“Although we had said, before the game, that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas [Falkland] war, we knew that a lot of Argentine boys died there, that they had killed them like little birds...And this was revenge, it was...to recover something from the Malvinas. ” —Maradona on playing England in the 1986 World Cup semi-final match, 4 years after the Falkland War (2000) 1
On June 22nd, 1986, Argentina faced England in the semi-finals of the world's most televised sporting event: the World Cup. The rivalry between the European instructor and the South American apprentice, extended beyond soccer and shared history. Just four years after the Falkland War (or Guerra Malvinas), the game between Argentina and England possessed political tension.
For England, the match represented a chance to reclaim sporting supremacy. Across Argentina, however, this was a chance to re-establish pride and identity after eight years of dictatorship and a devastating loss in war and international affairs.
When Argentine icon Diego Armando Maradona used his hand to score an illegal goal against England, his response that it must have been the "hand of God" typified Argentine defiance towards what they perceived as English aggression. Minutes later, Maradona scored a second sublime goal past weaving past seven English players-widely hailed as one of the best goals in history. Defiance became vindication.
FIFA, the world's governing body on soccer, selected Argentina as the site of the 1978 World Cup ten years before a military regime took control under General Jorge Videla. The junta took power after the weakened presidency of Isabel Martínez de Perón (Juan's widow) failed to quell leftist uprisings against state authority 2 The alliance between the Peronist state and the military was ironic, since the traditional base of the Peronist movement derived from working-class and leftist elements in society that stood against military rule. After Juan Perón returned from exile in 1973, he struck an alliance with the military in exchange for their support and ability to maintain civil order. Isabel, elected President after Juan's death, strenghtned these new ties to the military and ended whatever remained of Juan and Eva Perón's political base. The new junta quickly moved to arrest and intimidate leftist opposition throughout the country, leading to the “disappearance” of nearly 30,000 Argentines over the next four years.
The “Dirty War”, as it became known, is today recognized as a genocide by the Argentine courts 3 and earned its name for the methods by which the government tortured, raped, murdered, and interrogated opposition figures—mostly youth and educated students. To combat an increasingly negative international reputation, the Videla regime understood that the hosting of the 1978 World Cup provided a chance by which the state could reflect a more positive and harmonious image to the world, and to those in the political middle of Argentine politics. Staging the World Cup was also a sign of upward mobility and modernization for nations, like Argentina, often stuck with the “third-world” label.
The assassination of Cup organizer General Omar Actis (most likely by Marxist guerrillas) provided an immediate obstancle to the efforts of the ruling junta. Undaunted, the junta poured 10 percent of the national budget (aprox. 700 million dollars) for the requirements set forth by soccer's world governing body: FIFA. The cost, according to Cup organizers, would be recouped by 50,000 tourists-only 10,000 arrived. Coca-Cola, a sponsor, worked with the Junta’s organizing committee (Ente Autárquico Mundial ’78) to produce a propaganda offensive aimed at opponents and human rights civil groups 4; one of the most popular slogans, “25 million Argentineans will play in the World Cup,” became nationally appropriated as “25 million Argentineans will pay for the World Cup” by critics of the regime. For the most part, however, Argentineans supported this rare chance to host the most popular sporting event in the world and demonstrate a level of soccer they understood to be among the finest. Even the Montoneros, the most popular guerrilla opposition group, halted attacks during the Cup. Despite the success of the Cup, and the host nation winning for the very first time, the brutality of the military regime continued to hang a dark cloud over the country.
*soccer and football are used interchangeably throughout the site
- 1Diego Maradona with Daniel Arcucci and Ernesto Cherquis Bialo, “Yo Soy El Diego”, (excerpt courtesy of) Clarín, Edición Domingo, 24 Sep 2000, 11 Feb 2010 http://www.clarin.com/diario/2000/09/24/s-04615.htm. Personal translation of quote.
- 2Bill Smith, Soccer and Society Spring 2002, 3(1): 69-78.
- 3“Condenaron a Etchecolatz a reclusión perpetua” La Nación19 Sep 2006, 1 Mar 2010 http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=841762.
- 4Tony Mason, Passion of the People?: Football in South America (New York: Verso, 1995) 71.
