Scaloni after Bolivia rout: 'This side has an identity, whoever plays' | OneFootball

After Argentina’s National Team emphatic 4–0 win over Bolivia, national coach Lionel Scaloni analyzed the squad’s current situation and the start of a new cycle looking ahead to the future. When outlining the team’s structure in this transitional stage, the head coach was categorical in stating that “the team has an identity” and that it will remain firmly in place “whoever is playing.”

Regarding the captain’s absence, Scaloni was realistic about the weight of his presence, but he laid out the tactical approach to follow: “Leo is irreplaceable,” he emphasized, before adding: “We will look for a way to play the same, with the same idea, through the ball, making passes, getting to goal.”

At the usual press conference, the coach stressed that collective functioning must prevail over individual talent: “This goes beyond whoever is there. The challenge is to keep playing this way, and for those called up to understand that this is the way to play.” In that same vein, he gave a positive assessment of the overall performance and made it clear that the team played “a complete match.”

The coach also praised the commitment of the more experienced players in the process: “I like how the players who have been here for a long time approach matches. They come eager, they’ve all shown they want to be here, they come here with a sense of खुशी and they show it when they step onto the pitch.”

The bet on youth and the debuts

One of the standout points of the match was the inclusion of new prospects, a factor that has a special impact on the coaching staff. “For any coach, giving a player his debut is something exciting. But for a national team coach, it is even more so. You can see it on the kids’ faces when they’re about to come on, everything that comes with playing in this shirt,” he admitted.

He also put into context the value of taking those first steps at such a successful moment for the “Albiceleste”: “This is the ideal time for these kids to get their call-ups. It used to be that playing in this shirt was not so easy, and now it is a good moment for them to show their potential. You never forget the pride of your debut.”

The “double 9” setup and tactical balance

When asked about starting two elite center-forwards together, the coach explained the benefits of that variation: “Playing with Julián (Álvarez) and Lautaro (Martínez) gives us a lot of things. They know how to move, Julián more out wide.”

However, he detailed the reasons why he did not usually use that tactical shape when Lionel Messi led the attack: “There is a balance that cannot be broken. You can do it in specific matches like against England or in other situations, but it’s not our idea. The balance is disrupted when they were all there (Messi, Julián and Lautaro). But that’s my idea, I have no problem saying it.”

On the other hand, he played down the pressure on Nico Paz, pointed to by many as a potential successor to “La Pulga”: “Nico Paz is important just as (Franco) Mastantuono, (Gianluca) Prestianni, and the kids pushing from behind are important. I couldn’t tell you whether more or less, but he’s a kid who already came to the World Cup, he was with us. He gives us something different.”

Protecting local gems: the Leonel Flores case

The debut of Boca Juniors youngster Leonel Flores was also part of the coach’s assessment, as he stressed that the key lies in keeping the game natural: “We ask the kids who come to the national team to do what they do at their clubs, and he (Leonel Flores) does that at his club. If he didn’t, we’d be worried. We have to take care of him, he’s at an age where we need to protect him, stay close to him, support him. I know that at Boca they know how to handle him.”

Along the same lines, he urged patience with the development process of players in his age group: “He’s a talent we have to take care of, like Franco (Mastantuono), who is the same age or thereabouts. They are talents who need to be protected, that’s the only way they will bear fruit. We can’t ask them to do in every match what Flores did today.”

Schedule and the possibility of playing in the provinces

At the close of his talk with the media, Scaloni referred to operational and logistical matters. He admitted that he still has no precise information about the date for the Finalissima against Spain, and reiterated his desire to take the national team around the country so fans in different provinces can see it up close.

“We’re going to try to play in the interior. Everyone deserves to see the national team. The thing is, River’s stadium holds a lot of people, and we already know what that generates. At that point, it’s out of my hands,”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.