Why Argentina's 36-Year Wait For The World Cup Goes Deeper Than Football

This is now the craziest video I’ve ever made.

And it’s been 12 hours.

Argentina’s always that way.

Aah f*ck.

What just happened Eli?

Ummmm...

No, my word’s aren’t going to do it justice.

Roll the tape.

My name’s Eli Mengem and for the past few years I’ve been traversing Europe, documenting the tales of football clubs and their fanbases who’ve been on the verge of winning something for the first time in a long time...

If not ever.

From Northern Turkey to Southern Spain.

From South West Germany to the Basque country.

I’ve been on a mission to show how important it is that the game has a variety of winners so that we learn about new places, new people, new cultures, and most importantly, new stories.

Then came the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Where I knew the exact “Once In A Lifetime” story I had to tell.

So as the world’s media descended on Qatar to be at the tournament.

COPA90 and I decided to fly 8000 miles in the opposite direction to tell the ultimate story of a football fanbase on the brink of ending a 36 year wait for the biggest prize in sport.

But what we found we found was a story that transcended football.

A story that reached into the very soul of a nation that laid itself bare over two fateful weeks.

A story that etched a struggle for identity in a search for glory that began over two centuries ago.

A story about Lionel Messi.

Argentina.

And 45 million people yearning to reclaim their place in history.

This is the all angle, on the ground, as it happened, ultimate account of perhaps the greatest football story of our time.

We’re good to go?

Yep?

We’re good?

O.K

What’s in a name?

Argentina?

Why’s this country called Argentina?

Argentina?

It comes from the Latin: <i>Argentum</i> It means ‘Silver’ ‘The Land Of Silver’ The assumption of the first Europeans who went over there was that it would be this incredibly rich country.

As they found in Mexico.

As they found in Peru.

Because the Spanish conquistadors they thought they were going to find a lot of silver here.

And you know Mexico and Peru had led to <i>enormous</i> amounts of gold being shipped across the Atlantic.

It leads to incredible inflation in Europe.

In fact they named the river...

as the ‘River Plate’.

‘Plate’ is another word for silver.

ELI: ‘Plata?’

ELI: ‘Plata?’ - Yeah.

Plata = Silver.

ELI: Well did they find lots of ‘Plata’? What did they find?

Nothing.

The name itself is a myth.

Empty land.

A few natives.

Well the Indigenous people, we know why they’re not there.

Cause they were... it was a genocide.

I mean that’s the only word for it.

They were slaughtered.

Nothing here resembles silver.

It was the other way around.

Since it’s beginnings Argentina’s been obsessed with unattainable fortunes.

We think we’re in the ‘Land Of Silver’ but we are in the land of...

corrugated carbon.

Yeah, Argentina has this...

people often say: “The delusion of grandeur”.

I am not a sociologist.

I cannot explain where this is coming from.

But...

I think there is a sense of entitlement which is not warranted.

But for all its false promises, there was one period where the country lived up to its lofty expectations.

If you go back, nearly a century or so...

You want me to put a date?

1880 - 1930 It was, one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

<i>The Argentine.</i>

<i>Now known as one of the richest countries in the world.</i>

The international economic situation was very favourable for Argentina.

It’s GDP was on a par with Australia and many of the new world countries.

Argentina had all the comparative advantages to develop.

Which was like this, we have something to offer to the world.

You know, it’s got huge amounts of farmland.

With the new refrigeration technology a century ago we’re talking about, they were about to export beef to the European market, the North American market.

Today the Argentine exports more cattle and hide than any other country in the world.

It wasn't just beef, I would say it was also agriculture.

I mean basically we have incredibly fertile land.

Like all of the “Pampa Humeda” which covers quite a lot of central Buenos Aires (state) and around Santa Fe have perfect conditions for agriculture.

We were feeding the world, practically.

And that made Argentina...

a remarkably wealthy country.

I mean, there's communications between the British and US government saying: Argentina really is the coming place and maybe we should think of sort of nudging Canada aside and putting Argentina in Canada’s place.

Because Argentina was a very attractive destination.

And so with such abundant wealth came those in search of it.

It was a wonderful place to come because you had the opportunity to prosper.

