In September 2018 Lionel Scaloni was handed the Argentina job on an interim basis – a man with no senior coaching experience, filling a vacancy nobody wanted after the chaos of the 2018 World Cup. Few gave him six months. Nobody predicted seven years.
What followed is arguably the most remarkable coaching story in international football history. In seven years alongside Lionel Messi, Scaloni has lost just three matches and delivered four major trophies – a record that has no equal in the modern era of the game.
The transformation was gradual. Argentina finished third at the 2019 Copa América before Scaloni began building the cohesive, tactically disciplined unit that would eventually conquer the world.
The breakthrough came in July 2021 – Copa América glory in Brazil, ending a 28-year title drought and giving Messi the international trophy that had defined his entire career.
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From there the momentum never stopped. In 2022 came the Finalissima victory over Italy at Wembley before the crowning achievement – the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Argentina’s 4-2 penalty shootout victory over France in one of the greatest finals ever played gave the nation a third world title – their first since Maradona’s triumph in 1986. Messi scored seven goals and provided three assists throughout the tournament. Scaloni was named FIFA Best Coach of 2022.
The 2024 Copa América followed – Argentina defending their continental title in the United States with the same relentless efficiency that has defined the Scaloni era.
Now, as Argentina head to the 2026 World Cup on home soil, the question is no longer whether Scaloni is one of the great international coaches. It is whether this partnership with Messi can deliver one final chapter worth remembering.
Seven years. Three losses. Four trophies. The numbers speak for themselves.
Photo: Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
