As soon as the referee blew the whistle to start the game between Argentina and Australia, the chants began in the stands and went around like an aural tidal wave: “”I was born in Argentina, the land of Diego and Lionel.”
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The song “Muchachos” that references Messi, Maradona, and Argentina’s hopes erupted into a viral song ever since Messi himself said on a TV channel that it was one of his favourite football songs – he even sang a bit live.
During Qatar world cup, videos of Messi and his team-mates singing and jumping to the song in the dressing room after the game against Mexico went viral.
What’s the origin of the song?
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Originally titled “Muchachos, Esta Noche Me Emborracho” (“Boys, Tonight I’ll Get Drunk”), it was a melancholic heartbreak number written in 2003 by La Mosca lead singer Guillermo Novellis and Sergio Cairat.
How did that years later change into a football-fan song?
In July 2021, a football fan Fernando Romero wrote new lyrics to celebrate Argentina’s march to the final of the Copa America. TyC sports, a Argentine sports channel, bumped into Romero and his friends singing the song, had them do it on air, and it caught on the public imagination.
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It would worm into Messi’s ears and he would make it viral by singing it live on tv .
How does the lyrics go?
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It goes something like this: I was born in Argentina, land of Diego and Lionel, of the kids from Malvinas that I will never forget; I cannot explain to you, because you will not understand, the finals that we lost so many years I cried; but that ended because in the Maracaná, the final with the ‘brazucas’ was won again by dad… boys now we are excited again, I want to win the third, I want to be world champion, to Diego; from the sky we can see him, with Don Diego and Doña Tota, encouraging Lionel”
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How did the original band La Mosca react?
When the song went viral after Copa America, their manager persuaded them to do an official version of it. They gave due credit to the fan Romero and released it.
“We recorded it, and then a couple of weeks before the World Cup, they interviewed Messi and asked him what his favorite song was. He said “Muchachos” and actually sang it. I mean, it’s like arriving in Rome and being introduced to the Pope,” the lead singer Guillermo Novellis told billboard.com.
“It’s a song that has a lot of tango in its lyrics and melody. But like all La Mosca songs, it’s put in a rhythmic, danceable context. Some five, six years ago, a local team Racing Club adapted the lyrics, and then, other clubs did too. But this version started with Copa América, and the new lyrics are really good. They have to do with our frustrations, our success, our hopes, the Falklands, finals lost and finals won. And of course, the hope of being champions again. Maybe that’s why it resonated so much with fans and players.”
