“…that by the hand of Leo Messiall turn around we are going to give“. Thousands of throats joined the song that was once longed for and has become a reality in Qatar. Argentina celebrated winning the World Cup in its own territory. 2-0 win over Panama It was just an anecdote and the possibility of Messi scoring his 800th goal. The important thing was the party and the madness that preceded the game that only 80,000 people saw at the River Plate stadium. Almost 1.4 million fans were left wanting to get a ticket. The celebration had it all: music, dance, fireworks, an Olympic tour of the players with their families and, of course, the words of the captain of the national team and the coach Lionel Scaloni.
It was not part of the Argentine sports tradition that, after a championship was won, the players would take the microphone and talk to the stadium. That has been learned from what happened with the consecrations of Barcelona. The ritual has now been installed in this country with the World Cup on its back. “I don’t know what I’m going to say“, Messi was honest, while the crowd in the stands chanted his name and raised their arms. Leo thanked the affection and recalled that, before traveling to Qatar, they had promised to do the impossible to achieve the feat. And what was desired happened.
“I always dreamed of this moment“, recognition Messi, “the hero without rancor“, as defined by the newspaper ‘La Nación’. The days of mistrust, acid criticism and even contempt from a part of the sports commentators are in the past. It even seems that this suspicion or animosity never existed. Everything is merriment and adoration And Messi enjoys, without completely forgetting. That is why he also dedicated the Cup to the teams that he was part of and that were one step away from glory, like in Brazil 2014, when they lost by one goal against the Germans.” They deserve respect and recognition”, he said, with his head set on Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuain, among others. The fans applauded.
Scaloni could not contain the tears. His transition from contempt to admiration is also worthy of a movie. Almost no one trusted his conditions and today he is considered a strategist. “La Scaloneta the whore who gave birth to him“, the fans began to sing and the players immediately joined in. “Seeing you like this is priceless,” said the coach. Like his players, he received a replica of the World Cup.
“Boys”
“I can’t explain it to you/ Because you won’t understand/ The finals we lost/ How many years I cried for her”. The players took to the field with the song ‘Muchachos’ with an impressive background sound. No fan was deprived of singing it. Even the same players did it after the game, when the festivities began.
The reunion of the members of the champion team with the Argentines did nothing more than prolong the party that had its peak of excitement as soon as the match against France ended. Messi was able to see to what extent the World Cup went through a country emotionally in the midst of a furious economic and social crisis. His name and hers Diego Maradona they were invoked throughout the match. No longer as irreconcilable parts but as a passionate synthesis symbolized by the three stars that have been stamped on the selected team’s shirts. Men, women and children dressed her on Thursday night as a sign of absolute identification.
The players sang the national anthem as if they were playing the final with France again. Dibu Martínez, the star goalkeeper of the national team, let his face mist over with tears. And Messi, accused some time ago of not singing the national song, opened his throat wide to give clear signs that he belonged to him.
Queuing for Messi
The party could not escape from the previous madness. Some 400 people arrived at the stadium and discovered that the tickets they had purchased were fake. The scenes of crying children were part of the emotional plot that surrounded the match. Dozens of people tried to enter the stadium by force and were repelled by the police. Scaloni himself said that if he went for them, they would play a game in each province to thank so much love. They would tour the country and repeat the same celebration. But there was only one and witnessing it was a privilege of few, if one takes into account how many Argentines resigned themselves to watching the celebration on television. Dibu Martínez admitted that he requested 120 tickets for his entire family. The same did other players and leaders.
Although the match against Panama was hardly an excuse, it brought to the fore the weight of global idolatry towards Messi. Once the match was over, the Central American players lined up for the best player in the world to sign their shirts or pose smiling for a photo.