Argentina is gearing up for the World Cup final against Spain on Sunday, but President Javier Milei has dropped a bombshell: he's not going to the game. Despite widespread expectations he'd be in New Jersey with U.S. President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Milei is staying put at his presidential residence, Olivos, because of one thing: superstition. He's watched all seven previous games from there, and he's not changing a thing, even down to his outfit.
Milei's Hard Pass on the Big Game
When pressed on Thursday if he’d travel for the final, Milei's answer was a firm, "No way." He's sticking to his game-day routine, telling Buenos Aires radio station El Observador, "I'm going to keep watching all the games from Olivos." And you won't believe the ritual he's sticking to. Milei explained that because it's cold and he doesn’t use the heat, he wears an oil company-branded jacket. This jacket became legendary during their Switzerland game. It made him too hot, so he took it off. What happened next? Argentina conceded a goal. The jacket went straight back on, and he hasn't taken it off since. Yeah, you heard that right. This isn't just a comfort thing, it's a full-blown good luck charm, and the World Cup final against Spain might just depend on it.Cábalas Run Deep: A Nation Built on Rituals
This isn't just a quirky presidential habit. In Latin America, especially Argentina, these "cábalas," or ritualistic beliefs, carry some serious weight. It's all about how intensely fans follow their national team. Milei's jacket saga is just one example. Many Argentines have their own strict cábalas: wearing the same clothes, sometimes refusing to wash their jerseys for the entire tournament. Others have a specific spot they have to watch from, or they're even banned from watching at all if they happened to be in the bathroom when Argentina scored a crucial goal. We're talking about the smallest actions taking on extraordinary meaning. There’s even a widely shared video from this World Cup of fans who started reading from the Bible when Argentina scored against Egypt, and now they have to do it for every match. Some even freeze figurines of rival players or pieces of paper with opponents' names on them, hoping to impact the other team. This presidential superstition isn't new either. It actually goes way back to the 1990 tournament. Back then, President Carlos Menem visited the Argentine squad right before they suffered a shocking opening loss to Cameroon. He got branded a "mufa," which means a jinx, and no sitting Argentine president has attended a national team match since. Milei is just carrying on a long-standing tradition to avoid being the next mufa. So, as Argentina faces Spain in the final this Sunday, the entire nation will be glued to their screens, not just for the action on the pitch, but also for the rituals and traditions that everyone, including their president, believes can tip the scales.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.