Edgardo De Marco, centre, and fellow Argentine fans celebrate in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
Edgardo De Marco, centre, and fellow Argentine fans celebrate in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
It wasn’t quite the Obelisco de Buenos Aires, but the Napier Sound Shell was still a more than adequate replacement.
Santiago De Marco was seven when Argentina last won the Fifa World Cup in 1986, joining a crowd of millions at the Obelisco in central Buenos Aires to celebrate theachievements of Diego Maradona and company.
Thirty-six years on, the excitement was just the same - only this time shared with a dozen friends, family and fellow Argentines on Marine Parade.
“Today, when the game finished, we knew this was a moment in time,” an emotional De Marco said.
“The hug with my dad, the kiss with my daughter, the kiss with my wife. I was shaking my son’s body. My oldest son, who’s in Palmerston North in the army, we were watching the game live [over the phone] with him.
“We know we’ll never forget today. It’s something that we’ll remember forever. We’ll know what we wore, what we said.”
Ecstatic Argentina fan Andrea Pucheta celebrates the team's World Cup win. Photo / Warren Buckland
It’s not enough that the Argentina team sent the great Lionel Messi out a winner, but the way it was done.
Ahead, then level at 3-3 and ultimately off to penalties, Argentina finally prevailed 4-2 in the shootout. Messi was magnificent, scoring a goal in normal and extra time and then from the penalty spot when it absolutely mattered.
“It’s like a good Argentinian tango,” said De Marco.
“It’s passion, it’s love, it’s misery, drama and then in the end the last dance move of the tango strikes you and we’ve been struck today with the magic of Messi and the Argentinian players.’’
Argentina’s fans have been among the stars of the World Cup in Qatar, with many reportedly mortgaging houses and selling off possessions for the opportunity to see Messi win a World Cup in what’s believed to be his final appearance at the tournament.
The players, many from humble backgrounds, embraced the passion and commitment of their supporters and the responsibility of helping Messi win the one major title that has eluded him.
“Amazing. It’s a great way to finish 2022. It’s just joy, it’s hope,’’ De Marco said.
“Today football won and humanity won because we just saw the greatest final ever played.
“The pressure on Messi to know it’s his last game. He was the man of the tournament and he is the greatest man to play the game.
Hoarse but happy, it was then time for De Marco to rejoin the dancing and the singing and to acknowledge the toots and waves of the many motorists who clearly took delight from Argentina’s win too.
