From Russia 2018 to today: Scaloni’s strategic moves that changed the face of the National Team and make fans dream for the World Cup

Wrapped in dynamite. So it seemed the 4 to 3 that Argentina suffered before France, for the round of 16 of the World Cup Russia 2018. After that match that took place at the Kazan Arena stadium, the National Team literally flew through the air. The AFA fired Jorge Sampaoli, who had a contract until after Qatar 2022, and the coach’s departure was not the only one: the World Cup also marked the end of the stage in the selection of historical ones who were denied the title as Javier Mascherano, Gonzalo Higuaín, Sergio Romero, Lucas Biglia, Ever Banega and Ezequiel Lavezzi. The place of Sampaoli was occupied by Lionel Scaloni, one of his field assistants, who in his first experience in seniors launched a renovation that was imposed for generational reasons but that he also knew how to enrich with the progressive landings of new faces such as those of Emiliano “dra ”Martínez, Cristian“ Cuti ”Romero and Nicolás González, three footballers who gave the team a leap in quality.

The consecration, by the hand of Scaloni, in the tournament Under-20 of L’Alcudia a month after the misadventures that Argentina suffered in the World Cup in Russia, it was the impulse that deposited the current coach of the senior national team at the head of the team. A controversial decision of the president of the AFA, Claudio Tapia, In times when the press and the public asked for three names: Diego Simeone, Marcelo Gallardo and -to a lesser extent- Mauricio Pochettino. The amount of Sampaoli’s severance pay was never known reliably, but the termination clause he had signed with the AFA was for a whopping $ 8,624,000. That number dropped to $ 1,584,000 if they kicked it out after July 2019.

With much to learn in his trade, Scaloni gladly accepted the challenge amid looks of distrust that put magnifying glass on one issue: meritocracy. “What did Scaloni do to be the coach of the National Team?” was the (reasonable) general question of the environment. The Copa América of Brazil 2019 It was his first litmus test and he ended up doing an acceptable job, from lowest to highest, first questioning the changes he made in the middle of games and then reaching the semifinals.

The 2-0 fall in that instance against Brazil was mitigated by a damaging arbitration by Ecuadorian Roddy Zambrano, who ignored two penalties in favor of Argentina. And the third place after beating Chile In the last match, it ended up being considered a worthy place, especially if it is noted that -beyond having been favored against Argentina- Brazil turned out to be a fair champion after winning the final against Peru.

That Copa América marked a break in the intimacy of the group. A positive break: the appearance of a “new” Lionel Messi, great as always on the field but in a different version in his role as captain. The Rosario stopped being a rather silent leader to become another more combative and proactive, as if there had been a maturation of man. Something unusual for him, he even raised his voice loudly to question the Conmebol for the arbitration of Zambrano against Brazil.

Suddenly, in the quarterfinal match of that Copa América 2019 against Venezuela, Messi surprised when he began to sing the anthem out loud, leaving behind his habit of remaining silent while listening to the national song. Needless to say, the crack of Paris Saint Germain he didn’t become a better footballer for it. It is just a description of the change that has occurred since then every time the national anthem is played on a field. And now he not only sings it, but the whole team does it together in a hug. It is something that was discussed in the privacy of the group and that, in some way, contributed to bring people closer and closer to the squad of the National Team.

That same team that was considered rather cold with the public, perhaps because the previous historical generation that has Messi as survivors, Ángel Di María, Nicolás Otamendi and Sergio Agüero, distanced himself from the people riding the falls in four finals: the Copa América de Venezuela 2007, Chile 2015 and United States 2016, and the World Cup in Brazil 2014.

A proof of that relationship that oscillated between coldness and the sideways glances of the public: in September 2016, in the city of Mendoza, the fans insulted the players at the door of the Diplomatic Hotel because they did not appear to greet through the windows. It was in the previous of a classic before Uruguay that Argentina won 1 to 0 with a goal from Messi and that marked the debut of Edgardo bauza as a team manager, the night that Lucas Alario He also entered as a right-hand midfielder in his debut in the national team. It was one of several similar episodes in different parts of the country, such as San Juan and Córdoba.

