"He can't even command traffic." The late King of Football Maradona once made such an evaluation of Argentina coach Scaloni. Now, it is this once unpopular "temporary worker" who led the team to create new history.
Since taking over the Argentine team coaching point on August 2, 2018, Scaloni has created a championship miracle in 1,599 days. From , the Copa America to the World Cup, the influx of championships has allowed Argentine football to see the dawn of revival, and he is the "Prometheus" who brings the spark.
"Rookie" took over, starting from the half-year contract
Time went back to 4 years ago, after being tied by Iceland's first World Cup in Russia 1:1, fierce conflict broke out in Argentina, and the protagonists of the confrontation were team leader Messi and then coach Sang Baoli .
"We don't understand your words at all. You have lost our trust. From now on, we play football according to our own ideas!" Messi, who has a gentle personality, rarely expressed his anger in a radical way, and Scaloni, as an assistant coach, witnessed it all on the spot.
The reason why Scaloni was able to enter the coaching position is closely related to his predecessor San Pauli. In July 2015, he ended his career as a player in Atlanta . One year later he joined Sanbaoli and became the assistant coach of La Liga team Sevilla . 334 days later, he left Sevilla and then joined the Argentine coaching staff led by Sanbaoli.
At that time, Sanbaoli was the hope for Argentina's football reform, but this "honeymoon period" only lasted for 1 year. Compared with the high-risk oppressive style advocated by Sang Pauli, Argentine players hope to display their talents in full and free space. In the end, the sluggish performance in Russia's World Cup ruined the Argentine team and also brought an end to Sang Pauli's coaching journey.
After that, Messi announced his withdrawal from the Argentine national team, and the various work of the Argentine Football Association also fell into a stagnation, and the new coach candidate has also become a "hot potato". Against this background, the Argentine Football Association chose Scaloni, 41, as a "temporary worker". In the first half-year contract, his main task was to lead the team to complete two warm-up matches. During this period, the Argentine Football Association will finalize the final coach.
This is the opportunity Scaloni has been waiting for for a long time. Before this, his closest job to the head coach was the coach of the U-17 youth team of the Mallorca club in Spain. For the time he coached the Argentina national team, he did not hide his desire at all: "I have always prepared myself to become an excellent head coach."
Scaloni was lucky. After the half-year contract ended, the coach selection work of the Argentine Football Association was not completed as scheduled. In the end, his contract was postponed for one year, laying the groundwork for winning the subsequent Cup of America.
The road to championship, the bold experiment started from welcoming back to Messi
Although he lacks sufficient qualifications in the position of head coach, Scaloni, who hastily advanced, refuses to be mediocre.
As a young coach who picked up the coaching stick shortly after retirement, he knows better how to deal with the relationship with big-name players. Especially after witnessing the scene in the locker room in the 2018 World Cup, reshaping the team's cohesion is the primary issue before him.
"I'm never afraid to sit in front of a group of stars and share your thoughts honestly. You may be able to deceive them once, but the second time will definitely not escape their eyes. Before players come on the court, they need to recognize the head coach's ideas. They need to know that they are playing in the country rather than individuals, which is very important, and I think that's what we are currently doing." He once said.
Scaloni's experiment starts with welcoming Messi back.
As a member of the Argentine team in 2006 Germany World Cup, he understood the profound significance of this former teammate to this Argentine team. In March 2019, Messi officially returned to the Argentina national team, and " Pampas Eagle " began a new journey.
The beginning of this story is not perfect. In the 2019 Copa America, Argentina won the third place and continued to miss the championship, but Scaloni won the trust of the players and the Argentine Football Association. In July 2019, the Argentine Football Association announced the renewal of its contract with Scarloni. The new contract will end at the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. As long as Argentina gets a ticket to the World Cup, the contract will automatically renew until the end of the World Cup.
2 years later, Scaloni and his team proved themselves in Brazil. In the 2021 Copa America, Argentina passed the opportunity to advance to the finals and finally won the championship at home with his arch-rival Brazil. This is the first major championship that Argentina won for the Copa America since 1993, and Messi won for the Argentina national team. "The achievements Argentina has achieved are all credited with Scaloni. It is really difficult to transform the team on the original basis." In the Copa America, Messi gave Scaloni a compliment.
Scaloni's reform continues. Messi's core position cannot be shaken, and the most urgent task is to find a suitable helper for him. Therefore, Scaloni carried out a large-scale material selection work, and before the start of the World Cup, he had already inspected 50 players.
The result is obvious. In order to maximize the power of the attack line, he chose a midfield combination with a more balanced offense and defense, with Messi's "little fan" de Paul as the center of the midfield, and engineers such as Paredes and McCaulist improved their confrontational ability through large-scale running. Before this World Cup, Lautaro was the Argentina team's official center, but given his performance in the group stage, Scaloni decisively pushed young player Alvarez to the main position. With more mobile and flexible technical characteristics, he and Messi became the most terrifying offensive combination in this game.
44-year-old Scaloni is the youngest coach in this competition, but in the most important final, he showed maturity beyond age. Facing the champion coach Deschamps , Scaloni's tactics restricted the French team's performance at the beginning and endured the opponent's pounce at a stalemate. In the end, the Argentine, who has stronger psychological quality, won the penalty spot,
This is a victory belonging to the Newell Old Boys team. Scarloni and Messi both came from this team, and finally opened a new era for the Argentine team. This is a victory for all Argentines. After saying goodbye to Maradona, they finally waited for Hercules Cup again. Of course, this is also a victory for Scaloni. The Argentine team is now called "Scaloni". It is his simple gene injected into the gorgeous Argentina. It is this low-key that allows them to fly against the wind and reach the top.
New Yellow River Reporter: Hou Chao posted from Doha
Editor: Han Luying
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