Fanatical Argentine fans turned Times Square blue and white – then their team fought
Times Square in New York is one of the most recognizable pieces of real estate in the world. It looked very different with Argentine fans in town.
Police officers unfamiliar with Argentine football culture but used to monitoring peaceful protests watched in dismay as Midtown Manhattan transformed into an Albiceleste street party.
Tuesday’s “banderazo,” a pre-match tradition in which fans wave flags and sing songs in honor of the national team, proved that Messi and Argentina are still riding a wave of euphoria since winning the 2022 World Cup. Are they now the most popular national team in the world?
𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐀 Times Square filled up 🤯🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/gfaQhkMeh0
— Argentina Selection in English (@AFASeleccionEN) June 25, 2024
More than 80,000 fans at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey witnessed a classic South American battle between Argentina and Chile. The two countries know each other all too well. Chile won the Copa America final against Argentina in 2015 and 2016, but on Tuesday Lionel Messi’s side got revenge with a nail-biting 1-0 victory that secured their place in the quarter-finals.
There’s a big difference between a continental final and a group stage match, but there was something special about this renewed rivalry. Argentina is the world champion and Copa America holder. Their team hotels are surrounded by fans pretending to hope to catch a glimpse of the latest pop-rock boy band. The build-up to the match against Chile reached new levels of fanatical obsession.
Messi has legions of followers all over the world. His admirers come from all over the world, many of whom have been associated with the Argentina captain since his 17th season at Barcelona. They have remained loyal to him even after Argentina’s painful defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final.
After Argentina lost the 2016 Copa America final to Chile at MetLife Stadium, Messi abruptly announced his retirement from international football. But his adoring fans did not turn their backs on him then either.
So when Argentina defeated France in a thrilling World Cup final in Qatar two years ago, the love and respect Messi’s fans had for him tripled. Argentina became what Brazil had been in the early 1990s — a world-championship team of stars with a cool factor off the pitch and jogo bonito on it.
Argentinian fans packed Times Square (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Argentina’s star status on the international stage is reminiscent of the 1998 French team that knocked Brazil off its pedestal, or the Spanish teams of the 2000s, which enjoyed an incredible run from 2008 to 2012, winning a World Cup and two European Championships won.
Argentina are chasing their third straight international trophy since 2021 and their first consecutive Copa America title since 1993. Messi is now surrounded by a group of players who have become global stars in their own right.
In New Jersey, MetLife Stadium was decked out in blue and white. There was hardly an empty seat. Fans from around the world had come to watch Messi and his cronies on their soccer-themed tour of the East Coast of the United States. They left almost without celebrating a goal, as a greedy Chilean team did their best to spoil the party. Chile were not intimidated by the three stars above the Argentina emblem or the thousands of fans who were against them; they frustrated Messi in the first half with fouls that went unpunished by the lenient Uruguayan referee Andres Matonte.
At times the match resembled a major street fight. A draw would have felt like an important moral victory for Chile. Instead, Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez pounced on a deflected shot in the Chilean penalty area and scored from close range in the 88th minute. Martinez is one of the most in-form strikers in the world.
He scored 24 goals to help Inter Milan win last season’s Serie A title, but suffered a confidence-boosting goal drought against Argentina that saw him fail to find the back of the net from September 2022 to March this year . He has now scored five goals in five games for his country.
Will Messi be in danger in the final group match? (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“I’m happy,” Martinez said. “I’m happy because I scored and helped the team. It’s been 16 games without a goal for me, but I’m always ready to contribute, however this group needs it.”
Martinez’s humility is in stark contrast to the personality of Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. From the mixed zone of the stadium, the Aston Villa man guaranteed that Argentina would win their six matches and lift the Copa America.
Argentina is a team of diverse personalities. Together they march as an army of battle-tested soldiers who remain hungry for more hardware. They are led by the soft-spoken Messi, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Monday. “We knew this game would be difficult – every game is,” said the Inter Miami forward. “Our games against Chile are always tough.”
Messi denied that the hamstring problems he felt in the first half were the result of tackles. “I felt some discomfort in my right hamstring at the beginning of the match,” he said. “It was tight. It wasn’t as loose as it should have been. But I was able to finish the match. We’ll see how it goes.”
Messi admitted he was suffering from a sore throat and fever, and his status against Peru in their final group match on June 29 is uncertain.
A trip to Messi’s new hometown of Miami will follow, with another sell-out crowd at the Hard Rock Stadium a virtual guarantee. But will Messi play, or will head coach Lionel Scaloni rest his captain?
Surrounded by New York state troopers in a mixed zone full of international journalists, Messi showed no signs of slowing down. He grinned when told of Emiliano Martinez’s bold prediction.
“He talks like that because he has confidence in himself and in this group,” Messi said. “But we are the same group of players as before, humble. A team that goes game by game. We are going to fight for this title. Hopefully we can get there.”
(Top photo: Charly Triballeau/Getty Images)
