Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni, captain Lionel Messi and goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez met with the media on Friday in New York City, two days ahead of Argentina’s second consecutive World Cup final appearance.
Few considered Argentina – who are built around an aging core and led by a 39-year-old talisman – to make it this far. Yet the team has put together a string of heart-stopping, chaotic performances, capped off by a memorable and unexpected semi-final win over England, to set a date with Spain on Sunday.
In Spain, El Albiceleste will face a team that is in some ways the anti-Argentina. There is very little chaos in their style of play, which is centered around possession and a tightly organized defensive setup that rarely errs. If Argentina’s path to the final has been pure chaos, Spain’s has been the polar opposite, almost entirely devoid of chaos and a bit boring.
Yet Scaloni does not delude himself. In Spain, the Argentines will face their tallest test yet, a team that made tidy work of the World Cup favorites in the semi-finals.
“If Spain leaves the hotel, I am already concerned,” said Scaloni. “Once they are on the bus and they leave the hotel, I am concerned. They are a great team. Everything concerns me about Spain.”
Argentina are of course defending World Cup champions, with Spain having last won the tournament in 2010. Spain have no players who have ever appeared in a final, while Argentina have more than a few. Scaloni does not feel like Argentina’s recent experience gives them any edge over a Spain team that has also played their share of massive games.
“They also have players who have played in globally big stages,” said Scaloni. “And they are top players for their teams. So when it comes to pressure, when the ball starts roling, players forget about this and they just focus on playing. They played a Euro final and a Nations League final. They also have a great deal of experience. I don’t think being in a final again plays in our favor.”
Spain, along with England and France, were widely expected to arrive at the final. Argentina remain a dominant side, but perhaps they haven’t faced the same weight of expectation that those other teams have. Argentina’s path to the final has been chaotic, yes, and extremely emotional – Scaloni has cried in every match they’ve played, it seems – but there has been a carefree element to them as well, something Scaloni, Martinez and Messi all touched on on Friday.
“The best thing we have is that we’ve grown up in rough places playing ball,” said Scaloni. “Playing soccer and not thinking about what other people say. The pressure stays to the side, it’s not worth worrying about … [On Sunday, we ned to] do what we’ve done since the beginning, just play ball and don’t even think about what could happen.”
“What he said,” added Messi. “We grew up playing football with a lot of passion and with a lot of desire, all the time, wherever - in the school, the street, we played with little teams in our neighborhoods. We never thought of pressure. It always felt natural, the act of playing, of competing. This is a team sport, the rival always plays as well and you can’t always win. But since we were little, I learned that you lose more than you win. That made me grow a lot as a person and player.”
Win or lose, Sunday may prove to be Messi’s final game in an Argentina shirt. Martinez and Scaloni were both asked about his legacy and what he must be feeling at the moment, as they have been all tournament. Scaloni batted away a reporter’s question – “Ask Leo,” he said – before acknowledging the significance of this finale.
“He is pure history,” said Scaloni. “A legend. Reaching a final at 39 years of age is unbelievable. We must enjoy him as it happens. With Diego [Maradona], we miss him. But Messi is still with us. He is the history, he is the legend, and together with this group of people who have brought us these wonderful years, we’ll always remember him.”
