Holland vs the home nation. In a sense it was a repeat of the World Cup final of 1974. But this time, Holland were not the favourites. Without the genius of Johan Cruyff and Willem van Hanegem, people questioned whether the Dutch could replicate their Total Football master classes from four years before, which included a 4-0 crushing of Argentina. And indeed, their poor performances in the initial 1978 group stage indicated this team was nothing special. But relying on a melange of good fortune and the battle-hardened experience of Neeskens, Haan, Rensenbrink and Krol, the Holland of Happel made their way to the final, proving too big a hurdle for genuinely strong opponents like Italy and West-Germany.

But now they faced a challenge of the highest caliber. The Germans in 1974 had been welcoming and respectful to their rivals. The Argentines were different. Hostile. They wanted to win this World Cup at all costs. On their own soil, they were beyond eager to wash away the humiliation they had suffered four years before. Like Holland, they had experienced moments of doubt during this World Cup, but they too, spurred on by the quality of Passarella, Ardiles, Kempes and the chain smoking manager Cesar Luis Menotti, and even more so by sheer desire and the “luck” that seemed to accompany them during this tournament, had overcome their adversaries.

Argentina and Holland, two nations capable of great football, and if need be, violence, would fight it out in a match that would, in today’s world, never ever end with 11 vs 11.
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