The songs that accompanied Argentina’s path to a third World Cup title have defined what it means to be Argentine. They exuded a confidence, creativity and brash attitude that has been the hallmark of a team who have now won the Copa America and World Cup in consecutive years, proving their doubters wrong along the way.
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The most popular Argentine song of this year’s World Cup was “Muchachos”, a catchy melody that invokes the image of Diego Maradona and his parents supporting Lionel Messi from the heavens. It was heard non-stop in Doha. Argentina’s estimated 50,000 travelling fans sang it on metro trains, in the streets, in the open-air market of Souq Waqif, and at every stadium where Argentina played.
As Argentina advanced through the knockout stage, “Muchachos” grew louder and louder. Each verse was sung with the confidence that Messi would lead his country to victory in Sunday’s World Cup final.
The song’s origins go back to Argentina winning last summer’s Copa America, when they defeated eternal rivals Brazil 1-0 in the final in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium.
According to leading Argentina outlet La Nacion, “Muchachos” was written by a fan named Fernando Romero. He responded to journalist Matias Pelliccioni’s request on Twitter to “invent a clever song” after Argentina had finally won their first major title since 1993.
Esta escribí post final Copa America, Mati.. Faltaría algo del episodio de hoy, pero si te gusta te la cedo.. pic.twitter.com/I1h2nInjvK
— Fernando Romero ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@fnromero) September 5, 2021
“I wrote this after the Copa America… If you like it, I’ll give it to you,” Romero said on Twitter in September of last year. Romero reinvented a song by Argentine ska band La Mosca titled “Muchachos, esta noche me emborracho” (Boys, tonight I’ll get drunk).
En Argentina nací, tierra de Diego y Lionel / de los pibes de Malvinas que jamás olvidaré
I was born in Argentina, land of Diego and Lionel / of the boys from the Falklands that I’ll never forget
No te lo puedo explicar, porque no vas a entender / las finales que perdimos, cuántos años las lloré
I can’t explain it because you won’t understand / the finals that we lost, I’ve grieved them for so long
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Pero eso se terminó porque en el Maracaná / la final con los brazucas la volvió a ganar papá.
But it’s all over now because at the Maracana / we won that final against the Brazilians
Muchachos, ahora nos volvimos a ilusionar. Quiero ganar la tercera, quiero ser campeón mundial.
Boys, now we can dream again. I want to win the third (World Cup), I want to be a world champion.
Y al Diego en el cielo lo podemos ver / con Don Diego y con la Tota, alentándolo a Lionel
We can see Diego in heaven alongside Don Diego and la Tota (Maradona’s parents), supporting Lionel.
Messi and his team-mates sang “Muchachos” after defeating Australia in the round of 16, the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, and Croatia in the semis. The players chanted and waved their hands in unison with their devoted fans. It took such a hold that Messi’s eldest son, Thiago, even wrote out the lyrics to “Muchachos” in his notebook ahead of the final, where the song crescendoed.
What started as a creative exercise on social media ended as an unforgettable victory march en route to Argentina’s third World Cup title after 1978 on home soil and 1986 in Mexico.
Even the Argentina players on the bench are singing “Muchachos” with the fans in the stadium!! Incredible atmosphere again! pic.twitter.com/FuWNEG9vFx
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) December 13, 2022
Sunday’s thrilling victory over France set off wild celebrations throughout the South American country. Inside the winners’ dressing room in Doha’s Lusail Stadium, the Champagne and beer were flowing as several players streamed the festivities live on their Instagram accounts.
Wearing their winner’s medals, Argentina’s squad danced around the dressing room to “Un minuto de silencio” (A moment of silence), where they “mourned” the demise of their old rivals and latest opponents alike, including Brazil, France winger Kingsley Coman, who missed in the shootout, France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, and finally, Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in defeat.
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The players bounced around in a joyous conga line before suddenly going quiet for a name to be shouted out.
Outspoken goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, now a national hero for his vital saves throughout the tournament, was leading the line, wearing an Argentina top, his underwear, and nothing else. He shouted out “Mbappe, who is dead!”, before leading his team-mates in another verse: “Ae, ae, ae, ae, un minuto de silencio…”.
