The 26-year-old Tade went backpacking around Europe in August with his two sisters – Agustin and Luciana – and, as chance would have it, he ran into none other than San Lorenzo coach Edgardo Bauza and the club’s famous vice-president and Argentine television presenter Marcello Tinelli.
Tade, from Santiago del Estero, arrived in New Zealand and washed dishes part-time almost six years ago and is now just two days away from facing one of the biggest football clubs in the world, as he explains.
“The trip to Rome was one of those random trips with my sisters just going around Paris, we finished in Barcelona, and Rome was one of those stops.
“I remember the day we arrived in Rome we were tired after a month of travelling non-stop. We got to the hotel at 5pm and we were close to Bienvenito.
“We wanted to go for a walk and we saw San Lorenzo vice-president Marcelo Tinelli, who is well-known as a television journalist and presenter – he is one of the most famous people in Argentina and he was with the coach Edgardo Bauza.
“I told my sister,’Look who is there, it’s Marcelo Tinelli and Edgardo Bauza’, for us it was like an opera, so we asked for a photo with them,” Tade said,”We told them we were just travelling around, backpacking and came to Rome.”
Tade says coyly he can’t explain how the topic of football came up, despite being the ASB Premiership, OFC Champions League and OFC President’s Cup golden boot for Auckland City FC.
Nevertheless, with a broad smile, he continues his remarkable story.
“I don’t know how exactly the conversation or how the topic of football came up, so then I said,”oh, by the way, I might see you guys in Morocco in December.”
“Marcelo was like, ‘Yeah, why? Are you a San Lorenzo fan?’, and I said: ‘No, I play for Auckland City FC.’ and he replied,’Ah yes, you guys are the team from New Zealand?’ – ‘Yes, I might see you there’, I said.”
At that point Tade says the conversation just stopped and he and his sisters left, bouyed by their brush with fame.
“There was nothing else to say, the conversation just ended, we didn’t know anything about the draw for the FIFA Club World Cup or our travel plans for the competition.
“We said goodbye, good luck – see you later and that was it,” he said, “afterwards there was laughing, joking around, how you do when you meet a really famous person.”
“I then turned to my sisters and I remember this exactly: ‘Listen, this, for me, is a big sign,'” he said, “If you know me or my sisters on a private level you will realise what it means that the universe speaks to you, feelings you trust.”
“They were nodding and agreeing but not even listening to me. I remember telling the story to my closest friends and Angel Berlanga who is the only one I spoke to in the team. No-one else,” he said.
The night before Auckland City FC played ES Setif, Tade went to the office of the club media manager to ask if he could arrange an opportunity to meet the San Lorenzo team.
“I went to his room and asked to meet the San Lorenzo team but without telling the whole story. I showed him the photo to see if he could pursue it, to meet the team, to arrange a meeting.
“A part of me knew it could be a good story but if it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen. Now its huge. Now I trust in a universal language, in those feelings more than ever.
“I remember the last words to each other on the matter were, ‘Ok, let’s wait to see the result of the match tomorrow, because if we win, we don’t need to arrange a meeting. I will see them on the pitch.’
Auckland City FC takes on San Lorenzo in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-final on Wednesday 17 December at 7.30pm local time/Thursday 18 December at 8.30am NZST.

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