The success story of Lionel Scaloni

Lionel Scaloni, who played in the Defense position of the Argentina team, was born on May 16, 1978. The successful coach, who started football with the support of his father Angel Scaloni, took the first step in his professional career by successfully passing the Newell's Old Boys academy in 1993.

ATTRACTED EUROPE'S ATTENTION

Unable to get much time here, the Argentine wanted to continue his career in Europe and transferred to Estudiantes de La Plata, where he could get more time. A great performance here, Lionel had the opportunity to play for Argentina in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. He managed to attract the attention of European teams after he scored against Brazil in this tournament.

FIRST JOURNEY TO EUROPE

In December 1997, Lionel Scaloni transferred to Spain's Deportivo team. The successful football man worked for the Spanish team for 8.5 years. He won the La Liga Cup with Deportivo in 1999-2000, 2021, and 2002. Also, Iker Casillas won the King's Cup against Real Madrid with Roberto Carlos.

LAST PERIOD OF FOOTBALL LIFE

Scaloni was transferred to West Ham United on loan in 2006, after a conflict with then-manager Joaquin Caparros. Lionel made his way to the Italian team Lazio the following season. He had a good season here. He also wore Mallorca and Atalanta jerseys before hanging up his boots in 2015. Scaloni played for Argentina in only one game in the World Cup in 2006 and said goodbye to the national jersey.

THE FIRST STEP OF A COACH'S CAREER

He started his first coaching career as an assistant coach under Sevilla's coach, Jorge Sampaoli. Sampaoli, who later took the position of coach from Argentina, took his assistant Lionel Scaloni with him. He became Sampaoli's most important assistant during the 2018 World Cup. In 2018, Argentina, which lost to France and said goodbye to the tournament, dismissed Sampaoli, while Lionel Scaloni was appointed as the head of the team temporarily. Scaloni was also the coach of the Argentina National Under-20 Team at that time.

EVERYONE AGAINST

When it was announced that he was appointed as the head of Argentina, everyone was of the opinion that this decision was wrong and that such an inexperienced person should not be brought to the best team in the world.

AND THE BIGGEST CUP

The young coach quickly reflected his philosophy to the players. With determination and ambition, Scaloni won Copa America in 2021, beating Brazil in the final. Argentina ended their 28-year longing for a trophy with Scaloni. Argentina under the leadership of Scaloni broke all the arrows of criticism by taking the CONMEBOL-UEFA Champions Cup to its museum a year later. The successful coach finally crowned his success by achieving his first World Cup victory against France.