Argentine football fans. Fan Encyclopedia
Most Interesting Facts about the hooligans of Argentina - in the material of Alex Mannanov.
A country: Argentina.
Location: Southeast South America, the eastern part of the island of Tierra del Fuego and nearby islands.
Population: 43 million people.
Capital: Buenos Aires.
Irreconcilable rivals: Brazil, Uruguay, England, Italy.
The most famous club derbies:
"Superclasico" (aka "Superderby", meetings between Boca Juniors and River Plate, 70% of all Argentine supporters support these two teams);
Derby Avellaneda (also known as Clasico de Avellaneda, matches between Independiente and Racing, teams from Avellaneda, an eastern suburb of the Greater Buenos Aires agglomeration);
Derby Rosario (aka Clasico Rosarino, fights between Newell's Old Boys and Rosario Central);
Derby La Plata (aka Clasico Platense, matches between Estudiantes and Gimnasia and Esgrima).
Leading firms: XII ("Boca Juniors"), Los Borrachos del Tablon ("River Plate"), La Barra Del Rojo ("Independiente").
Until the 17th century, the capital of Argentina bore the long name Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Nuestra Señora de Santa María de los Buenos Aires, which was translated as follows: "The City of the Most Holy Trinity and the Port of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Good Winds." In order not to break the language, the name was shortened to "Buenos Aires" ("good winds").
Argentine tango (in Argentina - just tango) is considered a folk dance in the country. Interestingly, the dance steps now familiar to many originally appeared in the African communities of Buenos Aires: in the language of the Nigerian Ibibio people, "tango" means "dance to the sound of a drum." At the beginning of the 20th century, orchestras from Buenos Aires brought tango to Europe.
Jujuy - the northwestern province of Argentina in Russian-speaking countries is written and pronounced as "Jujuy", although this deviates from the norms of Spanish transcription. The fact is that the Spanish pronunciation of the name was recognized as dissonant.
Argentines are a hot nation, and football hooliganism is known to them firsthand. The first murder of a fan on the basis of football hatred took place back in the twenties of the XX century, during the Copa America-1924. Then, in one of the hotels in Montevideo, Uruguay, a fight broke out between Uruguayan fans on the one hand, and between the players and supporters of the Argentina national team on the other. One of the Uruguayan fans was killed, and the Argentine football players covered up the killer and secretly took him out of the country, after which relations between the two South American countries escalated utterly. Since then, every match between Argentina and Uruguay has been a problematic one.
Two more national teams, relations with which the Argentines are very far from ideal - Brazil and England.
The rivalry between Argentina and Brazil as a confrontation between the two leading powers of South America is characteristic of all sports, but it is in football that it has reached its incredible quintessence. The struggle was so intense that after the incidents of 1946, the national teams did not play each other for a whole decade. At the 1946 Copa America, the Brazilian midfielder Jair attacked the Argentine captain, defender José Salomon, so roughly that he broke his shin and fibula. Seeing what happened, the Argentine football players immediately went to the Brazilians with a wall, and while the police were trying to pull the players apart, fans of both teams ran out onto the field, who launched a real massacre on the lawn. José Salomon never recovered from his injury and never fought again in his professional career.
Scandals of all kinds accompanied other matches between Argentina and Brazil. For example, at the 1990 World Cup, Argentina passed an irreconcilable rival in the 1/8 finals (1: 0, Canigia from the transfer of Maradona), but subsequently the Brazilian Branco said that the technical staff of the Argentine national team gave him a bottle of tranquilizer during the "watering hole" (when the medical staff runs onto the field to help one of the players). At the 1991 America's Cup, five (!!!) players left the field at once on a stretcher, the South American felling turned out to be so cruel.
Among other things, we must not forget that Brazilians and Argentines are always arguing about who really was the greatest player in the history of football, Pele or Maradona. The Brazilians called Pele "the king of football", but in Argentina they say: "If Pele is the king, then Maradona is the god."
The first unpleasant aftertaste in the duels between Argentina and England was observed by the audience during the 1966 World Cup, when the national teams met in the quarterfinals. In Argentina, that match became known as "El robo del siglo", "The Kidnapping of the Century". The only goal in the brutal zaruba was scored by English forward Jeff Hurst - from a clear offside position, and even earlier the South American guests were left with ten men. At the 35th minute, the German referee Rudolf Kreitlein removed the Argentine captain Antonio Rattin from the field, and no one could understand what Rattin was guilty of (Argentine media spread information that the referee did not like the way the South American football player looked at him): in the end , the Boca Juniors midfielder was expelled with the help of police forces. English coach Alf Ramsey after the final whistle forbade his players to change shirts with an opponent, saying in the press that "Argentines are animals."
But they were still flowers. In early April 1982, a war broke out between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands (in Spanish-speaking countries they are called Malvinas): since the 19th century, Argentina considered these islands to be its own, and considered their capture by the English crown in 1833 an insult. In April 1982, an Argentine landing force forced the surrender of the British Marines who controlled the Falkland Islands. But in the end, the archipelago still returned under the protectorate of the United Kingdom.
