Argentina: World Champion! The Best Moments of the National Team
These were the best moments experienced throughout Qatar 2022.
The streets are lit with the colours of the sky. The pavements have lost their greyish shades, the traffic lights do not distinguish between red and green, and thousands of people unite in moving songs. On the afternoon of Sunday, 18th December, 2022, the agony of an infinite wait came to an end. The sun shone brighter than ever, just as the flag of a country crowned World Champion did. That day the heartbeats of 45 million Argentinians fused into one, in the chest of the best player in the world, who raised the most deserved trophy in history and made an entire country happy. There were tears, excitement, suffering, and the most sincere joy. Qatar vibrated alongside supporters that were practically at home, and the World Cup allowed for magical moments throughout more than a month of sheer football.
1. Lionel Messi's Records
There’s no need for an introduction because his talent speaks for itself. He’s the best player in history, who brought the Cup to Argentina, and remains in the hearts of 45 million people. He’s the personification of football, the maximum idol of the country. Lionel Messi continues to pile up records at his 35, and he seems more unstoppable than ever. The greatest number of minutes played, the greatest number of games in a World Cup, the first player to record an assist at five tournaments, the top footballer for Argentina, the player with the highest number of appearances as captain in the World Cups, the South American with the highest number of won tournaments, and the record for the most-liked photo of the entire Instagram platform. Messi’s triumphs continue to accumulate and shape a work of art born on 24th June, 1987 in Rosario.
2. The Exciting Final against France
It was exciting, indeed, but the tension experienced on Sunday, 18th December in Qatar can’t be put into words. A radiant Argentinian team, eleven players fighting for what they deserved, and an entire country on hold at the mercy of what could be achieved with the skill of legs and a ball. After a quiet first half, France’s first goal came to reaffirm what we know deep down in Argentina: suffering for football is in our DNA. The tie, the extra time, Messi’s goal in the 109th minute, Mbappé’s goal evening the score, and penalties. Millions of hearts beating fast, but not just of Argentinians: the world wanted to see Messi raising the cup. Then, the stellar performance of a goalkeeper who made history (and won the Best Goalkeeper of the World Cup award), and the fine shots of Messi, Dybala, Paredes, and Montiel: Argentina became a world champion after 36 years of dreaming of it. Lionel Messi lifted the greatest achievement of his football career. And there were tears… Many tears.
The icing of the cake: the World Cup final generated the highest Google traffic in the last 25 years of the company.
3. Qatar 2022 memes
A world cup is not complete without the audio-visual support we all love: memes, those humorous resources that tinged the social media and broke sharing records. The funny ingredient is always expected, and the World Cup was no exception, quite the opposite. From Dibu raising his daughter (and the cup), through witches freezing players, Antonio Mateu Lahoz’s controversial refereeing, giving away 9 yellow cards for the national team, to Papu Gómez’s haircut, trying to imitate David Beckham.
4. The World Cup of Witches
I choose to believe. The Brujineta was organised, manifested itself, and the triumph was for Argentina. The esoteric level also played a leading role in Qatar 2022, and became one of the great secrets of the World Cup. Frozen football players, candles, and Messi’s saint cards are some of the rituals that were performed to support The Scaloneta. During the matches, different people were in charge of cleaning the negative energies of each of the players, curing the evil eye, and sending positive vibes. This witch-supporter group had such a repercussion that their Instagram page now has more than 10 k followers, and their general actions, being trending topics on Twitter, became one of the great moments of the tournament.
5. “La Abuela lalala”
Maria Cristina was born in Villa Luro. At 76 years old, she experienced the euphoria of the three world cups that Argentina has won and became a rage in social media. Why? Her nice celebration at the corner of the neighbourhood of Liniers. Her good-luck ritual was not watching a single game, and her subsequent celebration was then stronger, quickly becoming the grandmother of an entire country. Technically, she doesn’t have grandchildren, but that didn’t matter: los pibes de Luro, as these people call themselves, adopted the character, turning her into the most viral grandmother in the country. The song “abuela lalala” is one of the most sung, inspiring thousands of other grandmothers to celebrate in the streets.
6. The Biggest Celebration in History at the Obelisco
A blue and white human tide decorated the corners of the most important avenue in Buenos Aires. Regardless of ages or genders: people united to celebrate the most anticipated triumph of the last 36 years. The ultimate goal was the iconic monument of the Argentinian capital, the famous Obelisco, but the intermediate stops before reaching the final destination outlined the ideal itinerary to celebrate in style. T-shirts, flags, and costumes paraded through the streets of Buenos Aires to the rhythm of drum rolls marking cumbia’s tempo.
7. Kun Agüero’s Streaming with Messi
Historical is an understatement. On 7th December, the former player of the Argentinian National Team gave the most viewed streaming on his YouTube channel. The star guests? Lionel Messi, Papu Gómez, Leandro Paredes, and Rodrigo De Paul. Among laughter, photos, and jokes, the team showed their most intimate side by sharing their stories and fun anecdotes. One of the funniest stories was the recent haircut of Papu Gómez, wanting to imitate David Beckham’s.
8. “¿Qué mirás bobo? Andá p’allá”
The phrase that did not take long to feature on T-shirts, mugs, and flags. Its author was none other than the Argentinian star, Lionel Messi. The reason? A run-in with the Dutch captain, Wout Weghorst. In an interview he was giving after securing the national team’s place in the semifinals, Messi stopped himself to say the five words with the highest repercussions on all social media: “¿Qué mirás bobo? Andá p’allá” (What are you looking at, silly? Go away).
9. The Aerial Lap of Honour: 5 Million Argentinians in the Street
National public holiday, and the best team in the world arriving in the territory to show the newly achieved treasure at 13,278 kilometres from home. The plan was simple: share the cup with Argentinians in the streets. The caravan departed from the premises of the Argentinian Football Association in Ezeiza, and the final destination was going to be the Obelisco, in the heart of Buenos Aires. But the expectation was exceeded: more than 5 million people waited for the bus with the players in different parts of the capital, jamming up the streets. The section the Scaloneta travelled ended up shorter, and they topped off the tour in a cinematographic way: they toured the Obelisco from the heights, in different helicopters flying over the area.
10. Argentinian Supporters’ Song Beat All I Want for Christmas Is You
December is synonymous with Christmas and, therefore, with one of the most anticipated hits of all years: All I Want for Christmas Is You, Mariah Carey’s famous song that continues to be played non-stop in this festive month. Yet, this year, history took a 360° turn because Argentinian supporters gave the world a new anthem. To the sound of “Muchachos, ahora nos volvimos a ilusionar” (Boys, now we get our hopes up again), the Argentinian band La Mosca recorded an official version together with the original creators. A song loaded with feeling, history, football, and adrenaline, the song that marked a before and after in a world cup, and the one that saw Argentina becoming World Champion.