Will It Be the Ultimate Triumph For My Argentina

It’s nostalgia written all over my countenance as I’m witnessing another 45 minutes of hope. Yes, you got it right – it’s half time in the greatest tournament of the sporting world. The FIFA World Cup is coming to an end for the 22nd time and crowning glory is about to be declared. Who will make it?

My mind goes back to 32 years – strangely, whenever I think of a World Cup, it is the first that is fondest in my memory. I had tracked it religiously and gained a new area of excitement in my life. What was more intriguing was that a lifelong ‘fanship’ began, which has not waned over more than three decades that have gone by since then. What has changed is the focus and time devoted to this sporting mega event. 

What has remained unchanged is the allegiance to Argentina. Whenever Argentina plays, my heart goes pounding with unrelenting excitement. That was the case in 1990 when I was exposed to its exquisite style. In the end, the outcome was very disappointing as Argentina went down by a goal. The team never seemed to recover from this shock till the opportunity came against the very same opponents 24 years later. The result, however, remained unchanged. One can imagine my disbelief when the extra time goal became a reality. That was possibly the last time I tracked a World Cup. The heartbreak was too much to bear. Coming to think of it, Argentina had never scored a goal in the final of a World Cup since the mesmersing Maradona magic gave them their second title way back in the Aztec Stadium in 1986.  

All that has finally changed now. Argentina has fired two goals in the first half with the first goal within the first fifteen minutes. They have put history behind them and came back very strongly after a very lacklustre start in the preliminary rounds. Every match in the knockout stages showed their power and hunger. This was the determination way back in 1978 and 1986, which culminated in catapulting Argentina to one of the greatest soccer teams at that time. That was the pinnacle as we realised for years later. The dwindling fortunes did not make it any better and with other teams coming centerstage, it looked like Argentina was relegated to a second rung team. It was during this ‘low’ phase that France and Spain made their mark while Italy and Brazil made remarkable comebacks.

We did see fleeting glimpses of an Argentine revival in 2014 against traditional European rival, though the opportunity was squandered quite meekly on that fateful day in its neighbour’s best soccer stadium. I have not watched a World Cup match since then. When I came to know that Argentina had made it to the finals this year, my heart was aflutter again. Initially I decided against watching the final, settling mentally that I was the bad luck for my favourite and staying away would enable a change in the result. While Argentina’s opponents had changed this year, yet France is a formidable team, being the current champion and reigning the world rather supremely throughout this tournament. Moreover, if we look back, in 1986, Argentina had lost its 2 goal lead, before coming good!!

My father continues to watch almost all the matches and has gently reminded me more than once over the last one month that this event comes once in four years and I’ll have wait for another four if I continued with my decision to skip it now. So, considering his invaluable advice, I picked up the television remote with trembling fingers. And at half time, I’ve kept my fingers crossed, with the unending hope that the glory will be attained by Argentina today. Will Messi, the oldest goal scorer in World Cup history, be able to lead his country (my country too) for the ultimate triumph.

As I had said at the start of the 2014 World Cup Final, Go Argentina Go!!