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Watch: Why this Argentina fan song has won every heart in Qatar
Argentina fans sing at Souq Waqif in Doha. AFP
The song has been a rallying cry as Lionel Messi team bounced back from their shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia and reached the final
- By
- Rituraj Borkakoty in Doha
‘Dreamers’, the catchy World Cup official song from South Korean superstar Jung Kook, rings around every stadium in Qatar before kick-off and at half-time of the World Cup matches.
But the abiding musical memory of this World Cup will be ‘Muchachos, ahora nos volvimo a ilusionar’ (Boys, we have our hopes up again), the anthem of the Argentinian team that their 40,000 strong fans sing inside stadiums and outside of them long after the end of their matches.
‘Muchachos, ahora nos volvimo a ilusionar’, is a song which talks about how Argentina is the land of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, how they beat Brazil in Brazil for the Copa America title last year and how they are now dreaming of winning the World Cup in Qatar.
Even the Argentinian players have been filmed dancing and singing Muchachos, ahora… in their dressing room in wild post-match celebrations.
The song has been a rallying cry in this World Cup for Argentina as Lionel Messi’s team bounced back from their shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia and reached the final.
For the Argentinian fans that have sacrificed a lot to travel to Qatar amid a massive national economic crisis, Muchachos, ahora has become a symbol of pride.
It’s a song that is fuelling a football-mad country’s push to win their third World Cup.
Emiliano Beltrame, an Argentinian fan, feels his country has finally found the best anthem for the national team.
Emiliano Beltrame and Ezequiel Isa. Photo Rituraj Borkakoty
“In the past, there was no special song for the Argentinian team. Each group of fans had their own song,” he said.
“Every World Cup, there is a contest. And the most creative one is picked by fans and then it trends. But this one is the best.”
Muchachos, ahora is inspired by Muchachos, esta noche me emborracho (Boys, tonight I'm getting drunk). The creators, La Mosca Tse-Tse, a Buenos Aires band, spoke about a heartbreak in the original song that came in 2003.
With the help of a few creative fans, the lyrics were changed to capture of the spirit of Argentina’s football team.
It has now captured the imagination of the whole football-loving world.
“Last year when we won the Copa, ‘Muchachos, ahora nos volvimo a ilusionar’ (Boys, we have our hopes up again), have become the most popular one,” Emiliano said.
“I think it’s indeed the best one. It has everything.”
The song, according to Emiliano, has appealed to Argentina fans because it also speaks of the countless heartbreaks the team and their fans have suffered in the World Cups.
“Not just Maradona, Messi and Copa, it also speaks about the many finals we lost. So it really came from the heart, from deep inside our heart. It’s very emotionally powerful,” he said.
Ezequiel Isa, Emiliano’s friend, says the power of this anthem can never be put into words.
“It’s an amazing sensation to be in the stadium when all fans sing it. It’s something that I can never express,” said Ezequiel who first met Emiliano in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“We didn’t meet each other for four years after Russia. Now we are here again.
“We are rivals in club football, he (Emiliano) supports River Plate and I am a Boca Junior fan. But here we are now supporting our country and singing Muchachos, ahora nos volvimo a ilusionar.”
These two rival club fans from Buenos Aires will be singing together again in Qatar when Argentina face France in the World Cup final on Sunday.
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