On July 15 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Argentina became Copa América champions for the second consecutive time. With the weight of Ángel Di María’s farewell, and Lionel Messi’s last Copa America, the pressure was on. After two nail-biting hours, the team brought home the victory thanks to an extra-time goal from Lautaro Martínez. Argentina is now the most successful team in the tournament, winning 16 times — once more than Uruguay and six more than Brazil.
The Scaloneta functions more like a group of friends than a football team, so their celebrations are always top-tier. Thankfully, we get to join the party from afar, since Nicolás Otamendi typically streams the locker-room party.
After a lung-busting match against speedy Colombian rivals, the players still had it in them to sing and dance. “Leaving many things behind for the team, it doesn’t matter what FIFA says, or what the newspapers say,” they sang, as goalkeeper Emi “Dibu” Martínez bounced around with the cup.
The 20-minute live stream made one thing clear: the Argentine national team is the best behind the scenes, as well as on the pitch.
Rodrigo De Paul responded live to accusations that, if Argentina had lost, it would have been his fault for jinxing it — with a new hairdo. The midfielder cropped and bleached his mop just before the final. “Respect the ranks, we’ve been the owners of America for eight years. If I dye my hair, bla bla bla… Well!” he said, showing off his medal.
Alejandro Garnacho, 20, seems to have been a fan favorite and a team favorite in this Copa America. On Instagram live he gave us two iconic moments alongside Otamendi, one in which Ota asks him if he’s drinking Coca Cola and in a very Argentine way responds “Coca Cola? It’s Fernet, buddy.”
Later on, the team hypes Garnacho, making him dance around the cup. In the background Otamendi’s voice can be heard saying “I’ll get him to do it properly!”
Messi, the team’s beloved captain, may have been forced to leave the pitch with an injury, but that didn’t save him from Ota’s hijinks. “Leo, stop limping!” he said during the live stream. He eked out a shy smile from the leader, who was in floods of tears after his mid-game return to the bench.
Antonela Roccuzzo, Messi’s wife and Argentina’s unofficial First Lady, shared with her 40 million Instagram followers a post with Messi and their three kids hugging around the cup.
The tournament’s final was bittersweet for many fans, as it was Angel Di Maria’s last game for the National Team. Netflix came out with a documentary called “Angel Di Maria: breaking the wall” on the morning of the match, going over the player’s life and career in an homage to his contribution to Argentine football.
On Instagram, Ángel “El Fideo” Di María posted pics alongside his family and the cup, with a caption that says “Two-time champions of America! What a pleasure it is to be Argentine. Go, Argentina! One more win!”
After the win, football fans around the world were in a frenzy. In Miami, where the final took place, the Argentine fans took over Collins Avenue with music, flags and plenty of dancing. Florida’s large Argentine community showed unrelenting support, and the police showed up to watch over the celebrations.
In Buenos Aires, neither the freezing cold nor the upcoming working week could stop the people from celebrating all night at the Obelisk, leading to skirmishes with the police.
Argentina had a lonesome fight, with most of the world hoping for the reigning American and World champions to lose their streak. However, Argentina was not truly alone: their football brother, Bangladesh, supported the team and even had massive celebrations following the Argentine win.