I got pulled into watching the WC by latino friends I made over the past couple of years, along with the fact that it was being hosted here. I knew little about it going in, but noticed that like in many team sports, the coverage and fandom seem to coalesce over a few key players who are raised up onto pedestals as legends. In the final match, Argentina had one such legend in the form of Lionel Messi, while Spain didn't seem to field anyone who was at that sort of household name level?
Yet, they triumphed through tightly coordinated team play, and Argentina seemed to have no answer to that. Some commenters complained that Spain was a boring team to watch, but I've always appreciated seeing mastery at that level.