Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni on Lionel Messi, Ángel Di María, Lautaro Martínez

By
Roy Nemer
-
18

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about Lionel Messi, Ángel Di María and Lautaro Martínez.

Lionel Scaloni commented on Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María’s futures with the Argentina national team. Speaking in an interview with Tuttomercato, here is what he had to say:

“Ángel is a champion, everyone knows what they can do. He will play as long as he wants, I hope he will play for a long time.

“Obviously I follow him, Dybala too. They are great players but above all, great people and that is very important to me.

“I was his team mate and I started with that advantage. Managing him is great, he knows very well how to play a match, how to press, how to defend.

“I think the most important thing at the World Cup was the togetherness between the team, the fans, the coaching staff and hte people. Seeing the people close to us in every match.

“Being at the next World Cup will be Leo’s decision. If his body can take it, for me, he will be there.

“What I said about Messi is the same for Ángel Di María. As long as his body can take it, he will be called up.”

The Argentina coach also spoke about Lautaro Martínez:

“Lautaro has always been important for me and has always been my favorite striker. He had a few problems at the World Cup and we had to think about what was best for the taem. He knows that very well.

“He was there when we needed him and the penalty against the Netherlands. We love him and we are happy that he has also taken charge of Inter.”

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

18 Comments

  2. After watching Enzo with Chelsea I really felt like he is the right player for a team like real Madrid. His playing style really suits la liga which is more technical. With his style of slow build up and dictating the play, once his team starts dominating he naturally goes forward and becomes more lethal and that’s where Enzo plays at his very best. Means he naturally gets the ball in the shooting positions and near that final third area and also with the help of other great midfielders playing there he can eventually play a ballondor level. Kante needed badly otherwise Enzo would be criticised heavily coz he is not getting the ball in the attacking zones. Premier league is not a good league for technical mid fielders. De bruyne may be an exception but city is more of a la liga style team. Enzo is more of a technical than physical like most of the Argentine mid fielders. He needs that time to dictate and control the mid. In Argentina NT he can flourish coz the team play is shaped in that way. But in premier league if he wants to make his transfer money worth means he has to play for city or else the rest of the PL teams needs only mid fielders who can run fast and counter and give the ball to the forwards that’s all. And Enzo is not at all that type of a player. Bellingham to Chelsea and Enzo to real was the right deal.

    • I disagree with Real. If Enzo moved there. he would have to compete every night with 3 other world class MC. In Chelsea no matter what he is a key player and will almost never get substituted. Chelsea should fire Potter soon and whoever is the new one will be better.

    • Being at the next World Cup will be Leo’s decision. If his body can take it, for me, he will be there.

      “What I said about Messi is the same for Ángel Di María. As long as his body can take it, he will be called up.”

      This lines can confirm that he will sign new contract…

  4. If you wonder why Di Maria still looks like the prime Di Maria at 35 is because he, along with few older players like Messi, still add something to his game. He is not as fast as he used to, but still very fast for a 35 years old. But his shooting from distance, his curling shot, the precision of his long pass and through pass are all better than the prime Di Maria of PSG/Madrid.

    It is the same as Messi. He is not that explosive anymore, no longer a RW, but his playmaking reached almost the level of perfection.

    Copa America 2024 is less than 1.5 years from now. I am sure both Di Maria and Messi will still look good for us. All they need is to find a competitive team and stay in Europe for one more season.

    • Di Maria at his prime in PSG was also phenomenal, look at his assists + goals stats, it’s insane, he’s a standout PSG legend but PSG put all focus on Mbappe, and even the best player of all time like Messi only got some marginal support from the team. The situation is rediculous, I think Messi should leave the team. Mbappe will also leave for Real in a year and a half, Messi is too old to wait for this to happen.

      If Di Maria stayed in RM for long, I am confident he would have landed a Ballon D’or after Ronaldo’s exit. He’s on par if not better than Modric and Benzema.

    • Yup,great players can master any aspect of the game. Jordan in the NBA when he got old stopped being a dunk machine and instead kept it simple with fade away 2 pointers which where impossible to stop. Maradona too with a broken ankle and zero mobility made it happen. As long as fideo and messi avoid injury, they can play. Next world cup they could even sit the bench and come in when we are desperate for a goal.

  5. I was among those 2 who didn’t want to see DiMaria in the NT. after he won the Copa, the Finalissima I started to remember that he scores in every final that we won and I sudden realized that Dimaria must be the missing puzzle. I wasn’t there in 2014, I injured in 2015, Injured in 2016 and I say to myself he is the one …. Thanks and sorry Angel…..

  6. We all trolled Di Maria, MYSELF included calling him a headless chicken while running aimlessly into nowhere. I remember the incredible goal he scored in 2018 WC vs France and said why can’t he do that when we needed him the most and the man destroyed that in COPA America and again in the WC Final………..WE ARE WORLD CUP CHAMPS for his heroics because he came up ALL ACES when it counted the most.

    • I called him a headless chicken many, MANY times and to be honest I’m not even sorry because at THAT time, he really was a headless chicken.
      To me being a legit fan isn’t about defending your team to the very end and sticking your head in the sand, it’s about being critical (or complementary) when it matters while continuing to love your team.
      Maria deserves all the acclaim that he can muster because of his heroics in the WC and Copa, the guy’s a legend and he is now in my all star Argentina team and that’s the biggest complement I can give any player.

Comments are closed.