In the days of Carlos Bianchi’s winning Boca, with many heart-stopping penalty shoot-outs that the xeneizes ended up winning in their favour, it was often ironic that the bald coach “had God’s cell phone”… And in these days of Lionel Scaloni at the head of the Argentine national team, it could well be said that the world champion coach also has some “connection” with heaven. His numbers are impressive: he won 11 of 12 knockout matches, which makes him the coach with the record of “knockout” clashes the national team has ever had.
Argentina’s last knockout defeat was in the 2019 Copa América, in the semi-finals against Brazil, when the five-time world champions won 2-0.
With Thursday’s victory over Ecuador, Scaloni now has a lead over Vicente del Bosque, the unforgettable Spanish coach, who between 2009 and 2013 accumulated nine victories in knockout matches. And the podium is completed by the legendary Brazilian coach Mario ‘Lobo’ Zagallo, with eight consecutive victories in this type of final.
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Once again, Dibu Martínez’s saves were crucial for Argentina to move forward. (NA PHOTO)
Scaloni has been in charge of the national team since 2018, when he took over on an interim basis after the national team was eliminated from the World Cup in Russia, in that tournament led by Jorge Sampaoli. And since the decision to leave the man from Pujato in charge of the albiceleste team was made official, he has won three consecutive titles: Copa América 2021 against Brazil, Finalissima with a resounding victory against Italy by 3-0 in 2022, and finally the glory of the World Cup in Qatar, also in 2022, when Argentina beat France on penalties after a 3-3 (4-2) draw.
All of Lionel Scaloni’s ‘kill-kills’
The following is a list of the 11 victories that Lionel Scaloni has recorded at the head of the Argentine team in knockout matches:
Venezuela 2-0 quarter-finals Copa América 2019 Brazil 0-2 semi-finals Copa América 2019 Chile 2-1 third place Copa América 2019 Ecuador 3-0 quarter-finals Copa América 2021 Colombia 1-1p semi-finals Copa América 2021 Brazil 1-0 final Copa América 2021 Italy 3-0 Finalissima 2022 Australia 2-1 round of 16 World Cup 2022 Netherlands 2-2p quarter-finals World Cup 2022 Croatia 3-0 semi-finals World Cup 2022 France 3-3p final World Cup 2022 Ecuador 1-1p quarter-finals Copa América 2024.
“Honestly, I didn’t enjoy anything today”
At the press conference after the penalty shootout victory against Ecuador, Scaloni admitted that “This time I didn’t enjoy it at all, winning like this is not enjoyable at all, this time it wasn’t a joy that would make me say I had a good time…”
“Ecuador was a tough, difficult team that also plays well and is physically fit, and you can see that they are players with a significant physical level,” said Scaloni. “In the penalty shootout, I think the team had blind faith in their goalkeeper and that is fundamental for us. Even though Leo (Messi, the first penalty) missed, I think the team knew that something positive was going to happen. That is very important,” added the DT.
On Messi’s performance, which was initially in doubt after an adductor injury kept him out of Argentina’s last match in the group stage, Scaloni said that “Messi always contributed to the team, he plays well and the others play well. This time we asked him how he was doing and every time I asked him, he was fine. He is not a player who has to run after the Ecuadorian players who are fast, who are quick. There are moments and moments,” he added.
“I think Messi finished well, the last time we asked him how he was, there were 4 or 5 minutes left and he was fine, I don’t think he’ll have any problems and we’re in a semi-final and that’s a very good value,” Scaloni concluded.
2024-07-05 05:49:28
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