You may never have seen Andrés Cantor or even heard his name before, but you have almost certainly heard his voice.
Jewish-Argentine Cantor, who more than lives up to his choral surname, is one of the enduring voices of football, famed for his commentary across Latin America, particularly his signature cry of “¡Goooooool!”.
So great was his enthusiasm during Argentina’s round of 16 tie with Egypt last week, in which La Albiceleste came back from two goals down to win 3-2 late on, that he lost his voice.
“The crowd went so wild – and that is a dome stadium – that the crowd noise got into my headsets so much, I couldn't balance my voice on the headsets, so I couldn't hear myself while I was yelling,” he told NPR.
“So I had to, like, take off my headset and try to find my voice in the middle of the crowd. And obviously, I was overcome by emotion because, you know, I really thought, like pretty much everyone else that was watching the game, Argentina's title reign was coming to an end. So yeah, I did lose my voice for a little bit.”
Speaking to LeBatardShow, the 63-year-old also said that the game was “the craziest comeback [that] I ever called”, as he “really thought Argentina was going out”, and added that “that narrative about the game being fixed” was “BS [bulls*it]”.
After the Egypt tie, Argentina overcame Switzerland 3-1 with the help of extra time in the quarter final, and now find themselves in the semi final, within touching distance of the trophy which they held aloft four years ago.
Cantor also famously called the final in 2022, holding back tears as Gonzalo Montiel converted the winning penalty, exclaiming that Argentina were world champions for the first time in 36 years.
Cantor (left) moments after Argentina's winning penalty in the 2022 World Cup final (credit: Instagram @andrescantorgol)[Missing Credit]
The legendary commentator was born to Jewish parents in Buenos Aires. His mother, Alicia, was born in Romania, and moved to Argentina at the age of 13, while his father, David, was born and raised in the South American nation.
His paternal grandparents were Polish and fled Europe during the Nazi occupation in the Second World War.
Cantor’s big career break came at the 1994 World Cup, when his way of announcing goals garnered mainstream media attention.
“It started because that's the way I grew up listening to play-by-play [coverage] in Argentina when I was a kid, mostly on radio,” he told NPR.
“Everyone in Argentina yells a goal the same way, and pretty much, I would say, everyone in Latin America. So I always said that I never invented something. I don't have any proprietary rights to my goal call. I was very lucky and fortunate to be, I guess, in the right place at the right time during the 1994 World Cup.”
He is now commentating on his tenth World Cup, and revealed his pre-tournament preparations to the New York Times last month.
“Before every World Cup, I ask Wendy [his vocal coach] to get me in shape,” said Cantor, who has appeared in The Simpsons and Muppets Most Wanted, as well as many adverts.
Andrés Cantor's character (left) in The Simpsons (credit: The Simpsons, season 25 episode 16)[Missing Credit]
Cantor, whose longest ever “¡Goooooool!” lasted a reported 44 seconds, might commentate on up to 20 games in a month at the World Cup, and added that “when the final whistle blows, I’m pretty much as tired as the players are”.
He will be commentating on tomorrow’s monumental matchup for Telemundo, the American-owned Spanish-language broadcaster that provides coverage to more than 100 countries.
There has been a trend during this summer’s competition for English-speaking Americans to tune into Spanish-language broadcasting, with Cantor’s compelling call cited as one of the main factors behind the shift.
He will commentate on the semi-final alongside Mexican sports journalist Omar Zerón, with expert analysis being provided by former Argentina winger Maxi Rodriguez and ex-national team manager Jose Pékerman, who is also Jewish.
Pékerman grew up in the Villa Crespo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, well known for its vibrant Jewish community, where he played football with his local Maccabi club. His parents’ Jewish roots traced back to Ukraine.
He is well known for managing the Argentina team at the 2006 World Cup, which they exited in the quarter finals with a loss to Germany on penalties.
In that tournament, he handed an 18-year-old Lionel Messi his tournament debut, in which he scored a goal off the bench in a 6-0 rout of Serbia & Montenegro.
Jose Pékerman (right) talks to goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri (left) while Lionel Messi (centre) listens on in a training session before the 2006 World Cup (photo: Daniel Garcia / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
Pékerman reportedly predicted before that tournament that Messi’s career would reach great heights. He told Reuters that at the time, he “had no doubt that over the next ten years [Messi] would be fighting to be one of the best players in the world”.
In fact, he was responsible for the fact that Messi represents Argentina, and not Spain, whom he played for at youth level.
Pékerman ensured that he appeared in a friendly for Argentina’s under-20s in 2004, so that his allegiance could not be switched – forever changing the course of football history.
The Argentine was highly regarded while the national team manager, and his international pedigree earned him the top job with Colombia for the 2014 World Cup.
He led the country, which had not even qualified for the tournament since 1998, on an unprecedented run to the quarter finals, where he was cemented as a national hero.
After the tournament, he stated his desire to become a naturalised Colombian, an honour granted to him the very next day by then-president Juan Manuel Santos, and he received more than 400,000 votes in 2014’s presidential election, despite not standing for office.
England face Argentina on Wednesday night in Atlanta for a place in the World Cup final. Kick off is 8pm BST with television coverage on BBC One.
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