I spent everything, says Argentinian delivery boy on his journey to the Qatar World Cup

With a crumbling Argentinian economy amid the mayhem caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Federico knew if he remained in Argentina, there was no way he could afford to watch Argentina play in the Qatar World Cup.

So it was in January this year that this Argentina fan left his home country for Germany to find a job.

The sole ambition of leaving Argentina for a job as a delivery boy in a foreign land was to earn some decent money to support his national team in the World Cup.

When this reporter bumped into this young Argentinian after the team’s nerve-racking penalty shootout win over the Netherlands in the quarterfinal, Federico was in tears even as his compatriots were singing and dancing at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

“I cried a lot after it was over. There was joy and relief,” Federico said.

“We are in the semifinals it’s feeling like a dream now. I spent a lot of money, I spent everything to be here to support this team. So I am so, so happy now.”

Federico, who now works as a delivery boy in a small town on the outskirts of Berlin, belongs to the majority of the 40,000 Argentinian fans that have made great sacrifices to support their team in Qatar.

“For the past one year, I have been living and working in Germany, just to come to Qatar for this World Cup. I haven’t seen my family since one year,” he said.

“The job scene was not good at all in Argentina after the pandemic. So I knew I had to do something to make some money for the Qatar World Cup. So that’s when I decided to go to Germany.

“When I told my parents, they supported me completely. So I went to Germany for the job. Now I am here and I hope that we can win the World Cup.”

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Argentinians, according to Federico, will always do everything they can to support their team in a World Cup.

“Football means everything to us. Argentina have a lot of problems – economic problem, social problem. Football is the only moment when Argentina is united,” he said.

“It’s the only time when people are happy and singing.”