Diego did kick the out of a Brazilian in '82 and that was pretty much the end of the World Cup for Argentina. So he did learn a thing or two about retaliating, tbh... he was also a much bigger flopper than Messi, no doubt about it, he sometimes abused the fact that he'll get the benefit of the doubt.
There always was grabbing, etc, but now they have that gay of rolling back the play and calling a foul, that didn't exist back then. Check at 2:36 in that video, that's a vicious kick, and not only no foul is called, but since the ref didn't call it, it's not even a yellow card. Especially in South America, going to play to Peru or Montevideo, you always had very partial refs to the home team (hasn't changed a lot, tbh), and they'll kick the out of you.
I think it's funny you bring that video for two reasons: 1) Bolivia (the home team) was the runner up in that Copa America (crofl Bolivia being top anything), which ties perfectly with what I was saying, and 2) Uruguay had a pretty good team back then, with prime Enzo, and if you recall, we had a lot of trouble beating them in the '86 World Cup (I think it was Pasculli that scored the only gol).
Passarella was always un milico, and he definitely was important in the '78 cup. He kind of gave importance to the central defender position, tbh, we had some very good talent with personality in that area that followed his lead (Ruggeri, Brown, Samuel), but that's actually something we didn't really renew for a bunch of years, and it's been costing us a lot (det defense). But Daniel was a total bag, no doubt about it, and Bilardo should get all the credit for picking sides and making the right choice there too.
And sure, nobody is saying Diego was the perfect player (neither is Messi, nor was Pele I'm pretty sure, even if I didn't see much of him). As far as '86, he really was the guy that beat England and later on, Belgium. He was completely brilliant in those games, and it would be difficult to argue that we would have won them without him. He was key against Italy in the 1st round, another team that was not only the defending champ, but very physical also. Same thing with beating Brazil in the '90 WC. Caniggia scored, but the play was all Diego.
All that said, I know the Bilardo hate is strong with a bunch of people over there, but he really did know how to put together a team. Some people argue he's a product of Maradona (and you could say that to an extent, you need the star), but he understood what was needed around him, and put a lot of utilitarian players (which were solid, not doubt), and ultimately even guys like Valdano, who was coming from Real Madrid, ended up doing a lot of dirty work on defense, etc, to eventually win that .
I'm kinda fascinated with all the technical articles that have been coming up these last few weeks in celebration of the 30th anniversary of 1986. I remember back then Bilardo saying he changed football, and I remember thinking, the ego got to this guy. But looking back now, from a tactical standpoint (and looking at the vendehumos like Basile, Tata, even Diego or Passarella as coaches), he really was a step forward as far as tactical planning, and his lineups, while they looked odd back then, were definitely spot on for the adversary we were playing. He's a guy that IMO doesn't get enough credit.
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What the did he do there? That assist to Caniggia. Nothing more. 
