Lionel Sebastián Scaloni (; born 16 May 1978) is an Argentine professional

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

and former player who currently coaches the Argentina national team. A versatile player, he operated as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

right midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Born in Pujato, Santa Fe, Scaloni debuted as a player for

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

in 1995. He spent most of his professional career in Spain, mainly at

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...

, with whom he won the 1999–2000 Spanish league title and the

2001–02 Copa del Rey The 2001–02 Copa del Rey was the 100th staging of the Copa del Rey. The competition started on 6 September 2001 and concluded on 6 March 2002 with the final, held at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, in which Deportivo de La Coruña ...

; in total, he amassed 258 games and 15 goals over 12 seasons in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

with three different teams. He also played several years in Italy, with

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

, before retiring in 2015. Internationally, Scaloni played for Argentina at under-20 level, and made his debut for the senior team in 2003; he won seven caps for the team between 2003 and 2006, and was part of their

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

squad. After his playing career, he became a manager in 2016, starting as an assistant manager at

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

and Argentina under-20 team. In 2018, he was named as the outright manager of the under-20 team, and was chosen to lead the Argentina senior team later that year. With the senior team, he guided them to third place at his first international tournament, the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and ...

, in Brazil. Winning the 2021 Copa América, Scaloni became the first Argentina manager in 28 years to win the tournament with the team; the success continued with a victory over the reigning European champions,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, in 2022 Finalissima. Thereafter, Scaloni-led national team won their third World Cup title, the first since 1986, in 2022 in Qatar.

Playing career

Club

Early years and Deportivo

Born in the small town of Pujato in

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre R� ...

, with Italian origins from Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Scaloni began his career in the Argentine Primera División with local club

and then Estudiantes de La Plata, before joining Spain's

in December 1997 for 405 million pesetas. Regularly used with the

Galicians Galicians ( gl, galegos, es, gallegos, link=no) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group from Spain that is closely related to the Portuguese people and has its historic homeland is Galicia, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Two Romance la ...

over an eight-and-a-half-year stint, he competed with Manuel Pablo and Víctor for both starting spots on the right flank. Due to a knee injury, he appeared in only 14

matches as ''Depor'' won the title for the first time. After falling out with manager

Joaquín Caparrós Joaquín de Jesús Caparrós Camino (born 15 October 1955) is a Spanish football manager. After winning the Segunda División with Sevilla in 2001, Caparrós was a regular on the La Liga sidelines for the best part of two decades. He coached ...

, Scaloni joined

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

on loan on 31 January 2006, the final day of the

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

, in an attempt to increase his chance of selection for the upcoming World Cup. He took the number 2 shirt from the departed

Tomáš Řepka Tomáš Řepka (born 2 January 1974) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a defender for Baník Ostrava, Sparta Prague, Fiorentina, West Ham United and České Budějovice, and the Czech national team. Currently, Řepka is p ...

, and made his league debut for the East Londoners against Sunderland, on 4 February; he also helped the team to reach the FA Cup final, a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

loss to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Racing Santander

Scaloni left West Ham after a permanent move could not be agreed. Deportivo released him on 1 September 2006 alongside Diego Tristán, one day after the close of the summer

. However, due to the fact there were no limitations for free agents, two weeks later Scaloni signed a one-year contract at

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league syst ...

, The

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

ns subsequently finished in mid table. He appeared – and started – in both games against his former club, both ending in 0–0 draws.

Italy

On 30 June 2007, Scaloni moved to S.S. Lazio in Italy's

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

on a five-year deal. In January of the following year he returned to Spain, on loan to RCD Mallorca for 18 months; subsequently, he returned to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he was rarely used for the following three seasons. At age 35, Scaloni joined

Atalanta B.C. Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. The club plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B in 2010–11. Atalanta was founded in 1907 by Lice ...

in January 2013. He was released at the end of the campaign, but re-signed after failing to find a new club.

