World Cup and Copa America champion with Argentina: Lionel Scaloni has set the bar very high, perhaps too high. But after what he experienced in Qatar, no challenge intimidated him.Scaloni is an unusual figure in the world of football. In November 2018, he was appointed as the coach of the Argentine national team despite not having any prior experience of coaching a club team. Previously, he had only coached the U20 national team during a tournament. However, in the five years since his appointment, he has established an impeccable record on the sidelines, winning 76% of the 67 matches he has managed with only six defeats. Moreover, he has won all three tournaments that the team has played in, namely the World Cup, the Copa America, and the Finalissima against Italy. In Qatar, he led the team to become the world champion, which was a great achievement.🚨 Lionel Scaloni will continue as Argentina coach: “I always said it was time to stop and think, it was not goodbye. Just a moment of reflection. Now we have to continue.” Via Sky Sports Italy. 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/YX5R5KT0X6— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) January 24, 2024 He displayed discreet leadership skills and managed to channel the game and the passion of an entire team and country around Lionel Messi while maintaining calm and sanity. He was recently honoured with another award for his successful performance on the sidelines during the Globe Soccer Gala held in Dubai last week. He spoke to the Spanish sports daily Marca about his achievement.More than a year has passed since Argentina lifted their third World Cup, but the celebrations are still alive in that South American country – and the joy of ordinary people back home is still a part of Scaloni’s life.”The most important thing is always the anonymous people who tell you how they experienced that World Cup and what happened to them. People with health problems or in the family who changed their perspective on things and how they were happy during that month tell you by thanking you. In a country like Argentina, which is not going through a great time, those things reach you and make you happiest, beyond the personal or having won the World Cup. That reaches you.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7829044##Despite winning the biggest prize in the game, the former Deportivo La Coruna, Lazio and Atalanta player is still learning from other coaches in the sport.”I learn from those who do what we would like to do in the national team. I like Guardiola, I like De Zerbi, who is doing a great job at Brighton, I like Simone Inzaghi, I like Spalletti. And without a doubt, I can’t forget about Ancelotti, who today is the reference of what I want to be as a coach: a guy that everyone appreciates, very intelligent, who has not in vain won everything he has won. Carlo is a reference. And then there’s Cholo, with his way of doing things, too.”Lionel Scaloni 🤝 Lionel Messi pic.twitter.com/pOLZuXVpqf— Scarlett Audrey (@scarletAudrey10) January 24, 2024 Football, as a game, has changed a lot. In the past decade, it’s been going through a process of excessive analysis. Scaloni finds that sad.”That’s bad. Football has too much analysis. Players are remote-controlled. There is a lot of talk, and the reality is that it is difficult for the players to leave aside what they are told. It’s hard to make them understand that they must play another way. Everything is overanalyzed, has too many tactics, and is complicated. And then, they can’t do it when it comes to playing. I think we must go back to football, to the essence of it, to enjoying it. There is so much analysis that you lose the essence. And if you don’t enjoy it, you can’t play. That’s why I think we have to be careful.”