In the three years he has been coach of Argentina, Scaloni has started a progressive renewal and sustained from the campus. Of the 23 players Sampaoli brought to Russia, only nine are regularly on the current coach’s radar: Franco Armani, Nicolás Tagliafico, Marcos Acuña, Otamendi, Di María, Giovanni Lo Celso, Messi, Paulo Dybala and Agüero. The fourteen players who sooner or later were left on the sidelines of the team after Russia 2018 are Wilfredo Caballero, Nahuel Guzmán, Gabriel Mercado, Federico Fazio, Marcos Rojo, Cristian Ansaldi, Biglia, Mascherano, Banega, Maximiliano Meza, Enzo Pérez, Eduardo Salvio, Cristian Pavón and Gonzalo Higuaín.

The most representative faces of the renovation are in different positions: “Dibu” Martínez, a goalkeeper with Champions League level who today seems immovable; “Holidays” Romero, a powerful center-back, with presence and firmness, the kind that invite strikers to try to create danger away from him; and Nicolás González, a fast left-hander who can play in any of the positions on the left lifeline: winger, midfielder and also forward.

Along with them, other debutant footballers or with little experience in the National Team, such as goalkeepers, became established. Juan Musso and Gerónimo Rulli; the defenders Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Juan Foyth, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Germán Pezzella and Lisandro Martínez; midfielders Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodríguez, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Nicolás Domínguez and Emiliano Buendía -among others-; and the forwards Lautaro Martínez and Joaquín and Ángel Correa.

With the collapse of the joint headquarters of Argentina and Colombia to host the Copa América in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Brazil recently hosted it again for the second time in two years. It did not seem the most propitious scenario for the Argentine national team to put an end to the 28-year streak without titles. However, the team was overcoming the different stages, eliminating Ecuador and Colombia (on penalties) in the quarter-final and semi-final series, and in the final the dream of any fan happened: 1-0 win against Brazil, the greatest historical rival, and at Maracana, one of the most iconic stadiums in the world.

That consecration freed the players, who went out onto the court under pressure before each momentous encounter. The team faces the matches without that psychological burden that disturbed it and prevented it from playing with ease. In the privacy of the squad they know that the team has room for improvement, but at the same time they recognize that it would be very good if the start of the Qatar World Cup was brought forward a year: on November 21 of this year instead of the same date in 2022, as scheduled. It happens that Argentina became a difficult team to break, at least in South America: it boasts unbeaten in 22 games, with fourteen wins and eight draws. The last time he lost was precisely in that semifinal of the Copa América in Brazil 2019 against the locals, on July 2 of that year by 2 to 0. Argentina is nine games away from the undefeated record that still belongs to the team led by Alfio Basile, of 33 meetings without knowing the defeat, between 1991 and 1993.

With just over a year and two months to go to the World Cup, the National Team is on track to qualify for Qatar: it is second, with 18 points, six behind the leader Brazil. Both played one less game: the classic one that was suspended five minutes into the first half due to the entry of the Brazilian health authorities onto the playing field who objected to the presence of four Argentine players who are active in the Premier League (“Draw” Martínez, ” Cuti ”Romero, Lo Celso and Buendía), accused of not complying with the regulations in force due to the pandemic. Uruguay, the third, has fifteen units, while Ecuador and Colombia have thirteen points. Paraguay, which is sixth with eleven points, will be Argentina’s next rival, on October 7 in Asunción. On the 10th and 14th of next month, Argentina will be local against Uruguay and Peru, respectively.

From the feeling of absolute helplessness that Argentina gave in Russia 2018, to this lucky team present. And with the added value of a Messi who takes the first steps in his new club, the powerful Paris Saint Germain, knowing that succeeding in France is a challenge that will also pay dividends for the Argentine National Team.

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