There are very few proper, undistilled fan stories in Qatar… The old part of the city is the most common place where one can hear some songs, a bit of joy, but it lasts only a period and is anything but massive and vocal. This World Cup is more tourist-oriented than anything else. However, the Mexicans, Moroccans and, of course, Argentinians are setting the bar high. Because of them, the biggest gathering in world football looks like just the World Cup should. With all due respect to the less numerous fans of other national teams who had put the enormous effort to make it count. There are too few of them.##NAJAVA_MECA_6881967####EDITORS_CHOICE##We saw Argentinians some time ago and thought we’d seen enough… Still, we decided to give it a go and look up this strange address they gave us. The last metro station, then another hour by bus, then a little bit of walk and here we are – in the desert. It takes more than two hours to get to some stadiums from here. It is not a fan village, but a huge settlement in the barracks-style. Surrounded by a high wall so you can’t see everything inside from the road, it is made up of several hundred identical three-story buildings with a total of 2,000 residential units. Everything is the same inside. After the World Cup, thousands of workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, and the Philippines will live there. Believe it or not, they are the majority of Qatar’s population.This is the cheapest accommodation that could be found legally in Qatar. Things didn’t look so lively since it was a day off at the tournament. But it is immediately obvious who is in charge here. Blue and white jerseys and T-shirts dominate. The first one we met was Gabriel, a Boca Juniors fan. This is his third World Cup, and after persuading him to overcome his shyness, he agrees to tell us what the World Cup means to Argentines.”People in Argentina sold cars and houses to come here. I know them personally. We went to other states to work to earn and save for this. And then I saw those Dutch people, only 1,000 of them came to the World Cup?! And it’s a rich country like England and other European countries… I don’t understand. Why? You are richer than us, it is closer to you, and 40,000 of us come from poor Argentina. Maybe we are too crazy about football. But this is not just football for us. If you ask someone in Argentina right now if they want our economy to recover or for us to be world champions in football, most will say the latter,” says Gabi as he puts a giant bag on his back to settle in the new room.Za navijače Argentine završnica Svetskog prvenstva je mnogo više od same igre ⚽🔥Samo poslušajte ovog čoveka 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/83oEnOyIYb— Mozzart Bet (@MozzartBet) December 12, 2022 Argentinians often change accommodations and rooms. The reason is that the departure dates change as the national team progresses. And then almost an incident occurred two days ago. The organizing committee and FIFA informed them that they would not be able to extend their stay here after the semifinals, even though it is half empty, as the fans of other national teams have left. At least, that was the organizers’ plan. And when a Qatari says you must do something, then it must be done, period. This is not a country known for believing in the power of dialogue.The Argentinian media responded with a joint ‘barrage’ at FIFA and the organizers, so everything was put in place in about five or six hours, and the whole fuss was forgotten. The Argentines were given the green light to continue with the lease of this property. Things didn’t go according to Qatari’s plans for the first time in the championship. “We came here because it’s the cheapest. The room for two is 82 dollars. So, about 40 euros per day per room for accommodation. You can’t find anything like that in the rest of Qatar. And how many of us are there in a room? Five, of course. C’mon, they gave up on controlling things and left us alone,” one of Gabriel’s friends reveals. Argentina to win the World Cup – odd 2.60Yeah, right, you want us to believe that five of you are sleeping in such a tiny space!? “Do you know I worked for months in the USA and slept with two other guys in the car to save up for this? I’ll send you the photo right away.” And indeed, the image of Argentinians packed sardines-like arrives instantly. “Well, we all slept in the car eight years ago in Brazil. I didn’t want to give the Brazilians money for accommodation. We took a shower on the beach, did what we had to where possible, and that’s it. You know how the Arabs looked at us the other day on some fancy beach when they saw us with shampoo? We are all brothers here. If someone doesn’t have accommodation, he sends a message to someone who does. It is forwarded straight into the WhatsApp group, and everyone eventually finds accommodation. No Argentine will be left homeless, I swear to you. And I don’t mean just a few of us. Most people here are like that,” explains Gabriel. On the room’s window, they hung a flag from the outside saying: “The