The Unsung Mastermind Lionel Scaloni
It’s the right time to speak two good words for the Argentine mastermind Lionel Scaloni who is the fifth youngest manager to win the world cup. When the big-name coaches from Argentina who already proved their worth in European football were avoiding the team because of extreme pressure and couldn’t show their guts to the world when Argentina needs them best, exactly that time an unknown person named Lionel Scaloni just stepped up and took full responsibility.
Scaloni’s Coaching Mission in Argentina
Scaloni was an assistant coach of Jorge Sampaoli. In 2018. He took over a broken Argentina squad that had lost three finals, had just been eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2018 Fifa World Cup, and hadn’t won a World Cup trophy in 36 years.
Starting Point
He started his mission by calling up players from the European league which was a long-time desire of Argentine football fans. Argentine Football Association(AFA) always showed their biases toward Argentine league players that cost them only disasters. Then he started testing different combinations and finally made an almost permanent XI with some small changes on the bench. Basically, he tried almost every player of fans’ desires.
Scaloni’s Methodical Testing in Argentina
When Scaloni began, It wasn’t a team of big stars, it was an average team with some experienced players. Without Lionel Messi, the squad wasn’t more than average. Yes, there were players like Di Maria and Dybala but all football fans know about Di Maria’s injury-related issues and Dybala’s positional similarity with Messi. Apart from it, the strength was only in Argentina’s attack not everywhere in the field. But Scaloni’s methodical testing filtered some players with potential and transferred them into assets. Finally, a new Argentina football team began an unbelievable journey, a journey which is a dream for any team. In this mesmerizing journey, some remarkable feats were achieved by Scaloni and his team.
Argentina’s Unbeaten Streak
Scaloni’s Argentina made history with an unbeaten run of 36 games only behind Italy. In this run, they remain undefeated from 16th June 2019 to 22nd November 2022, almost a three years unbeaten streak.
Argentina Won a Major Trophy, Copa America in 2021
They won the Copa America in 2021, their first trophy since 1993. And this tournament win was the most satisfying thing for all Argentine fans all over the world. For Messi, it becomes his first international trophy which finally arrived after huge criticisms took place on him. And the best player award with the top scorer of the tournament was the finest answer to all criticisms towards him.
Finalissima
They win the Finalissima in 2022. They played against the tremendous Italy side which was the champion of Europe. And this incredible Argentina side made them look very poor.
Argentina Won 2022 FIFA World Cup After 36 Years
And after those achievements, they joined the Qatar FIFA World cup 2022 with the ultimate expectation, pressure, extreme media hype, and an overhyped fanbase. However, the start of their dream journey became a nightmare for them. They lost 2-1 to the unbelievable Saudi Arabian side.
Lost in the First match of the World Cup and Come Back
The loss with Saudi Arabia at their very first match just ripped off Argentine supporters’ hearts. But the coach Lionel Scaloni didn’t lose his spirit and belief in his methodical strategies, he overturned the whole squad and promised that they gonna bounce back and they did it. Now they are the winner of the Fifa World Cup 2022. Argentina is the new champion of the world under Lionel Scaloni’s supervision and management. And the prime reason for all these successes is the main coach of the Argentina football team the underrated mastermind Lionel Scaloni. This man changed Argentina’s football.
Scaloni is the kind of coach who knows his players better than anyone else. He knows every individual’s limitations and solves them with another’s advantages. He produces wins out of nothing.
Scaloni’s Setbacks and Overcoming Approaches
As a coach, he has some limitations also and he doesn’t deny that. He doesn’t have his own way of playing style. Scaloni hasn’t won any league tournament yet with any European club. But he has a great philosophy which is doing the first thing first. It means he doesn’t run after his own legacy, he’s fighting for his nation and he knows that he has to win titles like Copa and World Cup. This is why after winning the Copa trophy he fully focused on winning the World Cup and for this reason, he didn’t maintain any certain way of playing. He is managing the team as the situation demands. He is playing a situational tactical coach role.
In the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Scaloni has already used four different formations and five different lineups cause opponents’ strategies were asking for these. In the first match in the group round against Saudi Arabia, they saw three big problems in the team.
1. Absence of Lo celso and the creativity he brings to the field.
2. Unexpected fall off of the main striker Lautaro Martinez and
3. A proper tactical box-to-box midfielder who can run behind Messi while he is attacking. It was a huge blow for the team cause they didn’t have any readymade replacements for these three crucial positions. And this genius man Scaloni again stepped up with the options he had. he deployed Enzo Fernandez in the place of lo celso, Julian Alvarez in the place of Lautaro, and for in behind runs, room making and linking up with Messi he used Mac Allister. And now here all we can see the results.
On the other hand, Mac Allister proved what he is capable of doing by winning the Man of the match against Poland and he becomes the most crucial part of the starting XI. Obviously, it was their talents and lucks but for utilising these they needed the perfect positions and game plans which Scaloni has done brilliantly. He also does mistakes but nobody can’t judge a man’s ability by a few mistakes he has done.
Conclusion
The entire world knows the only one Lionel who won the FIFA World Cup and fulfilled his legacy to enter into the greatest list with Maradona and Pele, but this big glory was achieved, planned, and envisioned by another Lionel, the 44-year-old Argentine Coach and Manager Lionel Scaloni who made a prolonged bond inside the heart of every Argentine fan.
