 Scaloni as manager ofArgentina in 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Lionel Sebastián Scaloni[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1978-05-16)16 May 1978 (age 47)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pujato,Santa Fe, Argentina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Argentina (head coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Newell's Old Boys | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Estudiantes | 37 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2006 | Deportivo La Coruña | 200 | (14) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | →West Ham United (loan) | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Racing Santander | 30 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2013 | Lazio | 52 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | →Mallorca (loan) | 28 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Atalanta | 15 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 387 | (23) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Argentina U20 | 7 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Argentina | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Argentina U20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018– | Argentina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lionel Sebastián Scaloni (Spanish pronunciation:[ljoˈneleskaˈloni],[3]Rioplatense:[ehkaˈloni];[citation needed] born 16 May 1978) is an Argentine professionalfootball manager and former player who is the current head coach of theArgentina national team. Under his leadership, Argentina achieved the2022 FIFA World Cup. Scaloni is regarded as one of the best men’s national coaches in the world.[4][5][6] A versatile player, he operated as aright-back orright midfielder.
Born in Pujato, Santa Fe, Scaloni debuted as a player forNewell's Old Boys in 1995. He spent most of his professional career in Spain, mainly atDeportivo de La Coruña, where he won the1999–2000 Spanish league title and the2001–02 Copa del Rey. In total, he amassed 258 games and 15 goals over 12 seasons inLa Liga with three different teams. He also played for several years in Italy, withLazio andAtalanta, before retiring in 2015. Internationally, he played for Argentina atunder-20 level, and made his debut for the senior team in 2003; he won seven caps for the team between 2003 and 2006, and was part of their2006 World Cup squad.
Scaloni became a manager in 2016, starting as an assistant atSevilla and Argentina's under-20 team. In 2018, he was named the outright manager of the under-20 team, and was chosen to lead the Argentina senior team later that year. With the senior team, he guided them to third place at his first international tournament, the2019 Copa América, in Brazil. He won the2021 edition, Argentina’s first such honour in 28 years, and then beatItaly in the2022 Finalissima. Thereafter, the Scaloni-led national team wontheir third World Cup title, the first since 1986, in 2022 in Qatar. He also went on to win the2024 Copa América as the Argentina manager, making it three consecutive tournaments won with the national team.
Born in the small town of Pujato inSanta Fe Province,[7] with Italian origins fromAscoli Piceno,Marche,[8][9] Scaloni began his career in theArgentine Primera División with local clubNewell's Old Boys and thenEstudiantes de La Plata, before joining Spain'sDeportivo de La Coruña in December 1997 for 405 millionpesetas.[10]
Regularly used with theGalicians over an eight-and-a-half-year stint, he competed withManuel Pablo andVíctor for both starting spots on the right flank.[11][12] Due to a knee injury, he appeared in only 14La Liga matches asDeporwon the title for the first time.[13]
After falling out with managerJoaquín Caparrós, Scaloni joinedPremier League sideWest Ham United on loanon 31 January 2006, the final day of thetransfer window, in an attempt to increase his chance of selection for the upcoming World Cup.[14] He took the number 2 shirt from the departedTomáš Řepka, and made his league debut for the East Londoners againstSunderland, on 4 February;[15] he also helped the team to reachthe FA Cup final, apenalty shootout loss toLiverpool.[16][17]
Scaloni left West Ham after a permanent move could not be agreed. Deportivo released him on 1 September 2006 alongsideDiego Tristán,[18] one day after the close of the summertransfer window.
However, due to the fact there were no limitations for free agents, two weeks later Scaloni signed a one-year contract atRacing de Santander,[19] TheCantabrians subsequentlyfinished in mid table. He appeared – and started – in both games against his former club, both ending in 0–0 draws.[20][21]
On 30 June 2007, Scaloni moved toS.S. Lazio in Italy'sSerie A on a five-year deal.[22] In January of the following year he returned to Spain, on loan toRCD Mallorca for 18 months;[23][24][25] subsequently, he returned toRome, where he was rarely used for the following three seasons.
