The headlines and the spotlights are all on Argentina’s Lionel Messi, and so they should be. The last dance, if that is what it was, proved to be the best dance as the “Little Genius” won the World Cup at the fifth time of asking.
But it would not have happened without the other Lionel. The golden rule of football is that the stars shine brightest when the collective balance of the side is right — and the man responsible for surrounding Messi with the best, most coherent team of his long international career is rookie coach Lionel Scaloni.
The 44-year-old Argentina boss, with no previous senior coaching experience, got it right once more on the big day of the World Cup final in Qatar.
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Previously the Argentine media had been largely correct when they predicted the team, but this time Scaloni threw them a dummy. Most thought Scaloni would start the game with the inclusion of Lisandro Martinez as one of three centre-backs, and that winger Angel Di Maria would be left on the bench. Scaloni did the opposite.
He was full of respect for France, but with little fear. During Russia 2018, Scaloni’s task on the Argentina coaching staff was to observe future opponents. There, he was especially struck by France, who knocked out Argentina in the round of 16. And, briefly, when he took over as Argentina head coach after the 2018 World Cup, France were a role model.
Scaloni was wary of their quick transition, their capacity to win the ball and their ability to be in position to shoot within three or four seconds. It seemed a natural assumption, then, that he would go with three centre-backs and give himself extra cover, but Scaloni clearly came to another conclusion.
To approach the World Cup final afraid of France would be to admit that the opposition was more important than his team. But if he began from the basis that Argentina were more important, how could he find a way for his men to impose themselves on the game? The answer was to go with a back four, and bring back a fit-again Di Maria into the starting XI.
