Here, I’m posting unedited, semi-formal articles, essays, and collections of thoughts. I hope it can be of interest to you!
Por La Última de Leo
It is only through appreciating just how rough the previous three decades were for Argentina’s national team, that we can begin to understand the emotions at play this World Cup. The team that had matured alongside Messi’s second wind was now itself mature; the Scaloneta was a historic project seven years in the making. Rodrigo De Paul, Julián Álvarez, Dibu Martínez, Enzo Fernández, and others are now Argentina legends. And they want to be the…
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Worst versus Greatest
The prelude is over. The 16 worst teams in the tournament have been eliminated. Every game will end with millions of people in tears. Every game will end with some questionable refereeing. Nearly every game will end with last-minute goals, heroic saves, and so, so much drama.
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The Start of Something Beautiful
Like everybody else, I was quite opposed to most of the format, rule, and match changes of this World Cup. They reeked of corporatization of a sport that’s already plenty corporate, of trying to turn football into … well, the other football. The one that consists primarily of ad breaks. The hydration breaks were a travesty; 48 teams were too many. But, honestly? It’s actually been pretty great.
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I Want to Get Off Mr. Bielsa’s Wild Ride
As I watched Uruguay play Ghana and looked with dread at the scoreline between Portugal and South Korea—as I watched our greatest-ever player get subbed off and then watched him cry from the bench—as I watched us exit a World Cup in the group stage for the first time in my life, I only had one thought: “at least it can’t get any worse.”
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