Lionel Scaloni will continue as Argentina coach until 2030, as confirmed on Thursday by the coach himself and Claudio Tapia, the president of the Argentine Football Federation.
"I want to thank the president and the AFA for all the effort. I am happy. Even though these are not easy times for my relatives, this fulfills me. This was what we all wanted from the first moment.
"We are the same as the first day with the same enthusiasm and desire as always, because if not, it is impossible to be here", emphasized the coach. He spoke but could not remain without saying something, he had a captain, but also an idol, Leo Messi.
"The tears are because an incredible player is leaving. After thinking it over and talking to the technical staff, we decided that the best thing to do is to move on. We reached an agreement quickly."
"From now on, an important moment begins in our process where we will give an opportunity to the guys who have been pushed from behind. We need everyone's patience because they are guys with incredible potential, but maybe they are not yet able to give us what Messi, Otamendi, Di Maria, or others gave us," added the winner of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and runner-up in 2026.
Then what interested everyone was not the friendly match against Uruguay, but the fact of who would wear the number 10 shirt in the national team. Saloni said about who would wear the number 10 after Messi left:
"In these matches, no one will wear the number 10. "In this match, we will not give the number 10 to anyone and we have no idea who to give it to until it is mandatory. It is not something particularly important, but on that day we decide that it will be for the rest of the cycle the player who can wear it", concluded Scaloni in his first appearance after signing the contract.
