Sadness and gratitude. The pain of a final lost, and an enduring appreciation for his players. Those were the emotions Lionel Scaloni turned to after in the final of the , a result that crowned La Roja world champions for the second time.
“[I feel] sadness, but also pride in knowing that we gave everything. There's a lot I could say about how we got this far, but now is not the time. I will be eternally grateful to these players for giving us another World Cup final and for competing until the very end. Spain were the better side; that is the truth,” said the Argentina coach shortly after the final whistle, while he still had the strength to speak.
“I'll always cherish what they've done and what it means to have come this far. We have to value that enormously because it's incredibly difficult. We know how to win, and we have to know how to lose as well. Today we showed that. We lost the match and we need to accept it. But that doesn't mean we'll just forget everything we did to get here,” he added.
Still out on the pitch, he concluded, “I want to thank the fans, my players and the country, and tell them that we gave everything. The reality is that we came into the match with our hands tied. But when players give everything the way they did today, they set a great example for our people and our country. And above all, when you lose, you have no choice but to pick yourself up and go again.”
There was even more emotion to come later on. Scaloni managed to speak for several minutes before being overcome by tears and finding himself unable to continue. He spoke proudly of Argentina’s journey since Qatar and said he would take time to consider his future as national team head coach.
At the start of the press conference, Scaloni reflected on the match and the difficulties Argentina had faced against Spain, from players reaching the final on the limit physically to several injury issues and Enzo Fernandez's sending-off.
“We had to replace three of the four defenders. That's not an excuse, but the physical toll has been enormous. These players arrived in the best shape possible and made one last effort, but against a team like that, if you are not at your peak, you can pay the price. But if there was one team capable of staying in the game until the end, it was us.”
As his media duties drew to a close, Scaloni was asked whether this had been Lionel Messi's final appearance for Argentina and about his own future, with his contract running until December.
“The truth is I haven’t spoken to Leo,” said Scaloni. “As for me, I'm going to speak to the president [of the AFA, Claudio Tapia]. I've got a rough idea of what I want to do. I'll see out my contract and then we'll see. Honestly, I feel I need time to think as well because I don't know if we will ever be able to do something this big again... something everyone dreamed of.”
At that point, his voice began to falter. Scaloni rubbed his eyes, thumped the table and was met with applause. He managed to continue, but by then his eyes were filled with tears.
“We tried right until the end to give everything as a coaching staff, and the players did the same. I think it's only fair that I take some time to think about it. This place is wonderful, simply wonderful. It's a dream to be here. Not in my wildest dreams did I or any of us in the coaching staff think we would be here,” he said, struggling to finish each sentence through tears.
“So you need a lot of things. You have to reset and build a group like this again,” he admitted. “Recreating something like this is a huge task and it hurts. It hurts deeply. I'm sorry.”
With that, he stood up and left, accompanied by applause that echoed around the room and far beyond.
Sources: FIFA Official
