A new era has begun in world football. Spain sewed the second star as world champion onto their jersey after defeating an Argentina in extra time, who had run out of miracles in the semifinals. The final of a strange and exciting World Cup was always played according to what Spain wanted, turning everything around the ball, attacking with ambition. Glory is theirs after a final in which Messi, very disconnected from the game, ceded the crown to Lamine Yamal. An era ends and a new one begins, personified in the young man from Rocafonda. One man alone cannot win World Cups, but a team can. And Luis de la Fuente's team, a coach until recently unknown, is a block that defends a style. An idea in which the collective rules, even though a lack of accuracy prolonged the agony until extra time. A final decided thanks to an unexpected hero, the Valencian Ferran Torres, who caught a ball inside the area. If in 2010 Spain won their first World Cup with a goal from Iniesta in the 116th minute, on this occasion the goal arrived in the 106th thanks, once again, to a Barça player.

When this Sunday the ball starts rolling in the World Cup final at the MetLife stadium on the outskirts of New York, the city that never sleeps, all eyes will be on two players trained in Barcelona, Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal. The leaders of Argentina and Spain, the two finalist teams. It will be special for a group of people who, searching through old photos on their mobile phones, find some that show these two players when they were much younger: the coaches from La Masia who, in some way, helped them on both their paths to MetLife stadium.

The fact that Catalan football is so recognizable in the call-ups, lineups, and playing style of the Spanish national team has made our absence from the World Cup with the Catalan team even harder. What a great role we would have played (as also happens in the Olympic Games), and instead, on Sunday we will once again offer new footballing glories to Spain, which, if you ask me for a prediction, I believe will be golden glories.Argentina has Messi, which is the best thing that could have happened to them, because he brings intelligence, technique, and composure to the emotional chaos of an Argentina that has played every match arriving late and desperately, as if they had a date with destiny rather than with their opponent, and those in charge of letting it pass couldn't find their name on the list of qualifiers, until finally they discover that victory was written. And where Scaloni's tactics don't reach, the supernatural reinforcements of God begin, the hand of God and his footballing son on Earth, Diego Armando Maradona, accompanied by Victor Hugo Morales' narration "¿de qué planeta viniste?”. Messi, moreover, brings a purpose to an entire team that loves him, which is to help him expand his legend and make him world champion again and a contender for a ninth Ballon d'Or, at 39 years old.And, after all, if anyone can bring Argentina down from this religious madness with which they have reached the final, it is Spain, with their rational, solid, and knowledgeable football, where everyone knows what they have to do and does it like champions. The World Cup of Cubarsí and Olmo has been impressive. The whole world has once again looked at the photo by Joan Monfort and Oriol Canals for Sport" with Lamine Yamal in the little tub, where Messi seems to be imposing his hands on him. It is the triumph of La Masia, from which the two stars of the championship have emerged. We already have this, and it is a lot.

Argentinians cry. They cry a lot, when they talk and play football. It's part of their identity. They love this sport and this national team so much that they cry a lot. And it's beautiful that it happens. Giuliano Simeone, Cholo's son, also cried. He did so talking about Messi. "He's 39 years old. And you see how he plays, how he fights... If he has already won everything. And he keeps fighting," said the excited Atlético de Madrid footballer, who will play a World Cup final, a feat his father did not achieve. "When you see Leo fighting for every ball like that, we have to give our all to help him," added Leandro Paredes. "He suffered a lot with the national team and has given us a lot of glory. We will do it for him," defended Cuti Romero. Lionel Messi plays surrounded by a group of footballers who seem like the praetorian guard of an emperor, ready for anything to defend their leader. But if you ask Messi, he says they are nothing more than "a group of friends", who bond by making barbecues.

Argentina had to bring out their champion character to avoid one of the biggest upsets of this World Cup. Lionel Scaloni's team came back from 0-2 down against Egypt in the final minutes (3-2) and qualified for the quarter-finals after a match in which they lived on the edge. The Egyptian team narrowly missed out on a historic feat thanks to a colossal performance from goalkeeper Shobeir and a tactical approach that nullified the Argentinians for a large part of the game. When all seemed lost, Leo Messi, who ended the match in tears, reappeared to lead an express comeback that was finally completed by Enzo Fernández in added time. Their next opponent will be Switzerland, a team that defeated Colombia on penalties after a goalless duel.

The match between Argentina and Cape Verde will be remembered as the years go by. If the World Cups are exciting, it's because of matches like these, when logic breaks down, when anything can happen. On a humid and sticky night in Miami, modest Cape Verde came within a whisker of eliminating Argentina in a tie decided in overtime where anything and everything happened. Goals, tackles, and a player climbing into the stands. In the end, the reigning champions managed to survive after a very demanding duel against a Cape Verde team that heads home with their heads held high, having become one of the most beautiful stories of the tournament (3-2). Nobody knew them, and now everyone admires them.

"Bach is the musician and Mozart is the music," that great master of musicians, Oriol Martorell, used to say. In any case, and following his idea of ​​attributing to one person the highest representation of the profession and to another the personification of the specialty, let's play for a while, since this is a matter of taste.

The first league season without Messi wearing the blaugrana shirt begins. After the journey of the last few weeks and the departure of the Argentine to PSG, it is time to start a new era. "There has been a lot of talk about Messi and it's normal. He is the best player in the world, he has shown for many years in this club his effectiveness, the quality to win titles... We won't have him with us anymore, but we have other players and a very strong squad", Ronald Koeman acknowledged in the press conference prior to Sunday's match against Real Sociedad (8pm, Movistar LaLiga).

Just when it was time to take the last step to finally reach to the summit, Barça suffered a slip as painful as unexpected. In the worst moment, when nobody expected it. Neither Koeman, who was sent off, nor the players, nor fans who took for granted that the game against Granada was a sure win. But if in the Cup it was Barça who fought back with a comeback that was celebrated as a title, in the league Diego Martinez's team has taken its revenge in the second half. In the first half Messi scored a goal that finally put Barça totop of the league, but by the second half the team run out of gas. And Granada plundered the Camp Nou. It took the food off Barça's plate just as Koeman's team was about to enjoy a great feast. They stole their wallet as they walked out of the bank with a good wad of notes inside.