Maybe this was a meta mind trick to beat your opponent, but more than likely it was a colossal mistake.

In a Copa Libertadores (South American Champions League) game, Colombian champions Santa Fe faced Brazilian team Santos. Before the game, Santa Fe attempted a touching tribute toward their opponents and had a pregame tribute for longtime Santos player Alexandre de Carvalho Kaneko, who died this week at the age of 70.

More often than not, this comes off without a hitch and an entire stadium pays their respects to a great person. Santa Fe even went the extra mile and got someone to play the trumpet for the occasion. Unfortunately, the Santa Fe PA announcer said the wrong name and confusion ensued.

The PA announcer said (translated to English), “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand up and offer this minute of silence in honour of Santos player Ricardo Oliveira.”

The issue with that is Ricardo Oliveira is very much alive. In fact, the 36-year-old Oliveira was starting at striker for Santos that night. He played 70 minutes in a 0-0 draw. When asked about the snafu after the game, Oliveira responded “Honestly, I didn’t notice.”

That’s what it seemed like throughout the stadium. Nobody really noticed a mistake occurred. Maybe the crowd and the players didn’t quite believe what they just heard or they just went ahead and paid tribute to the correct person anyway but it was an unfortunate mistake for a touching tribute.

[FourFourTwo]

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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