It was the soundtrack to Argentina’s 2022 World Cup win — and you’ve probably heard it at this tournament, too.‘Muchachos’ is the song about heartbreak, the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and the country’s successful quest for a third World Cup star. It references the Falklands War, Maradona’s parents and the multiple finals La Albiceleste lost before lifting football’s most prestigious honour again in Qatar, 36 years on from their previous victory in Mexico.Its infectious rhythm has been sung in the stands and in the dressing room. Messi picked it as his favourite chant from Argentina’s triumphant campaign four years ago. It is, as supporter Cristian Raña tells The Athletic, “the war cry of the Argentine fanbase”.The original is a song by the Argentine band La Mosca Tse-Tse, which has nothing to do with football, called ‘Muchachos, Esta Noche Me Emborracho’ (‘Lads, Tonight I’m Getting Drunk’). It was adapted by schoolteacher Fernando Romero after Maradona’s death at 60 in November 2020 and Argentina’s Copa America final win against Brazil in Rio de Janeiro eight months later — Messi’s first major international trophy after years of near-misses.“I felt anguish at first at losing an idol and someone who is very loved in this country,” Romero, 34, tells The Athletic of Maradona’s passing. “That Copa America didn’t erase my sadness at his absence, but in sporting terms, it gave us back our smile. It made us feel there was also some justice for Leo.“I said to myself it was a good moment to remember that we all belong to this land and to those two — not one or the other, we belong to both of them.”Romero says he came up with the lyrics in 10 minutes. The music came naturally enough — the 2003 original Muchachos was well-known in Argentina, had been adapted for the terraces at Buenos Aires side Racing Club and was easy to sing.“Fans choosing a melody to support their team is so magical that you can’t do it in a premeditated way,” says Guillermo Novellis, the lead singer of La Mosca Tse-Tse, who played at Maradona’s 40th birthday party and Messi’s 20th. “It’s very mysterious. If only we could know what that mystery is to create a hit every day.”Guillermo Novellis is presented with an award from Sony for more than 53 million plays of Muchachos on all digital platforms (La Mosca)Romero and Novellis are still unable to explain that mystery. After a World Cup qualifier in Brazil in 2021 in which health officials stormed the pitch to try to escort Argentina players away under Covid quarantine rules, journalist Matias Pelliccioni called on his followers to come up with a song about the incident. Romero couldn’t help with that, but he offered the lyrics to his version of Muchachos free of charge in the replies.The reporter must have known he was onto something: he invited Romero and his friends to sing the chant live on air before Argentina’s following game against Bolivia in Buenos Aires. The clip went viral, and the players sang it after their Finalissima win against European champions Italy at Wembley in June 2022.La Mosca Tse-Tse invited Romero to collaborate on a new release of the song before the World Cup — “He doesn’t sing very well; he played the drum,” says Novellis — and it became the team’s anthem as they made their way to glory in Qatar.When Messi was hoisted onto his close friend Sergio Aguero’s shoulders on the pitch following the final against France, he held the trophy in one hand and waved the other while singing Muchachos with the fans.“On the day football does him justice and gives him that World Cup, the player who has been the best in the world throughout his career sings a song which came from my heart,” says Romero. “That’s totally unthinkable and unfathomable. It’s inexplicable.”