Andrés Cantor was born in Argentina. He’s dedicated his entire life to fútbol. And he is, in fact, so synonymous with the sport in the United States that his voice is the one most recognizable people from our communities equate with the most emotional moments. But for Cantor, narrating the Argentina 2022 World Cup win was one of the top moments in a career filled with them — which makes it all the more exciting that the video of him doing so has gone viral.
Remezcla interviewed Cantor about that pivotal call, the moments before it, the emotions of the game, and why we shouldn’t compare Messi to Maradona.
“I hadn’t planned what I was going to say,” Cantor confessed, sharing that beyond statistics, he likes to “let the commentary flow naturally.” Not really a matter of superstition, but a professional who has to be “prepared for both possibilities, an Argentina win, and a France win.” This, of course, means that as Cantor himself put it, what “came out, came from the heart.”
For Cantor, when Argentina plays, it’s tough to hide the fact that he wants them to win. But he was ready to call the game that was developing in front of him, which means that in minute 122:38 seconds of 123, he clearly remembers “the internal duel in the three seconds when the French striker receives the ball, I saw that it was going to be a goal and my heart broke.” In the transmission, that is the moment when Cantor says “France is going to win.” But the goalie stops it, and the pendulum swings.
Fans and pundits all over have been calling the Argentina – France final one of the best games they’ve ever seen, and Cantor agrees. First because of how well Argentina played in the first 75 minutes or so, with Cantor sharing that he doesn’t remember a team outplaying the other this way in a World Cup final. And, of course, later “the rollercoaster of emotions, not for the Argentinians or French, but for fans.” The game did, after all, go from a comfortable 2-0 Argentina lead to a 2-2 game, then in extra time, a 3-2 Argentina win, and then a 3-3 tie, without forgetting that last, miraculous goalkeeper save in the final seconds.
It almost couldn’t happen any other way for a team that only won one game comfortably, but that to Cantor was nevertheless a worthy champion. He said it himself in the commentary. And Cantor got to share the moment with his son, in a video that has also gone viral. A few months before the 2022 World Cup, he shared, his son had spoken to him about the disappointment of never having seen Argentina win a World Cup – Cantor had experienced both the 1978 and 1986 wins. At that moment, Cantor recalls he told his son to “have faith because the team looked very good.” And that faith was, in the end, rewarded.
But it wasn’t just Cantor, or Argentinians, who wanted this team to win. It was people from all over, and it was mostly because of Messi. “Messi has a gift of being a lovable person, the most recognizable person on Earth by far right now, and the best fútbol player.” And he was missing this title, which means “a lot of people were very happy for Messi.”
Messi, of course, doesn’t play alone. You cannot win a team sport by yourself. But the title does mean the debate about Messi being the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) takes on a new dimension. For Cantor, “you can’t really compare,” though this win means Messi can “sit on the table with Diego (Maradona), Pele, or Di Stéfano.” The game has changed too much, and all of these great players deserve to be recognized for how great they were in their own time and circumstances.
For Andrés Cantor, with the 2022 World Cup in the rearview mirror, perhaps the most important thing isn’t just that his team won, but that his voice could, as evidenced by the many messages he’s gotten “bring back memories of watching fútbol with lost loved ones.” In that regard, the tears of happiness at the end aren’t just about a game, they’re about what the game means, the people it can bring together, and the joy it can give people from all over the world.
