“Let the champions be eternal” radiates emotion for the love with which it was conceived, for its hunch, for its photographs, for the way it is written, for its presentation, for the passions it awakens. Not only for Argentinians, but for that wide range of people who love soccer, or the epics.
This was demonstrated during the presentation of the book that reflects the via crucis of Argentina towards the conquest of his third world title, in December 2022 in Qatar, just one year after a feat that erased 36 years without winning the most desired Cup.
In a packed auditorium of the legendary Miami bookstore Books and Books, one of the authors and driving force of this unforgettable testimony, the renowned journalist Eduardo Biscayart, told in a spontaneous and simple way how this project was born and shaped, during the presentation of the beautiful book, Monday night.
Biscayart was accompanied in the presentation by the prominent television commentator and his partner in countless football broadcasts Sammy Sadovnik.
The photographs, almost in their entirety, are by Alejandro Pagni and the articles published belong to the pens of notable Argentine journalists who followed this feat: Diego Borinsky, Andres Eliceche, Ezequiel Fernandez Moores, Juan Irigoyen, Vicente Muglia, Juan Jose Panno, Diego Roman Towers and Ariel Scher.
It also includes the impressions of former world champions Mario Kempes and Jorge Luis Burruchaga, authors of the triumphant goals in the Argentine titles in 1978 and 1986, respectively.
“Alejandro (Pagni) told me in a cafe in the San Telmo neighborhood that he felt that Argentina was going to be champion and, therefore, this book was born with that hunch in the winter of 2022 in Buenos Aires,” commented “Don Bisca.” . “We put it together with joy, enthusiasm and a lot of love for the profession that the teachers also bequeathed to us.”
Biscayart and Pagni worked together as photographers on the memorable magazine The graphic At the beginning of the 90s. With the tremendous economic crisis in Argentina, it seemed impossible for Pagni to be able to cover the 2022 World Cup even though he had been accredited. Biscayart, on the other hand, had secured his place in Qatar as a commentator on Telemundo, and nobly undertook to get him a round-trip air ticket from Buenos Aires to Qatar. Of course, accommodation and food would be at Pagni’s expense. And so it happened.
Biscayart’s account of this adventure not only excited the Argentines, who filled the bookstore auditorium. Also to readers of various nationalities who had attended the presentation.
What drew attention, however, was the intervention of two Cuban fans, who had arrived at the presentation of “Let the champions be eternal” to tell Biscayart that they had been following him since when he appeared on television screens during the soccer broadcasts “taken” by Cuba.
“You know that the people of Cuba adore you,” Darien Martínez Blanco, who saw and listened to the eloquence in Biscayart’s comments from Havana, told him during question time.
Then, Martínez was studying law. 10 years ago he emigrated to Miami and now works with Christian institutions.
For his part, Leonel García asked to speak and simply told Biscayart: “I’m going to say hello to a friend. Since I saw Argentina’s victory in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico in Cuba, I became an admirer of their football and Maradona. One becomes a participant. And today I can say that God was generous with Lionel Messi and with Argentina.”
This collector’s book consists of 240 full-color pages. It is thread sewn, has a hard cover and the pages are made of thin paper. It is a luxury edition published by Colman Media Corp.
“It is a book made by heart,” commented Biscayart. “It reflects the via crucis that the albiceleste experienced. Each step was very difficult after the initial defeat against Saudi Arabia in the World Cup, after a streak of 36 games without losing, and the book picks up each season until reaching the mother of all finals.”
Soon, “Let the champions be eternal” will be published in English.
