BUENOS AIRES – Argentines reacted with tears, cheers
and violence after the dream of a third World Cup title slipped through their
fingers Sunday, as clashes between hooligans and police ended a massive street
party.
Tens of thousands of people flocked to the Obelisk
in Buenos Aires, the iconic monument where the country traditionally celebrates
and rallies, waving the flag, setting off fireworks and singing the praises of
national hero Lionel Messi and team.
Despite the 1-0 loss to Germany in the
down-to-the-wire, extra-time match, young Argentines climbed onto traffic
lights and bus stops, dancing and singing to the beat of drums.
But after several hours of partying, dozens of
hardcore fans known as “barra bravas” started throwing rocks at riot police
watching over the crowd, who responded by firing rubber bullets, tear gas and
water cannon.
The clashes sent families with children scurrying
for refuge in restaurants or hotel lobbies.
Most of the crowd dispersed as a haze of tear gas
settled over the area, leaving just a few dozen fans who broke windows and set
trash on fire, determined to provoke the police.
TV images showed looters carting off stolen items,
including tables and chairs from a restaurant, as newscasters criticized police
for just standing by.
Fifteen police were injured in the fray and some 40
people were arrested, media reports said.
- Bittersweet ending -
The clashes contrasted with the mostly celebratory
reaction to the bittersweet end of the nation’s World Cup campaign.
“It was still a good World Cup. Reaching the final
against Germany isn’t too bad. I’m proud of the team,” said Leandro Paredes, a
27-year-old mason.
“We didn’t manage to get revenge (for Argentina’s
loss to Germany in its last World Cup final in 1990), but I saw 11 warriors on
the pitch during this final.”
At 20 years old, Martin Ramirez was not yet born
when Diego Maradona led Argentina to their last World Cup title in 1986.
He said Sunday’s game was “tough.”
“I thought I’d see us become world champions for the
first time,” he said.
When the final whistle blew, the 50,000 people
watching on a jumbo screen in Buenos Aires’s Plaza San Martin cheered for Messi
and team — and found consolation in knowing they had at least bested
arch-rivals and hosts Brazil, who finished in fourth place.
“Brazil, tell me how it feels to have your daddy in
your house,” they sang to their South American neighbors, the song that has
been Argentina’s anthem throughout this World Cup.
Others sang “I’m Argentine, go Argentina, every day
I love you a little more.”
- Missed chance for revenge -
Daniela Eula, a 21-year-old retail saleswoman, said
she was “disappointed but not sad.”
“They lost with dignity, not like the 4-0 in South
Africa,” she said — referring to another painful loss against Germany, in the
2010 quarter-finals. “They can hold their heads high.”
The most disconsolate, mostly teenagers, sat on the
sidewalk in shock, their eyes red with tears, or walked with their heads in
their hands.
In a pizzeria transformed into a
bratwurst-and-pretzel house for the match, the capital’s German community
gathered to watch their team win, buying up the bar’s more than 100 liters of
beer before halftime.
At the end of the match they drenched each other in
beer, jumped on each other’s shoulders and sang “Deutschland, Deutschland!”
German Ambassador Bernhard Graf von Waldersee, who
was in the crowd, had just enough time to say it had been “a great game” before
his security detail whisked him away from a growing crowd of furious
Argentines.
“Sons of bitches!” a woman screamed at the top of
her lungs as a brief scuffle broke out between Argentines and Germans, quickly
broken up by police.
It remains to be seen what reception the team will
get when they arrive home Monday morning, in the light of day and hours after
Sunday’s day-long party.
Despite their display of national pride after the
match, the weight of disappointment was heavy.
Newspaper Clarin summed it up on its website: “The
Argentine dream frustrated in extra time.”
SOURCE: vanguargngr.com
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