Lionel Scaloni, manager of the Argentine national team, gave an exclusive interview to Flashscore. The coach, world champion, two-time Copa America champion, and winner of the Finalissima discussed several topics, and Messi’s legacy was one of the most important ones, as the legendary player will be taking part in his last two WC qualifying games for Argentina.
Scaloni, a former successful LaLiga player himself, as he played for Deportivo, Racing and Mallorca, wants to enjoy these moments, since Messi might play his last major tournament next summer, “let’s enjoy him now, let’s enjoy him as much as possible, as many games as he can play, and we’ll see in the future”, as he continues, “It’s obvious that at some point he won’t be here and the Argentine national team will always continue, but the moment he decides not to come, the loss will be enormous, not only for Argentine football, but for the world of football, which wants to see him on the pitch.”
Argentina’s manager believes Leo Messi is a joy to everyone who loves football, not only Argentines or Barça fans. “In the end, whoever likes football likes him to be there, so for now let’s enjoy it”. Scaloni siscusses Leo’s impact in the team and in the dressing room, “we already know very well what Messi represents to the teammate, both on and off the pitch, to the opponent, to the referee… everyone wants to have something of him”, and Scaloni analyzes,”the fact that Leo is only on the pitch already has an impact, and his teammates in the dressing room, just imagine, everyone is attentive to what he does or says, and the truth is that anyone who knows him will realise that he’s just one more.”
For Scaloni as a coach, having Messi has been a unique experience, “with Leo, we have had a lot of moments in which I realised that we were talking about an unrepeatable player. With us, he has played games that only he could play, in physical conditions in which others would not have gone out on the pitch. He went out and nobody realised what was happening to him. We have seen things in training that are difficult to see in another player. So, well, you keep them and take them with you forever.”
Lionel Scaloni does not think there will ever be an heir to Messi, “no, there can’t be. There won’t be. There won’t be an heir to Messi, for sure.” And the former Depor player elaborates on that, “no, let’s see, there may be great players who marked the era, but what he has done in such a long time, I think it will be unrepeatable.”
“Football has a lot of unthinkable things, but in this, I could almost assure you that it will be impossible to see anything else like it. At least from what I saw, I think Leo is unmatched”. Scaloni is certain that we’ve been lucky to see Messi’s career of close.