Relative to the size of the population we had for a period of time, more immigrants than the Americans.

This influx was an exclusively European migration where the new arrivals hailed from all over the continent be it Spanish, French or even Russian.

But the most significant arrivals were the Italians.

And with migration of the early 1900’s predominately by boat naturally the vast majority of Italian migrants came from Italy’s port cities.

Many from the Northern Italian port city of Genoa but the majority from the Southern port city of Naples.

You know what the nickname of Italians are here?

How do we call Italians?

“Tanos” You know why?

For Napoletano.

That’s the reason.

Most of them came from the South (of Italy) and we identify them with Naples.

I tend to agree with people that say that Argentinians are Italian people speaking in Spanish.

Buenos Aires itself is very linked to Italy and particularly to Southern Italy and particularly to Naples.

You see that in the accent.

You see that in the slang.

The rhythm...

it’s more Italian.

It’s got a sort of sing-song quality like Italian.

And that’s obviously the Italian influence.

You see that in the cuisine.

There’s a large Italian influence there.

Pasta.

Pizza.

Cold Cuts.

They came and they conquered the people’s palates.

And you know if you look at the architecture.

The Italian architecture legacy which is either these very grand ornate buildings and then you have the more modest, single story dwellings.

Which were called “PH’s”.

When you’re in Buenos Aires you can be in a really run down area and suddenly you turn a corner and there’s this incredibly beautiful square that makes you feel like you’re in a remote town in Italy.

So, the Italians I think they really left their mark in our culture.

But this influence wasn’t just confined to accent and architecture especially in Argentina’s capital...

where a distinct ‘way of being’ was imported directly from Italy’s south.

Buenos Aires is closer to Naples than to any other European city ELI: What do you mean in?

Culturally.

The way we interact with each other.

I feel like this a country of extroverts.

They’re warm. They’re lovely, but they...

They’re really in your face.

So Argentinians are very expressive, it’s like: They get quite hot headed.

They get quite passionate.

And they use their hands.

Name two players whoever played with Maradona!

That’s why it was a perfect fit for Maradona, Naples.

Because, they are like us.

Yeah, they’re passionate about everything they do.

They’re passionate about their politics Oh the obsession with (ex president) Peron is extraordinary.

You mention JFK but the Argentinian obsession with Peron is way more extreme than that.

They’re passionate about their literature.

There’s a big book scene here.

And they still consume a lot of paper printed material.

You will always find a bookstore.

For many, many years we’ve had like more bookstores per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Their passionate about their music.

Tango is a very good example of our passion for music.

Carlos Gardel who is the most famous tango singer you’ll see portraits of him all around the city.

Yeah one of the things about Argentinian society, everything is...

It’s extremes.

Absolutely absolutely.

It’s a country of extremes.

I don’t know if they like to over exaggerate but everything is like grandiose and amazing.

And yeah, I suppose there is quite a bit of...

A bit of that.

The best, the biggest, the longest.

Any superlative, they’ve got it.

Yes, sometimes we feel...

a little sense of superiority.

The best steak.

Yes, best steak in the world.

I couldn’t think of a better steak elsewhere than in Argentina.

The thing with steak is like our entry level is so high...

that we’re just spoilt.

The best wine.

The wine here is insanely good.

The Malbec for sure.

There are some wines that even surprise the French.

The widest Avenue in the world.

Yes, the widest...

and the longest as well!

Many Argentines are proud to say that they feel that we’ve perfected the Gelato.

Yeah, it’s a...

It’s a very, very passionate place.

So how does an Argentinian commit s*icide?

He jumps from his ego.

I think we’ve got the best ice cream.

ELI: Better than the Italians?

Yes.

No. No. No.

Yes.

Best ice cream is in Argentina.

Yes. It really is.

You see in Argentina passion isn’t so much a hobby as a way of life.

Best summed up in one the country’s most iconic films. And whilst everything and anything Argentinians care about is met with heightened levels of passion and adoration, there is <i>one</i> subject the country’s most passionate about.

You couldn’t have Argentina without football.

I think in a way it’s just become part of its...

psyche.

Of its elemental being.

I mean football is...

is Argentina.

But then let me ask you, why Argentina?

