LIONEL MESSI and his Argentina team-mates have shunned the five-star hotel treatment for STUDENT ACCOMMODATION at the World Cup.
And the reason why? So they can host barbeques.
Argentina’s squad arrived in Doha during the early hours of Thursday morning, but rather than head for some of the slicker accommodation options they have headed to Qatar University to stay in the student halls there.
It’s not to say any of the Argentine team need further education – particularly in football given their Copa America triumph last year.
Instead, the decision was taken by Argentine officials in order to allow them to have asados, which is one of the country’s traditional culinary dishes.
A source from the Argentine FA told the Mail: “We visited the campus several times and chose it because not only does it have great facilities but it also has open-air space for asados.
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“This is very important to the players and Argentines in general, it’s part of our culture.
“We want to make them feel at home while they are in Qatar and the best way to do this is to make sure that they get a taste of home while focusing on the football.”
A custom-built barbeque has already been installed to allow the team to enjoy asados, which is typically barbequed meat coated lightly with coarse salt and then paired with a salad and wine.
While they will likely be told to not overindulge in the latter, the main dish of meat has been brought along for the ride along with a specialist asado chef.
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The accommodation itself houses start-of-the-art sporting facilities including an Olympic size swimming pool and a 10,000-capacity stadium.
The 90-room campus located on the edge of Doha is considered to be one of the leading Universities in the region.
Messi has already confirmed that Qatar will be his final World Cup.
As a result, he will be hoping to go out on a high after suffering in the 2014 final as Mario Gotze crashed home an extra-time winner for Germany.
However, a trio of pundits predict that Argentina will at best make it to the quarter-finals, while they also reckon Qatar will beat England in the last 16.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
