Losing finalists at the very first FIFA World Cup™, Argentina's footballers reached the pinnacle on home soil 48 years later, propelled by the goals of Golden Shoe winner Mario Kempes and the fervour of their impassioned followers, whose snowstorms of shredded blue and white paper, swirling inside the stadiums in Buenos Aires and Rosario, offered a defining image.

Amid Argentina's celebrations, there was sympathy for the Netherlands, runners-up for the second tournament running, following a 3-1 final defeat at the Estadio Monumental. After Dirk Nanninga's header had equalised Kempes's first-half opener, the Dutch came within a whisker of winning when Rob Rensenbrink struck a post in the dying seconds of normal time. Destiny beckoned a reprieved Argentina, however, and Kempes and Daniel Bertoni seized the glory with extra-time strikes.