63 days after the debut of the Argentine National Team in the World Cup in Qatar, the country has already entered World Cup mode. The boom in figurine albums, the increase in the sale of HD televisions and the promotions launched by important companies and even by retail businesses (there are even coats for pets with the Argentine shirt) give the guideline that the great business of passion that crosses all social classes has already been launched, perhaps prematurely. More than in other years.
Also, This National Team is loved by the people, it is a true “everyone’s team”. There is an empathy with the misnamed “Scaloneta” and with Lionel Messi and the rest of the players that did not exist with other selected players in other World Cups. Talking about the National Team generates ratings, clicks and likes. In traditional media and social networks. And that means that some sectors that do not usually pay attention to the day-to-day of Argentine soccer have already focused their sights on the National Team. And be attentive not so much to the specifically sporting aspects. If not to other peripherals, more dedicated to personal, sentimental or intimacy issues of footballers that usually are not so relevant to the football press.
This profane manipulation of information prior to and especially during the World Cup will be a danger to a coexistence that up to now has been healthy and far from conflict. And that can become cloudy or tense for that reason. The Selection should not be the battlefield where the political and commercial interests of large business corporations are at stake. Or the catwalk where the vanities of the entertainment world parade. It is not about creating a private preserve so that only journalists and media dedicated to sport or specifically football can talk about the National Team. But if you really want the best for the team that will compete in Qatar Empty gossip, malicious rumors and leaks, or self-interested leaking of private chats and telephone conversations of the players themselves, as happened during the worst moments of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, should be avoided.
In the run-up to the 1994 World Cup in the United States and against the backdrop of the return of Diego Maradona, that National Team led by Alfio Basile was caught in the middle of the fierce dispute over exclusivities between Telefé and Canal 13, signs that the government of Carlos Menem had privatized in 1990, and of the remembered “war of the caps” for which several brands put a high price on the heads of the players of that time. That experience was disastrous and divided that campus in two. As much as there is a lot of money flying over the National Team, the AFA and the coaching staff led by Lionel Scaloni should take measures so that this does not happen again. And nothing is more important than football when the ball starts rolling in Qatar. Within exactly 62 days.
