There will be 100 matches between Guatemala and… Cape Verde. From the friendly on September 7, 2018, in Los Angeles, to the round of 32 clash on July 3, 2026, in Miami. In the country that became the national team’s second home – 24 games including this afternoon’s – by commercial choice of FIFA, CONMEBOL, and the AFA. From Scaloni’s experimental debut to this radiant present.
Beyond coincidences and chance, a detail emerges that reveals the robustness the project has taken over the years. In that match, the starters were Gerónimo Rulli, Nicolás Tagliafico, Gio Lo Celso, Leandro Paredes, and Exequiel Palacios. And the delegation also included Lautaro Martínez. Six. Six choices by Scaloni that represented renewal – Tagliafico had participated in Russia 2018 – and eight years later they remain in the national team.
This afternoon, some of them will play again against Cape Verde. Yesterday, bets on renewal, and today all world champions going for the defense. Scaloni’s preferences and intuition were endorsed by the journey. The coach imagined they would have potential and he was not wrong. The following month, in October 2018, in his second call-up, he added Rodrigo De Paul, the player with the most appearances in his cycle (88 matches). Another success. As would happen years later with Emiliano Martínez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero… The nose, that intangible that in football explains a lot without saying almost anything, is undoubtedly an attribute of Scaloni.
Statistics, which do not interest Scaloni, shine after 99 matches. Today he enjoys the prestige he earned with his work. They grew together, a situation as rare as his arrival.
The lines can be filled with more numbers. As of today, his Argentina has won 72 matches, drawn 18, and lost only nine, with 206 goals scored and 50 conceded. If he continues after the World Cup, he could surpass Guillermo Stábile’s record of 124 games. And he pursues with better percentages the other two champion coaches: César Luis Menotti, 61.11% in 12 World Cup matches; Carlos Bilardo, 64.28% in 14; and Scaloni, 76.66% in 10 matches.
But especially he imposed a style that is worth more than any statistic, and it would be wise not to forget the day he loses: Scaloni manages levels of discretion that allow him to lead without intruding and set rules without shouting. From match 1 to 100, he has kept football in its rightful place within the social scale: this does not change people’s lives, it changes people’s mood. Although he knows, of course, that a country is watching.
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flaco scaloni un genio si pero para mi esto huele a pan y circo los pobres laburando mientras ellos festejan el futbol es el opio del pueblo no se dejen embobar viva la lucha carajo
Para mí, Scaloni es un fenómeno, pero dejate de joder, sin Messi no es nadie. Sabella y Maradona son unos muertos al lado. Esto huele a zurdos llorando porque ganamos con un equipo de verdad, no con su progresismo berreta. ¡Viva la patria, carajo!