On the evening Spain clinched their first World Cup in 2010, Rodrigo Hernández found himself in a remote Connecticut camp. He had been out canoeing when the national team triumphed over Germany in the semi-finals, feeling disappointed to have missed the match. However, for the final, he managed to persuade a supervisor to let him watch the game alone on a mini-laptop in the staff’s lodge. When Andrés Iniesta scored the decisive goal in the 116th minute, he dashed out, running laps around the lake in sheer elation. At just 14 years old, this moment was monumental for him.
Fast forward 16 years to Spain’s second World Cup victory, and Rodrigo Hernández was once again in the US, not far from that same camp. When Ferran Torres netted the winning goal in the 106th minute, he sprinted towards the corner where his family awaited him, running in a more direct line this time. As the match concluded and the fighting ceased, he collected the trophy, timing his lift perfectly as Donald Trump exited the stage.
This trophy was not the only accolade he carried. By the time he left the dressing room at 9:38 PM Eastern Time, the last player to exit, Rodri was weighed down by awards. Ladis had to assist him; a football team comprises more than just players or coaches. Pau Cubarsí also had support; his partner Nuria helped him as he appeared youthful in the stadium, yet he held a commanding presence on the pitch. Luis de la Fuente was accompanied by Paloma.
Rodri brought with him the trophy for the tournament’s best player. Cubarsí held the young player award, while Unai Simón showcased the Golden Glove. Each Spain player carried replicas of their World Cup trophies in black Louis Vuitton trunks, which were cumbersome to carry. Rodri had three trophies: both replicas and the cup itself. They departed with bags overflowing with memorabilia, pieces of the history they had written. Their gear included shirts in red, yellow, blue, and white, as well as balls and boots. They even cut a piece of the net and took home keepsakes. Rings were also awarded, akin to those given in the NBA.
Before the final kicked off, Marc Cucurella snuck away to bury a coin in the pitch, reminiscent of what Joan Capdevila did in 2010. Iniesta was present, his name echoed in cheers as he displayed the cup to the audience. After the match, Sergio Ramos excitedly retrieved the trophy, kissing it before placing it on the plinth for the new generation to claim. One by one, players like Borja Iglesias and Lamine Yamal approached, some hesitating to shake Trump’s hand, until Rodri finally lifted the trophy high above his head.
Nico Williams sought out his mother in the front row and presented her with his medal. Lamine Yamal approached Lionel Messi, who stood up for the young player, embracing him in a touching moment marking a new chapter. Actor Javier Bardem shared a heartfelt hug with Iglesias, who had quickly become both a friend and an idol. Ferran Torres expressed a sense of “Destiny is written: God gives to those who deserve.” after experiencing the trials of the game, remarking, “If we had played [Spain] like this …” Meanwhile, Keyne was simply being himself. In the dressing room, the champagne was popped.
Time was short, as their flight to Spain was set for 11 PM, prompting a swift departure. The players made their way through the dimly lit corridors of the stadium, accompanied by the president and staff. Iglesias lugged a bag that resembled a student’s laundry bag, struggling to keep a box from slipping. In his other hand, he wheeled a large red speaker, which was blasting “We gave them a battering,” by PAWSA & Adventures of Stevie V. Lamine Yamal strolled in through the anti-doping room, sporting orange sunglasses, four chains, and a backward black cap. Though he didn’t wear his medal, most of his teammates did, adorned with thick discs around their necks, alongside commemorative shirts prepared for the occasion.
Reflecting on their semi-final victory celebration in Dallas, someone humorously suggested to federation president Rafael Louzán that their shirts should read “Look at them! Look at them! How they shit themselves!” on one side and “If my gloves could talk, they would say they didn’t have much work to do,” on the other, denoting their dual triumphs. However, these shirts only featured one trophy, with “Many teams depend too much on the back line,” emblazoned on the back. The war in the Middle East had thwarted the Finalissima’s original scheduling in Doha, with Argentina declining alternative dates, leaving an impression of a team hesitant to compete. “They asked me what there is left to win; we said the next game in September because they’re insatiable,” Emi Martínez remarked after they narrowly defeated Mauritania in a hastily arranged friendly.
Such a scenario might have unfolded, not merely because of Argentina’s play but due to Spain’s dominance. “The manager is outstanding; he has been our leader.” expressed one player exiting the dressing room. This was more than just a victory; it was a statement. Has a 1-0 win ever felt so overwhelmingly one-sided? Late in the match, with the score still 0-0, Spain’s fans chanted, “I said: ‘You made a bad mistake’,” and they were right. Argentina struggled to escape throughout the game, as Spain tightened their grip, with the goal appearing inevitable. The actual surprise was that only one goal materialized. When it finally arrived, it felt both liberating and logically inevitable.
Torres’s shot marked Spain’s 20th attempt. Argentina managed their first shot only in the 115th minute and failed to register a single shot on target throughout the match. In the history of 900 World Cup games tracked by Opta, this is only the third instance of a team not managing a shot. And this occurred in the final. Spain imposed the same suffocating pressure on Argentina as they had against France and others throughout the tournament. They recorded an xG against of just 0.3 per game. “But it’s not like I am so horrendously ugly that you have to put it somewhere it can’t be seen. And they are men of their word.” Simón noted. “It doesn’t matter if you fall, there’s always a reason to get up again,” Aymeric Laporte added, but that was not the case for Spain.
This win represented the success of a collective effort, culminating in New York but forged in Chattanooga and beyond over 51 days. It embodies the triumph of a vision, belief, and the leadership of their coach. De la Fuente’s journey began at Deportivo Alavés in the third tier, where he lasted merely 11 matches. After leaving in November 2011, he faced a year and a half without a club job. It was only when he saw an advertisement for a youth coaching position with the Spanish federation that he began his ascent, starting with the under-17s and subsequently winning the European Championship with both the under-19s and under-21s before now achieving this World Cup victory.
“They asked me what there is left to win; we said the next game in September because they’re insatiable,” he remarked afterward. Simón commended the manager, stating, “The manager is outstanding; he has been our leader.” Cucurella found himself in a predicament; he had pledged to get a tattoo of De la Fuente’s face if Spain won the World Cup and now needed to consider where to place it to minimize the embarrassment, using the flight home to ponder this decision.
“I said: ‘You made a bad mistake’,” the coach quipped. “But it’s not like I am so horrendously ugly that you have to put it somewhere it can’t be seen. And they are men of their word.” Behind the humor, that final remark held significance, as he recognized that ten of them had played under his guidance at junior levels. The first title he ever clinched was the Under-19 Euros in 2015, with Rodrigo Hernández in the midfield that day.
Eleven years later, and 16 since he witnessed Spain’s initial World Cup victory, Rodri returned to the US, embodying the spirit of that idea. He played a pivotal role, demonstrating unmatched passing and tackling abilities. Leading the team out to victory and bringing them back, he, like many teammates, had overcome adversity, including a torn cruciate ligament. “It doesn’t matter if you fall, there’s always a reason to get up again,” he stated, now holding the World Cup trophy in his hands. At 9:40 PM, he boarded the bus heading to the airport, proudly carrying the illustrious trophy.
