Things did not get off to a good start in Miami, either for the team or the fans. Incidents involving ticketless supporters attempting (and some succeeding) to enter the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami meant that the match was repeatedly postponed until, an hour and a half later, the big event to crown the King of Football in America finally got underway.

The embarrassment experienced by the public and even the players' families in the hours leading up to the match was forgotten once the ball was kicked. Colombia sprang an early surprise with a high pressure game that made it difficult for Scaloni's side to play comfortably from the back.

Forced errors from the Albiceleste worried Messi and Di Maria, who were unable to link up with the rest of the Argentine midfield. James Rodríguez's excellent work at the start of the game was the key to a Colombia side who felt superior.

After a first half that was virtually all Colombian, despite a few chances for Argentina, the teams went into an unusually long half-time break by football standards.

A 25-minute break, a real absurdity that has nothing to do with football and everything to do with the economic interests that CONMEBOL is trying to introduce at all costs. A half-time show from another sport (Shakira gave a mini-concert in the style of theSuper Bowl in American football) favoured the visitors (although both were technically visitors, there were clearly more Colombian than Argentine fans in the final).

The extra time was used by Scaloni to give his players a thorough pep talk, as well as to give Messi extra minutes after he was tackled hard on his right ankle and nearly left the field in the first half. The former Barcelona man "held on" until half-time and was able to continue, albeit with considerable difficulty.

Paradoxically, Argentina improved in the second half after Messi left the field with an injury (with the multiple world champion in tears in the 65th minute), because despite his immense efforts to stay on the field, his physical condition (and the blows he received) played against the star in his final Copa America.

Di Maria, who was also playing his last Copa America (and his last game with the national team), not only took over the captaincy, but also led a team that had grown with the addition of Nicolas Gonzalez against a Colombia side that ran out of steam after exerting a lot of pressure. 

In extra time, Scaloni made a number of substitutions to give fresh legs to a tired and imprecise midfield and managed to tip the balance against a fading Colombia. Lautaro Martinez, Inter Milan's top scorer, was the Albiceleste's hero, scoring his fifth goal of the Copa America with a superb assist from Lo Celso.

The national team came through an ordeal to do what no one else had done in the history of the Americas. They defeated a tough and complex Colombia, who had forgotten what it was like to lose (unbeaten in 28 matches), until the world champions and their individual and collective quality showed who the champions are, the only two-time winners of the American trophy in addition to the World Cup.

It took 32 years to lift the Copa America again in 2021, ending an alarming title drought for a team with an impressive generation of players (who had lost the 2014 World Cup final and two Copa America finals in the following years).

The unfinished business was for an entire generation, led by Lionel Messi and Di Maria (31 goals in 144 games), who can now go home satisfied after reversing so many years of disappointment and flying the Argentine flag high in the Americas with back-to-back trophies, surpassing Uruguay in titles won (16 to 15) and perhaps dreaming of a World Cup that is far away, but not too far away for a new generation of players who may have Messi in their ranks but are less dependent on him every day to form a great team.