Why fans forgave their team’s early exit

The celebration of the inglorious return of the albiceleste was likely orchestrated by the same people who supported Maradona as coach. A great player, here is where his qualifications end. But in Argentina, the "hand of God" has unfortunately a more literal meaning than the one Maradona initially intended with his comment after the first goal he scored against England in the 1986 match. "El Diego" cannot do any wrong. Over time, Maradona has become the incarnation of all what is great and dispecable about Argentina: unrelented individual creativity (they have some of the most creative advertising people and artists, for example) but also unfounded arrogance (witness Maradona's comment about neighbor Uruguay, which did a better and more honorable job ("Are they in the World Cup?"). Argentina would do better in soccer (and be up to their potential) if they could learn some lessons from their recent defeat: individual genious is not enough, don't win games before they start and lose them before they finish. Alas, I doubt this will happen. In soccer and elsewhere, Argentina seems to have an uncanny ability to do below their potential, and to learn the wrong lessons from the failures.

The reason why Germany beat Argentina can be explained by one sigle fact; Germany´s side had a real coach, Argentina intead had a vedette.

Is really amazing how The economist has to write about Argentina national football team to make up another negative article about the country.

Seems The Economist (or the footballist?) cannot find any little bad new in the Argentina economy to make its usual junk article about Argentina.

May be the reason why Argentineans receive their football players as heroes is that Argentina is performing very well in all areas and especially economy. This year is expected to grow 7%, so people don’t need a world cup to feel some pride to mitigate their frustrations.

Good that the world cup winner will be a European country they need it more than us, as the frustrations they will have to face will last another 10 years.

The world is changing and seems that the bananas are starting to grow in the north right now.

The reasons for which this team has being well received now, and not in the former cup are:

-In Germany the Argentine team arrived as favorite, did not played the style that Argentines like, and underperformed.
-In South Africa, the team arrived as an underdog, played the style that Argentines like, and overachieved.

The economist is trying to distort this to paint a negative image of Argentina.
That is a journalistic level of “The Sun”, or worse, at the level of Argentine politicians.

To this day many Argentines find it difficult to accept that theirs is not an European country, apart from the rest of South America. Brazilians were (are?) kindly referred to as “macacos”, partly because of Brazil’s miscegenation and partly because Brazilians were seen as always trying to imitate the superior Argentines (this expression was also used some years ago in an Argentine newspaper headline before a match against Nigeria – “Que vengan los macacos!”).

Maybe this robust self-steem explains the squad hero’s welcome. After all, many Brazilians define “ego” as that little Argentine who lives inside our head. . .

Let it be understood: Maradona has most likely been a superb player, but as a person he had been nothing but one of the worst examples. He declares that Argentine is the love of his life, but carries tatoos of Che Guevara and Castro --but no argentine flag!! He should'nt be Argentina's coach. However, soon he will be overcome by Lionel Messi. And mnay of us will be extremely glad and very happy when this happens. He is just as bad as OJ Simpson!!

haha curious article indeed! Let me remind the author that besides big-global-mega business and national pride or supremacy, football is about passion, pleasure and fun and in spite of the bitter defeat against Germany many Argentineans enjoyed a lot this world cup and therefore cheered for the team and its coach even in the adversity of an early comeback.... Political operation? populist manipulation? maybe... however it was Angela Merkel who was unexpectedly cheering the mannschaft in quarterfinals in Capetown, not Cristina Fernandez.

People like Maradona add real color to football & life in general - by being just what they are! Pregnant with God-given (by hand?)talent, they are constantly 'giving birth' and will continue to amaze, awe & shock !!

I think the article exagerates the influence of the the politically motivated move to put football games on free air. Cristina Ferndandez de Kirchner surfed the wave of the team´s popularity to boost her waning performance in the polls. This she did not do before measuring the response of the Argentine public. Had Argentina turned its back on its mundialistas, so too would have Cristina.

The support for the team has two sources. Firstly, the last two Argentina world cup teams played with a miserable lack of commitment to the camiseta. The Argentine public had to tolerate its national pride and joy showing up to represent their country with a cynical lack of passion and pride. This might have gone un-noticed had it not been for the performance of their rugby counterparts in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Before each game the Pumas (Argentina´s rugby team) stood singing the national anthem with tears in their eyes. This caused consternation in Argentina. After the first game of the rugby world cup all the national networks showed footage of the football team before their world cup games. None of the players sang the national anthem and most of them stood there emotionless chewing gum. It took the rugby team to show just how much was missing in the national football team. I cannot emphasise just how big a deal this was in Argentina.

Diego´s boys may have been hammered 4-0 by Germany, but they had succeeded in restoring passion, pride and commitment to the national side.

Secondly, and related,to the rest of the world the Argentines appeared unrepentant concering the 2001 economic debacle and their country´s unapologetic stance towards settling with its creditors. This could not be further from the reality. In the main, the Argentines are a traditional and honorable bunch and they were horrified by the behavior of the few.

