Dejected Argentine fans silenced by defeat

Jul 14, 2014 - 1:34 AM Thousands of Argentine football fans gathered on the golden sands of Copacabana beach gasped and then fell into silence when Germany scored a stunning extra-time goal to claim the World Cup title.

More than 70,000 Argentina fans packed into Rio de Janeiro in recent days, many travelling upward of 40 hours by car and seemingly all wearing their team's sky-blue jerseys and chanting day and night.

"This was a trauma. We were going to be able to leave singing songs in victory with the glory of the Cup," said Joao Cuenca, who has an Argentine father and a Brazilian mother. "What happened is nothing short of a disaster."

Diana Rochman, a 55-year-old wearing a jersey of Argentine star Lionel Messi, fought back tears after watching at a public screen in Sao Paulo.

"It was a very good game but I'm very sad. Depressed. It was sure they would win and Brazilians wanted us to lose," she said.

At a FIFA Fan Fest on Rio's Copacabana beach, 20,000 people, mostly Argentine, stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of a giant TV screen to watch the final.

Some isolated fights broke out both on Copacabana beach and in the area outside the Maracana where the match was played. The scuffles appeared to involve young Brazilian and Argentine men - bitter rivals on and off the pitch.

Police responded quickly. There was a heavy security presence around the stadium and across Rio for the entire day. More than 25,000 police and soldiers were on guard just for the game, according to officials, providing the biggest security detail in Brazilian history.

Around the Maracana, where 74,000 spectators crammed in for the final, lines of security forces wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying rifles stood watch. Roads were closed and military helicopters buzzed overhead, with Brazilian authorities still wary about violent protests that marred last year's Confederations Cup.

Several hundred protesters gathered at a plaza near Maracana a few hours before kick-off, and clashed with police as they neared security perimeters set up roughly two kilometres from the stadium.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the march. At the end of the demonstration, police unleashed the stun grenades on a small group of protesters and journalists.

Source: AAP