Are Argentina a dirty team? The true meaning behind a controversial World Cup strategy | OneFootball

The emotions were clearly even higher than normal. In the aftermath of one of Argentina’s knock-out round epics, a particular high-profile coach could barely contain his fury. He was adamant that he would now be willing any of the defending champions’ opposition to win, such was the disgust at Argentina’s antics.

And no, it wasn’t anyone connected to England, following their almost unbelievable collapse in Atlanta, despite everyone – and especially those in Argentina – seeing the many media items about all of the unpunished fouls in that quarter-final.

With Lionel Scaloni’s side, though, the fouls are only one thing during this engrossing World Cup.

Such hardness is even seen as among the more “honest” offences.

What infuriates opposition more is all the gamesmanship, the interventions like Enzo Fernandez going into the back of Elliot Anderson and, of course, the goading celebrations.

Cristian Romero has been especially linked with the latter.

Then you have the same figures stressing they have no issues with the opposition. Fernandez himself insisted on that, as regards England, after appearing to thrive on every controversy that characterised the game.

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Elliot Anderson of England is challenged by Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez of Argentina (Getty)

It is almost the mirror of the debate about whether Spain are “boring”, and a grand reason to also put neutrals off Argentina ahead of Sunday’s final.

Spanish goalkeeper Aymeric Laporte has already pointed to the strategy of Spain’s opponents: “In the last few matches we’ve seen things that have really surprised us, incidents that have been ignored. Especially with Argentina, who are a team that leave a lot of little messages with their challenges.”

Except, where the Spanish are ultimately about technical excellence, to the point of trying to reach perfection, their opposition are all about tenacity, to the point of trying to break up any other team’s attempt at perfection.

And that is also why other figures at this tournament are less aggrieved by this trait.

They don’t necessarily see “one of the nastiest teams to ever play in a World Cup”, to quote one source. They see what the World Cup itself means, and a team willing to go deeper and further than anyone else for that.

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Players square off as Lionel Messi of Argentina is fouled (Getty)

It is just football, after all, even if this is football that leaves bruises and a lot of hurt feelings.

One striker tells the story of an Argentina defender literally leaving him close to tears because every single challenge or duel brought a knee in the back or some other infliction of pain.

And yet all of that – right up to aggravating fouls and slowing the game down – are simply seen as part of the game.

You don’t need to get into old anthropological discussions about “viveza” and Rioplatense football culture, or what academic Eduardo Archetti described as the “capacity to cheat where necessary”.

We’ve heard it all before. You just don’t tend to see it as much in the VAR-applied constraints of the modern game.

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Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi celebrate (Reuters)

The officiating has of course added another dimension to the debate around Argentina, amid the perception that they have often been afforded more lenient refereeing.

An irony is that this idea – the widespread if misplaced belief that they are “Fifa’s team” – has only further deepened the siege mentality. It has only emboldened them to dig in more, out of fury that they, this team that has visibly adopted anti-colonial sentiments, could be seen as being favoured by authority.

As Argentine football executive Diego Huerta argues, “there’s a sense of other sides just being bad losers”.

He adds: “I don’t see anything that isn’t common in South American football. We play hard. We try to compete.”

Those within the team would also insist this is just trying to gain an edge, but it isn’t going over the edge. They would strenuously argue there isn’t a single tackle at this World Cup or the last one that risks injury.

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Lionel Messi’s majestic impact on the pitch provides a contrast to Argentina’s controversial tactics (Getty)

And it is also an essential aspect of the energy that has invigorated so many games. The sensational comebacks probably don’t happen without it, because Argentina wouldn’t be able to go as deep. You don’t get an epic without going to epic depths.

Argentina are fighting – almost literally – for the achievement of their lives.

And then there’s Lionel Messi.

A common feeling for many at this World Cup has been fury at the depths Argentina are sinking to, quickly followed by rapture at the heights Messi goes to. It’s usually in the same game and represents two sides of the same team.

They will do what is required but that has arguably given the World Cup what it has needed.

Even if not everyone feels that way.