World Cup Soccer APTOPIX Argentina
It was their third World Cup triumph overall and their first since 1986.
Josefina Villalba, a 55-year-old nanny who joined hundreds of fans at one of the numerous public plazas where enormous screens were set up to watch ...
...the eagerly anticipated match, said I'm very happy, we really deserved this. The team suffered quite a bit, but it recovered as time went on.
Security guard Hector Quinteros, 34, said as his eyes filled with tears, "I feel an immense happiness in my heart because this is the first World Cup I truly enjoy.
It always goes like this; they put us through hell.
After 36 long years, Argentina finally captured the World Cup trophy, putting to rest years of uncertainty and concerns about ...
...whether a nation known for producing some of the best soccer players in the world could actually compete on a global scale.
The nation won its first championship in 1978, but lost the finals in 1930, 1990, and 2014. However, that initial joy soon turned ...
...to anxiety as France caught up, ultimately tying the score at 3-3 before Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties.
Fabio Villani, a 45-year-old video editor, said he still couldn't quite believe Argentina had won the World Cup. He added that when you suffer for something as much as you do, the satisfaction is greater.
It also seemed typical for Argentina, a nation infamous for its protracted economic crises.
Maria Isabel Ayala, a 53-year-old hairdresser, claimed that suffering is very Argentine.
If we suffer, it is because we are really experiencing it.
Photographer Gonzalo Nogueria, 34, said it's unfortunate that we had to endure so much pain, but it's also part of our way of life, and in some ways, we're used to it.
Diego is always here, he's eternal, said Javier López, 18, whose voice broke as he spoke of Maradona, who guided the team to what had been its last ...
...World Cup title in 1986. Maradona "sees everything from heaven," he wouldn't have wanted Argentina to lose the first cup without him, and we won.
Pelé, a Brazilian soccer legend, congratulated Argentina on their victory on social media and noted that Diego was undoubtedly grinning at the moment.
A 42-year-old artisan named Gabriel Fernández said as he and his family celebrated his victory in a park in Buenos Aires, "We're ...
...very happy that they gave us this triumph that the people needed beyond the socioeconomic problems that we're having.".
Argentine capital's public square was filled with revelers as 45-year-old retail worker Alberto Czornenki joined the celebrations ...
...and said, "We needed this, we needed this for all the things that we're going through economically, politically, and socially.".
We have a lot of suffering in our lives as a result of our karma, so this at least makes us happy. When we wake up, however, we will still be in the same place, but with a different kind of enthusiasm.
The Lionel Scaloni-led team received special praise from the crowd as well.
According to 26-year-old retail worker Facundo Alonso, this team communicates something very different from previous ...
...teams that did not feel pride for the national jersey while these players give it their all in every game.
As the nation celebrated, President Alberto Fernández joined in and thanked the team for the win.
Thank you to the players and the technical team, Fernández wrote on social media. They serve as an inspiration to never give up and to believe in ourselves and our bright future.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the incoming president of Brazil, posted on social media that he was pleased with his Argentine neighbors' victory.
Our Argentine brothers also received a huge hug from Chile's President Gabriel Boric, who had been cheering for the neighboring nation throughout the game.
On a sweltering summer day, the Obelisk in the center of Buenos Aires started to quickly fill with people as thousands of people came downtown to celebrate.
The subway was transformed into a party shortly after the game ended as fans packed the trains on their way to the Obelisk to join the celebrations. They sang, chanted, and jumped for joy.
As euphoria took hold, the crowd chanted, "Holding Leo Messi by the hand, we're going to go all the way.".