An international fixture usually marks the start of a fierce rivalry between two nations who are vying to reach the pinnacle of the sport for their respective countries. But before a game kicks off fans around the globe stand together to sing the national anthem for their nations.
Singing at their loudest, fans and players scream their hearts out as they chant the beautiful anthem giving a major injection of confidence and support to the players who are wearing their countries' colors.
From Diego Maradona to Lionel Messi, the biggest superstars in the country's footballing history have stood on the pitch and sang the national anthem with pride in their eyes to commemorate the start of a magical performance they were gearing to put out on the pitch.
GOAL takes a look at the national anthem of the current world champions, Argentina.
Argentina national football team anthem
The Argentine national team anthem is called 'Himno Nacional Argentino' which translates to the National Anthem of Argentina in English. The original version of the anthem talked about the country's struggles to gain independence from Spain's handcuffs.
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In 1900, the anthem was shortened as the country decided to keep the first verse, the last verse, and the chorus of the original version as they removed several parts of the original piece with the struggles from Spanish dominance being removed. That's the reason whenever Argentina plays an international fixture the fans of the country recite a trimmed version of the anthem rather than the original one.
Himno Nacional Argentino lyrics in full
Oíd, mortales, el grito sagrado:“¡Libertad, libertad, libertad!”Oíd el ruido de rotas cadenas,ved en trono a la noble igualdad.
Ya su trono dignísimo abrieronlas Provincias Unidas del SudY los libres del mundo responden:“Al gran pueblo argentino, ¡salud!”Y los libres del mundo responden:“Al gran pueblo argentino, ¡salud!”Y los libres del mundo responden:“Al gran pueblo argentino, ¡salud!”
The Argentine anthem first came into emergence in 1810 when Blas Parera and Esteban de Luca penned down a masterpiece called 'The Patriotic March' for their country. Unfortunately for the duo, the original composition of the anthem only talked about Spain's defeat at the hands of France which helped Argentina gain independence.
Cayetano Rodriguez and Blas Parera then decided to rewrite another anthem which was commissioned by the Argentine hierarchy but the illustrious writers didn't want their song to become an anthem. After a couple of efforts, the country decided to give another shot at composing a national anthem for their country to showcase their legacy to the world.
Finally in 1813, three years before Argentina's independence from Spain, former interim President of Argentina Vicente Lopez y Planes and Blas Parera laid out the foundation of Himno Nacional Argentino which fans sang before their country participated in an international fixture.
When was it introduced to Argentine sport?
The Himno Nacional Argentino made its first appearance in the country's sporting history in a football match back on May 14, 1899. A group of students from a local school in Argentina sang the song at the historic Sociedad Sportiva Argentina which is now referred to as Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro.
A match between the club's own squad and a group from the "Gimnasia y Esgrima" organisation was being held at the time. Eduardo Newbery, president of Sociedad Sportiva Argentina, saw a possibility to instill a sense of nationalism and harmony in the sporting arena. Before the game, he asked some students from the neighborhood's "Normal School No. 1" to sing the national anthem.
On that momentous day, the youngsters assembled on the pitch and sang the "Himno Nacional Argentino" for the first time in the country's sports history. This project was well received and was a historic event for both players and onlookers.
Since that day, it's become mandatory for La Albiceleste to sign the glorious anthem anytime they set foot on the pitch in any sport. Being a massive footballing nation with a scintillating history, it's not a shock that the anthem's first appearance came at a football match played in their own backyard.