International

After making his debut for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

on 30 April 2003 in a friendly game with

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, Scaloni was a surprise selection for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

, taking the place of veteran Javier Zanetti who also played as a right wing-back. His only appearance of the tournament was the 2–1 extra time win against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the round of 16, on 24 June 2006 at the

Zentralstadion Red Bull Arena (; formerly Zentralstadion ), is a football facility located in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It is the largest football stadium in the former East Germany and has also hosted music concerts as well as football. Opened in 2004, it is ...

, which he started and finished.

Coaching career

On 11 October 2016, Scaloni joined compatriot

Jorge Sampaoli Jorge Luis Sampaoli Moya (; born 13 March 1960) is an Argentine football coach who is currently manager for Sevilla of La Liga. Sampaoli started out as a youth player and eventually switched to management after a severe injury. Sampaoli starte ...

's coaching staff at

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA E ...

. In June 2017, when the latter was appointed as the new national team boss, he was again named his assistant. One year later, after the country's failure at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in Russia, Scaloni and

Pablo Aimar Pablo César Aimar (born 3 November 1979) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current assistant coach of the Argentina national team. Aimar played as an attacking midfielder. After starting his senior career at River Plate in 1 ...

were named caretaker managers until the end of the year. In November 2018, the former was confirmed in the post until the following June when the

was due to take place, despite widespread opposition against him at the time. He led the side to third place in Brazil. Scaloni led Argentina to the 2021 Copa América title after defeating

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

who were once again the hosts (1–0), helping them to win their first trophy in 28 years. In November that year, he was nominated for The Best FIFA Football Coach Award, but did not make the final three shortlist. On 1 June 2022, Scaloni's Argentina won the 2022 Finalissima after defeating

3–0 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

. On 22 November, his side lost 2–1 to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

in their opening group stage match of the World Cup in Qatar; the result was considered statistically the greatest upset in the history of the tournament. Nevertheless, they made it into the knockout stages after recording wins over

(2–0) and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(also 2–0). Argentina then overcame Australia (2–1) in the round of 16, and advanced over the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the quarter-finals with a penalty shoot-out victory, following which Scaloni defended his team after controversy surrounding the fights and tension between Argentine and Dutch players during the ill-tempered shoot-out. After beating

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

3–0 in the semi-finals, the nation reached

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

for the second time in eight years. He then led Argentina to their third FIFA World Cup title in the final against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, with the Argentine team winning via a 4–2 penalty shoot-out after the match had ended in 3–3 after extra time. The unexpected triumph meant Lionel Scaloni has become the youngest manager since 1978, and the second youngest manager to win the World Cup, which, ironically, were both achieved by Argentine compatriot

César Luis Menotti César Luis Menotti (; born 5 November 1938), known as ''El Flaco'' ("Slim"), is an Argentine former football manager and player who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as the head coach of the Argentina national team. During his playing days, he pl ...

Personal life

Scaloni's older brother, Mauro, who also played at Deportivo, but never made it beyond its

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

. He and his wife Elisa Montero have two sons, Ian and Noah. In April 2019, Scaloni was run over while cycling in

Calvià Calvià () is a municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is located in the southwestern part of the island of Majorca, between the Serra de Tramuntana and the Serra de Na Burguesa ...

. Some media initially reported him to be in serious condition, but he was discharged a few hours later.

Career statistics

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Deportivo *

: 1999–2000 *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

: 2001–02 * Supercopa de España:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2002 West Ham *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

runner-up: 2005–06 Argentina *

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Manager

Argentina *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

* Copa América:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

; third place:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scaloni, Lionel 1978 births Living people Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine footballers Footballers from Santa Fe, Argentina Association football defenders Association football midfielders Argentine Primera División players Newell's Old Boys footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers La Liga players Deportivo de La Coruña players Racing de Santander players RCD Mallorca players Premier League players West Ham United F.C. players Serie A players S.S. Lazio players Atalanta B.C. players FA Cup Final players Argentina under-20 international footballers Argentina international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine football managers Argentina national under-20 football team managers Argentina national football team managers 2019 Copa América managers 2021 Copa América managers 2022 FIFA World Cup managers FIFA World Cup-winning managers

Playing career

Club

Early years and Deportivo

Racing Santander

Italy

International

Coaching career

Personal life

Career statistics

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Manager

See also

References

External links