Lionel plus Lionel. It seems that one was not enough for Argentina to get out of the trench of eternal losers and to finally, after almost 30 years, win something.Lionel Messi is the best footballer in the world, according to many, the best of all time, but for years, more than a decade, there was a question mark, a curse, over his head, the fact that as much as he won everything with Barcelona, he didn’t win anything with Argentina.Until his namesake appeared, Lionel Scaloni, who came quietly and already became a legend of the nation.##EDITORS_CHOICE##But let’s start from the beginning. The 2016 America’s Cup was played. Argentina made it to the finals, where Chile was waiting for them. Second time in a row. And for the second time in a row, Chileans celebrated after penalty shootouts.A broken Lionel Messi, six years younger than today, cried after the defeat: “I’m done with the national team. I did everything I could, I gave everything I had. It hurts that we didn’t become champions”.Lionel Scaloni had just finished his playing career in Atalanta and was about to become a coach. Messi’s words struck him too. On Twitter, three days later, after the final, which can still be seen, he posted Leo’s picture being guarded by numerous Chilean footballers and wrote: “This picture says it all. Leo, don’t go.”esta imagen lo dice todo…. no te vayas Lio pic.twitter.com/zjV8vRusek— Lionel Scaloni (@lioscaloni) June 29, 2016 Fate is something you can’t escape from. The man who beat Messi in the 2015 Copa América final with Chile, Argentina’s Jorge Sampaoli, became Sevilla’s coach in June 2016. He took Lionel Scaloni as his assistant.Fast forward to 2018. Jorge Sampaoli is now the coach of Argentina, and Lionel Scaloni is his assistant. They also had Lionel Messi in blue and white at the World Cup in Russia. They also had Javier Mascherano as the commander of the defensive portion of the team, to guard the back of the best in the world. But despite all that, the Gauchos looked dismantled on the pitch.Every day there were scandals, conflicts between the players and the coach, that in the end, before the round-of-16 match with France, there was a rumor that Sampaoli was completely ignored, that he was no longer in charge, that the team that will go on the field is chosen by the players themselves. In the end, the Gauchos’ journey to the World Cup ended with a defeat against Les Bleus.In the light of the whole story, Lionel Messi, they say, once again announced that he is done with the national team. He didn’t say publicly that he retired, but everyone else said he did.##NAJAVA_MECA_6890959##While the tension in Argentina calmed down, Sampaoli was officially dismissed, and Scaloni was appointed acting coach. Until a better solution is found. He started quietly, stringing together victory after victory, until finally he convinced the national football federation to give him a chance to remain at that position.And then came Copa America. In the midst of the coronavirus, on Brazilian soil. Lionel Messi is back with the national team. And the tango started. Argentina’s “ten” had a blast at the tournament, leading the team to the finals, where Angel Di Maria beat Brazil with a beautiful poke lob and brought the trophy to the blue and whites. The tandem of Messi – Scaloni, Lionel – Lionel, launched the Albiceleste to raise the trophy they had been waiting for for 28 years. Since 1993, they have taken the trophy that even Grande Diego Maradona has never lifted.And we come to the present day. Lionel and Lionel are on the verge of another sensational success. They are separated by one more victory to lift Argentina to the football Olympus, where it has not been since 1986.The hug of two Lionel from yesterday with Messi telling Scaloni everything is because of him. Scaloni, tears in his eyes. ❤️pic.twitter.com/9t5MaELktn— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) December 14, 2022 Scaloni somehow held composed after the victory over Croatia, even though a whirlwind of emotions was raging inside him. And then Messi came up to him, hugged him, whispered a few words to his ear – and could not hold it any more. Scaloni let the tears out. The man from the shadows, from the background, the coach that almost no one talked about in the previous days, Everyone was looking for Regragui, Deschamps, Dalić. But now Scaloni has the opportunity to become the greatest coach of Argentina of all time. Lionel and Lionel. It seems that just one was not enough for the blue and whites…