Furthermore, the Kirchner´s drop in popularity does not adequately describe shame the Argentine public feels about the Kirchner´s behavior. This shame first came to light with the K reaction to farmer´s strike where the Ks visibly attempted to divide the country and deployed despicable henchmen to squash any dissenting voices. Most Argentines are deeply shamed by how its leaders have behaved in the last decade and how the country has been viewed as a result of this.

Sure, Argentina played attacking football. But, what most warmed the heart of the Argentine public was the obvious pride the players had in representing their country. This pride had been missing, not only in the previous two world cup campaigns, but also in the hearts of most Argentines for the last ten years.

No matter what one may think of Diego Armando Maradonna, one cannot deny that he restored something that most Argentines had almost forgotten had existed, in their national football team, and indeed, in their country.

Diego, sos un capo.

Economist, would you write a wonderful article about Uruguay please?

Let’s say portraying them as the new superpower, seem some Uruguayan Argies wannabe need it here right now.

I know that would not worth the ink you will have to expend but think about how you would make feel much better old these people forgotten from the rest of the world.

We provide them TV, money, tourism, etc. but seems not to be enough.

Would you please?

Thanks

To the Author:

Argentina is a country founded on passion. Unfortunately, neither we are well run, nor we are well advised. In economics, people like you knows that better.
Football tough, football is another story. Please, do not mix them. People like you, try to comment about the way we feel the game, that is a shame.
What is the reason of such article? We have already a bad international reputation, were you expecting to increase it? Is it really the fact that people have received with honor the team that has supposedly failed in the world cup a bad attitude? Were you expecting to have people suicide for it, like our brother country did? ...
Your article is a shame.

Thanks The Economist, your article is perfect and well accurated.

Why The Economist insists on calling her Cristina Fernandez?

She's well known as Cristina Kirchner.

Is there not a populism parallel to be drawn between Argentine football and the country itself?

60 years of populism/mismanangement has squandered a once wealthy country, rich in natural resources (& full of promise) - to its sad condition today. Chile has excelled, and in the last 10 years Brazil has lifted 20M people up into the middle class.

Why? Consistency, good policy/management.

Diego, the iconclast, as manager - no experience, picadillos many (yes) - and has a European tax bill of some 28 M Euro (see the parallels?).

Why leave Argentina's Inter stars at home, why play Messi so far back, why pick Jonas, why the superstitions?

Like '06 Argentina extertained us in the first 4 games, and then lost - in this case due to lack of tactics and form - against (how ironic) a vibrant German side.

Maradona reflected that "in '86 he was selfish and could win the Mundial, single-handedly - but in 2010 teamwork (see Spain) prevailed - over an individual genius".

We hope that Argentina has a better future, but inherently corrupt institutions, a propensity for populism, deceit - just don't hold the country in good stead.

Why claim a European heritage, when you are starkly third world?

WhyNotMe, I won't comment on your note, as it seems self-explanatory. What I am curious about is your alias. Did you find out why? Reading your post, it seems that the reasons why should be plenty, shouldn't they?

@WhyNotMe
CITE:"Let’s say portraying them as the new superpower, seem some Uruguayan Argies wannabe need it here right now.

I know that would not worth the ink you will have to expend but think about how you would make feel much better old these people forgotten from the rest of the world.

We provide them TV, money, tourism, etc. but seems not to be enough"

I reported your intervention because is hateful to Uruguayans, an humiliate both them and Argentines.

Anything on it is shameful and disgusting.

Some Argentines do not tolerate such xenophobic attitude polluting our name.

Maybe England has something to learn from Argentina: To treat their players like human beings, not soldiers. And Argentina should learn to treat their war veterans like human beings, not soccer players.

Riva Mesquita, perhaps you can educate us on why Brazilian models are always blonde? Why do Afro-Brazilians have such an elevated place in their society? Brazil has many good things, but abstract thought is not one of them...

Regarding the way we "fell in grace". With the exception of 2001-2002, Argentina has always had a positive migration rate, uniquely in Latin America. I myself am an immigrant into this country, without a doubt the most generous of the many countries I've lived in. "Immigration is the best form of flattery", they say... And for those worrying about our problems, most people here still maintain a siesta between 12:30 pm and 5:30 pm. 'Stressful" life indeed. Football is circus, who really cares?

So a loosing team should be coldly or ill received, right?

Thanks for the tip, since Argentine fans have never come out to bash a losing national team on their return to the country (at least not in the last 20 years), maybe they will learn from your article.

But, hopefully they will not.

WhyNotMe, so I need "an appointment with my psycho". Sad to dissapoint you, guy. I don't do psychoanalisis or other forms of soccery that you seem to cherish. It reminds me of an old joke about the two mothers whose little ones did not eat. The first took the kid to the pediatrician to see how she can get the kid to eat. The second went herself to the psychoanalist to come to terms with the situation (you would have said "para asumirlo").