Broadcaster Enrique Macaya Márquez heads to his 18th World Cup at age 91

At 91, veteran Argentine broadcaster Enrique Macaya Márquez is preparing to cover his 18th FIFA World Cup, extending a record that has spanned nearly seven decades and taken him from the age of radio and black-and-white television to today's hyperconnected football landscape.

Since attending his first World Cup in Sweden in 1958, Macaya has reported from every edition of the tournament. He will continue that remarkable run at North America 2026, which kicked off on Thursday across Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Health concerns have reduced the legendary broadcaster's public appearances in recent years, but missing the tournament was never an option.

"I feel as though I have an obligation to do it," Macaya said in an interview before departing for the United States on Friday, where he will follow the fortunes of the Albiceleste as a commentator for DirecTV, DSports and DSports Radio.

"I don't know how much longer it will go on, but I'll try to make the most of the one I have in front of me," added the journalist, who was recognised by FIFA in 2022 as the reporter who has seen the most World Cups.

Although he has spent more than 70 years cultivating a style that avoids making himself the story, Macaya reflected on Pelé's first World Cup, his childhood friendship with Alfredo Di Stéfano, his clashes with Diego Maradona and the way football has changed over the decades.

Miraculous journey

Macaya was just 23 when Buenos Aires-based Radio Belgrano sent him as part of a small team to cover the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. He has not missed a tournament since.

Reaching Scandinavia was far from straightforward. The veteran reporter recalls arriving "miraculously" after a long journey involving several flights, trains and ferries.

"It was on a Douglas DC-7. Aircraft that had to stop practically everywhere because there was no other way of getting there, they didn't have the range," he recalled.

"I left via Dakar, went to Italy, then Denmark and southern Sweden before arriving in Malmö. It was something completely unknown."

That tournament marked the emergence of Pelé, who at just 17 inspired Brazil to its first World Cup triumph.

"He was a player with tremendous physical ability, beyond the technical qualities he also possessed," said Macaya, who says it wasn’t obvious at the time that the Brazilian would become one of football's greatest players.

Di Stéfano 'the best'

For Macaya, however, the outstanding player of that era was Alfredo Di Stéfano, despite the Argentine-born Real Madrid star never appearing at a World Cup.

"I lived 50 metres from Alfredo's house. I looked after a newspaper stand and he would come and read the papers there. Afterwards he'd take me to his house and we'd play football. He was older than me. Then, he became my idol."

Because of that childhood connection to Flores, his neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Macaya admits he struggles to remain entirely impartial.

"For me, he was the best. Compared with the players he was competing against at the time, he was the best. But I also had a friendship with Di Stéfano that could influence my opinion."

Macaya has often said that Maradona completes his 20th-century podium, though he prefers not to dwell on the famous “Hand of God” goal from Argentina's 2-1 victory over England in the quarter-finals of Mexico 1986.

"An entire story has been built around that goal which doesn't correspond to reality," he said, offering a view that remains controversial among many Argentines, who regard the incident as a form of sporting justice following the 1982 Malvinas War.

Maradona proved him right

Macaya's usual restraint disappears only when recalling the moment in May 1994 when Maradona publicly acknowledged that the journalist had been correct, after a series of disagreements in the media.

Diego requested a meeting, summoned a television camera and declared that Macaya's criticism had been justified.

"He didn't do that for anyone else. Nobody. It was fantastic, incredible," Macaya says with a smile.

Looking back on the evolution of the World Cup, Macaya believes modern tournaments generate such enormous attention largely because of the scale of the financial investment behind them.

FIFA's drive to expand its footprint in the United States has drawn criticism over high ticket prices and the new 48-team format being used at North America 2026.

"The game evolved in some respects and, paradoxically, that same evolution slowed it in others," Macaya reflected.