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| Argentina wipes away the tears after World Cup final defeat to Germany | Argentina wipes away the tears after World Cup final defeat to Germany |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| If up until the final kicked off there was a sense of happy anticipation and a shared dream, after Germany’s goal put an end to Argentina’s expectations, the reactions soon returned to highlight a divided society with a tendency to polarisation. | If up until the final kicked off there was a sense of happy anticipation and a shared dream, after Germany’s goal put an end to Argentina’s expectations, the reactions soon returned to highlight a divided society with a tendency to polarisation. |
| While on public television (the state channel that broadcasts the official line) a panel of guests praised the moral lessons left behind by Sabella’s work ethos – the non-denigration of the opponent, humility, ability to acknowledge mistakes, sacrifice – and rejoiced in the emotional intelligence gained by a nation and the values sport transmit which can transcend the field of play. | While on public television (the state channel that broadcasts the official line) a panel of guests praised the moral lessons left behind by Sabella’s work ethos – the non-denigration of the opponent, humility, ability to acknowledge mistakes, sacrifice – and rejoiced in the emotional intelligence gained by a nation and the values sport transmit which can transcend the field of play. |
| Over on the news channels controlled by media groups in opposition to the government, live feeds of celebrations gone badly wrong at the centre of Buenos Aires dominated: lootings, stone throwing, arrests and tear gas were the images beamed until the early hours. | Over on the news channels controlled by media groups in opposition to the government, live feeds of celebrations gone badly wrong at the centre of Buenos Aires dominated: lootings, stone throwing, arrests and tear gas were the images beamed until the early hours. |
| Similarly over in Brazil, the Fan Fest crowd were in tears, having been at the receiving end of a Brazilian population which far outnumbered them and were chanting back in joy having adopted Germany as their team of choice for the final. | Similarly over in Brazil, the Fan Fest crowd were in tears, having been at the receiving end of a Brazilian population which far outnumbered them and were chanting back in joy having adopted Germany as their team of choice for the final. |
| No longer fun, and certainly not a fest any more, Argentinian pundits broadcasting from Brazil were emotional and angry about the Brazilian response. After the game, people seemed sad but proud: “We reached the top and played Germany as an equal”; “Argentina played a good game against a very good adversary”; “It was a match that could have gone either way”, were some of the responses. | |
| The sense that Argentina has returned to the elite of international football, once again a powerful force not just based on history and tradition but rather on reaching the final – “sub-champions is not a defeat” – is not one that will fade or wane, but in the aftermath of the game a combination of questioning the manager’s substitutions, questioning the referee for disallowing a goal or not conceding a penalty, and a sense that Lionel Messi wasn’t quite magical enough also serve to stress the differences of opinion which football can often turn into vitriolic disputes. | The sense that Argentina has returned to the elite of international football, once again a powerful force not just based on history and tradition but rather on reaching the final – “sub-champions is not a defeat” – is not one that will fade or wane, but in the aftermath of the game a combination of questioning the manager’s substitutions, questioning the referee for disallowing a goal or not conceding a penalty, and a sense that Lionel Messi wasn’t quite magical enough also serve to stress the differences of opinion which football can often turn into vitriolic disputes. |
| The squad returns home on Monday, and it is expected a massive crowd will welcome them in gratitude. The president, Cristina Kirchner, has called the manager already to both thank and congratulate their efforts, and will receive them in the Pink House (the government house in the city’s Plaza de Mayo square) but her absence from the match itself suggests she is putting some distance between official government matters and football. | The squad returns home on Monday, and it is expected a massive crowd will welcome them in gratitude. The president, Cristina Kirchner, has called the manager already to both thank and congratulate their efforts, and will receive them in the Pink House (the government house in the city’s Plaza de Mayo square) but her absence from the match itself suggests she is putting some distance between official government matters and football. |
| Amid the tears on Sunday night, midfielder Javier Mascherano admitted it had been hard to accept defeat. | Amid the tears on Sunday night, midfielder Javier Mascherano admitted it had been hard to accept defeat. |
| “We have represented our country in the best possible way,” he said. “This pain will last for ever, but we gave everything – we’re empty.” | “We have represented our country in the best possible way,” he said. “This pain will last for ever, but we gave everything – we’re empty.” |
| And that is perhaps the overriding feeling among many; the emptiness left behind once the dream is over. It’s of little comfort to the masses who find football the only vehicle in which to channel frustrations and expectations, good and bad, but it is the fact of this World Cup that Argentina’s players can walk away with their heads held high. And now it’s over. | And that is perhaps the overriding feeling among many; the emptiness left behind once the dream is over. It’s of little comfort to the masses who find football the only vehicle in which to channel frustrations and expectations, good and bad, but it is the fact of this World Cup that Argentina’s players can walk away with their heads held high. And now it’s over. |
| Marcela Mora y Araujo is an Argentinian football writer. Follow her here on Twitter. | Marcela Mora y Araujo is an Argentinian football writer. Follow her here on Twitter. |