Why do you think Argentina got so hooked?

You’ve got other sports, but football is the be all and end all.

It’s like water here, it’s just omnipresent.

You see when you’ve got a population as passionate as Argentina it only makes sense that they made the most passionate and emotional game theirs.

There’s a relationship between Argentinian idiosyncrasy and the nature of football as a sport.

There’s a characteristic of Argentina that comes out through football.

Argentinian mentality and culture and the dynamics of football.

It’s like a perfect match.

Think about it like this: Football is a low scoring game.

So, you build up a lot of anxiety.

You build up a lot of momentum.

But when the actual moment arrives The goal!

It’s an explosion.

I’m going to use this expression.

It’s like an orgasm.

There is something magical, something....

intrinsic about football.

It’s something that no other sports have.

But it’s not just the uniquely emotional and passionate elements of football that make this game so important to Argentina.

In 1913 there’s a series of lectures at the Odeon theatre in Buenos Aires.

Given by Leopoldo Lugones who is the national poet.

The president goes, lots of very senior figures, everyone goes to these lectures.

This is the national poet talking about national character.

Who are we?

And he concludes that the spirit of Argentina is best represented by the Gaucho.

The cowboy who made sure the huge herds of cattle were safe.

And from the huge herds of cattle you get the beef.

And from the beef you get the wealth.

So the Gaucho is massively important.

And also the Gaucho is a...

it’s a very romantic figure.

There’s a reason why cowboy films are popular.

Because the cowboy is glamorous.

<i>In all the world of romance and adventure.</i>

<i>There’s none to compare with the Gaucho.</i>

He’s battling the elements, he’s battling wild animals.

He’s got this great virtuosity.

And so you get Gaucho clubs set up.

And they all dress up.

They dress to what they think Gauchos look like.

They put on these big barbecues.

One of the reasons the Asado, the great barbecues are still an absolute centre piece of Argentinian social life.

The Gaucho was romanticised in books.

It was romanticised in music.

And also because of the way they dressed, so...

The Gaucho for sure was super important.

And then the British wipe them out.

And the way they wipe them out is by introducing wire fencing.

If you have wire fencing you can do selective breeding.

And if you can do selective breeding you get a higher meat yield and you can make greater profits.

And this absolutely revolutionises Argentinian farming and thus Argentinian society.

So economically, eventually the Gaucho and his influence is wiped out.

So you then have the question.

Where do you find the Gaucho...

in an urban environment?

So El Grafico, one of the world’s great sports magazines.

At it’s peak it was selling, I think, over 100,000 copies across South America every week.

El Grafico was born in 1919 and it ran until January 2018 so...

99 years.

It was this revered magazine product, bible of sport.

Whatever you want to call it, but it was very special.

Many people learned to read with El Grafico It’s not a football magazine as in a glossy thing with a couple of interviews.

It really goes into detail.

Maradona first met Pele in a production specifically for El Grafico.

Muhammad Ali came to Argentina invited by El Grafico.

It was like football’s Rolling Stone Magazine.

So El Grafico: They say that spirit of the Gaucho.

That combination of toughness cunning, cleverness, virtuosity and glamour...

Where do you find that?

And they say you find that in the ‘Pibe’.

The Pibe is the urchin child of the streets.

He learns the game on the potreros, on the vacant lots of the city.

The ‘Potrero’ is more than a football pitch.

It’s the imagination of a football pitch in an...

unthinkable terrain.

They’re on very uneven surfaces so you have to have this technical virtuosity to control the ball.

That could be full of holes, stones, glass.

They are often very crowded too many people playing in too small a space.

It’s dirt.

It’s also tackles.

It’s also no referee.

At the schools, you have a teacher with a whistle to stop things if it gets out of hand.

In the potreros...

You have to be able to look after yourself.

You have to have that cunning, that street wiseness.

This is the place in which many talents...

couldn’t survive.

So this is 1928, Borocoto is the Editor of El Grafico.

