Lionel Messi’s fronts defeat Argentina in the final whistle after the World Cup: a tribute to his late wife Emiliano Martnez
The South American side was expected to brush aside its opponent, ranked 48 places below them in the world standings, and fans had come in droves to watch Messi put on a masterclass in what he says will be his last tournament.
The biggest upset in World Cup history overshadowed Messi as he walked down the tunnel after Saudi Arabia’s win.
As many of his teammates stormed past reporters on the way to the team bus, Messi was one of two players to speak to the media – the other being goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.
After Spain lost to Switzerland in the tournament’s opening game, it won the 2010 World Cup, but it doesn’t mean the end of the world.
Argentina will still likely qualify for the knockout rounds if it wins both of its next games against Poland and Mexico but the defeat was felt particularly hard at home.
Thousands of people in blue and white shirts chanted Messi’s name as they made their way to the game and continued to support their hero as he made his World Cup debut with a penalty in the first 10 minutes.
Every time they get the ball the Argentine players look for Messi. Messi would point to where he wanted it to go if he didn’t demand the ball himself.
CNN heard fans joking with volunteers and officials from the game, asking them if they had seen Messi after he went missing.
Jubilant fans leaving the stadium took the Metro back into downtown Doha where celebrations continued, many singing until their voices started to break.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/23/football/lionel-messi-fronts-defeat-argentina-saudi-arabia-spt-intl/index.html
Argentine goalkeeper Lionel Scaloni in the Lusail Stadium after a game with Saudi Arabia’s King, Miguel Carlos and the crowd
The world was surprised by the unexpected result, and Saudi Arabia’s King ordered a public holiday on Wednesday.
Messi, who was mobbed by his teammates when Gonzalo Montiel converted the winning penalty, was instrumental in his side’s famous victory but the future is bright for Argentina with a number of young stars impressing.
It was a pulsating night of action inside the Lusail Stadium with Kylian Mbappé scoring two late goals to cancel out Argentina’s 2-0 lead from the first half.
Messi looked to have scored an extra-time winner with his second of the game but there was still time for the match to go to penalties after Mbappe converted his third spot kick.
Martinez, who had already saved two penalties in his side’s quarterfinal win against the Netherlands, was also named goalkeeper of the tournament after a string of impressive performances in Qatar.
He was brilliant on Sunday, producing a stunning save in the final moments of extra time when it looked certain that Randal Kolo Muani would score the winner.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who guided the team through highs and lows at Qatar 2022, was emotional after the match and struggled to hold back the tears as he was embraced by his players.
The team was welcomed by rock band La Mosca singing “Muchachos,” and several players, including Messi, could be seen singing the words as they boarded the bus taking them to the Argentine Football Association headquarters.
Originally bearing the title “Muchachos, esta noche me emborracho” – “Boys, tonight I will get drunk” – the song was rewritten by a teacher, Fernando Romero, to mention Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and “the kids of las Malvinas.”
“Boys, now we have hope again/I want to win the third/I want to be world champion/ With Don Diego and La Tota, we can see him from heaven. Maradona’s parents encouraged Lionel.
Romero’s song “It’s the Last of the World Cup,” reads Argentine president Alberto Fernández
There was a bloody three-month war in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom in which more than 600 Argentine soldiers lost their lives.
The first time England and Argentina met in a sporting arena was in the 1986 World Cup, a game famed for Maradona’s “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century”.
“Although we said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas War, we knew that a lot of Argentine kids had died there, that they had mowed us down like little birds.”
Before Qatar, 1986 was the last time Argentina had won the World Cup and Romero’s new lyrics encapsulate the hope Argentine fans had that Lionel Scaloni’s men could finally add a third star to the famed light blue and white jerseys. Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 when it hosted the tournament.
The new version of the song has already racked up 13 million views on YouTube and it’s likely that number will be considerably higher come the end of the year.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A parade to celebrate the Argentine World Cup champions was abruptly cut short Tuesday as millions of people poured onto thoroughfares, highways and overpasses in a chaotic attempt to catch a glimpse of the national team that won one of the great World Cup finals of all time.
After flying over key points of Buenos Aires where fans had gathered, the helicopters returned to the headquarters of the Argentine Football Association outside the capital.
“The world champions are flying over the whole route on helicopters because it was impossible to continue by land due to the explosion of people’s happiness,” Gabriela Cerruti, the spokesperson for President Alberto Fernández, wrote on social media.
Some fans who had celebrated in the streets went to Buenos Argentines with long faces to say they couldn’t pay their respects to the team that won the World Cup.
“We’re angry because the government didn’t organize this properly so we could all celebrate,” said Diego Benavídez, 25, who had been waiting since early morning to see the team. They stole the World Cup from us.
Overflow crowds in buenos aires forced-the-end-of-a-world-cup-celebration-parade: the Messi-coached squad of Buenos Aires
Two people jumped from a bridge onto the open top bus carrying the players who were in the parade. One fell onto the pavement, the other was inside the bus.
Football association head Claudio Tapia blamed law enforcement for the changeup of plans. “The same security organisms that were escorting us are not allowing us to move forward,” Tapia wrote on social media. “I apologize in the name of all the champion players.”
Toward nightfall, when most of the fans had already poured out of downtown Buenos Aires, there were isolated clashes between a few stragglers and law enforcemen. At least eight people were injured, according to local media reports.
The incidents began when firefighters went to the Obelisk, the iconic Buenos Aires landmark that is the traditional site of celebrations, to evict a few people who had broken their way inside the monument.
The players were aglow as they disembarked from the plane around 3 a.m. in Ezeiza, Argentina’s capital. The first one out was Messi carrying the World Cup trophy while his coach put his arm around the captain.
The World Cup and the success of the Messi-led squad brought much-needed good news for a country stuck for years in economic doldrums and suffering one of the world’s highest inflation rates, with nearly 4-in-10 people living in poverty.
“There is an enormous union among all Argentines.” Victoria Roldn said it was as if you could breathe another air. My body and heart are going to stop.
The sisters were excited to see the team and especially their captain, Messi.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/21/1144625866/overflow-crowds-in-buenos-aires-forced-the-end-of-a-world-cup-celebration-parade
The Argentine Super Cup 1986 Winner Roldn: How the First Fans Celebrated in the Squares Reveal the World Cup Legend Diego Maradona
Roldn said they were dying to see him. Seeing him smiling with that smile on his face fills us with joy and happiness. I think that he deserved it for a long time.
The players were happy to watch the other people try to get close to the bus. An estimated 4 million people were in the streets by Tuesday afternoon, according to local media citing police sources.
“I celebrate the way the people took to the streets to honor our squad,” President Alberto Fernández wrote on social media after the parade was cut short.
Celebrating fans took over highways, avenues and the access routes into the capital as temperatures climbed to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
The Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, who captained the 1986 squad that won the World Cup and died two years later, was remembered by fans with flags bearing his name and face. “This is for Diego, who’s seeing it from heaven,” fans shouted.
“This is a party. The last time Argentina was a champion I was 3 years old, I don’t remember anything,” said Yael Torchinsky, 39. “I want to live this intensely because the Argentine people need this happiness.”
Fans started gathering in front of Government House by mid-afternoon after rumors swirled that Argentina’s 1986 World Cup winners might have a repeat ceremony there. Fernández’s administration had offered the palatial mansion, popularly known as the Casa Rosada, or Pink House, according to Security Minister Aníbal Fernández.