BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: The image is still remarkable.
Lionel Scaloni standing impassively on the sidelines after Gonzalo Montiel scored the decisive penalty in the final of the 2022 World Cup, giving Argentina its third star with a victory over France.
The coach didn’t celebrate at first, remaining still, silent, as if oblivious to the feat he himself had helped to accomplish. Several minutes later, he broke down when one of his players approached him, hugged him, and whispered: “We are world champions.”
Scaloni almost never loses his cool. He didn’t when he was bombarded with criticism for his lack of experience while leading Argentina. Nor did he when Kylian Mbappé’s goals threatened the country’s World Cup hopes four years ago. And he remains the same today as he faces the challenge of trying to repeat as a World Cup champion.
Those who know him say Scaloni learned to control his temper thanks to a hobby outside of soccer. Since retiring as a player, he dedicates two to three hours a day to cycling, a sport he took up on the recommendation of his friend, the former Spanish tennis player Carlos Moyá.
Pedaling his bicycle through the mountains of Mallorca, the Spanish island where he lives, or along the trails of his hometown of Pujato in the northwest of the South American country, Scaloni seeks to clear his mind and reflect.
“On the bike, you can think about your team, your opponent, how to prepare for the match. It really clears my head. I use it as therapy,” Scaloni said in several interviews. “It’s a good escape … it helps me lower my expectations, be calmer.”
In a few weeks, Scaloni will become the third coach to lead Argentina into consecutive World Cups, following in the footsteps of César Luis Menotti (1978 and 1982) and Carlos Bilardo (1986 and 1990), both also champions. But the youngest of the three doesn’t believe he deserves comparisons to the others.
“I don’t think we’re on the same level. They have established careers, they defined an era,” Scaloni has said repeatedly.
Scaloni earns his place
With no prior experience managing professional teams, Scaloni took over the team on an interim basis in 2018 after Argentina’s debacle in Russia, where the Argentinians were eliminated in the round of 16 months earlier. Meanwhile, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) was considering Mauricio Pochettino or Diego Simeone as candidates for the senior national team.
“Scaloni? He can’t even direct traffic,” Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to a World Cup championship in 1986, said at the time.
The inexperienced coach stayed on and Argentina went on to win the 2021 Copa América and successfully navigated the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
In Qatar, Scaloni weathered a storm of criticism after a disappointing opening match against Saudi Arabia, revamped the team mid-tournament with the addition of then-rookies Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, and Julián Álvarez, and, most importantly, unleashed the best version of Lionel Messi in a World Cup.
“The criticism was normal, I hadn’t coached anywhere. (Maradona) wasn’t far off,” Scaloni acknowledged shortly after lifting the cup, without any resentment toward the star who passed away in 2020.
Brazil was the last world champion to repeat in 1962.
Scaloni knows the demands will now be the same or even greater. He will have to defend the title with his star player nearing retirement at 38, while also dealing with turmoil within the Argentine football organization.
“The World Cup is very, very difficult. To win a World Cup, a lot of things have to come together, not just playing well,” Scaloni said in a recent interview with CONMEBOL. “Every time Argentina goes to a World Cup, it will try to reach its full potential. It’s very difficult, but not impossible.”
The path of the champion
Scaloni made it clear to his players that being world champions didn’t guarantee them a place on the national team and demanded they never let their guard down.
“I don’t dwell on past achievements; you always have to keep looking ahead,” he said in late 2025. “With this jersey, you don’t have time to relax and think your place is secure.”
The Albiceleste won the Copa América in 2021 and 2024 and finished first in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, overcoming absences by Messi, who missed several matches due to physical problems.
“Argentina has achieved the best thing a national team can achieve: being a team,” Jorge Valdano, a World Cup champion with Argentina in 1986, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “It’s a team with very clear leadership, that of the coach and Leo Messi, and players who haven’t lost their hunger.”
Twenty of the 26 players from the 2022 squad, including Messi, were included by Scaloni in the preliminary roster of 55 players for this tournament.
An attempt to resign
After the victory over Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers in November 2023, Scaloni shocked Argentine fans when he cast doubt on his future. “It’s not goodbye, but I need to think because the bar is set very high and it’s difficult to continue.”
The coach remained in his position, claiming that at the time he was overwhelmed by his elderly parents’ health problems. However, rumors circulated of alleged discontent between the coach and some players due to their unprofessional behavior during the team’s training camp before a loss to Uruguay in the qualifiers, prior to the match against Brazil.
Scaloni had to contend with turmoil within the Argentine football organization. The AFA leadership faces accusations of corruption and growing internal discontent over changes to the league format and refereeing decisions.
The World Cup preparations have also been questioned due to friendlies organized by the AFA against teams ranked very low in the FIFA rankings, such as Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Angola, Mauritania and Zambia, among others. The last two tests will be in June against Honduras and Iceland, which did not qualify for the tournament.
The coach, who is negotiating a contract extension, avoided complaining publicly. “Playing against the best doesn’t guarantee anything, and neither does this. We have to face whatever comes and be positive,” he said. “The results will show whether we made the right call or not.”
Argentina will open in Kansas City against Algeria on June 16 in Group J. They will face Austria on June 22 and Jordan on June 27.
Scaloni remains calm, just as he did four years ago. He knows full well Argentinians expect him to defend the title and are not prepared for disappointment.
“We’re doing well, we’re eager. We’re aware that our opponents will play us differently because we’re the reigning champions. The important thing is that we’ll be there. After that, it’s football, and anything can happen.”