RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – “Copacabana belongs to Argentina,” shouted Roberto Pons, rubbing his eyes clear of pepper spray as his long, grey hair flowed down his bare back to his Speedo swimsuit.
The 42-year-old air conditioning repairman was one of about 2 000 rambunctious Argentines who amassed yesterday on Rio de Janeiro’s iconic beach to declare the superiority of their team – even before they had taken the field.
An estimated 50 000 Argentines are believed to have descended on Rio ahead of Argentina’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina today. Many Brazilians disdainfully speak of an Argentine “invasion” in this most Brazilian of Brazil’s cities.
Fuelled by social media, the impromptu street party yesterday was for the most part a fun-loving affair reflecting Argentina’s high hopes for winning their first championship in nearly three decades.
Fans dressed in the blue and white colours of the nation’s flag hopped in place to a steady drumbeat, taunting any English supporter who happened to walk by with an in-your-face stadium chant: “The one not jumping is a Brit!”
Another die-hard fan wearing a white robe, peaked cap and mask resembling Pope Francis, who is from Buenos Aires, walked around barefoot, blessing anyone who crossed his path.
As the crowd swelled, a group of vastly outnumbered riot police deployed pepper spray to keep them from blocking traffic on the six-lane Avenida Atlantica running along Copacabana Beach.
“You’re acting like little children,” barked one cop, night stick drawn.
Argentina fans are among soccer’s rowdiest, prone to violence often fuelled by political grudges. One of their greatest foes is England, to whom they lost a war to in 1982 for control of the Falkland Islands but scored a sweet revenge on the pitch four years later with Diego Maradona’s memorable “Hand of God” goal in a key quarter-final match.
Relations on field and off with neighbouring Brazil also are full of friction. The two even fight over who have won the most head-to-head matchups over a century of competition, with each side claiming a one or two-win advantage based what counts as “official”.
“They hate us because we’re the best,” said Sergio Bonazza, a 51-year-old lawyer who travelled from Santa Fe, in Argentina’s farm belt, in a 1998 Mercedes Benz bus that he and friends spent six months and more than $40 000 transforming into a ten-man camper.
