Hugs, fernets and euphoria: Barcelona becomes Buenos Aires for a few hours

L'Hospitalet de LlobregatFrom Barcelona to Buenos Aires there are 10,500 kilometers. About thirteen hours by plane that last night disappeared. For a few hours, the Hyatt Regency –a hotel located in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat– transformed into a small Buenos Aires. Thousands of people gathered to experience a historic match: England-Argentina.

The surroundings of the hotel were filled with shirts of the albiceleste and Argentine teams like Vélez, Huracán, Boca or River. Argentine customs were also present: cumbia was the soundtrack that accompanied the traditional fernet, a drink similar to ratafia. Argentines cut a plastic bottle in half and burn the edge of the plastic to drink directly from the bottle.

Meanwhile, some local residents were perplexed to see so many Argentine flags and shirts with the number 10 of Maradona and Leo Messi. The public buses were also dressed for the occasion with advertisements featuring the former Barcelona player in the Argentine shirt.

Long queue outside to enter the hotel to see the five giant screens spread throughout the room. No one wanted to miss it, adults and children gathered in the same place with the same goal: to be in the World Cup final again. The volume of the narration sounded in the background, but what could be heard were the drums – which didn't stop playing for 90 minutes – and the chants of the thousands of people gathered in Hospitalet de Llobregat (or Buenos Aires). The majority of the people who gathered were Argentinians who, for one reason or another, came to live in Catalonia. “A change in lifestyle. We chose this place for affinity and language,” explained Leandro, a young man from La Plata who now resides in Catalonia.

On the other hand, Federico – born in Bahía Blanca – came 35 years ago for his father's job. “I want a final between Argentina and Spain, as they are the two countries of my life,” he admitted emotionally. Both expected to win, although Leandro knew it wouldn't be easy. “If you don't suffer, you don't win,” he assured with the characteristic Argentine spirit, where the fight comes before everything else.

Euphoria in Barcelona 

As if it were the stands of the Atlanta stadium, every English attack was booed – and England fans appearing on screen, like Mick Jagger – and every action in favor of Argentina was celebrated. The atmosphere was so intense that the ground began to tremble every time there was a chant to cheer on Lionel Scaloni's team. "Muchachos," from the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and "Soy hincha de la selección," a chant from this World Cup, were not missing. Wherever you looked, there was a screen to follow the match. And where there was no screen, you could find Maradona flags, which read "Diego lives," or River Plate flags, as the event organizers are fanatics of this Argentine team.

Not even former Barça player Anthony Gordon could silence the room, which cheered even louder after the English goal. Pickford's saves were greatly lamented by the Argentine fans, desperate for a goal from their country. An equalizer goal that arrived when they least expected it. The thousands of fans gathered in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat jumped, hugged, and sang to the rhythm of Enzo Fernández, who punished England's defensive approach amidst the euphoria of the Argentines. Some fernet also flew. And they cheered even more with Lautaro's second goal, by which time the euphoria was already at its peak. Cheering non-stop, even from Catalonia, paid off: Argentina will play in the final.

A match full of symbolism

The Falklands War, in which the English took the islands from the Argentines in 1982, continues in the minds of many Argentinians. Four years later, the two teams would face each other in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, in which Argentina would go on to win their second World Cup. 40 years after that quarter-final tie, the two countries met again.

While chants remembering England were taking place in the hall, Nazarena acknowledged that it is more than a game. “It’s not just football, it’s felt in the soul. It’s our final,” she stated. A final they will play again next Sunday, April 19th, against Spain. The ultimate final will indeed be played.