Meet the legend of the curse that, for some, prevents Argentina’s world title

Messi and Argentina are one game away from winning the World Cup. The last time the country won the title was in 1986, still led by Maradona, and has won two runners-up since then: in 1990 and 2014.

There is a mystique about Argentina’s lack of titles, explained by the country’s folklore in relation to a promise made by coach Carlos Bilardo in 1986. The story goes that, months before the tournament, he took 14 players to train in Tilcara, Mexico, to adapt to the altitude.

There, he met a church and learned of the powers of the Virgin of Tilcara and would have said that, if they were champions, they would return on pilgrimage and take the trophy. The title even came, but Bilardo did not return to fulfill his promise.

The technician, however, has already denied the story. During the World Cup in Brazil, in 2014, he said that he actually visited a church, but that there was no promise.

“They called me from Jujuy and I explained that that didn’t happen. I went to church every afternoon. There was a priest, who was Uruguayan. But neither I nor the players made any promises. I never promised anything, because when I promise, I keep it”, said Bilardo.

Despite this, more than once the Argentines tried to lift the curse. In 2011, then national coach Sergio Batista visited the city with his assistant José Luis Brown.

“Everyone talks about this promise, but in reality it was not as they say. So many things have been said since ’86 that, with ‘Tata’ (Brown), we decided to return to Tilcara, visit the Virgin and give thanks, for our own calm”, he revealed to reporters at the time.

In 2018, a group of 86-year-old world champion players also paid a visit and even took a replica of the World Cup cup, won 32 years earlier.

The curse had been a huge stigma in Argentina since 1993, when the team won its last Copa America. There was a rewrite in 2021, when they won the tournament over Brazil, in the middle of Maracanã.

To see if it has really been overcome this Sunday (18), from 12h, against France, at the Lusail stadium.