Maximum alert for Messi and 'patatura' Scaloni

Pablo Aimar, Messi and Scaloni, in training this Friday. JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI (EFE)

As if the dramatic air that Argentina chews before risking its neck against Mexico (8:00 p.m., World Goal in Spain; 1:00 p.m. in Mexico and 4:00 p.m. in Argentina) was not enough, Friday marked two years since the death of Maradona.

If the myth appears at all hours of every day in the South American country, this time with even more devotion.

He was invoked with fervor in the run-up to a day that causes tremors in the Albiceleste before the abyss of a possible early elimination when it was taken for granted that the group stage would only be a simple halt.

"Let's hope to bring him joy if he looks at us from heaven," implored the coach, Lionel Scaloni, in the endless round of reminders.

Even an exhibition in a Doha airport hangar evoked Pelusa.

Qatar is preparing to live the first night of the tournament.

Since the blow against Saudi Arabia (1-2), the last few days around the Argentine team have passed in disbelief, frustration and a vote of confidence due to their previous good run (36 unbeaten games, including the Copa América title). ).

In an excessive country, even more so after an accident of this size, the truce granted from the environment has been significant.

Another skid, yes, would not receive the same response.

“This group will give everything, they are capable of getting up.

Let there never be any doubt of this.

A setback cannot tarnish the path, ”claimed the technician in the press room, where he did not stop sipping water to pass the public drink.

This test of character comes to a team with up to 19 rookies in a World Cup, a delicate detail with unpredictable effects.

Scaloni, the youngest coach at the event (44 years old), is not one of them, but almost.

He assisted from within the failure of Russia 2018 (they fell in the round of 16 against France) as Jorge Sampaoli's assistant and now he is in charge of directing the car through the gorge.

Despite a long short career (up to the age of 37) in upper-middle-class teams, his virginity is pronounced in these moments because his previous experience on the bench is reduced to assistant coach for Argentina and Sevilla, and coach of the sub-20 albiceleste;

and as a player he barely accumulated seven caps and only one in a World Cup (precisely, against the Aztecs in the round of 16 in 2006; he won 2-1 after extra time).

My best virtue was that I always went forward.

Now is what I need from my players

LIONEL SCALONI

His lack of flight hours placed him on the seasonal poster in 2018, although that did not prevent his shares from rising rapidly and he managed to lift a trophy.

So much so that before traveling to Doha he renewed until 2026;

that is, for two World Cups.

His revaluation, symbolized by that grace as Argentine as La

, has been as great as the challenge he faces this Saturday at the Lusail stadium, the same as the incident against Saudi Arabia.

“I always said that you had to be prepared for the coup, it was all rosy.

I am the first that was.

The issue is how you get up.

I was a kick when I played.

My best virtue was that I always went forward.

So now it is what I need from my players, what I want from them and after whatever has to happen, it will be positive, ”he launched 24 hours after the duel.

The good context that it generated around Messi, always a sensitive issue, was one of its guarantees to be considered as an option for the future.

After the crisis caused by the early elimination in 2018, he was able to seduce the star again and make him feel comfortable in the national team, despite the fact that the personal starting point between them was not perfect either.

Against Tata Martino

If the appointment could jeopardize the long-term project of the Pujato coach, another skid would almost certainly bury Messi's (35-year-old) World Cup career and leave him without the holy grail.

His statements in the mixed zone an hour after falling against Arabia claiming confidence helped the truce around the locker room take shape.

Accused too many times of lack of leadership, his departure in the midst of general bankruptcy was welcomed.

On the rival bench he will have Tata Martino, from Rosario like him, who trained him at Barça (2013-14) and in Argentina (2014-16), and who is also in need (he drew against Poland).

And, in case any symbolism was missing, this Saturday the PSG man will match Maradona's 21 World Cup matches.

Finding him on the field is one of the questions to be resolved compared to Tuesday, when there were more passes between central defenders and media than to connect with him.

Changes are expected in the eleven of a team that has not yet found the key to replace the injured Lo Celso, the player who closed a midfield at the service of La Pulga and, also, close to the star in the dressing room.

In a group with so many rookies in a World Cup, the night will also see battered people like Di María and Nicolás Otamendi (both 34 years old).

They are also in their last station.

Argentina has not fallen in a group stage since Korea and Japan 2002 and has not lost a first match since Italy 90 (1-0 against Cameroon).

Then, the anger of the coach Carlos Bilardo gave rise to one of his most remembered departures: he threatened the players with "throwing the plane" if they were eliminated in the first phase.

They reached the final (and lost it against Germany).

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