BUENOS AIRES-. The Argentines who took to the streets to celebrate their team being proclaimed champion America Cup In the early hours of Monday morning, they are experiencing a very different feeling than 19 months ago, when millions celebrated the consecration of the World Cup in the same square as Buenos Aires.
“Epic,” said Diego Cáceres, 38, of the massive celebrations on December 18, 2022.
“This is really nice, too,” he added, referring to the fireworks display in the capital’s square where the Obelisco monument stands after the 1-0 victory over Colombia in extra time to win their third consecutive major international title. “But it’s just the icing on the cake, or a flash. It makes me want to go back in time.”
The economic crisis has been afflicting Argentina for years, but today annual inflation exceeds 270%. Nearly 60% of the country’s 45 million inhabitants live in poverty. This week, television headlines reported that the peso had hit new lows against the dollar.
When Cáceres celebrated the national team’s victory in 2022, he was working as a cook in several restaurants and renting an apartment. Today, he said, he is unemployed and sleeping on the street.
“Everything is much worse now. Just when you think things can’t get any more expensive, they do,” Cáceres said.
Some joke that they paid a high price in Qatar for their first world championship since 1986, pointing to the crises that followed the triumph.
“It’s our best entertainment, that’s what makes it so important,” said Erika Maya, 47, a homeless mother of six, as she watched the game through the closed windows of a restaurant. “You can forget about everything else that’s going on and just enjoy it.”
But Argentines say they needed the Copa America not as an achievement but as an escape from reality, finding respite in watching their national team, led by Lionel Messi.
“Football is the fruit of our society, it’s what we’re proud of, it’s what we give to the world,” said Fabrizo Diaz, a 21-year-old soldier who watched the game with his girlfriend.
As the match began at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, Buenos Aires fell silent with most Argentines enslaved to their televisions at home. The possibility that Messi may be playing his last games for the national team has intensified football fever in recent weeks.
The captain’s persistent injuries have drawn more attention than his performances during this Copa America. The 37-year-old forward, who was injured in the final, has responded that he lives “day to day” with the national team when asked about his future with the national team.
“He will continue. I don’t know if the next World Cup (in 2026), but this is not the end for him… Surely. I mean, I hope so. I hope so,” said Adrian Vallejos, who watched the final with his wife and son. “For God’s sake, I hope he doesn’t contradict us.”
After years of disappointment in international tournaments, Argentina has won one title after another (Copa América 2021, Finalissima 2022, World Cup 2022), exciting their country time and time again.
In downtown Buenos Aires, the scene of so many protests in recent weeks, national pride seemed restored. Friends and strangers wrapped in Argentine flags and jerseys hugged and jumped, some singing “Muchachos,” others chanting Messi’s name.