most human-like of all the gods”.Leo Messi. They adore him. One of them has Messi tattooed on his thigh. Of course, alongside Maradona. They won’t talk much about the ultimate World Cup games.He and his mates are discussing what’s the next stop. They found an elite beach in Perla where the entrance fee is 50 euros, and they’re positive they would get in for free. Slowly walking away, they have a single request for us – not to wish them good luck as they believe it could backfire and turn itself into a curse.Another group of people comes along. They can’t get their head around someone being interested in the ordinary fans’ life in Doha, especially on a day off. These are true football fanatics. “When we lost to Saudi Arabia, I thought about the 2002 crush and that we will go through the same thing again. Fortunately, this Argentina is different. We have never played so bravely. That victory over Brazil at Maracana (in the 2021 Copa America final) turned the tables. We had bigger stars before, but we didn’t play like this. At the last World Cup, that idiot Sampaoli led us, and it was impossible to do anything with him in the dugout,” says Martin.He is an Estudiantes fan and tells us that most fans cannot stand Juan Sebastian Veron, the club legend. They are convinced that he ‘betrayed’ the national team against England in 2002 because he then moved to Manchester United?! And then he ‘buried’ himself even more, when he had a skirmish with Maradona…We also talk about Tevez and Higuain, but a fierce reply comes when we try to suggest that Lautaro Martinez can become the new Higuain if he continues to make so many mistakes. “Do you watch football at all!? The hell you do! Higuain was a top striker! So is Lautaro! We lost that Copa America final to Chile because of psychology. We were not mentally strong. It’s a different story now. Rodrigo de Paul is the kind of player the national team has been missing. He is our best player. Messi and Di Maria are no longer in their ‘prime’ and now doing their best to fit into the team of warriors. You can see that Messi doesn’t run as much as he used to before. But there is De Paul, Enzo, and Alvarez, who doesn’t stop for a single moment, so Messi can run less… And, of course, Emi between the posts. He is the nation’s favourite,” says Martin. It’s a messed up world if footballers have to PROVE losing in the World Cup truly hurts themAs the day goes by, various football stories are still on the table, but you cannot hear them saying that Argentina is the favourite against Croatia. They don’t want to hear about it. They are glad that Brazil are sent home because they were arrogant and overbearing. They say that Tite is the biggest coaching fraud out there, making his name thanks to nothing but self-marketing. They add that the only one worse than Tite is their former gaffer Sampaoli. On the other end, the current one, Lionel Scaloni…🇦🇷 Lionel Scaloni hasta las lágrimas. pic.twitter.com/dT5UmtVf6f— JS⚽️ (@juegosimple__) December 12, 2022 “He is from my hometown. He has always been a modest and humble guy. He is intelligent and surrounded by the right people. His coaching staff includes Ayala, Samuel and Aimar. Trust me, they are much more than assistants and have almost as much influence as Scaloni. Smart people surround themselves with co-workers who won’t cater to their every whim but can say something new that the boss doesn’t see. The three of them (except Ayala) played together in the youth national team that won the Mundialito in 1997. Riquelme, Cambiasso, Placente were also there… Now they have poured that spirit of unity into this team that is fighting courageously every single minute of every single match,” reveals Martin. More help for Messi: 40.000 Gauchos are coming to QatarAround 2,000 Argentinians are estimated to be in this temporary settlement. Couples, brothers and sisters, cousins… lots of women. They immediately caught our eye. A classic fan dress code. Jersey, T-shirt, tracksuit.The fire is on, the embers are there, and the spectacle can begin. It’s a barbecue with just two massive pieces of beef.”I think there are about seven to eight kilograms of meat in these two pieces. This is our original Argentinian barbecue. We make this at home on the weekend. Europeans like sausages and all that s..t, we like only real meat. For breakfast, lunch and dinner. This smaller piece is Argentinian export beef. The best in the world. For us in Argentina this is expensive and we don’t eat this class very often. And then we come here where we can afford it?! Ironic, isn’t it,” says Lucas.Comrade, that’s not irony but a sad reality… There is that old saying about a beautiful country and a faulty state. Valid on various parts of this planet.I enjoy watching them do it. The fire is not intense, but the embers are constantly added below, and the meat is not touched for almost an hour. Then they turn it over, close it, and so on for another hour. Along the way, a bit of football is played on the street. It is in their veins. They want to nutmeg a security guard by shooting the ball through his legs or fooling a maid by putting a ball in the laundry basket. They succeeded in the latter.At the beginning, they were told that they were not allowed to light a fire and make a barbecue, but of course the Argentinians pushed their way. Now no one asks them about it anymore. The surrounding grills are also slowly lighting up. A few bricks, a grill, a bag of charcoal, an ironing board as a work table, salt, pepper, salad, and that’s it. That’s hours of fun. There’s just no alcohol in sight, but that suddenly changes too.