Nervous excitement and raucous cheering turned to anguished groans, terrible tension and tears as Argentina’s hopes of another historic comeback under Lionel Messi at the World Cup faded away against Spain.
At the Café Relax bar in the historic center of Buenos Aires, fans with tears in their eyes after the final whistle on the 1-0 defeat said what saddened them most was that it was almost certainly 39-year-old Messi’s last shot at the World Cup.
“I feel empty. Empty because of Messi, because I won’t be able to see him at the World Cup again. This is the last one,” said Camilo Cicchero, a 22-year-old architecture student who was consoling his crying friend.
“We didn’t expect it to be like that. At least I get peace of mind knowing he’s already won everything he had to win.”
Bracing himself, his friend Juan Saenz, 22, a law student, said: “It was Messi’s last…It was the very end, and it ended like this.”
“I was born when Messi was playing and it was the end of that era.”
But it was not all tears.
Fireworks went off across the city, cars honked their horns, and thousands of fans headed to the iconic obelisk, still a traditional venue for football celebrations.
Initially disappointed, they soon began partying again to celebrate their team and many said that despite the loss, they would take to the streets to welcome the team on Monday.
“Thank you very much, players!!! You fought to the end. Argentina will always stand,” President Javier Miley wrote on Twitter.
they gave it their all
After a poor performance at the World Cup following a series of narrow victories, Argentina were confident that they could achieve a second consecutive victory in the final in New Jersey.
Wrapped in their blue and white flags and wearing national football jerseys, they braved an icy cold day to pack bars and public squares, bursting with excitement at the start of the game.
At Café Relax, which displays a flag that says it is “forbidden to forget” the Falkland Islands, which Argentina invaded in 1982 after being invaded by a British task force, nervous energy and upbeat chants gave way to tension by half-time.
In the second half, there were angry screams on the screen as well as agitated chants and increased abuse, while some people sat with folded hands, tapping their feet and biting their nails or burying their heads in the flag.
“Oh no, it can’t be, please, please!” A woman cried when Enzo Fernandez was sent off for two yellow cards.
Before extra time began, 87-year-old Teresa Dolores del Río Varela complained that “It keeps dragging on, and you start to get nervous. I’m happy, but I just want it to end because it’s getting longer.”
Joaquin Romero, a 22-year-old who works in sales, said the game was “incredibly complicated. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but it’s going to happen for us. We are Argentines. We are champions and we are going to win.”
This was not to happen.
A dramatic extra-time goal from Ferran Torres silenced the bar for the final agonizing minutes.
Cicero said he was sad for Messi but disappointed with the game.
“I didn’t like how Argentina played. I didn’t like the game plan, the substitutions, the players. I didn’t like the referee.”
Retiree Abel Torres, 62, who wore a blue and white clown hat and played a vuvuzela throughout the game, broke into tears as he described the game as “incredibly emotional.”
“Argentina gave everything it had. Today is a true example of what Argentina is all about: despite facing difficult times and obstacles, we always get up again.”
In Messi’s hometown of Rosario, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the player and his team with fireworks and chants.
“We have already won a cup. We can’t just burst into tears – we have to celebrate. Messi has already taken us to the top of the world,” Sergio Irrazabal told AFP.