Scaloni bids farewell to Messi and looks to collective play to fill the void

Lionel Scaloni said farewell to Lionel Messi at the player’s international retirement night. The Argentina coach called him the greatest player in history and paid tribute to him in emotional terms. To address his absence, he pointed to one solution: playing well as a team.

“I never imagined in my life that I would coach the greatest football player in history. Coaching Messi was a dream come true,” Scaloni said at the press conference after the match. He also spoke of his sadness at the thought of not seeing Messi again, describing the thoughts going through his mind and the legacy the player had left. “This story will continue, but he will remain irreplaceable.”

The coach acknowledged the challenge facing his team: “We now have to continue the journey without him. It will be difficult, because what we have experienced in recent years is not normal.” He nevertheless said that talented young players could help them meet the challenge, while conceding that it was not easy to make people understand how difficult the situation was.

Scaloni also stressed what makes Messi unique. “I have played with great players and seen many of them, but I have never seen anyone else do what he does. He is incomparable, he is one of a kind. The greatest player of all time has gone.” He said his teammates were nervous that day and wanted Leo to leave in the best possible way. Everyone, including the great players, looked at him in the same way and wished him all the best, he said, adding that everyone had been talking to him since Sunday.

On how to make up for the loss on the pitch, Scaloni was direct: “The only way to compensate for Messi’s absence is to play well collectively.” He acknowledged that the team no longer had a player able to change a match in an instant, even though it had very good players. New arrivals, he said, bring a fresh perspective and allow the team to play in broader ways; the group now has to integrate them and see how they work together. “Everyone has to contribute.”

In closing, Scaloni highlighted Messi’s legacy and said he had deserved the occasion. He also raised the possibility of continuing as coach if everything goes well.