##NAJAVA_MECA_6886040##About twenty meters away, a car arrives, and people gather around it. You have something to see when he lifts the trunk. Cases of Heineken and packs of something we’re unfamiliar with. Fernet it is. The most popular alcoholic drink in Argentina. A bottle of Frenet is super-expensive. Over 120 euros. The goods were quickly looted…The only reason for stress here is match tickets. Lucas doesn’t have one for the semifinal against Croatia, and every now and then, he “refreshes” the FIFA app on his phone to see if any available appear. But what if…”I’ll get it! Don’t doubt it. Not going to the stadium is not an option. I don’t think about that. I’ll find the way and get the ticket”, says the guy in a confident tone.They claim there is no way to find a ticket cheaper than 1,500 dollars at resellers and that they will not be on the official FIFA website.Manuela is an Argentinian living in New Zealand for three years. She could have afforded more expensive accommodation, but she says this place has a soul.”In Argentina, the salary is 500 dollars. Monthly. And it took them at least 5,000 for the cheapest option to get here. I earn $1,000 in New Zealand. Weekly. That’s why it was easier for me to afford tickets than for people from my homeland. I paid $4,000 for all seven tickets. From the group stage to the final. I earn it there in a month.”After two hours, they took the large pieces off the grill for the first time, cut them in half and left them like that for another hour. And then, little by little. It is cut into strips, placed on a piece of bread and then on the palm of your hand. No condiment. Just tomatoes and onions. It’s not coocked rare, it’s not overcooked. It is delicious and juicy. Perfect. Like Messi’s left, Di Maria’s dribbling, Martinez’s save… The whole ceremony lasts about four to five hours. The smell of barbecue is getting stronger, people are slowly gathering, so now there are about twenty of them. Most of them have only met here, but they live harmoniously as one big family. The guy who brought the bottle of Frenet got a round of applause. He explains that Frenet is basically a cocktail, about 70 per cent made of Coca-Cola, and 30 is the Frenet itself. Slowly, they start to sing, and some Argentinian hard rock beats all day, and it good. Those pieces of meat get smaller and smaller as you cut them. They are slowly disappearing… View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mozzart Bet (@mozzartbet) Dusk has fallen, and the temperature has seriously dropped. For the first time, you’re aware of that old truth about cold nights in the desert. And they tell us the same thing at the end.”Don’t wish us luck, don’t talk about the final. We have experienced all kinds of things and are not in a position to threaten anyone.”Much different from the Brazilians before the Croatia quarter-final tie. Much more humble. But something is sparkling in their eyes. Something like it’s on the tip of their tongue, but it won’t make it out of their mouth. Something they mustn’t say out loud as if some evil spirits will hear them. They only promise to rip their throats. We will see what it will be enough for… But as one of them told us…”Do you really think Leo will leave without It? Gods won’t allow it. If we had to suffer so much all this time after Diego’s departure, I guess it had to be that way. We have learned to suffer. This group of players has learned to suffer and to win. The identity of the Argentina national team has never been closer to the fans’ identity. We have never been as one like now…”And it starts slowly. Their unofficial fan anthem, “Muchaaacoos…”As many of you have seen, an argentinian fan chant titled “Muchachos Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar” became very popular and is sung around all corners of Qatar. In this thread I will explain the lyrics for all English speaking Argentina fans out there who want to join in. pic.twitter.com/8EdkfhbYPK— Federico 🔪🇭🇷 (@FedeVoltes_) December 7, 2022 It’s time to let them live their lives. And they know how to live it. You can only envy them. God, how much they love Argentina and Messi. How beautiful they are and how little they need. If he is the most human-like of all the gods, as they say, then they are the closest to life in the full glory of all humans. For absolute happiness, they need just a little more. Two games, two victories. If they win the World Cup, then who cares about the economy, exports beef, expensive Frenet… They wouldn’t have a care in the world.By: ALEKSANDAR GLIGORIĆ
