“In the John Hughes high school class version of Argentina’s national team, Lionel Messi is the quiet, smiling genius who wins over all the teachers through his sheer brilliance. Ángel di María plays the fragile cello prodigy, performing out there in the wings of the gymnasium before cutting in with his jaw-dropping skill. Sergio Agüero is a legend in his own time for getting it on with the principal’s daughter, in this case Giannina Maradona, child of Diego, to whom the Manchester City forward was married for four years before splitting off and getting called a wimp. (Mr. Hand of God himself needs better writers.) As for Sergio Romero, well, Sergio Romero would no doubt like to remain unseen in the corner.” Grantland (Video)

“As the Albiceleste goes deeper into the tournament, its fan base gets bigger, louder, and even more unbearable to Brazilians. Until recently, the biggest fan mobilization in Brazilian soccer history arguably came on September 5, 1976, when 70,000 Corinthians fans travelled the 300 miles from São Paulo to the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro to see their team beat Fluminense in the Brazilian championship playoffs. Twenty-eight years after the Invasão Corintiano, another fan invasion is making headlines in Brazil. There were an estimated 20,000 Argentinian fans at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro for Alejandro Sabella’s team’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, including 50 or so ticketless gatecrashers who jumped over a wall into the stadium. The number had swelled to 30,000 when Messi and co. reached Belo Horizonte for their second game against Iran, and 70,000 hermanos, as Brazilians call their neighbors,swarmed across the border into Rio Grande do Sul for Argentina’s final group stage game against Nigeria.” Fusion

“Why Lionel Messi’s Barcelona teammate may hold the key to Albiceleste’s success. Lionel Messi was, quite understandably, named man of the match of Argentina’s first four games. But Javier Mascherano is having just as big an influence on the Albiceleste’s World Cup campaign. Mascherano has one of the most difficult jobs at the competition: to make coach Alejandro Sabella’s (or, according to widespread reporting, Messi’s) 4–3–3 system a success, and allow his higher-profile attacking teammates to shine. He’s no stranger to difficult tasks, having spent most of the last four seasons at center back for his club, despite being too small (5-7) and light (170 pounds) for the position. During that time he has won six trophies (including two La Liga titles and one Champions League), while also becoming one of the few “outsiders” to gain acceptance in the Camp Nou dressing room.” Fusion

“For a player criticized for not doing enough for his country, Lionel Messi is sure doing what he can to change the narrative. Messi came through for Argentina yet again, delivering a highlight-reel, stoppage-time winner to give Argentina a 1-0 win over stubborn, valiant Iran on Saturday, giving Argentina six points and a commanding Group F lead. With Diego Maradona watching in the stands, Messi provided his own iconic moment for Argentina, cutting centrally to create space against a defender and curling home a beautiful 20-yard shot after the Albiceleste were frustrated and shut off time and again by a collective Iranian defensive effort. The moment mimicked his goal against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which proved to be the game-winning strike in Argentina’s opening game of the competition.” SI (Video)

World Cup 2014: Argentina Overcomes Iran With a Bit of Messi Magic
“Lionel Messi scored a goal in second-half stoppage time to give Argentina a 1-0 victory over Iran in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on Saturday and a place in the second round of the World Cup. Iran had a solid defense in the game and took the match to Argentina in the second half, creating several chances to win the match in Group F. But Iran was punished for those missed chances when Messi picked up the ball about 20 yards out and curled a shot into the left corner. It was a moment of individual brilliance by Messi.” NY Times

“‘Soccer is popular,’ Jorge Luis Borges observed, ‘because stupidity is popular.’ At first glance, the Argentine writer’s animus toward ‘the beautiful game’ seems to reflect the attitude of today’s typical soccer hater, whose lazy gibes have almost become a refrain by now: Soccer is boring. There are too many tie scores. I can’t stand the fake injuries. And it’s true: Borges did call soccer ‘aesthetically ugly.’ He did say, ‘Soccer is one of England’s biggest crimes.’ And apparently, he even scheduled one of his lectures so that it would intentionally conflict with Argentina’s first game of the 1978 World Cup. But Borges’ distaste for the sport stemmed from something far more troubling than aesthetics.” New Republic

1978 World Cup and the simultaneous political strife …
“INSIDE A BUENOS AIRES restaurant named El Cuartito, sky-blue paint covers the walls, along with photographs and banners from important athletes and teams. In the center of the largest wall is a shrine to Diego Maradona, the star of the 1986 World Cup. That title is so important that Maradona, a recovering drug addict, still basks comfortably in a nation’s warming love and goodwill. People celebrate the ’86 title with vivid street art murals, and with photos and signed jerseys and posters in nearly every place of business, including El Cuartito. The restaurant celebrates civic heroes, which is why one particular omission is jarring. Argentina has won two World Cups, the famous one in 1986 and the other just eight years before, in 1978, when Argentina played host. That team is barely honored at all inside El Cuartito. In the back corner of the main room, as far away from the door as you can get, hang two team photos. That’s it.” ESPN

“In much of Argentina, where Lionel Messi lived until he was 13, native speakers replace the ‘y’ sound with a ‘sh’ sound. Yo, the personal pronoun for ‘I,’ becomes ‘sho,’ and calle, which other Spanish speakers would pronounce ‘ka-yay,’ becomes ‘ka-shey.’ The sound gives Argentine Spanish a slurry softness that resembles aspects of the Portuguese spoken in Brazil. More important to this story, that ‘sh,’ and the fact that Messi has retained it all his life, has at times been the sole lifeline between the greatest soccer player in the world and the country he plays for.” NY Times

“BEFORE GETTING TO the alleged mob hit or the mystery of the missing referee, there should be an explanation about how this quest began. An assigned profile of Luis Suarez led to a stack of things to read about his past. Whether it was a tabloid calling him Cannibal! or The New York Times calling him Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz, the portrait is of a cheat and a lunatic. If someone breathes on him near the goal, he falls down like he’s been knifed. He has bitten an opponent. Twice. And, back in his childhood in Uruguay, there’s an oft-reported incident that serves as explanation, or maybe proof, that he is, in fact, batshit crazy. When Suarez was 15, overcome with anger, he headbutted a referee and received a red card in a youth match, making the man’s nose bleed ‘like a cow,’ as a witness said.” ESPN (Video)