Qualifiers: National team played with grit, smarts and heart | What Argentina’s win over Bolivia leaves behind in La Paz

Shortly before the game, colleague and friend Daniel Mikus recounted this amusing conversation between his two grandchildren, four-year-old twins.

– I think I saw Messi on the street.

– No, it cannot be, Messi is not in the cities, Messi is in the stadiums.

A symbol of these strange times we live in and how they see us in the region. There is no human Messi: He is Messiman, a superhero who transcends boundaries, and that is why Bolivian players should be cheering for their own team, not Messi. More to the point, a few minutes into the game a terrifying chant from the local fans called for a superhero on the bench, but secretly, in sneakers, there was no way to get in. Very rare.

In South America they envy how Argentina plays (with or without Messi) and they see us as a true world power, while in the same region they see us with pity and dismay at the political times around us.

Write a column Nation Velber Parral, Brazil’s former foreign trade secretary: “Most of what we saw in the 2018 election campaign (what we’re seeing now in Argentina) repeats the manual. ok North American (alt right), a political phenomenon that has been unfolding for a decade. To capitalize on collective resentment, the model repeats partial truths or total lies through different channels – media and social networks. Its statements range from normalizing the unbelievable (the Earth is flat) to outright attacks on traditional actors deep level or “caste.” That’s why a feeling of déjà vu becomes inevitable when you look at Javier Mili.” And he continues to warn of the dangers of “anti-science.”

Everything is strange these days. And what happened at the Hernando Sails Stadium was beyond the guidelines we consider to be established. You can’t play in La Paz, but the Argentinians press and run more than the Bolivians, and the national team won 3 to 0 on the same ground where they once scored six against us, clearly with authority and even dancing.

It’s strange to see such a difference, it’s interesting to see Angel Correa wearing Messi’s number 10 shirt (get used to it? ), and how strange it is to see Bielsa beaten in Uruguay.

As Scaloni said, the virtue of the national team is “wanting to play, not being afraid to do it with the ball.” The qualifiers continue on October 12 and 17. Argentina play Paraguay at home on the 12th and Peru away on the 17th. Immediately after that, the general elections will be held on October 22.

You can calmly wait for the double date of the playoffs, whether Messi of the stadiums and cities will play or not. Another, the 22nd point, is more worrisome, to be seen. And it should play with the guts, wit, and heart that Scaloni’s team puts into every presentation. Because you have to win at any cost.