Argentiniens Nationaltrainer Lionel Scaloni gewährte beim Trainerforum in Doha interessante Einblicke in einige der Details, die seinem Team bei der FIFA Fussball-WM 2022™ im vergangenen Jahr den dritten Titelgewinn ermöglichten. Unter anderem erläuterte er dem Forum, wie er mit seinem Team die 1:2-Auftaktniederlage gegen Saudiarabien überwand, wie wichtig Elfmeter sind und wie das Team die Stärken Lionel Messis bestmöglich zur Entfaltung brachte.

Einer der von Scaloni genannten Schlüsselaspekte war die Fähigkeit der Argentinier, ihr Spielsystem zu variieren. "Das ist nicht nur wichtig, sondern absolut entscheidend. Meine Spieler wissen, dass wir unser System jederzeit ändern können und dass wir nicht eindimensional sind", sagte er. "Am Ende ist es ganz ähnlich wie bei einer Partie Schach: Man versucht, den Gegner zu schwächen und zu verhindern, dass er einen selbst schwächt." Doch mehr als alles andere war für Argentinien die Motivation und die Atmosphäre in der Umkleidekabine der Schlüssel zur erfolgreichen WM. "Die taktischen Aspekte und die Strategie sind wichtige Komponenten, aber auch, dass jeder Spieler für den anderen spielt – das ist entscheidend", bekräftigte der Trainer.

Their character shone through in the quarter-final against Netherlands when Argentina lost a 2-0 lead late in the game but recovered to win on penalties. They won a second penalty shootout in the final against France to claim the trophy. “When we went around to see who wanted to take a penalty, we had two players too many. We always had players that wanted to take a penalty. Those are perhaps the toughest moments,” he said, adding that practicing penalties also helped. “When there are people behind the goal…and 80,000 in the stadium, it’s not the same as kicking while in training. But I think that it counts for something. You feel the ball, you feel the strike.” He described the final group stage match against Poland as Argentina’s most complete performance and said the opening defeat to Saudi Arabia proved to be a blessing in disguise. “I can say that losing that match was a positive thing because I think it also gave the team a new perspective. It was all to play for, and perhaps that forced us to change our approach…...The team and the squad as a whole showed that they were ready for anything.”

Lionel Scaloni explained to coaches and technical directors why Argentina were rarely exposed to counter-attacks. “We believe strongly in recovering the ball within the first three, four or five seconds after losing possession. If we can’t win the ball back, we move into midfield and wait. We never suffered many counter-attacks due to our team’s [defensive] work and keeping the opposition wingers in check. So, for us, when we prepare how to attack, we also prepare for how the opposition will look to counter-attack, and we didn’t suffer many of those.” Getting the best out of Lionel Messi was another key point. “I think is important, to realise what a player like him needs. In the first few months with the national team we tried to play a bit faster, a bit more direct and noticed he wasn’t comfortable and his teammates weren’t comfortable, so I think one of our merits, of all of us, the squad as a whole, was having found those players who could let him play his football.” Modern preparation meant that more experienced players could now play a month-long tournament without problems: “Nowadays, a 35 year old player is like a 29 or 30 year old, in the old days. Players take care of themselves much more and they spend 24 hours a day thinking about football. I think a player at that age in football today is able to play at a high level, including seven matches in a row, as many have demonstrated.”

Schließlich sprach er auch noch die Emotionen an, die er beim Gewinn der wichtigsten Trophäe im Weltfussball empfand. Nach dem Schlusspfiff ging der Trainer zur Bank und setzte sich allein dorthin, um den Moment zu genießen.

"Ich blieb dort ungefähr 30 Sekunden sitzen und sah zu, wie die Spieler und der ganze Betreuerstab jubelten. Ich bin immer noch ganz ergriffen. Das war ein wirklich einzigartiger Moment. Das ist einfach unbezahlbar … Sie alle so jubeln und feiern zu sehen, war für mich einer der schönsten Momente, seit ich Fussball spiele und seit ich Trainer bin. Absolut und zweifellos. An diese 30 Sekunden werde ich mein ganzes Leben lang gern erinnern."