<i>A Pibe with a dirty face.</i>

<i>A mane of hair rebelling against the comb,</i> <i>with intelligent, roving, trickster and persuasive eyes</i> <i>and a sparkling gaze that seems to hint a picturesque laugh</i> <i>that does not quite manage to fall in his mouth.</i>

<i>His trousers are a few roughly sewn patches.</i>

<i>His vest with Argentinian stripes.</i>

<i>With a very low neck and with very many holes eaten out</i> <i>by the invisible mice of use.</i>

<i>Barefoot or with shoes, his holes in the toes</i> <i>suggest they’ve been made through too much shooting.</i>

<i>His stance must be characteristic as if he is dribbling with a rag ball.</i>

<i>If this monument is raised one day,</i> <i>there will be many of us who take off our hat to it</i> <i>as we do in church.</i>

Now this is 1928.

And what he’s given you there, if you take that extract, and you don’t give people any context and say who is that?

It’s Diego Maradona.

It’s obviously Diego Maradona.

49 years before Maradona makes his international debut.

32 years before Maradona’s born.

He predicts the coming of Maradona.

And that’s why when Maradona arrives immediately he’s celebrated because people have recognised...

This...

This is the saviour we were promised.

You knew in your head he would save you.

And that’s why he becomes ‘El Pibe D’oro’.

The Golden Pibe.

Maradona’s importance to Argentina is greater than the significance of any one sporting figure to any other nation.

I mean Maradona exists on a totally different plane in Argentina to anybody else.

A man who adorns nearly every corner of the country’s neighbourhoods.

A man responsible for a significant percentage of the male population being called Diego.

A man who inspired a religion boasting tens of thousands of members all around the country.

Maradona was larger than life...

period.

But for anyone left who still doesn’t know, Diego Armando Maradona was the man who in 1986 led an un-fancied Argentinian side to their second ever World Cup trophy.

No one saw that he was going to put such an individual performance that a team that just a few days before the World Cup was performing <i>very</i> poorly and no one had hopes about it… will transform it into a winning team.

It’s a single moment, it’s a single World Cup where, like, one player has grabbed the tournament by the scruff of the neck and won it.

That’s only happened once in the history of the game.

Of the World Cup.

That was the magic of Maradona.

All of which led to nationwide scenes and emotions the country had never experienced.

It’s the greatest day in Argentinian football history no, not even...

nothing is even close.

You look at the celebrations after the final and It’s extraordinary. It’s millions of people on the street.

It’s extraordinary. It’s millions of people on the street.

These mass celebrations.

People were like moving cars.

They were so happy that they were moving cars, literally.

And for as far as you can see it’s people.

Blue and white shirts everywhere.

I think winning that World Cup was almost as big as getting democracy back in ‘83.

And whilst yes Argentina had won one other World Cup in 1978.

That was won during a time the country were under a despised military dictatorship.

It was a fantastic victory the 1978 World Cup but there was always a dark cloud.

Because of the military rulers of the time.

And so over time it was that 1986 win that became a unique symbol of Argentine utopia.

That thing that surrounds that World Cup.

That mythology.

It will never be, it cannot be....

replicated.

And whilst Argentinians fondly remember every moment of that tournament.

There’s one particular game from Mexico 86 that’s remembered most fondly.

Now there are many reasons why <i>this</i> match means so much to Argentina.

Firstly off the pitch.

On a day, May 4th, 1982.

That brought the reality of war into Britain’s dispute with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

Then there’s that game’s meaning on the pitch.

Where Maradona scored both of Argentina’s goals.

The first being one of the game’s most controversial.

And then, there was his second goal.

ELI: What was... what was the second goal?

No, no. I’m done.

Cut.

Cut.

Cut.

Cut.

ELI: I’m winding you up... I’m trying to get...

ELI: I know about it... It’s the best goal of all time, I know.

Only four minutes after the Hand of God, Maradona collected the ball in his own half.

Beat five England players.

Rounded the keeper and scored what FIFA officially titled: <i>The Goal Of The Century.</i>

When Maradona scores those two goals against England.

in the 1986 World Cup Quarter finals...

That is the Gaucho spirit, projected through football.

Because they represent the two sides of the Argentinian character.

The cunning of the first goal.

And the virtuosity of the second.

That’s why it means so much.

But as beautiful as that second goal was...

it’s actually the first, more controversial goal that Argentinians hold dearest.

Best explaining their unique love of Maradona and the game.

And if there’s one term you need to know to understand the spirit of Argentine football, it’s that one.

How do you say it again?

Viveza Criolla.

Viveza Criolla?

What is it?

So if Brazilians live their football in Joga Bonito terms...

We have something different.

Something very different.

We call it: Viveza.

Criolla.

It’s cunningness?

Yes. Pretty much.

Cunning would be a very...

‘polite’ ‘nice’ way to describe Viveza Criolla.

Being smart enough to find a way through stuff but also a little bit doing something a little bit illegal.

Cause it means both cleverness, streetwise-ness cynicism even.

Do you struggle with it?

Because you love beautiful football?

I mean I do love beautiful football but I also like winning, you know?

It means just sort of being smarter than...

the opponent.

I can tell you this.

We have an immense satisfaction in this country that he scored that goal with his hand.

I don’t think that distinction is obvious to people from Argentinian culture.

It was a shock for me to realise that: Outside Argentina that was perceived as a terrible thing.

As cheating.

Argentinians, they also don’t seemed particularly ashamed by that?

They kind of take it in their stride.

Why?

Well, because this notion of Viveza Criolla it encompasses...

it encompasses...

they do not see a distinction between tricking somebody by moving your feet really quickly or doing a feint with your body and...

and...

drugging them.

That of course is a reference to arguably the one act of Viveza Criolla more infamous than the Hand of God.

Masterminded in 1990 by the professor of Viveza Criolla Carlos Bilardo.

Manager of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup winning side.

The truth is, nobody knows...

but it is very strongly rumoured and not denied at all by Bilardo that they spiked Brazil’s water bottles.

Put some kind of sedative in the water.

And Branco drank from it.

The Brazilian player?

Yeah, the leftback.

And he was woozy throughout the rest of the game.

Don’t drink out of that one!

Bilardo as a player famously would take pins on the pitch to stab players he was marking.

He’d stick a needle in his sock and take it out at the corner kick and just stab opposing players with it.

And that was nothing.

That was like...

That was nothing.

Bilardo was a qualified gynaecologist and he had contacts from the world of gynaecology and from them he would find out things about players girlfriends and wives and he’d use that to wind them up on the pitch.

So Roberto Perfumo.

The great Argentinian centre back.

He was sent off for punching Bilardo in the face supposedly because Bilardo started talking to him about a problem that Perfumo’s wife was having.

Bilardo, Maradona and their Viveza Criolla spirit took Argentina to <i>another</i> World Cup final four years later before Argentina won two Copa Americas in a row.

They win the Copa America in ‘91 & ’93.

And then suddenly, 94...

they stop the getting results.

But by this point Argentina had tasted such success on the international stage that expectations at every tournament were now raised to unrealistic levels.

I think the yearning for success from Argentina I think it’s very hard to...

overestimate.

The 1986 World Cup immediately became the bar that everything was to be compared with that moment.

I mean we always have to win the World Cup.

That’s how I grew up.

ELI: Why?

Because the first one I saw we won it and I thought it was the normal thing.

The normal state of affairs.

We had Maradona.

We won the World Cup.

We have to win it all the time.

And whilst from then on they weren’t still winning tournaments...

with a round of 16 appearance at World Cup ‘94, a quarter final appearance in World Cup ‘98, and two quarter final appearances at the Copa America.

it was hardly a disastrous era.

But for such a passionate nation who see the game and particularly this tournament as part of their identity well, rationality doesn’t play a role in expectations.

And so despite boasting many of the 90’s greatest footballers each and every one floundered under the weight of the memory of Maradona’s achievements.

However it’s not just football where Argentina’s weighed down by nostalgia.

Argentines do live in the past.

And they’re pessimists about the future.

And they’re pessimists about the present.

But, they’re like...

very proud about the past.

There’s this real nostalgia for the 1920’s which makes sense because that’s when Argentina really mattered.

It’s a country that’s slow to modernise.

It’s a profoundly nostalgic culture.

It’s always harking back.

There’s a lot written about and researched about what you can tell about a society through its national song.

And the Tango of course is this very passionate dance but it’s also a very nostalgic dance.

