Argentina's World Cup homecoming in Buenos Aires was almost derailed by serious injuries after Lionel Messi and four others sat on the open-top bus had to duck to avoid telephone cables.
The Argentine capital has been in party mode since Sunday and in the early hours of Tuesday morning thousands lined the streets to welcome their World Cup heroes back into town.
The players, wearing their gold winners' medals around their necks and taking turns to hold the World Cup trophy aloft, waved at fans from an open-top bus as the lights from thousands of mobile phones sparkled and flags fluttered in the crowd.
Joyous fans sang to the beat of a drum and fireworks lit up the sky as the bus slowly wound its way through the streets, though only the quick thinking of Rodrigo De Paul avoided possible disaster.
¡CUIDADO CON LOS CABLES MUCHACHOS! Insólito momento en la llegada de los campeones del mundo a Argentina.
— ESPN Argentina (@ESPNArgentina) December 20, 2022
Se le voló la gorra a Leandro Paredes. pic.twitter.com/mUfGmOTQdU
Sitting on the back of the open-top bus, De Paul and Messi were joined by team-mates Leandro Parades, Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi, as the bus approached some low-hanging telephone cables.
De Paul quickly alerted the other four to duck to avoid the cables, though Parades was not quite as quick and lost his hat in the process.
All five managed to limbo under the cables and were soon back to laughing as the bus continued its route.
