It is day one at the 2024 edition of The Soccer Tournament (TST), and things are already getting spicy.
Manchester City legend Sergio Agüero had to be separated from an opponent in a Wednesday match between Agüero Team and Say Word FC.
Agüero took exception to a heavy tackle from Say Word defender Brandon Rothfuss, who initially won the ball from the former Argentina forward before following through.
The play seemed designed to send a message, and Agüero took exception. After briefly looking to the referee for a call, the Miami resident found Rothfuss, who seemed disinterested in a chat.
Agüero delivered a chest bump, to which Rothfuss replied with a shove before the two squared up.
Say Word goalkeeper Ramius Stiehler — whose career has taken him from the U.S., to England, Spain, indoor soccer, and one cap with the American Virgin Islands — arrived as a peacemaker, while Agüero Team’s Lucas Fernandez offered the “help” of a hard shove towards Rothfuss.
While TST is not engineered to create shoving matches and an exchange of colorful language — it is, in fact, a seven-on-seven soccer tournament with a $1 million prize for the winner — this kind of moment will pretty much only ever happen at the TST.
Where else would a player for the Memphis Americans (an on-hiatus pro indoor soccer team playing in the National Indoor Soccer League) end up in a heated argument with the scorer of one of the most famous goals in modern soccer, on a major streaming platform?
And where else would a team comprised largely of ex-college players take down a team featuring literally Sergio Agüero? Once the scuffle was halted, Say Word got the last laugh, knocking off Agüero Team 6-3.
Watch Agüero’s TST scuffle
It got HEATED after this tackle against Sergio Aguero at @TST7v7 😳 pic.twitter.com/TwPHjmLDPy
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 5, 2024
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