The current Albicelestes manager began his career at a humble Spanish institution and a call from Jorge Sampaoli changed his life. Today, not only has he won two cups in his history, but he also has an impressive 32 games without losing.
Lionel Scaloni’s story has always been written away from the spotlight. But it was no less successful for that. Argentina’s current technical director has established himself as a player in his hometown (Pujato) then he defended the jerseys of Newell’s and Estudiantes de La Plata in his country.
But it wasn’t until he arrived at Deportivo La Coruña that He managed to immortalize his name by winning the League in 2000 and securing the Copa del Rey in a final against Real Madrid. “We messed up the party!”, It was the only statement he made that night at the Santiago Bernabéu. That night, he became an idol of the Hispanic team.
Years later. after completing the UEFA coaching course , the Argentine didn’t want to stay in the house he bought in Mallorca. He was then, in 2016, and faced with the requirement of the Royal Spanish Football Federation to form any team to obtain their title, that Scaloni called the neighborhood club CF Son Caliu (in Mallorca) to ask them for a job.
“He contacted us because he lives very close to our facilities. He called us on the phone and told us that he was ready for any team, that he didn’t need to be the head coach, that in order for them to give him the title, he simply had to show up for training, ”recalls the president of said institution, Rafael León in conversation with Infobae.
again the phone rang
But the amateurism will not last long, because after five months -in October of this year- Jorge Sampaoli contacts him to become his assistant in Sevilla. The coach who had just won the Copa América with Chile in 2015 had lost his right hand (Sebastián Beccacece). Scaloni was the chosen one.
However, Sampaoli’s adventure in Spain will be short-lived. Argentina’s call-up and the 2018 World Cup in Russia tempted him, and Scaloni served as a rival analyst. However, the Trans-Andean press says that the former footballer became the best friend of the figures of Albiceleste, when the relationship with the former DT of the University of Chile collapsed.
After the failure in the World Cup, the Albiceleste is adrift and the young coach (44 years old) assumes an interim role which does not count Lio Messi in his ranks. and which -with substitution included- added four victories (Guatemala, Iraq and Mexico twice), a draw (Colombia) and a defeat (Brazil). Results that they confirmed it on the bench on November 29, 2018 and that they gave him a great task; win the 2019 Copa America.
But the five-time champions once again got in his way and cut him off in the semi-finals. Critics didn’t wait and the process faltered. However, the duel they beat Chile for third place, will mark the beginning of their great mark: since then, Argentina has not lost a single match and in the meantime, he fulfilled the dream of the Argentines, which was for Messi to lift a trophy with his country (Copa América 2021). The Transandins have gone 32 games without defeat (21 wins and 11 draws) and are only five games away from the world record held by Italy.
For the same reason, when the “10” of PSG and his teammates won the Finalissima against Azzurra, many spoke of the onslaught of the World Cup in Qatar and of possibility of contract extension beyond the results obtained during the said test. Because now Lionel Scaloni is no longer far from the spotlight, because everyone is pointing the finger at him.
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Source: Latercera
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
