Argentina President tells dejected team: “I’m no soccer fan”

Wednesday, 16 July 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez admitted on Monday she had not watched a single one of the country’s matches in the World Cup soccer tournament, including the final, a blunder that some observers said exposed her as out of touch with the national mood. A day after soccer-mad Argentina lost the World Cup final to Germany by a score of 1-0, Fernandez received the national team in the capital, giving each of the downbeat players, dressed in black suits and ties, a consolatory hug.

Fernandez had earlier declined an invitation from Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff to attend the final, saying she was recovering from a sore throat. Her counterpart, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, attended the match, even leaping with joy at Germany’s winning goal. In a televised speech, Fernandez, flanked by Lionel Messi and the rest of the team, said: “As you know I’m no soccer fan.” “I didn’t see a single match, not even the one yesterday,” she said, adding that she rang Argentine Coach Alejandro Sabella after the match because it felt like the team had won. “That’s how I felt and how 40 million Argentines felt too.” Although not entirely surprising given her well-known disinterest in the sport, Fernandez’s comments will do little to endear herself to a country obsessed by soccer and left heartbroken by the defeat. Despite her best intentions, analysts said Fernandez, who cannot run in next year’s election, failed to capture the national mood. “It sort of underscores that she lives in a world of her own more and more,” said Felipe Noguera, a political analyst. “This has been a very positive month for the country and for the overall mood. And she’s just not part of it,” he added. The team’s run to the tournament final handed Argentina’s 40 million people a rare chance to wipe from their minds the country’s latest debt crisis, surging prices and political scandals. Some fans took to social media site Twitter to vent their derision toward Fernandez. “There is poverty, she doesn’t see it. There is insecurity, she doesn’t see it. Argentina’s in the final, she doesn’t see it. CFK blind woman,” said one Twitter user, using the president’s initials. The players had been expected to head to Buenos Aires’ iconic Obelisk monument in the afternoon to greet fans who partied there until late last night, celebrating their team’s performance with dancing, drummers and firecrackers. The festivities turned sour when dozens of hooligans hurled bricks and bottles as riot police replied with tear gas and water cannons. More than a dozen police officers were injured and 120 people detained, local media said. Argentina’s soccer federation said Monday’s homecoming party had been canceled due to transport concerns.

Messi did not deserve Golden Ball, says Maradona

REUTERS: Argentina forward Lionel Messi did not deserve to win the World Cup “Golden Ball” as the tournament’s best player, according to his compatriot and former great Diego Maradona. Messi received the award after Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany in the final on Sunday but he looked far from happy as he went up to collect the trophy. “I could see he didn’t want to go up and collect it,” Maradona said on his television show “De zurda”, adding that “marketing people” had made a decision he described as “unfair”. Maradona led Argentina to the World Cup in 1986 and was named the tournament’s best player but although Messi scored four goals in the group stage he failed to find the net in the knockout rounds and was subdued in the final. FIFA president Sepp Blatter also expressed surprise at the choice on Monday which was made by the soccer governing body’s technical study group. “Shall I be diplomatic or tell the truth, OK the truth...I was a bit surprised he was the choice but his goals were decisive at the start of the tournament,” Blatter told reporters at his final media briefing of the 2014 World Cup. Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella, however, backed the decision to give the award to his team’s captain. “I think he did deserve it. He played an extraordinary World Cup and he was a fundamental factor to our team,” Sabella said. Maradona, who said Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez should have won the award after scoring six goals in Brazil, was happy with the overall performance of the Argentina team. “We raised our flag high, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “Germany won due to a misunderstanding in the defence, but at no point were they better than us. They showed us a lot of respect and our lads earned that out on the pitch.”