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.

"It was like a school: the kids in front and the kids behind. He sat in the front row", recalled Luis de la Fuente a few weeks ago in an interview with the newspaper The Guardian. He was talking about Lionel Scaloni. They met in 2017 as professor and student of the Spanish federation's coaching courses for former elite players and will meet again this Sunday in the World Cup final. The Spanish national team, current European champions, and the Argentine national team, current world and South American champions, will fight for a historic title. It will be an exciting double duel, between Leo Messi and Lamine Yamal on the pitch and between De la Fuente and Scaloni on the bench.