Lionel Scaloni: “After a while we will realize even more of what we have accomplished”

Have you been able to relax a bit already or are you still excited by the tension of the competition and the hustle and bustle of the festivities that followed?

The truth is, this is all very new and every day, when you meet people, friends, and especially here in Spain, where I was born and not my country, you realize the greatness. won the world cup. You see how it hits them, too, and you understand the magnitude of it. At this point, one starts to think, but I believe that over time we will understand even more of what we have accomplished.

How do you land in Palma after touching the sky in Qatar? Is it difficult to return to routine?

No. I think we should accept it as such. So life goes on, you have to keep working, people go on with their jobs, my family, my friends… Everything goes the same. I’m pretty balanced on this one. I don’t think about what is accomplished every day, not at all. What do you think is coming? The most important thing is always the next step. I don’t think we should lean on our achievements.

At 44, he has become one of the youngest managers to win a World Cup, having previously won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 Finalíssima. Do you feel dizzy for setting the bar so quickly and so high?

Not at all. We take it naturally. The day I decided to become a coach in 2011, while I was still playing, it was clear to me what my understanding of football was and will continue to be, whether by winning a World Cup or managing another team. I think you don’t need to weigh responsibility now that it’s earned. Different. You have to keep going the same way, and I think the work pays off in the end.

Argentina-France on 18 December was the best final in World Cup history. As the years pass, do you think it will be referred to as Scaloni’s World Cup alongside Messi’s World Cup?

No. I think it will be remembered as the World Cup in Argentina, which I think is important. A country that is more important than the individual is a football-loving country like few other countries. I can say that the greatest base of world football is Argentina, and to win again, to be on top again, I think it’s everybody’s victory and it’s the whole country behind a national team that needs to be saved. The truth is it was very exciting.

Isn’t that responsibility as a coach comparable to the responsibility you might have as a football player?

Yes, coaching the national team of your country Argentina is something unique. There is nothing in the world greater than being able to coach your country’s team. I think it can’t be compared to anything, that’s obvious. Yes, responsibility in the sense of belonging, wanting to do things as best as possible because you are not only a football coach but also a very well-known person, so children will see themselves reflected in the behavior behind a country. . I think this is a good measure to be responsible and know what it means to coach the national team.

Have you managed to see your essence as a player reflected in your players, in the sense of not giving up on anything and continuing to fight until the end?

Yes, it makes sense. I have a way of looking at football with the nuances of the players you have, both when I was playing and now when I am a coach. You can play one way or another, but I think understanding football, not giving up on anything, not making decisions are the values ​​that this team and these guys have. We try to improve as much as possible. The truth is, training these guys was, was and still is a pleasure.

During your playing career in Spain, you played for A Coruña, Santander and Palma de Mallorca, what part of your heart does each of these cities occupy?

Basically Spain. We are forever grateful to my family. Logically, I had my best years in A Coruña and that’s where I first came and became a man, that’s pretty obvious. Then I did very well in Santander I, which is very similar to A Coruña, with a similar climate and very warm and respectful people. And I’m fine here in Palma. I chose to live here, my family is from here, my wife, my children. It’s a really different place where you go unnoticed, the people are very calm and I also have a lot of love for the club where I played for a year and a half and where we performed quite well, and there is also a part of me. My heart is here But in general the country is like my second home because I’ve spent most of my life there. The truth is, I’m fine here.

All of Argentina celebrated the championship in style in every corner, from Pujato to Buenos Aires, but it was also celebrated in many parts of Spain, especially in A Coruña.

Yes, I have a second home there, I have a heart, and how many Argentines live there, how many people have families in Galicia, and how many Galicians have migrated to Argentina… So I guess it’s a bit like everybody’s second home. All of us who have come to Argentina from A Coruña, as well as Argentines for the Dépor jersey, and all of us who have passed through A Coruña. It fills me with joy that they receive it as their own. It is a victory for them too. If they have felt represented by me, the truth is that it is double the joy.

He celebrated not only the Argentine colony, but sportsmanship in general.

Yes, I have always passed on what my parents taught me during my nearly ten years at Dépor, and the truth is that I got on very well with the fans, the Deportivo fans. Marked. If they are happy with Argentina’s victory today, it cheers me up, it excites me because if we come from different countries and we accept it as ourselves, it means a strong identity feature, a strong unity and truth. it makes me happy.

What do you think the parents of the young fans in blue and white who did not see you playing at Riazor and now ask who Scaloni is at Dépor?

The unification of the group, the drive to keep going, always wanting more, never giving up on anything, I imagine there are values ​​that are more or less seen in the national team right now. O Dépor had great players, great quality players and logically I didn’t reach those levels, but the way I am and the way I play, I fit in perfectly with the team and the fans. I think today these people will say that Scaloni was always one of those who went forward and never gave up on anything. As a result, I think it’s partly reflected in the World Cup. The team has never stopped believing in moments of uncertainty, in times of hardship, and that’s part of the brand the team has.