Spain 1-0 (aet) Argentina (Torres 106′)
METLIFE STADIUM — Out of left field, a new dynasty is born. Spain changed football half a generation ago: take the ball, pass the ball, win the lot. They were kings of Europe and then kings of the world. Play the tape again.
In between, the supposition was that Spain’s style simply stopped working and with the death of tiki-taka went their chances of domination. At the greatest tournament of all they failed to even compete in a quarter-final for 16 years. All the while, it turned out, a new winning system was being created in an underground football lair.
Then the poster boys were the metronomes and artists: Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets. Now it is the coaching system that rules all. Luis de la Fuente spent eight years managing three different Spain teams at youth group level, all while the senior team won nothing. The public panicked. The media panicked. The Spanish football federation asked for trust.
It was horrible to watch, but not because of Spain. They met an opponent that was so determined to kill the game that they became the ultimate parody of what they purport to represent. Argentina had more red cards than shots in the 98 minutes of normal time.
Ferran Torres was the hero but it could have been half a dozen others, such was the range and breadth of the wasted chances to score or even shoot. In one end of the MetLife Stadium, they rejoiced because they are champions but also because it seemed inevitable that the dark arts would win out.
European aesthetics against South America athletics. Artists against street brawlers (plus the ultimate mastercraftsman). Bulls against matadors, if we want to really dig into the cultural stereotypes. Control vs chaos, to quickly nip back to football. This was heralded as a fitting final outside of the England bubble.
Clashes of styles don’t always produce wildly entertaining contests. Sometimes they create a logjam. You can’t tell whether the open hand is enveloping the clenched fist or the fist is punching hard into the hand, but it doesn’t really matter when the end result is the same. The World Cup final is the peak of the sport. But not necessarily entertainment.
With the score level, that represented victory for Argentina. Theirs is a strategy of proactive spoiling. They were never going to be creative nor expansive. They simply look to hold out, hope that Lionel Messi will create energy out of nothing and are usually rewarded. The onus was on the opponent; it usually is.
What fascinated me most about Sunday’s final was how both teams went further into their extremes. Spain brought on Pedri and Ferran Torres, two more from Barcelona, to try and reinforce positional dominance. Off came a striker to make it roughly 13 central midfielders on the pitch.
And Argentina? They carried on sh*thousing and kicking opponents and then acting flabbergasted when the referee awarded a free-kick against them. In each case, one player in blue and white would pick up the ball and drop it only when asked for a third time, like a miscreant puppy. Enzo Fernandez finally paid the price and rightly so.
It is wearing and it has won Argentina no friends at this World Cup. To clarify: they don’t care and nor should they. Winning is the whole of the truth. Was it fun? No. Did their behaviour occasionally make you want to scream? Oh yes. Was it effective? In its own way. Until it wasn’t.
This will be heralded as a win for good sport, given Argentina’s behaviour over the last fortnight. You will find no arguments to the contrary here. But when the dust settles, it is an extraordinary triumph for the system over individuals and a nation that has conquered all twice in the space of two decades.
Spain are European champions (men and women). They are world champions (men and women). They deserve every ole.
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