Surely Martinez hadn’t forgotten about Mbappe’s analysis of South American World Cup qualifying.
Playful fun after a stressful night? It seems it, but Argentina have been criticised for how they have celebrated their victories at this World Cup.
"A minute of silence for … Mbappe!" 😅
Emiliano Martinez during Argentina's dressing room celebration.
(via nicolasotamendi30/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/dwm3IrUNWG
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 18, 2022
They gloated in the faces of the Dutch team after that heated quarter-final went to penalties. In South America, the Argentina men’s national team is notorious for their boastful attitude and street-fighter mentality. Former Ecuador and Manchester United full-back Antonio Valencia said as much in his recent guest column for The Athletic.
“You could see how the entire continent of Africa was 100 per cent behind (surprise semi-finalists) Morocco,” Valencia said. “They all wanted Morocco to win. I want Argentina to win, but we know what Argentina is. I was with a group of friends recently and of those five friends, three of them said to me, ‘Look, if Argentina win, we’ll have to put up with them for a long time. Even when they don’t win anything they’re insufferable. Imagine if they win!’.”
Before Argentina faced Croatia in the semi-finals last Tuesday, head coach Lionel Scaloni addressed the notion that Argentina had a problem with sportsmanship.
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“We need to put an end to this idea of Argentina being this or that,” Scaloni told reporters. “We lost to Saudi Arabia (in their opening group game of this tournament) and didn’t say anything. We went back to the hotel and got to work.
“We won the Copa America and we all witnessed one of the most sporting behaviours, with Messi, Paredes and Neymar together at the Maracana. We need to put an end to this idea of us not being good winners or losers. It’s very far from what we are as a team. It’s very far from who we are as a nation.”
The country’s tabloid football coverage has for years created a divide between the press and the national team. The fracture intensified after Argentina failed to win the 2014 World Cup final and the next two Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016. The criticism from sports journalists was severe, with Messi serving as a popular scapegoat before he announced a short-lived international retirement following the most recent of those three final defeats.
With Messi back in the fold, Argentina defeated Colombia on penalties in last summer’s Copa America semi-finals. Argentina’s players huddled together after that win and gleefully jumped up and down. The entire tournament had been played behind closed doors as COVID-19 continued to ravage their continent, and as a result, it wasn’t difficult to make out what Argentina’s players were singing inside the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia that day.
“Support the national team, support them to the death because I love Argentina, because it’s an emotion I carry in my heart. And I don’t care what those f—ing journalists say!”
Argentina went on to win the Copa America, and on Sunday, after being crowned world champions too, many of those same players, including Messi, skipped through the mixed zone and dedicated that song to the journalists in attendance.
Both that chant and the moment of silence number have been part of Argentina’s songbook for several years — neither tune was created in Qatar — but they both took on new meaning there.
Argentina come through the mixed zone with the trophy – singing “puta preriodistas” 😂 pic.twitter.com/HqBnW1mS7K
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) December 18, 2022
It hasn’t all been braggadocious displays of grandeur by Argentina during this World Cup, though. When an elderly woman named Maria Cristina saw fans in her Buenos Aires neighbourhood celebrating the 2-0 win over Poland in the last group game, she stepped out of her house to enjoy the moment.
According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, Maria Cristina saw her neighbours on the street singing “Muchachos”. When she joined the crowd, the men spontaneously created a new song: “Abuela La-La-La” (Abuela is Spanish for grandmother), which sounds a lot like 1993 hit “Go West” by the Pet Shop Boys.
The song is now seen in Argentina as a tribute to the country’s geriatric community.
🇦🇷 LA ABUELA LALA FESTEJA LA COPA DEL MUNDO
María Cristina de Villa Luro se hizo presente en todos los festejos cada vez que Argentina pasaba de fase hasta llegar a la final con Francia en la Copa del Mundo.
Hoy culmina con más presencia que nunca
👉 Crédito: IG octaruggero pic.twitter.com/S4ShDkxF8r
— A24.com (@A24COM) December 18, 2022
With this victory, all of these songs are certain to be remembered for years to come in Argentina — the soundtrack to when the great Lionel Messi finally won a World Cup.
(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
