Rejuvenated Argentina's La Scaloneta are on course for 2022 World Cup glory
While European champions Italy and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal must sweat during the World Cup qualifiers next March, Lionel Scaloni's Argentina side have quietly booked their tickets to Qatar for the tournament after a 0-0 draw with Brazil in San Juan.
By securing their place in the World Cup with five qualifiers remaining, the team dubbed "La Scaloneta" in the Argentine press not only avoided the torturous qualifying campaigns of the last two World Cups , but also completed a dream year . They ended 2021 on a 27-game unbeaten streak and ended a 28-year racha (loss streak) without a major trophy by winning the Copa América in July.
After losing six tournament finals in that ill-fated run dating back to 1993, Lionel Scaloni's men finally managed to scratch the itch that has plagued Argentine football fans for nearly three decades when they beat their Brazilian rivals in their own backyard at the Maracanã in Rio in the final.
While most of the attention inevitably focused on Lionel Messi's first senior trophy victory in his country's Albiceleste shirt after the heartbreak of losing in four tournament finals, Argentina's unsung hero was coach Scaloni, who modestly said in the post-match press conference that anyone else in his place would have achieved the same result, hailing instead his "28 warriors".
Scaloni's transition from relative unknown to national hero is the stuff of fairy tales. His playing career began at Newell's Old Boys in Rosario, Scaloni's home town, and he was a member of the Argentina squad that won the 1997 Under-20 World Cup in Malaysia alongside Pablo Aimar and Walter Samuel, who are also part of Scaloni's coaching staff.
Scaloni then joined Deportivo in Spain, where he spent most of his career, playing 200 games for the Galicians. The right-back rose to prominence in England during a six-month loan spell with West Ham in 2006, when his consistent performances helped the Hammers reach the FA Cup final against Liverpool, as well as a surprise summons of the Argentine team for the world. German Cup that year ahead of Javier Zanetti.
After retiring as a player in 2015, Scaloni began his coaching career a year later as an assistant to compatriot Jorge Sampaoli at Sevilla, following the latter in the same role when he took charge of the national team in 2017.
After Argentina's chaotic and disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign ended with the departure of ill-fated Sampaoli, the AFA turned to Scaloni, a relative coaching rookie, to stabilize the reputation of the international football of the country while finding a permanent replacement.
While there was a wealth of Argentine coaching talent available in the form of Diego Simeone, Mauricio Pochettino and Marcelo Gallardo, the AFA were financially unable to tempt any of them existing positions at Atlético, Tottenham and River Plate while paying severance pay to Sampaoli who had signed...
While European champions Italy and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal must sweat during the World Cup qualifiers next March, Lionel Scaloni's Argentina side have quietly booked their tickets to Qatar for the tournament after a 0-0 draw with Brazil in San Juan.
By securing their place in the World Cup with five qualifiers remaining, the team dubbed "La Scaloneta" in the Argentine press not only avoided the torturous qualifying campaigns of the last two World Cups , but also completed a dream year . They ended 2021 on a 27-game unbeaten streak and ended a 28-year racha (loss streak) without a major trophy by winning the Copa América in July.
After losing six tournament finals in that ill-fated run dating back to 1993, Lionel Scaloni's men finally managed to scratch the itch that has plagued Argentine football fans for nearly three decades when they beat their Brazilian rivals in their own backyard at the Maracanã in Rio in the final.
While most of the attention inevitably focused on Lionel Messi's first senior trophy victory in his country's Albiceleste shirt after the heartbreak of losing in four tournament finals, Argentina's unsung hero was coach Scaloni, who modestly said in the post-match press conference that anyone else in his place would have achieved the same result, hailing instead his "28 warriors".
Scaloni's transition from relative unknown to national hero is the stuff of fairy tales. His playing career began at Newell's Old Boys in Rosario, Scaloni's home town, and he was a member of the Argentina squad that won the 1997 Under-20 World Cup in Malaysia alongside Pablo Aimar and Walter Samuel, who are also part of Scaloni's coaching staff.
Scaloni then joined Deportivo in Spain, where he spent most of his career, playing 200 games for the Galicians. The right-back rose to prominence in England during a six-month loan spell with West Ham in 2006, when his consistent performances helped the Hammers reach the FA Cup final against Liverpool, as well as a surprise summons of the Argentine team for the world. German Cup that year ahead of Javier Zanetti.
After retiring as a player in 2015, Scaloni began his coaching career a year later as an assistant to compatriot Jorge Sampaoli at Sevilla, following the latter in the same role when he took charge of the national team in 2017.
After Argentina's chaotic and disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign ended with the departure of ill-fated Sampaoli, the AFA turned to Scaloni, a relative coaching rookie, to stabilize the reputation of the international football of the country while finding a permanent replacement.
While there was a wealth of Argentine coaching talent available in the form of Diego Simeone, Mauricio Pochettino and Marcelo Gallardo, the AFA were financially unable to tempt any of them existing positions at Atlético, Tottenham and River Plate while paying severance pay to Sampaoli who had signed...
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