October 2009 at the San Siro stadium. Inter Milan are trailing Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 in the Champions Leagu group stage when Walter Samuel positions himself on the edge of the six-yard box to meet a corner from Wesley Sneijder. He glances it across the goal and inside the far post to equalise. The game ends 2-2 and Inter go on to lift the trophy at the end of the season.
Fast forward nearly 17 years and in the quarter-finals of the . Alexis Mac Allister positions himself on the edge of the six-yard box to meet a corner from Lionel Messi. He glances it across the goal and inside the far post to give his side the lead. On the sidelines is none other than Samuel, who celebrates the goal with head coach Lionel Scaloni.
Mac Allister’s goal helped Argentina book their place in Wednesday’s semi-final against England in Atlanta, the first meeting between the two fierce rivals in 21 years. Samuel played in their last encounter, a 2005 friendly in Switzerland which England won 3-2 with a last-gasp header from Michael Owen.
Mac Allister’s header against Switzerland was the third goal Argentina have scored from a corner in this World Cup, the joint-highest along with England and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two of them came in one match against Cabo Verde, the first a strike from Lisandro Martinez and the second a header from Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero that led to an own goal.
“We wanted to celebrate with him because he has worked hard on that routine,” Scaloni explained after Argentina’s victory over Switzerland. “He kept insisting that Messi cross to him in that near-post area. In the previous game we tried it a couple of times. Credit to him [Samuel] because he has been working so hard and not just on set pieces.
“He has been [working on dead-ball routines] for a while and it’s only right that we recognise that. At the end of the day, when it comes to set pieces it’s not about being big and tall. Alexis may not be tall but he’s very good in the air. We know our virtues and we have people who can put the ball where we tell them to.”
Adding in Giovani Lo Celso and Messi’s strikes with direct free-kicks in the final group stage game against Jordan, Argentina have five goals from set-pieces, the most at a World Cup since records began in 1966. Romero and Enzo Fernandez also scored with headers, both in the, albeit from open play. Argentina’s aerial threat is all the more impressive considering they have the third shortest squad on average in the World Cup (behind Saudi Arabia and South Africa).
At last, Samuel’s work behind the scenes is paying off. Argentina are also bearing the fruits of having ferocious centre-backs such as Romero, Martinez and Nicolas Otamendi. The trio are merely following in the footsteps of Samuel, who was nicknamed ‘The Wall’ when he was a player, gracing the dressing rooms of Newell’s Old Boys, Boca Juniors, Roma, Real Madrid, Inter and Basel.
“He is an extraordinary assistant coach,” said Hugo Tocalli, Argentina’s assistant coach under Jose Luis Pekerman and the father of Argentina goalkeeping coach Martin Tocalli. “Walter understands football very well, he doesn’t say very much but when he speaks it’s worth listening to him. The players listen to him and speak well of him.”
An Argentina international on 58 occasions, Samuel was assistant coach to Pierluigi Tami at Swiss side Lugano between 2017 and 2018 before joining Scaloni’s Argentina coaching staff. At the start of the tournament, Samuel told Swiss newspaper Le Temps: “Set pieces are becoming more and more important. Argentina is not a team that is physically strong but our strength resides in our concentration levels, our aggression and our communication. It’s also crucial to have a goalkeeper who comes out and dominates his area. If we can keep doing all that, it will make the difference.”
During games Samuel gives key instructions to the players. And when Scaloni calls a substitute over, it is Samuel, with a pen in his hand, who approaches him with a notebook of pre-prepared instructions. In an interview with the Argentine FA in 2025, Samuel revealed one of the messages he had relayed to the players: “Don’t let the others live with you have lived. Don’t let anyone else win a trophy which you can win.”
They must have been listening intently, because Argentina are now two games away from successfully retaining the World Cup. And next up is none other than old rivals England.
Sources: FIFA Official
