In the moments before Spain went out to become world champions in New York, there was an old mantra from their former boss Luis Aragones that was doing the rounds among the squad. They would be reminded of it before extra-time in the World Cup final.
“Stay calm, you’re the better team.”
That has been made fact and is now preserved by the very name inscribed on the trophy, but it was only proven by the principles that the mantra encapsulates.
It may sound simple, and perhaps even arrogant, but within those few words is an entire idea and the story of this 23rd World Cup final.
Spain knew what Argentina would do, after all. Argentina, for their part, knew that they would not get control of the ball. They had to try and turn the match into something else, to slow it down and frustrate Spain while making it a battle rather than an open football match.
Argentina had been aided by hugely permissive refereeing, where they realised their aggression wasn’t being properly punished. There could have been several yellow cards - and maybe even two red - long before Enzo Fernandez was dismissed.
And for the first time, in the first half of extra time and with the openings not arriving, Spain began to get a bit frantic. They were rushing it. You could understand a panic was rising.
Argentina had clearly been playing for a shoot-out, where Emiliano Martinez has long been the ringmaster. Spain needed to get this done in play.
In other words, they needed to remember they were the better team... and just play.
They needed to just stay calm and keep using the ball, to have faith in their superior technique and better idea. If they kept faith, they would find that opening.
That’s exactly what happened.
Nico Williams showed the calmest of heads, almost literally, as he cleverly nodded the ball back for Ferran Torres to fire in the ultimate goal in shades of Andres Iniesta in 2010.
He exploded in euphoria, kicking a corner flag, unable to stop himself.
It must be quite a mind-blowing thing, to score the match-winner in the World Cup final - football’s equivalent of the men who have been to the moon.
Torres, however, displayed an admirable presence of mind as he finally reflected on the moment.
“This isn’t just my goal, or even from the 26 players,” he said. “It was a goal scored by 47 million people.”
If that sounds a natural thing to say when an entire nation is celebrating you, there is more to that, too.
Like every footballer of any level among those 47 million, each member of this Spanish squad has grown up playing the small-space and small-sided games in streets that characterise the sport in the country. That environment causes them to organically internalise an appreciation for touch, technique and positional awareness.
You can see it in the willingness to play through any press. On the rare moments that Argentina did almost get in with a bouncing ball, a Spanish player appeared to smoothly intercept. They were staying calm, trusting their superior technique. Rodri’s perfection in this part of the game is why he was such a fitting Golden Ball winner, articulating the winning idea as he does.
Such football intelligence itself evolves from those same internalised qualities then being amplified by the best grassroots coaching in Europe.
Figures who work in development in Uefa say this is the piece that countries like England just cannot replicate, and something they missed when surveying what Spain did back in 2013. Spanish grassroots coaches are the most qualified in Europe.
So, by the time their young talents are finally playing in competitive underage teams in excellent club academies, all of this is second nature. Hence they cruise through youth tournaments, as they’ve just done with the under-19 Euros in Wales.
Luis de la Fuente has himself been responsible for many underage victories, like that same under-19 competition back in 2015. Unai Simon, Mikel Merino and Rodri were key members of the team. The manager has had virtually all of this squad as a youth coach, and has known many of their families for more than a decade.
What emerges, then, is even more than a nationwide football infrastructure geared towards this core idea - a reality that is even more impressive amid the eternal politicking of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
It is a sense of community, of a true team.
They know each other so well, which also means they know to trust each other so well. It is a depth of integration that comes from the intimacy of friends.
There are maybe deeper points that could be made here about Spanish society. Given that Madrid-Barcelona context, it's incredible to think that one of the laments about Spain for decades is that they could never win because the regionalism split the team. An irony is that regionalism has probably become more profound amid the liberalism of the 21st century. The difference is that all of these players - regardless of what region of Spain - are committed to this idea of football.
That was one of the first things that De La Fuente referenced in his celebratory press conference: “I’m so proud of this generation of footballers who have grown up with this philosophy, remained true to it, made it even better, and set an example as a team and a family – they’re excellent, world-class footballers with exceptional talent.”
If not always exceptional entertainment, technically exquisite as Spain are. Their idealisation of control still doesn’t invigorate a lot of people, especially for the way they can smother games even like this final, but it does still speak to one wider debate; something that other federations should be considering.
It speaks to a football bravery, jarringly in regards to England’s retreat and ultimate defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals.
A core element of that message - “Stay calm, you’re the better team” - is to believe in yourself enough to take the ball on, to use it, to play.
Even if you disagree with the next stage of what Spain do, and the emphasis on possession, the core idea is absolutely something to be encouraged.
It is what the game is about. It’s about expressing yourself, not being cowed by the opposition. This is exactly the kind of football “bravery” that grandees like Bill Shankly and Sir Matt Busby used to enthuse about.
That should be Spain’s true legacy, and the lesson of this World Cup.
The problem for everyone else is that there may be more lessons to come. Spain have largely won this World Cup because they are one of few elite sides in an era with many good sides but few great ones.
The age profile of the team is good. They continue to win most youth tournaments, in the same way they continue to just produce more talent. They are now the first country to be world champions in men’s and women’s football at the same time, reflecting how ingrained this idea is.
They will now seek to be the first team to retain the World Cup in 68 years, since the next one is partly at home.
Lamine Yamal will even have a sense of unfinished business, despite winning his first World Cup before the age of 20.
He wasn’t even the decisive element by the end. The ideologue midfielder was. The impact sub was. The injured winger was.
The team was. The idea was.
Spain stayed calm, and proved they were the best team.
