It's cold in Mallorca, but that doesn't stop the world champion coach from getting on his bike and going out for a while.
This is how Lionel Scaloni
walks
, enjoying the break after realizing the greatest satisfaction of his career by winning the
Qatar 2022 World Cup
in command
of
Lionel Messi 's
Argentine National Team
.
The man born in
Pujato
spends these first days of January with his wife and his children in Spain, where he lives.
There he continues to assimilate everything he experienced on Arab soil a little over a month ago.
And at the same time he is already looking to the future because shortly he will get back on the plane to return to the country and meet with
Claudio Tapia
, president of the AFA, to
resolve his continuity at the head of the team.
What is missing for Scaloni and Chiqui to shake hands?
The head honcho of Argentine soccer already knows from the coach's mouth that
his intention is to continue with this project
.
Beyond having been crowned with glory and having reached the highest goal in just four years, added to the
Copa América
and
Finalissima titles
, DT thinks that there is still a long way to go with
this group of players who have already asked him to join
will
remain
And he also has a list of young footballers in his folder (some he has already cited) to start training for
2026
.
Claudio Chiqui Tapia kept his promise and brought the World Cup to the sanctuary of the Difunta Correa, in San Juan.
Photo: AFA
The National Team is the ideal job for Scaloni
, he is very comfortable in the position.
He recently said it in an interview given to Cadena COPE, a Spanish radio:
"I am fine where I am. I will continue training. Being in the National Team allows me to be at home, with my family, to see my children grow. The time will come to manage a club"
.
Between this weekend and the beginning of next week, the world champion DT will fly to Argentina and the first thing he will do is meet face to face with Tapia.
"I hope to sit down with Chiqui and see if we reach the agreement we want. That's the idea. I don't know the day I'm going to travel. I'm with the family and enjoying these days. I have the best relationship with the president of the AFA. I appreciate the opportunity he gave me to be in charge of the National Team. When I go, we will announce what has to be"
, he said.
In that meeting, which will take place at the
Ezeiza property
, they will finish polishing the economic issues, which are the ones that still need to be resolved.
Scaloni wants an improvement in the numbers for him and for his entire coaching staff
, who after the coronation in Doha lost two members:
Rodrigo Barrios
, an alternate physical trainer who went to Johor in Malaysia;
and
Damián Albil
, second goalkeeper coach who joined Independiente de Avellaneda.
Lionel Scaloni and his wife Elisa, after the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup
The albiceleste coach wants to keep his working group, since
it is essential for him to continue planning
.
As Clarín
learned
, from the AFA they agree with this and, if there are no problems, they
will fix the numbers and the renewal will be announced
until the World Cup in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
At the same time,
Scaloni will begin to diagram the next movements of the Selection
.
The first commitments will be friendly to celebrate the third star in the country.
A game will be played on the River field and another in a stadium to be confirmed (it could be in La Plata or in the interior), both duels with rivals to be defined.
Of course,
the intention of the coaching staff is to call the 26 champions and add those who were left out due to injury
, but are part of the group.