It’s sort of infused with this sense of...

things were better in the past and this is all doomed.

The lyrics are about unrequited love, about...

dreams not materialising, about yesteryear.

And that tells a lot about Argentine society as well.

You look at the architecture.

The architecture of Buenos Aires, all the good stuff was done in the beginning of the 20th century or late 19th century.

The way the waiters dress.

They wear the white shirts, the black bowties, black aprons.

It’s harking back to how waiters were dressed in the 1920s.

But you look at some of the buses.

It’s artistry that belongs to the 50’s.

You know walking round the city you’ll see it, from old fashioned stores to bars.

Anywhere in Argentina you’re going to get this, but they’re like little snapshots and postcards to the past.

I mean, we’re doing this interview in a bar that basically hasn’t changed it’s decor since the 1960’s so...

You’re already in a time warp.

Well, you tend to idealise the past, you know?

Memory, is a tricky thing.

In a nation, or in a country where <i>truly</i> back in the days at least ‘materially speaking’ things were better.

That national tendency to glorify the past...

it becomes magnified.

And theres a reason it’s so magnified in Argentina as it’s power and prestige of the 20th century is anything but in the 21st century.

We are very far from the glory years of the beginning of last century Now there is...

Beyond 55 per cent poverty in Argentina.

Argentina is now more synonymous with economic crises and crashes than a prosperous new world country.

It’s gotten to the point where a lot people are deciding that the only thing they can do is just go away.

Leave the country.

The Argentine nation could have been much more than it is, than it’s become there’s all the questions about...

What happened? Where did it go wrong?

Corruption, political institutions, the culture of the people.

There’s lots of reasons.

It’s partly the repercussions of the Wall Street crash in 1929.

The reasons range from, political instability.

And of course, post 1930 the history of Argentina has been coup after coup after coup after coup.

Sociological reasons.

From political projects The majority of the rest of the wealthy world signs up to GATT the General Agreement on Tariffs and trades which facilitated international trade and Argentina remain aloof from that.

They don't sign up.

Simple answer?

ELI: Tell me your answer.

What changed is this...

The model that we had for development.

For economic development.

We actually had a name for it: It stopped being useful.

Because the international situation changed.

It became about industrialisation.

It was no longer about exporting commodities.

The relative prices of what we had to offer went down.

And our main market, disappeared.

So all those things combined...

That was the problem.

And if you want to read a couple of books about it I can recommend it to you.

No problem.

And so where does an extremely proud and passionate nation who was once a dominant global force look to to find a similar sense of importance in the world?

The World Game of course.

I think Argentina is unique in the way it celebrates football and particularly the World Cup because the World Cup is...

It’s how Argentina expresses itself to the world.

So the thing with the World Cup for Argentines is it’s not just about football, just being the best at football.

It’s about being the best...

<i>at something.</i>

That is how they show their worth or how they validate themselves particularly to a European audience.

So while we may not dominate anymore, you know on several fields, especially the industry.

We can actually say that football is the one thing where we can still be the <i>very, very, very</i> best.

There is reality, an objective reality.

And then there is perception.

Every nation perceives itself in some way...

We perceive as ourselves as really, really good, and the only time reality and perception match is when we play football.

And then came the 2002 World Cup in Japan/South Korea which played out just as the country fell to a new low.

Huge numbers of people lost huge amounts of money.

The country was ravaged.

The economy is just devastated because they can’t pay their debt.

Mired in a 93 billion dollar debt to the IMF demonstrations, riots and general chaos sent the country into near societal collapse.

The only glimmer of light being...

Their best national team in decades who under coach Marcelo Bielsa went to the tournament filled with optimism.

But in 2002, they qualify brilliantly under Bielsa.

You know, in such a great form.

In qualifying, they destroy everybody.

A lot of unbeaten games...

You know they’re favourites, they’re definitely favourites.

And then for the first time in forty years.

Argentina crashed out at the group stage.

Argentina’s best World Cup hope in decades fell at the first hurdle.

And so that mythological Argentine Utopia of ‘86 felt further away than ever.

And with it’s economy, government and streets in tatters...

it really felt like it was never coming back.

However, little did they know...

another Pibe had emerged.