The chant that echoed throughout the World Cup is a way of carrying history without bowing our heads.
Argentina brought England down in the semi-final and in the stands a flag appeared: “The Malvinas are Argentine.”
It was memory. The remembrance of some young men who went to frozen islands and never came back, almost all of them barely 20. The players took the flag and showed it to the world. That is why the chant of “Malvinas” and “Diego Maradona”.
In 1986, when that short man faced England, an entire country understood that there were wounds politics had failed to heal and that a ball was enough to ease them, for a while. Forty years later, another generation repeated the feat. And there is Leo Messi, in his final performance, carrying the legacy.
We do not celebrate a conflict. We celebrate memory, identity, a people turning pain into celebration. Let the chant ring out. For those who are here to witness history unfolding. For those who never came back. For Leo’s last one.
Wandile Mtana, Uitenhage
- During the World Cup semi-final, Argentina defeated England while fans prominently displayed a flag reading “The Malvinas are Argentine,” invoking historical memory.
- The flag honored young Argentine soldiers who died in the Falklands (Malvinas) War, symbolizing remembrance and unresolved historical wounds.
- The chants of “Malvinas” and “Diego Maradona” connected past and present, recalling Maradona’s 1986 victory over England as a moment of national healing.
- Lionel Messi, in what is likely his final World Cup, continues this legacy by uniting the country through football and collective memory.
- The celebration is about identity and honoring history, not conflict—turning pain into joy and memory into a shared national experience.
Argentina brought
It was memory.
In 1986, when that short man faced
We do not celebrate a conflict. We celebrate memory, identity, a people turning pain into celebration. Let the chant ring out. For those who are here to witness history unfolding. For those who never came back. For Leo’s last one.
