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Buenos Aires, the Monumental Stadium. It was here that Argentina's decade of dominance began when it hosted the 1978 World Cup. But behind the confident spectacle of the opening ceremony, there was nervous expectation. Argentina had never won a World Cup. The World Cups prior to '78 Argentina had had disappointment after disappointment, a series of terrible, er, mishaps to the point of not even qualifying at all in 1970, not doing very well in 1974. So there was a sense that the country was due the laurels that it deserved.
The decision to hold the tournament in Argentina was controversial. The host nation was under the rule of a repressive military dictatorship.
They came to power because of a coup. They weren't an elected government, and they were very aware that if Argentina won the World Cup, it was very likely people would associate footballing success with political success.
The man calling for a World Cup of peace was the head of the military junta, General Jorge Videla. For the junta, the World Cup was an opportunity to unite Argentina behind their vision of national salvation after a period of instability and violence. But in an atmosphere of fear and repression there was a difference between what Videla wanted and the wishes of the Argentinian players.
We wanted to give the people some joy, we wanted them during the month of the World Cup to forget a little about what we were living through. Sure the pressure was on us, but that team had the personality to handle it.
Watching his team as they began their opening games against France and Hungary was the Argentinian coach Cesar Menotti. The military and Menotti, what an intriguing marriage of convenience. Appointed before the coup of 1976, the longhaired chain-smoking coach was known for his left wing views.
But Menotti took advantage of the junta's craving for success, demanding and getting access to the players months before the tournament started.
I think a military dictatorship lands itself quite well for this kind of preparation. Because the military wanted the tournament to be a success, and the moment they made the decision to let Menotti remain as manager and trusted him as the expert on football. They completely facilitated his work, and really didn't interfere. So in a weird way within this very restrained dictatorship, he had enormous freedom.
What a junta wanted from a World Cup was clear to Menotti, but he encouraged the belief amongst his players, that they were playing for the people, not a nation whose figurehead was General Jorge Videla. During 30 days of football, an extraordinary rapport did develop between squad and supporters. The players could never escape the fervor of the fans.
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spectacle: n. 景象
mishap: n. 灾祸
laurel: n. 桂冠， 殊荣
junta: n. 小集团， 派别
figurehead: n. 领袖
rapport: n. 和谐，亲善
fervor: n. 热情，热烈
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