In a new episode of resentful Kirchnerism, host Julia Mengolini once again highlighted that even football does not escape its meanness. In her Futurock program, Mengolini confessed without filter: “I find it hard to feel anything for this World Cup, I became too politicized. The memory and happiness of the last World Cup are clouded for me. I feel a mix of happiness and sadness… Then the country became too dark.” And who is to blame for her “pain”? Lionel Messi, for having smiled at Donald Trump.
Not only does she exude hatred and resentment towards the best player in history and captain of the Argentine National Team. She demonstrates something much deeper: the inability to separate sport from politics when the latter does not suit them. For her and her circle, the glory of Qatar 2022 is tainted because the champions did not want to go to the Casa Rosada to be with Alberto Fernández.
This hatred from Kirchnerism towards the World Champion Team is not new. It is a systematic animosity towards everything that represents national unity, Argentine pride, and success outside of their victim narratives. La Scaloneta, Messi, and the team that brought joy back to millions of Argentines have become a problem for them because they completely escaped their ideological control. They could not appropriate them, so they prefer to tarnish them.
