The supporters of Danubio, a traditional Uruguayan soccer club and rival of Athletico Paranaense in the Sudamericana, are going through a moment of anguish due to the agony of one of their most beloved symbols. The palm tree that is planted in the visitors’ stands and that gives a unique characteristic to their stadium is close to dying from a plague.
The plant was attacked by an insect called “red weevil”, a beetle of Asian origin that wreaks havoc on palm trees and has spread strongly in Uruguay in recent years. An expert from abroad will try to save it, although the chances of that happening are “one in 100,” admitted the president of the institution, Arturo del Campo.
READ MORE
++ Despite the suspension, Gabigol is registered by Flamengo for the Libertadores
++ Bruno Guimarães is four games away from avoiding a suspension
++ Fans of Neymar’s former club, Santos, break attendance record
The palm tree has already become an icon of the stadium in the Jardines del Hipódromo neighborhood of Montevideo, named María Mincheff de Lazaroff in honor of the mother of the club’s co-founders. It has been there since the early 1980s, when some sympathizers brought it from a nearby garbage dump to provide some shade.
♾️ La identidad es para siempre 🌴 pic.twitter.com/WXSKdYqk1w
— Danubio Fútbol Club (@DanubioFC) March 22, 2024
At that time there was no visitor’s stand, which was built in 2001, respecting the plan. Witness to several stories of the club, winner of the Uruguayan First Division championship four times and semi-finalist of the Copa Libertadores in 1989, the palm tree was even vandalized by fans of Club Sportivo Cerrito in 2004, when they set it on fire and firefighters had to intervene to rescue her.
⭐️ ¡Así quedó el Grupo E de la CONMEBOL #Sudamericana!
🇧🇷 @AthleticoPR
🇺🇾 @DanubioFC
🇵🇾 @ClubSpAmeliano
🇻🇪 @DvoRayoZuliano🏆 #LaGranConquista pic.twitter.com/8HG2yhkRcK
— CONMEBOL Sudamericana (@Sudamericana) March 19, 2024
Danubio qualified earlier this month for the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana by beating Montevideo Wanderers 1-0 in phase 1. It is the second consecutive year that it will compete in this continental tournament, where it will face Athletico Paranaense, Sportivo Ameliano ( Paraguay) and Rayo Zuliano (Venezuela).
