“The Falklands War” 2:1. Why the England vs. Argentina match goes far deeper than football?

On the eve of this battle, the renowned British historian and columnist Dominic Sandbrook published an intriguing essay in the pages of The Times, proving that the roots of this rivalry trace back to times when football in South America hadn't even been heard of yet.

"This is a dream for us," Argentinian midfielder Leandro Paredes said early Sunday morning after his team advanced to the World Cup semi-finals to play England on Wednesday. "Since childhood, we've dreamed of playing in a World Cup semi-final, and especially against England... We understand perfectly well what England means to our country."

Even by the standards of international sporting rivalries, the story of what England means to Argentina is uniquely fascinating.

It is not just a sporting competition. It is a classic drama of "the student seeking to beat the teacher."

The author offers a straightforward look at this rivalry, proving that the classic explanation of the animosity stemming from the 1982 Falklands War is merely the tip of the iceberg.

An incredibly fascinating perspective from Dominic Sandbrook! However, reading the essay, it is hard not to notice how the British historian has succumbed to a currently fashionable ailment—the attempt to explain absolutely every modern event through the lenses of the ancient past.

This is a real trend in the media right now: puffing up old traumas and convincing us that people in the 21st century think of nothing else but how to avenge the sins of two centuries ago.

The attempt to cast modern athletes as "avengers of the colonial past" looks beautiful on paper, but in reality, it is a massive exaggeration. Today's stars from England and Argentina are young multi-millionaires who play for the exact same European clubs, have dinner together after matches, and are family friends.

Furthermore, the national teams themselves have long been deeply international: half of the Argentine squad has Italian, Spanish, or German roots and has lived in Madrid or Milan since their youth. Meanwhile, the English team is a vibrant cocktail of descendants of immigrants from all over the world, for many of whom the 19th-century British colonial romance is completely alien by definition.

It is highly unlikely that these boys, walking onto the pitch in Atlanta, are thinking about railway concessions or Margaret Thatcher. Sometimes a great game is just a game between the two best national teams fighting for a spot in the final, rather than an attempt to rewrite history textbooks.

When asked about the significance of the match, Argentina's head coach Lionel Scaloni gave a measured response, perfectly calculated to disperse the clouds of empty chatter. "It's just a football match," he said. "It's only a football match, and that's it."

Read more in the Ukrainian edition....