When Argentina faced England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, no one in the country made a secret of the fact that the national was not just going to a match - it was going to a mortal battle for the honor and dignity of its country. In this battle, two of the most famous goals in the world championships were scored: each goal of Diego Armando Maradona became personalized and entered the annals of history as the “Hand of God” and the “Goal of the Century”. In the 51st minute, Maradona leveled the 20-centimeter advantage in the growth of English goalkeeper Peter Shilton, sending the ball into the goal stack with his hand. After 4 minutes, the “Goal of the Century” took place: El Diego made a 60-meter dash in 10 seconds, beating five Englishmen along the way (one of the opponents twice) and rolled the ball into the net. After the match, Maradona admitted that it was not just a victory, but "revenge for the killed Argentine guys."
The rivalry intensified at the 1998 World Cup when Argentine midfielder Diego Simeone provoked the then-young David Beckham into a foul that led the Englishman to a red card. The British media, after the meeting in the one-eighth final, which ended with the victory of the South Americans in the penalty shootout, accused the Albicelesta players of being too theatrical. The Daily Mirror came out with the headline "10 heroic lions and one stupid kid", not the most subtle allusion to David Beckham.
But, of course, Argentine hooliganism developed primarily within the country itself. The first murder on the grounds of near-football took place in Argentina on May 14, 1939, in a game between Lanus and Boca Juniors. The squabble between the players on the field resulted in a fan slaughter, and the exalted police officer Luis Estrella began firing at the spectators, inflicting mortal wounds on Luis Lopez and 9-year-old Oscar Munitoli.
In the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century, South American firms began to form in Argentina, the so-called "barras bravas". Every big and small football club in the country had its own “barra brava”, whose attitude towards other fans correlated as much as possible with the term “unimaginable cruelty”. Argentine "barras bravas" worked closely with the criminal world and drug cartels, and this phenomenon characterizes the Argentine near-football to this day.
Support groups were created in the country for a reason. Argentine football was so corrupt that the visiting team sometimes got into a complete stalemate - the referee whistled in one direction, and local fans could "jump" at any moment. Thus, the barra brava, who came with her team on the road, had to provide at least some justice, to make sure that her team was not frankly "drowned". However, over time, the functions of "support groups" began to consist not only in this. Argentine football hooliganism is extremely brutal: between 1958 and 1985, 103 fans were killed in the country's stadiums, that is, on average, the killing was carried out once every three months.
In 2002, officials decided to crack down on football hooliganism, which was declared a national scourge - five fans were killed during the year, and dozens more lay in hospital with severe knife and gunshot wounds. Love for the club and hatred for foreign flowers in Argentina is so strong that even the national team, which everyone in the country loves, fades into the background. In the Czech Republic, before leaving for the World Cup 2006, a mahach took place in the camp of Argentine fans, in which the fans of Independiente on the one hand, and the supporters of Boca Juniors and Defensa and Justicia on the other, collided. It all ended with the hospitalization of one of the representatives of the famous barra brava "12" ("Boca Juniors").
The morning of July 4, 2010, before the quarterfinal match of the world championship, in which the Argentines had to play with the Germans, was marked by a fight between representatives of the companies "La Barra Del Rojo" ("Independiente") and "12" ("Boca Juniors"). The "Red Devils" (as Independiente footballers and fans are called) were outnumbered, as a result of which they beat one Boca fan unconscious. On the 5th of July he passed away. In Argentina, it is customary to avenge every attack, every "jump", every death. Therefore, the end of the local deadly near-football is not yet in sight.
How cheerful, noisy and cheerful were the fans of the Argentina national team before the match with the Croats, so depressed and quiet after. Something, but such a humiliation - 0:3! – they did not expect from their players. Let's pay tribute to their restraint: out of half a dozen people to whom I turned for an express comment outside the walls of the Nizhny Novgorod stadium, only one refused to speak. And in the most correct form.
The Argentina national team is not Messi. This is Tagliafico
We list everything that went wrong.
1. What happened?
Fernando (Buenos Aires): Case loss: Argentina played poorly, Croatia played well. The result is fair, but still too large. Three goals is too much.
Augustin (Cordoba): Croatia had a great match, but we didn't, that's all.
Angelo (northern Argentina): We lost 0:3. Rakitic scored "vote". It is sad. Look what a battery of beer glasses I have - I collected them for my friends. This is the only positive outcome of the match. Argentina has best football player peace but no best team peace.
Javier Gonzalez (Cordoba): Our game lacked integrity, while the Croats got almost everything. They were fine today. But this is not a reason for despondency - on the contrary, an extra incentive to support the team, it now needs it. We believe that in last round Argentina will beat Nigeria and reach the 1/8 finals.
2. Who is to blame?
Fernando: There is no real boss in the team - there is no real Messi.
