And suddenly, the sky fell on Nashville. The meeting between Auckland and Boca Juniors was interrupted Tuesday evening due to a weather alert, which has become a habit since the start of the World Cup of clubs. But an even more improbable event occurred: the New Zealanders scored a goal.
Auckland City is the story of a club that is by far the little thumb of the competition. The Oceania champion would have the level of an English or French D5 team, depending on the calculations of statisticians. The American adventure had started with a terrible 10-0 against Bayern, before continuing with a 6-0 against Benfica. But Tuesday, facing Boca Juniors, there was this goal of the head on corner.
“I come from a small town, far from here and very different from this environment. So it's a bit like a dream “said the scorer, Christian Gray, a 28 -year -old who is a sports teacher in the civilian. One of the symbols of this amateur team.
A small point but a very large check
Auckland City managed to hang one of the big names in world football, one of the two giants of Argentinian football, six times winner of the Copa Libertadores. No matter how (41 shots at 3 for the Edinson Cavani team), the performance is size. And this little draw will offer a check for $ 1 million, or around 930,000 euros. According to Marca, it's more than 11,000 times more than each player earns each week, only 84 euros.
Most players had to pose leave for their “real” work in order to afford this journey of a life, like the replacement goalkeeper. “I clean the pools and jacuzzis. I asked for leave, otherwise I would resign. I was not paid during our stay in the United States. »» It was worth it.
