Lionel Scaloni couldn’t have asked for a worse start to the World Cup than seeing their 36-match unbeaten run end at the hands of rank outsiders Saudi Arabia. But now, he is one victory away from delivering Argentina a third World Cup.
Who is the Argentina coach?
1. He once starred across the Causeway
No, seriously. Scaloni played in Perlis, Johor, Sarawak and Selangor when he was 19 and a member of Argentina’s Under-20 team who were defending their World Youth Championship title in Malaysia in 1997.
He even scored in the group stage against Hungary, as well as in the quarter-final against Brazil as Argentina retained their crown. Some of those in the squad went on to become luminaries in the game, like Juan Roman Riquelme and Pablo Aimar, who is his assistant now.
2. He is the youngest head coach at Qatar 2022
At 44, he is two years younger than the next most junior coach - 46-year-old Cameroon chief Rigobert Song - at this World Cup.
But they all pale in comparison to another Argentine coach Juan Jose Tramutola, who led his country at the 1930 World Cup as a 27-year-old.
3. He has a knack for the improbable
Scaloni’s longest playing stint was at Deportivo La Coruna, where he helped the Spanish side win their only La Liga crown in 2000, second Copa del Rey in 2002 and third Super Cup in 2002.
He almost repeated the feat when he went on loan to West Ham United in 2006. Then, the Hammers lost the FA Cup final to Liverpool on penalties.
4. He was Messi’s international team-mate
Scaloni and Lionel Messi played together at World Cup 2006. Scaloni started in the last-16 win over Mexico, in which Messi came on as an 84th-minute substitute.
He mused at coaching the superstar and said: “I have the possibility of training him, but I would be a fan, I would pay a ticket to see him and I would buy his shirt, regardless of the country. So, the only thing left is to enjoy him, because I don’t know if something like this will ever be repeated. So, you have to enjoy him and nothing else.”
5. He virtually went straight into international coaching
After his playing career ended with Atalanta in 2015, he joined Jorge Sampaoli’s coaching staff at Sevilla FC the following year.
A year later, Sampaoli took over Argentina and Scaloni followed suit as his assistant.
After La Albiceleste bombed out of Russia 2018, Scaloni - and Aimar - were named caretaker managers.
More notable names - Diego Simeone, Marcelo Gallardo and Mauricio Pochettino - were offered the role as Sampaoli’s replacement but none took it up, forcing the Argentina FA to turn to Scaloni.
The decision did not sit well with the Argentinian football fraternity. Many criticised the choice of Scaloni, including the legendary Diego Maradona, who said: “He can’t even direct traffic, how come he will direct the national team. Have we all gone mad?”
But Scaloni did not disappoint, guiding his national team to third place in the 2019 Copa America before helping them win their first trophy in 28 years with the 2021 Copa America triumph.
Argentina fans have clearly taken to him as they christened their national team “La Scaloneta”, which combines his name with “camioneta” which is Spanish for van.
In other words, they don’t mind if Scaloni continues his style of parking the bus when they lead. But they need not worry as their team have averaged two goals per game in Qatar.
