How Muchachos came to be the unofficial anthem of Argentina during the 2022 World Cup

Maradona, Messi, World Cup heartbreaks, Copa American victories, and dreams of a third World Cup are all included in the lyrics.

"Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos an Ilusionar" (Boys, we have our hopes up again) has been chanted with great zeal within the stadiums, at Doha's maze-like Souq Waqif, and by players in Argentina's dressing room during World Cup 2022.

A tale is told in the song.

The late Argentine football great Diego Maradona, current squad hero Lionel Messi, prior heartbreaking World Cup defeats, last year's Copa American victory, and the hopes currently placed on capturing a third World Cup championship in Qatar are all mentioned in the song's lyrics.

Following Argentina's 1-0 victory over Brazil in the Copa America championship, the song saw an increase in social media popularity last year. Messi declared it to be his favorite football chant earlier this year, and a video of him singing part of the lines went viral online.

However, what the players and spectators are singing is an altered rendition of the Buenos Aires punk band La Mosca's 2003 song Muchachos.

Fernando Ramos, an Argentine admirer, rewrote the lyrics. The song's lyrics are as follows when they are translated into English:

I was born in Argentina
land of Diego and Lionel,
of the kids of Malvinas,
that I will never forget.
I can’t explain it to you
because you won’t understand
the finals we lost,
How many years have I mourned them

But that’s over
because in the Maracana,
the final with the brazucas,
dad beat them again.
Boys, now we got excited again,
I want to win the third
I want to be world champion
and Diego, in the sky we can see him,
with Don Diego and with la Tota,
encouraging Lionel. 

Every Argentine knows the song, according to Martin Montalto, a resident of Buenos Aires

The 23-year-old stated, "I get chills when I hear it because it makes me so emotional." "When people start singing Muchachos, the vibe in the stadium just goes berserk. You almost want to cry, but it would be happy tears.

Juan, a different supporter of Argentina, claimed that he experienced "chills" whenever he heard the song. The reference to the Malvinas, which the United Kingdom named the islands located about 480 kilometers (300 miles) off the southern tip of South America, was "specially moving," he said, explaining that it is a tribute to the Argentinian soldiers who fought against British forces in 1982 in what is commonly known as the Falklands war.

“The memories are still fresh for many people back home. Those who died are like heroes we can never forget,” said Juan, a 46-year-old from Buenos Aires who now lives in New York.