They say it was said by Jorge Valdano. Others say it was Arrigo Sacchi. Or Eduardo Galeano. Who knows. The fact is that once someone uttered the mythical phrase: “Football is the most important thing among the least important things.” But football also says a lot about important things. And this World Cup that just ended has shown us that.
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As Manuel Mostaza Barrios pointed out on these pages, if we talk about geopolitics, the World Cup seems stuck in another time: the powers were European; Argentina and Brazil promised infinite growth; the US and China had not yet divided everything between them. The final between Spain and Argentina speaks to us of a world that no longer exists.
In other aspects, the tournament is a sign of our times. Even before it started, we knew this would be the most expensive and longest World Cup in history – this week, the cheapest ticket for the final exceeded 6,000 euros-. Because now experience is the new luxury.
Then came the opening and the suspicions. Shakira doesn’t seem like Shakira, the networks cried out. We also don’t trust the most beautiful women in the stands; they don’t exist, AI creates them for viral videos. Because today the truth is fragile. We can no longer trust what we see.
The first (and unexpected) star was Vozinha. She had her 15 minutes of fame, which are now measured in followers and likes. The throne of virality was later taken by a two-year-old boy, Keyne Yamal, and a two-meter Viking with a Snapchat account, Erling Haaland. Because today fame is more fleeting than ever.
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The 40s are the new 30s, Messi and Cristiano showed us. But when they cried, their foreheads remained smooth. Botox, Twitter whispered. Because today we are terrified of the passage of time: aging is a failure and wrinkles must be frozen.
Politics also appeared. The world belongs to Trump: he deposes dictators, declares wars and now also cancels red cards. With his France plays “without French”, Rajoy poked at the wound of integration in Le Pen‘s country.
Because today we are left with a very ugly world. But, for a few days, the least important things have made us forget it.
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