It’s been 25 years since one of the most iconic moments in the history of the Copa America. A centre-forward like Martin Palermo who, in the course of the same match, missed 3 penalties in 90 minutes, while his team lost 3-0 in the quarter-finals against Paraguay. A shot saved, one fired onto the crossbar and one kicked wide: a terrible match for the former striker who in that match set a record that has remained unbeaten, despite himself.
The same Palermoafter so many years, he returned to talk about that terrible (on a sporting level) experience and to the microphones of TycSports he also told of the anger of the then coach ofAlbicelesteMarcelo Bielsa: “After analyzing the game the day after the defeat, Bielsa told me that I had been selfish at the time. I replied that it wasn’t true, because I was the designated kicker and I hadn’t heard any order not to kick the third penalty. I took on a responsibility that was already mine.”
Not that his teammates hadn’t tried to make him change his mind in those tense moments, as the flag of the Boca Juniors: “(Roberto) Ayala approached me to ask if I was ready to take that penalty too. And I said yes. I don’t know if Bielsa had been sent off because I saw Claudio Vivas on the bench and I don’t know if he had given the order to someone else to take it. Today we are many years away, this has given me experience for the rest of my journey”.