At age 35, Scaloni joinedAtalanta B.C. in January 2013.[26] He was released at the end ofthe campaign, but re-signed after failing to find a new club.[27]
After making his debut forArgentina on 30 April 2003 in afriendly game withLibya,[28] Scaloni was a surprise selection for the2006 FIFA World Cup, taking the place of veteranJavier Zanetti who also played as a right wing-back.[29] His only appearance of the tournament was the 2–1extra time win againstMexico in the round of 16, on 24 June 2006 at theZentralstadion, which he started and finished.[30]
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On 11 October 2016, Scaloni joined compatriotJorge Sampaoli's coaching staff atSevilla.[31] The following June, when Sampaoli was appointed as the new national team boss, Scaloni was again named as his assistant.[32]
After Argentina's failure at the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Sampaoli left his post as Argentina manager by mutual consent. Scaloni andPablo Aimar were subsequently namedcaretaker managers until the end of the year.[33] In November 2018, the former was confirmed in the post until the following June when the2019 Copa América was due to take place.[34] This decision unleashed a wave of criticism against Scaloni's appointment, including from legendary footballerDiego Maradona, who criticized the move for appointing an "unqualified" and inexperienced person in charge who "wouldn't even be able to direct traffic".[35][36][37] Scaloni's appointment, at the time, was also seen as an offence against the national team due to the lack of consultation with other experienced managers at the time and the AFA was blamed for having no strategy regarding the appointment.[38]
In the 2019 Copa América, he led the side to third place in Brazil, but not in the style fans expected as Argentina struggled to advance further in the tournament.[39] The poor performance on Argentina's way to the third-place finish ultimately released a new wave of criticism against Scaloni appointment due to Argentina's inability to win the tournament despite expectation, and Scaloni's inadequate and inconsistent tactical performances.[40] Despite calls to sack Scaloni, however, the AFA opted to extend Scaloni's contract until 2022, as AFA saw Scaloni's third-place finish acceptable.[41]
Scaloni led Argentina to the2021 Copa América title after defeatingBrazil who were once again the hosts (1–0), helping them to win their first trophy in 28 years.[42] In November that year, he was nominated forThe Best FIFA Football Coach Award,[43] but did not make the final three shortlist.[44]
On 1 June 2022, Scaloni's Argentina won the2022 Finalissima after defeating European championsItaly 3–0 atWembley Stadium.[45] On 16 November, Argentina beat theUnited Arab Emirates 5–0 in a friendly World Cup warm-up game ahead of the World Cup extending their unbeaten run to 36 matches, just one shy of Italy's record of 37.[46]
On 22 November, Scaloni's side lost 2–1 toSaudi Arabia in their opening group stage match of theWorld Cup in Qatar ending their unbeaten run of 36 matches;[47] the result was considered byGracenote statistically the greatest upset in the history of the tournament.[48] Nevertheless, they made it into the knockout stages after recording wins overMexico (2–0) andPoland (also 2–0).[49] Argentina then overcameAustralia (2–1) in the round of 16, and advanced over theNetherlands in the quarter-finals with a penalty shoot-out victory, following which Scaloni defended his team after controversy surrounding the fights and tension between Argentine and Dutch players during the ill-tempered shoot-out.[50] After beatingCroatia 3–0 in the semi-finals, the nation reachedthe final for the second time ineight years.[51] He then led Argentina to their third FIFA World Cup title in the final againstFrance, with the Argentine team winning via a 4–2 penalty shoot-out after the match had ended in 3–3 after extra time.[52]
Scaloni's success in guiding the national team of Argentina to victory was widely seen as a shock, due to the fact that Scaloni suffered from consistent opposition against his appointment when he was first offered the job in 2018.[37][53] He became the youngest manager since1978, and the fourth youngest manager to win the World Cup, which, coincidentally, were both achieved by Argentine compatriotCésar Luis Menotti.[54] Due to this shocking conquest by a manager deemed as too inexperienced for the job, Scaloni was also referred for having "Midas' touch", named after the ancient Greek mythological characterMidas.[55] Scaloni was recognised as the best men's national coach in the world in 2022 by theInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).[5] He was also honoured withThe Best FIFA Men's Coach for 2022.[56] Shortly after the World Cup victory, Scaloni signed a new contract on 27 February 2023 to keep him as Argentina manager until the2026 FIFA World Cup.[57]
Almost a year later from the victory of the World Cup in Qatar, on 21 November, he led Argentina to a 1–0 win against Brazil at theMaracanã Stadium, in what would be the latter's first home defeat ever inWorld Cup qualification tournaments.[58] He later guided his country to their record 16th title in Copa América in the2024 tournament, defeatingColombia 1–0 after extra time in thefinal.[59]Lautaro Martínez scored the winning goal in the 112th minute, having been assisted byLeandro Paredes andGiovani Lo Celso, all three of which were subbed on by Scaloni in the 97th minute; the coach was later praised for his substitutions.[60]
Scaloni is regarded as one of the best men’s national coaches in the world due to his success with the Argentina national team.[4][5][61]
Scaloni has stated thatCarlo Ancelotti is the coach he most admires and that he tries to emulate his coaching style with Argentina.[62]
In his time as coach of Argentina, the national press nicknamed the national team 'Scaloneta'.[63]
Scaloni has instilled a coaching philosophy with Argentina centered on fostering unity and camaraderie among players through team bonding and ensuring clear, open communication to define each player’s role and value within the team structure.[64]
Scaloni has both Argentine and Italian citizenship.[65] His older brother, Mauro, also played at Deportivo, but never made it beyond itsreserve team.[66][10] He and his wife Elisa Montero have two sons.[67] Furthermore, a street was named after him in his hometown of Pujato.[68]
In April 2019, Scaloni was run over while cycling inCalvià inMajorca. Some media initially reported him to be in serious condition, but he was discharged a few hours later.[69]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Argentina U20 |  | 17 July 2018 | 30 November 2018 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 066.67 | [citation needed] |
| Argentina | | 3 August 2018 | present | 92 | 65 | 18 | 9 | 186 | 48 | +138 | 070.65 | [71] |
| Career total | 98 | 69 | 19 | 10 | 197 | 51 | +146 | 070.41 | ||||
Deportivo La Coruña
West Ham United
Argentina U20
Argentina U21
Argentina U20
Argentina
Individual
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Awards | |||||||
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