It was the type of Ferrandipity Spain perhaps needed in the end to reconquer its world. When the denouement came, the camera slowly turned to observation, staying close to a few central characters and showing how they tried to make sense of the eventuality. Against the sunny backdrop of a giant New Jersey stadium, a parabola of disparate parts took shape, blurring the line of connection between the present and the past.Nico Williams headed Pedro Porro’s cross into the center of the box and Ferran Torres headed home Spain’s march to the top with a rasping left footer in the 106th minute, 16 years after Andres Iniesta’s penalty kick with another extra-time winner announced his arrival on the world stage. As Ferran, with adrenaline, uprooted the corner flag with a giant kick and was drowned by his teammates in a wild celebration, Iniesta sitting with his teammates from 2010, came into the frame, applauding and smiling.Play in counterpoint to this montage of lying images Lionel Messi – his eyes lowered and shoulders hunched, detached almost dreamily, perhaps resigned to the impending inevitability.Spain’s revival on the game’s biggest stage coincided with Argentina’s terrible self-destruction. No shot was on target in regulation time; there was no heart in the game for Messi joie de vivre and a peculiar disregard to make his battle more significant, hitting an impenetrable barrier.
Argentina’s sky was too clouded for its cosmic radiance – El Aleph – to shine and become inspirational on a dime, and so, the deus ex machina never came in any form of those stolen moments of ingenuity late in the semi-final against England.Enzo Fernandez’s red card in regulation time came with a terrible shock when hope was replaced by fear and from which point it became clear where the contest was going. The run of winners allegedly hit Argentina again as the end of their title defense came with a more brutal image – Leandro Paredes invited another red card after being involved in a nasty clash with Eric Garcia and Gavi after the full-time whistle.
That is why Spain’s triumph seemed so redemptive, almost a drop of poetic justice. It was less of a typical La Furia Roja but more of a symphony in various dazzling shades. Fearless method, lovely expressiveness and always a deep sense of collectivism being at the center of everything.Luis de la Fuente has transformed his old-school midfield into a more direct and dynamic force, clearing crowded midfields through vertical expansion. When the syncs between the players were tested and strengthened by great adversity, it brought a lyricism of someone who reached the point of self-discovery. It felt fluid and free in its thematic limits so much so that one might be tempted to take Messi’s Argentina as an antagonist in the narrative.
In an apparently self-conscious course of his post-match celebration on Sunday, another lasting image remained. Messi stood up to receive a warm hug from 19-year-old Lamine Yamal as the crowning of champions began. It was an unshakably beautiful picture and it moves in its connotation; it was about passing the baton.