This took some big balls.
A giant statue of Argentinian soccer legend Marcelo Gallardo is facing widespread mockery — after the sculptor deliberately gave him a massive, bulging package.
The 26-foot-tall bronze figure was erected Saturday outside River Plate’s Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, showing the most successful coach in the club’s history raising one of his two Copa Libertadores trophies.
But nearly all the focus was on Gallardo’s balls — and not the soccer ones his players kicked.
While some questioned if the unmissable trouser bulge was a balls-up, sculptor Mercedes Savall said it was a deliberate feature — and one requested by the person who commissioned the bulging work.
Marcelo Gallardo, second from right, stands under the bulging package in his giant statue.DIEGO HALIASZ/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockThe request was for something to mimic the famous Charging Bull attraction on Wall Street that has lighter genitals because so many tourists rub them for good luck, she told La Nacion.
Savall said it was also a nod to local slang.
“This is [soccer], fans always ask the players and the manager to ‘put a lot of eggs (effort) into it’ and it was like a subliminal message through the sculpture,” Savall told Infobae.
Marcelo Gallardo, left, unveiled the eye-catching tribute Saturday.REUTERS“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,” she also told La Nacion.
“That wink is there and it was achieved,” she said.
Gallardo — who won 14 titles for the club from 2014 until his departure in December — made no mention of it at Saturday’s unveiling, instead giving an emotional speech about his glories at River Plate.
“Thanks to the fans. I will always love you. I grew up in this club and I will die in this club,” he said.
Marcelo Gallardo did not mention the most monumental part of his tribute as he unveiled it Saturday. Getty ImagesSavall said it took four years to make the statue, during which Gallardo raised no objections, even when the bulging bottom half was put up long before the final full statue.
“I rarely saw him … Luckily, he didn’t ask for explanations about the statue, he let me work in peace,” she told La Nacion.
Many did comment online, however, with widespread mockery — some directed at River Plate for cropping out the most monumental part of the coach’s statue in its own photos online.
River Plate cropped out the most eye-popping part of the statue in its pics online.REUTERS Others were more offended, with some calling it a “monstrosity.”
“Crude, grotesque, badly done,” one person wrote, calling for a petition to get it moved.