Augustin: Blame the coach. He is a good specialist, but perhaps not for the world level. Caballero? If all the lines of the team are not functioning well, why should the goalkeeper be an exception? No, this is purely a coaching defeat.
Angelo: I'm not a coach - just a driver. But our coach is an interesting character… I can only say that Messi deserves the World Cup, but the team does not.
Javier Gonzalez: Do not blame one person - everyone is to blame.
"Ronaldo is great." How will Messi react to such words of the coach of his national team?
After the match with Croatia, the Argentine coach took the blame, but along the way again defended Leo Messi.
3. Why is Messi failing the championship?
Fernando: Stop. At Barcelona he is surrounded by players who work for him. And here there are many stars, but no constellation. I don't think it's because of fatigue after the season. It's just that the national team does not function as a team.
Augustin: Messi has been active, but what can he do without getting the ball? We failed today not in front, but behind, conceding three goals.
Angelo: And in my opinion, he was the best we have today. Messi does not play for the national team because of the money, I am 100% sure of that. He plays for Argentina with his heart. Leo has already made enough money. The only thing he lacks is the same partners in the national team as in the club.
Javier Gonzalez: The national team trains in a different way and uses different tactics. But the main thing is that he has a completely different company in the club. Even for the greatest masters, the environment is important.
That Argentina is football country, we learn from an early age thanks to the popular song of the Chaif group "Argentina - Jamaica". The second largest country in South America gave the world the great Maradona, the football player who made the country world champion in Mexico in 1986. Every schoolchild knows the name of Messi - the best modern football player from the same Argentina.
How do such strong players appear and what is remarkable about the country that releases them in batches? First, it must be recognized that football in Argentina is not a sport, not an event, but a religion. From birth, every child is entitled to a document and a football club, for which he has been a fan of his whole life. Secondly, the importance of each match in this country is much higher than such events as weddings, funerals and birthdays. And during the World Championships, you can forget about everything that does not concern football. Because football is sacred.
How do real Argentines get sick?
Preparation
Any event manager can envy the talent of preparing fans for matches. To begin with, attention is paid to appearance: the more elements of clothing that reflect the flag of the country or football club, all the better. As a rule, T-shirts, scarves, caps and various small accessories are dyed or bought additionally in colors. The most dedicated fans get vuvuzelas and paint their faces. And it doesn't matter where the fan himself is - at home on the couch or at the stadium with thousands of other people.
After appearance, it is necessary to think about technical and gastronomic logistics. If a person goes to a match at the stadium, then everything is simple: buy a ticket as early as possible and stock up on fast food. If a company gathers to watch a match in a cafe or bar, then the main thing is to reserve the tables of a suitable bar in time, as there will be many people who want to. If the match takes place on a weekend or evening, it is quite common to have someone's living room equipped with a TV, a large table with snacks and hanging flags. It happens that matches are also listened to on the radio on the way home or through the window of restaurants, but such options happen quite rarely.
Process
Argentines are often not punctual. But not during matches! Everything must be ready at least 30 minutes before the start; if it's a stadium, then people start coming two or even three hours before the match. During the 90 minutes that the game itself is going on, local men change beyond recognition: dilated pupils, full concentration on the actions of the players, a nervous state and a loud reaction to everything that happens around. At such moments, one of two opposite transformations occurs with a person from another culture: either complete involvement and adopting all the signs of fellow fans, or complete loss and a feeling of presence on the battlefield / on the 478th episode of the famous soap opera / in the zoo. Each movement on the field is recorded and commented, because the outcome depends on it! Side conversations during a match are simply inappropriate and impolite. During the match, obscene language is allowed against the opposing team, its fans and humanity in general. It is also surprising that at such moments, many people discover the gift of a football specialist who knows how to play correctly. The gift must be expressed loudly and emotionally. As for the world around, it simply ceases to exist. Shops close for long breaks, companies provide employees with extra free hours to watch football, transport is almost non-existent. All eyes are on the stadium.
Result
Just as in football it is rarely possible to predict the outcome of a match, in Argentina it is difficult to predict the emotional background of the fans after the game. In case of victory, everything is clear and clear. Everyone is happy and celebrating for a few days. If two local clubs compete, then the losing fans can also show where the crayfish hibernate. So in 2011, when one of the strongest clubs in the country, River Plate, went into category "B" for a whole year (for the first time in 80 years), Buenos Aires turned into a battlefield and the police had to separate the fans. However, in most cases, Argentines do not show aggression, even when a loss hits hard on national pride. The day when the national team gave away the match against Germany with a score of 0-4 (World Cup 2010) was the quietest day in the chronicle of the city. The city fell into silence, and weeping adult men met literally at every turn.
Outcome
To cheer in Argentine style, it is not enough just to put on the colors of your favorite team and gather friends in front of the TV. Argentines are sick with all their heart and experience deeply both victories and losses of their favorite teams. Perhaps that is why the country is famous for its legendary football players who grow up in an atmosphere of great responsibility for their results. Otherwise they'll have to listen next reaction from a fan.
