“Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar,” which roughly translates to “Boys, We Have Our Hopes Up Again” has become the Argentine National Football team’s official chant, especially after seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and international football star, Lionel Messi, announced during an interview that it was his favorite.
“I was born in Argentina, land of Diego and Lionel, of the kids from the Falkland Islands, whom I’ll never forget,” sing the crowds at the Qatar stadium. The hymn is an ode to Argentina’s fighting spirit and is inspired by Argentine nine-piece band La Mosca’s “Muchachos, Esta Noche Me Emborracho” (“Boys, Tonight I’ll Get Drunk”).
Guillermo Novellis, the man behind Messi’s favorite World Cup chant, recently spoke to Billboard about the rerelease of the song and how the heartbreak track transformed into a national anthem:
“It’s a song that has a lot of tango in its lyrics and melody. But like all La Mosca songs, it’s put in a rhythmic, danceable context. Some five, six years ago, a local team Racing Club adapted the lyrics, and then, other clubs did too. But this version started with Copa América, and the new lyrics are really good. They have to do with our frustrations, our success, our hopes, the Falklands, finals lost and finals won. And of course, the hope of being champions again. Maybe that’s why it resonated so much with fans and players.”
In 2021, after Argentina won the Copa América, Fernando Romero (dedicated fan of the national team) rewrote the lyrics to celebrate the epic win. According to Billboard, “a chance encounter with a camera crew outside the final in Brazil made the song with new lyrics go viral, and caught the attention of Messi and his teammates.”
Just before the World Cup games kicked off, La Mosca released the upgraded version. “It was something that our manager Santiago Ruiz pushed. We recorded it, and then a couple of weeks before the World Cup, they interviewed Messi and asked him what his favorite song was. He said “Muchachos” and actually sang it. I mean, it’s like arriving in Rome and being introduced to the Pope,” explains Novellis.
Watch the video for “Muchachos, ahora nos volvimos a ilusionar” here:
