I'm sorry but the way they played was the way everyone played 30 years ago. It's up to the referees, with more tools than ever, to implement the rules, and they did. Playing rough, or even playing negatively, are not against the rules or any less valid. It didn't work for them last night and yes for neutrals it's never as good, but this is sport not sports entertainment.

If everyone played exactly the same it would be boring. And as international transfers homogenise everything, we don't have Brazil playing jogo bonito, we don't have Ireland playing I-cant-believe-its-not-gaelic-football, we don't have Germans playing elaborate sweeper systems. At least Argentina are pretty much the same as they were when Maradona played, and Sivori before him - tough, ugly and liable to produce individual magic. They have an identity. I don't know why anyone is surprised at them retaining it, or it nearly being successful. Again.

There's a reason people watched Mike Tyson as much as they watched Muhammad Ali.