BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner admitted on Monday she had not watched a single one of the country’s matches in the World Cup, including the final, a blunder that observers said exposed her as out of touch with the nation’s mood.
A day after football-mad Argentina lost the World Cup final to Germany by a score of 1-0, Fernandez received the national team in the capital, giving each of the downbeat players, dressed in black suits and ties, a consolatory hug.
In a televised speech, Fernandez, flanked by Lionel Messi and the rest of the team, said: “As you know I’m no football fan.”
“I didn’t see a single match, not even the one yesterday,” she said, adding that she rang Argentine coach Alejandro Sabella after the match because it felt like the team had won.
“That’s how I felt and how 40 million Argentines felt too.”
Fernandez’s comments will do little to endear herself to a country obsessed by soccer and left heartbroken by the defeat.
Some fans took to social media site Twitter to vent their derision toward Fernandez.
“There is poverty, she doesn’t see it. There is insecurity, she doesn’t see it. Argentina’s in the final, she doesn’t see it. CFK blind woman,” said one Twitter user, using the president’s initials.
The players had been expected to head to Buenos Aires’ iconic Obelisk monument in the afternoon to greet fans who partied there until late last night, celebrating their team’s performance with dancing, drummers and firecrackers. (AFP)