Buenos Aires, July 24: Kidnappers have released the father of former Argentine soccer player Leonardo Astrada. The father of former River Plate midfielder Leonardo Astrada was released in Buenos Aires Wednesday (July 23) after being held hostage for almost a month. His father, 61-year-old Ruben, was kidnapped June 26 as he was driving north of the capital city of Buenos Aires. "My father is fine, fortunately he can be with us again and now, more than anything, we want to enjoy being with him," 33-year-old Astrada said. He expressed his relief that his father had been allowed to take his high blood pressure medicine while in captivity. No information has been released about whether a ransom had been paid. Police have detained two men in connection with the kidnapping, according to authorities.


At his last game, Astrada, who played for River Plate and was retiring from soccer, was joined by other players who wore t-shirts printed with his father's picture. Astrada's jersey read, 'Dad, we're waiting for you.'


As Argentina's economy has declined, kidnappings have increased among relatives of Argentina's soccer players in the past few months. Notable among them were the brother of Juan Roman Riquelme, now with Barcelona. Just in the past few weeks, police were able to prevent a kidnapping attempt on Velez Sarsfield Strker Dario Husain.


Bureau Report