You have to accomplish a lot in your life to have a statue erected (too easy of a joke) in your honor, and this new 26-foot tall creation is sweeping the internet for having a little “extra bulge” in the crotch region.
Is it possible that this statue could get a red card?
Marcelo Gallardo, a legendary Argentinian soccer player and coach, was celebrated for his illustrious career with this larger-than-life statue being unveiled this past Saturday.
The bronze figure was revealed just outside River Plate’s Monumental Stadium, where Gallardo led the club to two Copa Libertadores titles. In fact, the almost 30-foot creation shows the longtime coach lifting up one of those trophies.
It is an honor to be forever enshrined with a monument like this, but that’s not what is grabbing the internet’s attention. Take a look and see if you can figure out what has some people up in arms (or in uproarious laughter):
I know a lot of people say it “takes balls” to coach, but this is a little bit over the top, is it not?
If you happened to read the caption of the tweet above, you’ll see the word “deliberately,” which apparently is the shocking truth in regards to the unnecessary bulge.
Turns out that Mercedes Savall, the sculptor on the project, was requested to add in the “extra feature” by someone who commissioned the statue building project. If you are familiar with some of the historic human sculptures in Europe, I’m sure they wouldn’t have minded a little “compensating” when it came to that area too.
The bulge was allegedly requested so that it would mimic the famous Charging Bull statue on Wall Street in New York City, and allow for tourists to “rub them for good luck.”
How strange is that?
Adding the eye-drawing feature was also apparently a nod to local slang about Gallardo and his coaching style. Savall, the sculptor, told La Nacion and Infobae:
“This is (soccer), fans always ask the players and the manager to ‘put a lot of eggs into it’ and it was like a subliminal message through the sculpture.
I exaggerated that part and I understood that it has to do with a gesture towards the fans. It’s part of the football language and I looked for a way to bring the folk into art and took a shot.
That wink is there and it was achieved.”
When Gallardo (who won an impressive 14 titles for the club between 2014 and his departure in 2022) attended the unveiling this past Saturday, he didn’t mention anything of it in his emotional speech.
He also apparently never said anything when he came to check on the statue during its four year building process. The sculptor of course built from the ground up, meaning that Gallardo had seen the bottom half at some point and had no objections.
Who know, maybe he likes it? Or maybe he was even the one to give the bulge the green light?
