Lionel Scaloni wins Best Coach
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, whose team won the World Cup in 2022, has won FIFA’s Best Men’s Coach award.
Lionel Scaloni took Argentina all the way to World Cup victory in 2022, for the first time in 36 years. It was a run of games that saw just one loss in 41 matches. For this, he won FIFA’s Best Men’s Coach award. Scaloni dedicated the award to his players, his staff, his family, and the Argentinian people. The other coaches he was up against were Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola.
Scaloni’s run with Argentina continues
Scaloni started as manager for Argentina in 2018 as the interim boss and had never coached before in his life, something he was criticized for by many.
“I’m convinced that we have potential and players good enough to wear the shirt,” Scaloni said back in 2018. “But we must make them understand that absolutely nothing comes ahead of playing for Argentina. There is no club in the world more important than this shirt. If players understand that, good. If they don’t, while I’m here, we won’t pick them.”
Now, Scaloni has managed Argentina captain Lionel Messi, guiding him and the Argentina national team to World Cup victory. Just hours before winning the Best Men’s Coach award, Scaloni was given a contract extension that will keep him as Argentina’s coach until 2026.
After a shocking opening loss to Saudi Arabia in the World Cup, Scaloni recovered nicely. In fact, in the World Cup, Argentina was only behind for 55 minutes the whole time they were in Qatar, in that first loss. Scaloni later led Argentina to victories over Mexico and Poland to win the round-of-16, then Australia, the Netherlands, and Croatia to reach the final, which was one of the most exciting World Cup finals in years. After going 3-3 with France, Argentina won 4-2 on penalties.
All in all, Argentina won 12 games, tied three, and lost only one. They kept ten clean sheets in 16 matches in 2022 and conceded just ten goals, three of which were in the World Cup final. They scored in all 16 games they played in 2022, ending the year with 41 goals - an average of 2.6 goals per game. Scaloni proved himself as head coach and now he’s here to stay.