Lionel Scaloni facts for kids
Scaloni as manager of Argentina in 2022
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| Full name | Lionel Sebastián Scaloni | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 May 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pujato, Santa Fe, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right-back, right midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Argentina (manager) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Newell's Old Boys | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Estudiantes | 37 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2006 | Deportivo La Coruña | 200 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | → West Ham United (loan) | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Racing Santander | 30 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2013 | Lazio | 52 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | → Mallorca (loan) | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Atalanta | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 387 | (23) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Argentina U20 | 7 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Argentina | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Sevilla (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Argentina (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Argentina U20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018– | Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lionel Sebastián Scaloni, born on May 16, 1978, is a famous Argentine football manager. He used to be a professional football player himself. Today, he is the coach of the Argentina national team. Under his guidance, Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Many people think Scaloni is one of the best national team coaches in the world. When he played, he was a flexible player, often playing as a right-back or a right midfielder.
Scaloni was born in Pujato, Santa Fe, Argentina. He started his playing career in 1995 with Newell's Old Boys. He spent most of his time playing in Spain, especially for Deportivo de La Coruña. There, he helped his team win the Spanish league title in 2000 and the Copa del Rey in 2002. Overall, he played 258 games and scored 15 goals in 12 seasons in La Liga with three different teams. He also played for several years in Italy for Lazio and Atalanta. He stopped playing professionally in 2015.
For his country, Scaloni played for Argentina's under-20 team. He then joined the senior national team in 2003. He played seven games for Argentina between 2003 and 2006. He was also part of their team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Scaloni started his coaching career in 2016. He worked as an assistant coach for Sevilla and Argentina's under-20 team. In 2018, he became the main coach for the under-20 team. Later that year, he was chosen to lead the Argentina senior team. With the senior team, he led them to third place in his first big tournament, the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. He then won the 2021 Copa América, which was Argentina's first major trophy in 28 years. After that, his team beat Italy in the 2022 Finalissima. In 2022, Scaloni led Argentina to win their third FIFA World Cup title in Qatar. This was their first World Cup win since 1986. He also won the 2024 Copa América as Argentina's manager. This made it three major tournaments won in a row with the national team.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Club Football Journey
Early Days and Success in Spain
Lionel Scaloni was born in a small town called Pujato in Santa Fe Province, Argentina. His family also has roots in Italy. He started his football journey in Argentina with clubs like Newell's Old Boys and Estudiantes de La Plata. In December 1997, he moved to Spain to play for Deportivo de La Coruña.
He played regularly for Deportivo for eight and a half years. He often competed for a starting spot on the right side of the field. In 2000, even though he had a knee injury and played only 14 games, Deportivo won the Spanish league title for the first time ever.
Later, Scaloni had some disagreements with his coach, Joaquín Caparrós. To get more playing time and a chance to be selected for the upcoming World Cup, he joined Premier League team West Ham United in England on loan in January 2006. He helped West Ham reach the FA Cup final, where they lost to Liverpool in a penalty shootout.
Time with Racing Santander
After his loan at West Ham ended, Scaloni left the club. He then signed a one-year contract with Racing de Santander in Spain in September 2006. His new team finished in the middle of the league table that season. He played in both games against his old club, Deportivo, which both ended in 0–0 draws.
Playing in Italy
On June 30, 2007, Scaloni moved to Italy to play for S.S. Lazio in Serie A. He signed a five-year deal. In January 2008, he went back to Spain on loan to RCD Mallorca for 18 months. After that, he returned to Lazio but did not play much for the next three seasons.
When he was 35, Scaloni joined Atalanta B.C. in January 2013. He left the club at the end of that season but rejoined them later when he couldn't find another team.
International Appearances
Scaloni played his first game for the Argentina national team on April 30, 2003, in a friendly match against Libya. He was a surprise choice for the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. He took the place of a more experienced player, Javier Zanetti. Scaloni played only one game in the tournament. This was the 2–1 extra-time win against Mexico in the round of 16. He played the entire match.
Coaching Career
Starting as an Assistant
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On October 11, 2016, Scaloni joined the coaching staff of Sevilla in Spain. He worked with his fellow Argentine, Jorge Sampaoli. The next year, in June, Sampaoli became the new coach for the Argentina national team. Scaloni was again named as his assistant.
Leading Argentina
After Argentina did not perform well at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Sampaoli left his job as manager. Scaloni and Pablo Aimar were then chosen to be temporary coaches until the end of the year. In November 2018, Scaloni was confirmed as the main coach until June of the next year, when the 2019 Copa América was scheduled.
