Depressed Argentines dealt fresh blow by England

June 8, 2002

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - Argentines desperate to forget their economic misery with a World Cup win over arch rivals England, buried their heads in their hands after a disappointing 1-0 defeat.

"This country was already sunk, God knows what the next few days will be like until the Sweden match," said businessman Guillermo after watching Argentina go down to a penalty from England captain David Beckham.

Argentina must now beat Sweden on Wednesday to be guaranteed a place the last 16.

"I just want to forget football -- I'm off to play golf," Guillermo added, reflecting the bitter mood in a country that is desperate for a third World Cup title to help drag itself out of an unparalleled economic crisis.

The streets of Buenos Aires, which erupted into violence in December when the elected president was ousted for economic mismanagement, were deserted for what has always been considered more than just a game of football -- even before the two countries went to war over the Falkland Islands in 1982.

ALL OVER

When Beckham tucked away the only goal of the match in the 44th minute, a woman taxi operator told her only driver working: "The first tear has been shed for Argentina -- it's all over."

Beckham had helped build the pre-match tension by warning against Argentine "cunning".

But the historic grudge between the two countries began as long ago as 1966 when Argentina's Antonio Rattin was sent off against England at Wembley. The rivalry blossomed with Diego Maradona's "hand of God" goal that knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup, a tournament Argentina went on to win. A red card for Beckham in their France 98 encounter injected more venom into what has become one of the classic World Cup fixtures. But as Argentines got back to the grim business of lining up at banks to buy dollars -- to safeguard against a tumbling currency, soaring prices and growing unemployment and poverty -- some reluctantly acknowledged England had deserved their win.

"The English won well," said retired auto executive Carlos Lopez, 55.

"This is a blow for our country -- now we're going to start talking about politics and economics again."

"How could we play so badly?" muttered one man in a soccer shirt as he bought a newspaper.

As Argentines who had stayed home to watch the game made their way to work, a man and a woman met in the street and embraced.

"Terrible," said the man. "Terrible," replied the woman before they parted company without another word spoken. Schools had tried to keep students in class by showing the game on giant screens, but many played truant only to cry when the final whistle blew. "It's all over!" six-year-old Guido shouted, as his mother wiped away his tears.

JOY IN FALKLANDS

Just off Argentine shores -- in the windswept Falkland Islands where the two countries went to war 20 years ago -- there was jubilation at the result among the fiercely pro-British population of about 2,000.

"It is absolutely fantastic," said legal secretary Alex Sanders in the island's capital Port Stanley -- known as Puerto Argentino to the Argentines who have disputed sovereignty of the remote territory they call the Malvinas since 1833. Sanders said Falklanders were given time off work and school on a snowy day to watch the game in local pubs, where nationalist sentiment is growing ahead of the anniversary of Argentina's surrender on June 14. There were also covert celebrations among England fans in Buenos Aires, who were vastly outnumbered by Argentines in an Irish pub in the town centre showing the game on a big screen.

COVERT CELEBRATIONS

"I've been all night in this bar and it has been worth the wait, although I wouldn't shout out too much," said 25-year-old English tourist Ben.

"I almost had a heart attack. We were winning, but I tried not to smile too much," said 23-year-old student Oliver, hiding an England shirt under his jumper. They were not the only ones to be quietly happy Argentina did not win.

Some locals believe that with half the population now in poverty and children starving in one of the world's biggest grain and beef producers, the World Cup is a frivolous distraction from Argentina's real problems.

"I'm glad we lost," said Paula Cataldi, a 26-year-old primary school teacher.

"If we had won, politicians and media would be distracted from the terrible problems our country has.

"Football is always used like that in Argentina," she added, recalling the 1978 World Cup, which was hosted by Argentina.

Then the country was in the grip of military dictators, who used their team's triumph to deflect criticism of widespread human rights abuses.