Ángel Di María and Paulo Dybala could be left out of Qatar 2022 1:11
(CNN Spanish)
- The Argentine team arrives in Qatar as one of the favorites thanks to a long streak of games without losing and a team that was gaining in security and quality of play.
But also in their own identity.
Netherlands - Argentina in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar 2022, live
"La Scaloneta", as the team whose captain is Lionel Messi is popularly known, has become one of the teams with its own nickname, and in this case it is one in honor of its technical director, Lionel Scaloni.
How has Scaloni fared as Argentina coach?
What has he gained and what has he achieved?
But how did this particular nickname come about?
It was during the Copa América, in which Argentina became champion after 28 years without winning titles, and it was also thanks to the ingenuity and creativity of thousands of people on social networks.
But there is something else that explains the choice of the fans and that has to do with a trend not so far away in Argentine soccer for which the suffix "
eta
" is added next to the name of the coach for successful teams or those that win titles.
Thus, the word contains the idea of a vehicle to get on, in reference to the support of his followers.
Messi thinks about his fifth and, perhaps, last World Cup 1:01
Although there is controversy among fans about which was the first team to be named in that way, some say it was "la Vitroleta", with the River Plate reserve led by Jorge 'Vitrola' Ghiso;
while others speak of "la Gallardeta", for the period of Marcelo Gallardo in the same team.
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Everything indicates that the furor for calling the Argentine National Team "la Scaloneta" began after beating Ecuador 3 goals against 0 in the quarterfinals of the Copa América 2021. The illusion resulting from that crucial victory on the way to the The consecration of the team triggered the creativity of millions of users who flooded social networks with memes and jokes of all kinds.
Currently, it is a widely accepted nickname in Argentina and also outside of it for one of the most exciting teams for the World Cup in Qatar.
Lionel Scaloni (Photo Telam)
Even technical director Lionel Scaloni accepts the nickname, although he admits that it makes him a little uncomfortable.
"Honestly, it makes me uncomfortable. But I can't do much, just thank the people for their love for the team. If people like it, they have a good time with the team, that's fine. But the truth is that it makes me uncomfortable," said the coach at a press conference during the Qualifiers games.
ArgentinaLionel ScaloniWorld Cup Qatar 2022Argentina National Team