group within the red-and-white club, “Encuentro Unionista,” led by Héctor “Pipo” Desvaux, and “Siempre Unión,” made up of Cesar Miretti, Facundo Vega, and Matías Rittiner, posted tributes to the former goalkeeper on their social media, in contrast to the club’s institutional stance:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.