The final of a soccer World Cup is much more than sport. It is a global event that projects passions, expectations, and values. Before the match began, hundreds of articles had already been written, thousands of discussions held, posts on social media made, and analyses of all kinds about the possible winner. In this case, the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, in addition to a football duel, was a battle between two ways of understanding football, between two generations of footballers like Leo Messi and Lamine Yamal, and between two different narratives of a country.
The result after the one hundred and twenty minutes of the match – including extra time – is known to all. The victory of the Spanish national team displayed possession football, high pressure, and young talent against the veteran experience of an experienced, intense Argentina based on the talent of an inexhaustible Messi. Luis de la Fuente's team projected itself to the world by displaying its talent with sporting excellence, confidence, and teamwork that transcends the result of the World Cup final. Naturally, the players have been received and treated as true national heroes in institutional and multitudinous events. A team that mobilizes emotions and passions of an entire country and acts as a balm and communal emotional amalgam that sets aside the tremendous political and judicial polarization that the country suffers.
Behind the obvious positive impact of the World Cup victory for the Spain brand, there is another that shines brightly without large investments in advertising or sponsors. La Masia, the FC Barcelona school, is part of the football identity of the world champion. A style known and recognized worldwide characterized by ball dominance, space occupation, coordinated pressure, tactical intelligence, creativity, and a determined commitment to young talent. These attributes, in addition to becoming part of Spanish football heritage, are similarly projected onto the Barcelona brand, projecting the city's identity, innovation, and global prestige. A story that repeats the success of the 2010 South Africa World Cup, when the backbone of the national team was also made up of FC Barcelona players. Sixteen years later, this connection is once again transcendental and evident.
"La Masia, the FC Barcelona school, is part of the football identity of the world champion"
All of this has enormous value for the Barcelona brand if we know how to manage it intelligently. In addition to projecting the city's international reputation associated with design, architecture, innovation, creativity, major events, or quality of life, after some complex years, football is once again one of its main ambassadors. The city is not only capable of shining by winning sports competitions, but it also projects itself as a city capable of training talent, the most precious resource of the 21st century, and turning it into a competitive advantage. The city not only trains and exports extraordinary footballers but does so based on a certain way of understanding leadership, associating sporting success with a specific educational model, and therefore, a specific way of understanding and building the city.
Barcelona has not won the World Cup; the Spanish national football team has, but the world largely associates this Spanish triumph with Barcelona's identity and excellence. This is where the great reputational opportunity for Barcelona and Catalonia lies. To project ourselves as a modern, competitive country capable of leading from collective talent, setting aside selfishness and particular interests to articulate a community project that is competitive, sustainable, democratic, and inclusive. Barcelona and Catalonia have an extraordinary opportunity to reinforce their international positioning by avoiding triumphalism and opting for creativity, excellence, and authenticity. In a world where reputation has become a strategic asset, football, as one of the universal languages, can be a first-rate global public diplomacy tool. That is why we must forge new internal complicities and rebuild some basic city consensuses.
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But the result of the World Cup final teaches us other important lessons. On the one hand, that in sport as in life, it is as important to know how to win as to know how to lose. Despite having a coach like Leonel Scaloni who projects values such as professionalism, education and respect, the Argentine players showed at the end of the match that they are not up to his level. Their footballing quality was tarnished by verbal and physical aggressions and their lack of respect towards the players of the Spanish national team. Images that have gone around the world and have gone viral on social networks doing a disservice to the country's image and to the reputation of Argentina and Argentinians. Facts that also impact the legacy of Messi, the greatest footballer of all time who has based his image precisely on the opposite of these images.
"In sport as in life, it is as important to know how to win as to know how to lose"
On the other hand, some victories begin long before triumphs and recognitions arrive. In addition to identifying talent, one must have method, purpose, and values to make great professionals good team players, leaving individual ego aside to prioritize the collective. And in this, the Spanish national team has largely shown us the path to follow in the present and in the future. Thus, the World Cup, in addition to being a great spectacle, is an opportunity to build new value. It is up to us to take advantage of it with intelligence, generosity, and teamwork. It would be good if those who are not up to the task step aside and do not get in the way, because in this fast and furious world, opportunities must be seized.