Scaloni, the unlikely standard-bearer who learned under De la Fuente and could surpass Bilardo | OneFootball

Scaloni, once the most unexpected choice, has redrawn Argentina’s coaching hierarchy. According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, his quiet rise and trophies now match Carlos Bilardo’s feat of reaching two finals, and on Sunday he could move ahead, with the possibility of becoming a back-to-back world champion.

His playing career began at Newell’s Old Boys, the club that welcomed a young Messi and briefly hosted Diego Maradona in 1994. After Estudiantes in 1995 he moved quickly to Deportivo La Coruña, then, guided by José Pekerman, won the 1997 Under-20 World Cup in Malaysia and stepped up to the seniors for Germany 2006 alongside Juan Pablo Sorín, Javier Mascherano, Maximiliano Rodríguez, Javier Saviola and a teenage Messi.

Spells at West Ham and Lazio followed before he retired at Atalanta in 2013. He had already started a coaching course at the RFEF in Las Rozas, where Luis de la Fuente was among his teachers, worked with Mallorca’s youth and joined Jorge Sampaoli at Sevilla, then with Argentina, witnessing the ill-fated Russia 2018 campaign and its tensions.

After Sampaoli left, Scaloni stayed with the AFA’s youth, then became interim for two games and remained. Diego Maradona railed at the appointment, calling federation chief Carlos “Chiqui” Tapia crazy. Results were modest at the 2019 Copa América, but in 2021 he won the title against Brazil at the Maracanã, earning backing from César Luis Menotti and, crucially, Messi.

He refreshed the side with Giovani Lo Celso, Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes, later Enzo Fernández and Julián Álvarez among others, giving Messi the platform he needed. Then came Qatar in 2022, another Copa América and a habit of avoiding defeat. With assistants Walter Samuel, Pablo Aimar and Roberto Ayala, biographer Diego Borinsky points to his authentic leadership. Scaloni lives in Mallorca with his Spanish wife Elisa Montero and sons Ian and Noah, and jokes his bond with Messi began with a first pass in Budapest on 17 August 2005 before the forward’s swift dismissal, adding he already knew the youngster would be a genius.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo