Johnny

🚨 Lionel Scaloni on Messi’s final game for Argentina: 🎙️ “A lot of people might say that I won the World Cup and Copa América for Messi, but I think it was actually the other way around. Messi won them for me. Before I was appointed, there were several names being considered for the job. Leo had some influence in that decision, and from all the names that were mentioned, he really wanted me to become the manager. I honestly didn’t know what he saw in me or why he had that much confidence in me. I wasn’t even completely sure myself, but I accepted the job and, fortunately, we were able to make history together. When I was a player with the national team, I saw how Messi was being used and what was expected of him. That helped me a lot when I became a coach because I understood what he needed. At that time, Leo was expected to do everything. He had to score, create, build the game and even defend. But if you ask him to do all of those things, you’re not going to get the best out of him. So I felt we had to give him a different role. We relieved him of some defensive responsibilities and allowed the other players to work a little harder for him. It wasn’t always easy, but they understood that if we wanted the best Messi, we had to give him that freedom. And the players were always willing to do it for him. They knew what he could give us when he had the freedom to play. Those years were incredible. We won the trophies we had been chasing for so long, and seeing Leo play at that level was something special. But everything has an end. When a player like Messi leaves, you know there will be a huge void. A player of his quality is not easy to replace, and it takes time to get used to not having him there. Personally, I feel very fortunate. I had the privilege of playing with him and then coaching him. Not many people can say that. It’s something I will always be grateful for.”