This decision caused some people to criticize the choice. Even famous footballer Diego Maradona said that Scaloni was "unqualified" and too inexperienced for the job. Some felt it was wrong to appoint him without asking other experienced managers.
In the 2019 Copa América, Scaloni led Argentina to third place in Brazil. However, the team struggled to play as well as fans hoped. This led to more criticism about Scaloni's appointment. Despite calls for him to be fired, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) decided to extend his contract until 2022. They felt that a third-place finish was acceptable.
Scaloni then led Argentina to win the 2021 Copa América title. They beat Brazil 1–0 in the final. This was Argentina's first major trophy in 28 years. In November of that year, he was nominated for the Best FIFA Football Coach Award.
On June 1, 2022, Scaloni's Argentina team won the 2022 Finalissima. They defeated the European champions Italy 3–0 at Wembley Stadium. On November 16, Argentina beat the United Arab Emirates 5–0 in a friendly game. This extended their unbeaten streak to 36 matches, just one short of Italy's record of 37.
On November 22, Scaloni's team lost 2–1 to Saudi Arabia in their first group stage match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This ended their 36-match unbeaten run. Despite this, they made it to the knockout stages by winning against Mexico (2–0) and Poland (2–0). Argentina then beat Australia (2–1) in the round of 16. They advanced past the Netherlands in the quarter-finals after winning a penalty shootout. Scaloni defended his team after some arguments between Argentine and Dutch players during the intense shootout. After beating Croatia 3–0 in the semi-finals, Argentina reached the final for the second time in eight years.
He then led Argentina to win their third FIFA World Cup title in the final against France. The Argentine team won 4–2 in a penalty shootout after the match ended 3–3 after extra time.
Scaloni's success in leading Argentina to victory was a big surprise. This was because many people had opposed his appointment in 2018. He became the youngest manager to win the World Cup since 1978. He was also the fourth youngest manager overall to win it. This was a big achievement for a coach who was thought to be too inexperienced. Scaloni was recognized as the best men's national coach in the world in 2022 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). He also received The Best FIFA Men's Coach award for 2022. After the World Cup win, Scaloni signed a new contract on February 27, 2023. This keeps him as Argentina manager until the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Almost a year after the World Cup victory, on November 21, Scaloni led Argentina to a 1–0 win against Brazil at the Maracanã Stadium. This was Brazil's first home defeat ever in World Cup qualification games. He later guided his country to their record 16th title in the 2024 Copa América tournament. They defeated Colombia 1–0 after extra time in the final. Lautaro Martínez scored the winning goal in the 112th minute. He was assisted by Leandro Paredes and Giovani Lo Celso, all three of whom Scaloni had brought into the game as substitutes in the 97th minute. The coach was praised for his smart substitutions.
Coaching Style
Scaloni is considered one of the best national team coaches in the world. This is because of his great success with the Argentina national team.
Scaloni has said that Carlo Ancelotti is the coach he admires the most. He tries to use a similar coaching style with Argentina.
During his time as Argentina's coach, the national media gave the team a nickname: 'Scaloneta'.
Scaloni has created a coaching approach for Argentina that focuses on bringing players together. He builds strong team bonds and makes sure everyone communicates clearly. This helps each player understand their role and importance within the team.
Personal Life
Lionel Scaloni has both Argentine and Italian citizenship.
His older brother, Mauro, also played football for Deportivo. However, he only played for their reserve team. Lionel Scaloni and his wife, Elisa Montero, have two sons.
In April 2019, Scaloni was in a cycling accident in Calvià, Majorca. Some news reports first said he was seriously hurt. However, he was released from the hospital just a few hours later.
Honours and Awards
As a Player
Deportivo La Coruña
- La Liga: 1999–2000
- Copa del Rey: 2001–02
- Supercopa de España: 2000, 2002
West Ham United
- FA Cup runner-up: 2005–06
Argentina U20
As a Manager
Argentina U20
- 2018 COTIF Tournament
Argentina
- FIFA World Cup: 2022
- Copa América: 2021, 2024
- CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions: 2022
Individual Awards
- IFFHS Men's World's Best National Coach: 2022, 2023
- The Best FIFA Men's Coach: 2022
- South American Coach of the Year: 2022
- Panchina d'Oro: 2023
Images for kids
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Scaloni as a Deportivo player
See also
In Spanish: Lionel Scaloni para niños
