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One of the worst years in Argentine history already, it was made all the worse by the scandalous (some say, fixed) loss at that year's World Cup final against Germany.

The referee rained foul calls, free kicks, and yellow and red cards against Argentina - while reliably turning a blind eye to numerous German fouls and other violations.

But for Argentines, there was another factor: the unexpected presence of then-President Carlos Menem at that final.

Menem, who already had quite the reputation as a yetattore to begin with (including an incident at that very World Cup, in which he patted the goalie on the knee - only to have the guy suffer a leg fracture the very next game), had announced he was not attending the final for that very reason.

And then, surreptitiously, he did.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Argentines are like baseball fans when it comes to their soccer superstitions you see. They take these things very seriously.