Lionel Scaloni

Lionel Scaloni
Scaloni as manager of Argentina in 2022
Personal information
Full name Lionel Sebastián Scaloni[1]
Date of birth (1978-05-16) 16 May 1978 (age 46)[2]
Place of birth Pujato, Santa Fe, Argentina
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back, right midfielder
Team information
Current team
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)
2006West Ham United (loan) 13 (0)
2006–2007 Racing Santander 30 (1)
2007–2013 Lazio 52 (1)
2008–2009Mallorca (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
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Argentina (as player)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Winner 1997 Team
Representing  Argentina (as manager)
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2022
Copa América
Winner 2021
Winner 2024
Third place 2019
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
Winner 2022
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lionel Sebastián Scaloni (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel eskaˈloni],[3] Rioplatense[ehkaˈloni];[citation needed] born 16 May 1978) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of the Argentina national team. Under his leadership, Argentina achieved the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Scaloni is regarded as one of the best men’s national coaches in the world.[4][5][6] A versatile player, he operated as a right-back or right midfielder.

Born in Pujato, Santa Fe, Scaloni debuted as a player for Newell's Old Boys in 1995. He spent most of his professional career in Spain, mainly at Deportivo de La Coruña, where he won the 1999–2000 Spanish league title and the 2001–02 Copa del Rey. In total, he amassed 258 games and 15 goals over 12 seasons in La Liga with three different teams. He also played for several years in Italy, with Lazio and Atalanta, before retiring in 2015. Internationally, he 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 squad.

Scaloni became a manager in 2016, starting as an assistant at Sevilla and Argentina's under-20 team. In 2018, he was named 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, in Brazil. He won the 2021 edition, Argentina’s first such honour in 28 years, and then beat Italy in the 2022 Finalissima. Thereafter, the Scaloni-led national team won their third World Cup title, the first since 1986, in 2022 in Qatar. He also went on to win the 2024 Copa América as the Argentina manager, making it three consecutive tournaments won with the national team.

  1. ^ "Squad List: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Argentina (ARG)" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 1. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  3. ^ cf. Spanish phonology#Epenthesis
  4. ^ https://www.fifa.com/en/articles/scaloni-honoured-with-best-fifa-mens-coach-award-ancelotti-guardiola Scaloni honoured with Best FIFA Men's Coach award. FIFA.com, 27 February 2023.
  5. ^ "IFFHS AWARDS 2022 - MEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL COACH". IFFHS. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  6. ^ "IFFHS AWARDS 2023 - MEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL COACH". IFFHS. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.