MILAN – Listen carefully to Aquarela do Brasil by Ary Barroso, a song that whisks you off to Brazil, to its culture, to its fun-loving people: you will hear that there are three underlying notes that are constantly repeated. They’re the leitmotif and accompany the entire musical score, before modulating. Dam, dam, dam. Dam, dam, dam. We all have the tune in our head, and it is inherently linked to football. To the World Cup in Brazil. Ary Barroso wasn’t only a musician, a composer and an intellectual. He was also the commentator during one of the most memorable matches in the history of football: the Maracanazo. The inexplicable, unexpected and completely absurd defeat by Brazil, at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, at the hands of Uruguay. It was 16 July 1950 and, from that day on, the entire nation has been trying to exorcise the trauma of the defeat.
64 years later and a lot of things have changed. Not least Brazil itself. But, leaving aside the unrest on the streets since the World Cup kicked off, Brazilians haven't forget those three notes of that tune. Dam, dam, dam. Dam, dam, dam. There is, however, something that could make people forget those notes, so often associated with Brazilian footballing success. And that’s the thought of another Maracanazo. Especially if defeat for this Seleção including Inter star Hernanes were to come at the hands of their most bitter rivals: Argentina. Another Latin American footballing nation that has music – and the tango – a t the very heart of its culture and being. The notes of the Albiceleste are a crescendo.
There’s Messi (the final "Si" in his name the highest note on the musical staff). But there’s also Campagnaro, the Toro di Mòron, Ricky Maravilla Alvarez and Rodrigo El Trenza Palacio. Inter players – and notes – that could play a big part in the destiny of the World Cup.
Campagnaro is the "Do", a tough, almost grouchy sound. The defender has been tough since childhood, when, as a 16-year-old, he moved to Baires and Deportivo Mòron, because “there was no football team in my home town”. There is however passion, warmth and curiosity in his heart, thanks to a close-knit family, his passion for playing the guitar and his passion for literature. "My father, who is no longer with us, played football and was a defender. Even my brother Rafael tried his hand at football, but to no avail. Now he runs a bar. I’ve also got a sister, Ana, who is a teacher, as is my mother, who is also an absolutely incredible cook. I love playing the guitar, which I only do in the privacy of my own home. When I was a boy I used to read Garcia Marquez, but I haven’t got the time now. I love my computer and rock music, Argentinian rock music.” Music with a hard “Do” sound, just as his guitar has.
The Albiceleste musical staff also includes Ricky Alavrez, the Maravilla, as he is known at home. The "Re" of the Argentine staff. He started playing football aged six or seven, and has “a lot of fantastic memories: a child in Argentina starts playing football for his local district team, then if a top club is interested in signing him, they speak to your parents." Ricky’s parents are also by his side during his first World Cup.
The final note, the "Mi", is El Trenza, Palacio. He doesn’t say much ("It’s not that I’m shy, I just don’t like giving interviews"), but he makes himself heard on the pitch in a big, big way. He loves basketball and is also a close friend of Bruno Cerella: "I’m his No.1 fan. We’ve been friends since childhood and grew up together in Bahia Blanca. We used to play together and have a lot of friends in common." And when Palacio has any free time, he plays basketball, in the playmaker role, like the “orchestra conductor”. What else could he be?
There you are, this is the Argentina that kick off their World Cup against Bosnia: a musical side, with three Nerazzurri notes, are out to silence the Brazilian samba. Do, Re, Mi. Do, Re, Mi.
