When Lionel Scaloni took over as caretaker Argentina coach after the last World Cup, he was obsessed with France, the team who had just won the competition — eliminating Argentina on the way. The future, said Scaloni, lay in quick transitions, in rapid counter-attacks. It was the style Argentina needed, and the style he was going to implant.
It lasted precisely one competitive game, a disastrous 2-0 defeat to Colombia in the 2019 Copa America.
There was an obvious flaw in Scaloni’s argument. His idea of play was a very poor fit with his outstanding player. Scaloni was sufficiently shrewd, and sufficiently humble, to realise his error. During the rest of the tournament he rowed back, and started constructing a side that was better suited to the extraordinary talents of Lionel Messi.
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Match by match Argentina improved during the course of that Copa, when they lost to Brazil in the semifinals and ended up finishing third. They have not been beaten since. And Messi has seldom, if ever, looked happier representing his country. In place of Scaloni’s original focus on the quick counter-attack, Argentina’s game revolves around a possession-based midfield. Tottenham Hotspur’s Giovani Lo Celso, in particular, has built a fine on-field relationship with Messi, who also dovetails well with Rodrigo De Paul and anchorman Leandro Parades. And his partnership with centre-forward Lautaro Martinez is getting better and better.
As Messi became disillusioned with Barcelona and is still new at Paris Saint-Germain, it appears that playing for Argentina has become even more important to him. The county’s footballing public have certainly sensed this, and have built up an identification with him that is probably stronger than it has ever been, especially after beating Brazil in the Copa America final back in July.
Messi and Argentina can build towards next year’s World Cup with a…
Source : espn
