La Scaloneta is a...
It’s clear that both fans and players share the same sentiments toward La Scaloneta. “ An incredible group that was put together. When you are at the club sometimes you say, how long is it until you go to the national team? You are happy to be there ”, this is how Paredes defined the squad.
- The 'infamous' Players' Group Whatsapp
Paredes is the one who was in charge of creating the group chat. “ We were following the World Cup group drawing through Whatsapp. No, it’s not called La Scaloneta. The coach doesn’t like the nickname, sometimes we tell him jokingly. We left it (the Whatsapp group chat's name) at ‘Copa America’ because it was created when we play for Copa America ”
(Lautaro and Cuti confessed that a day after the World Cup Final, Paredes renamed the group chat from 'Copa America Champion' to ‘World Cup Champion’).
Another story Paredes told about the group chat was, “ We always talk. Every time one of us has to play we try to watch and talk after the game. There are many times that we have to play at the same time and we can’t, but we always try to look at each other ”
- A lot of times they have to become rival for 90mins, but let's pray for this squad to remain as a "Brother" for a very long time 🤞
- The way they take care of each other
Paredes took a trip down memory lane to the first moment he and De Paul broke the ice with Messi. He said, “ It was during an afternoon when we still had 2 hours before training and didn’t know what to do. And Rodri said, ‘That’s it, let’s grab the cards, mate, and knock on Leo’s door’. The idea is that simple; to play truco, drink mate, listen to some music, and hope he would receive us in the best way. We were lucky he opened the door to his room for us and everything has worked well since that moment "
De Paul on Messi: Having him, everything is easier. On a club level, I only had contact with him once, at Valencia vs Barcelona. Apart from that, I didn’t know him. Given everything he lives through he could be a reserved character, so he surprised me (as it turns out) he enjoys having a mate, listening to a song, and playing truco. We do warm-up games, and I say: ‘Leo, I’ll take you on!’, he loves that. That humanizes him. You can see him like he's from another dimension, but he’s just a person.
Furthermore, De Paul describes his role in the National Team as a ‘spare tire’. I have no problem putting it like that. And I’ll do anything to wear this jersey. With my role, we can cover Paredes and help Messi, everything comes in its own time whether it’s to help Messi to attack, or hold back to cover Paredes. You compliment them.
Messi's praise of De Paul
Between players, it has been well-known that the secret to make Leo (Messi) happy is by treating him normally. However, Cristian Romero said in reality it worked the other way around.
Cuti: Since I joined the National team, Leo always treats me like I am one of them, he made me see how simple it is beyond everything he has won in his career.
"Rodrigo De Paul desde el primer día lo protegió, lo abrazó y lo apadrinó." - Molina's father told the story about how De Paul took care of his son when Molina first time played abroad for Udinese
Molina: I was at my house when Rodri with Correa were the first ones to call me and said ‘Congratulations! You deserve it! I hope you don’t flatter yourself (note: in a joking manner)’. I didn’t understand it until they told me that I had been summoned by the National Team.
Paredes to De Paul: How well we raised these 3 (Cuti-Licha-Moli)
Meanwhile, long before acting as Molina’s ‘godparent’, Rodri was the ‘little brother’ of Ota back when the 2 of them played for Valencia (and they’ve been a roommate since Brazil's 2019 Copa America). Take a look back at their Instagram, there are so many photos of them together both on-off pitch, even after Ota moved to Manchester, the friendship still continued.
- Players' bonding time with Asado
Love how the young ones 'take advantage' by making the elder do the cooking
- Their attention to the injured ones
Players' support for Gio; before, during, and after his comeback from injury
Mac Allister about Garnacho: I'm sure Licha is working on it (persuading Garna to join Argentina) right now
Licha: I'm taking him with me to Argentina
It’s like a cycle of them taking care of each other, one another 💕 Just like how Ota took care of Rodri and Rodri took care of Molina in return. Gio’s presence helped Cuti to adapt when they were both in Tottenham even for a little while. Tagliafico helped Licha while both played for Ajax. Leo welcomed Paredes in the NT and later Paredes (together with Di Maria & Ney) helped Leo adjust to a new life in Paris, and now it’s Licha’s turn to be ‘the old brother’ of Garnacho.
Meanwhile, so many people against Garnacho join the Argentine side, mostly because they are afraid this kid’s personality will ruin the ‘harmony’ within players and all those bullshit talk about him idolizing Ronaldo. Well, in my opinion, I am 100% sure that the second Garnacho misbehaves (if ever), Licha will be the first to reprimand him. For real though, I don’t think there will be bad individuals inside this NT as long as there are players like De Paul, Paredes, and Dibu.
And yes, like Kun said, wish that the more Garnacho spends time seeing Messi play, the faster he will realize who the real GOAT is,
although imo it’s not a crime to choose CR7 over Messi? if Messi can be best friends with Neymar and Suarez (both are Argies’ rivals), then why can’t Garna choose CR7 over Messi? It's only a matter of preference (not loyalty), anyway.
Meanwhile, Haters had a field day over Garnacho's injury news. Too bad we can't see Licha really taking Garna to Argentina.
- The 'dont-touch-Leo-or-I-will-kill-you' movement:
Throwback to Kun's reaction seeing the UCL drawing when PSG, Juventus, and Benfica were in the same group.
Meanwhile… Di Maria (& Messi himself) be like.. 😂
- Different interviews were conducted at different times, but these players shared the same stories about the squad
To quote Paredes: none of them makes a bad face if they have to be corrected, while Dibu said: ‘Acá nadie pone mala cara’
Dibu: One fell and the other ten help him to get up Licha: If they touch one (of us), we all go (to defend him)
De Paul said ‘Everyone knows what they’re expected to do’, similar to Paredes’ statement ‘Each one knows what they have to contribute’
Throwback to September 2019 during the match against Mexico. Argentina got a chance to score a goal via a penalty kick after Lautaro’s shot touched the hand of Mexico player. It’s understandable for Lau to think that he should be the player in charge of the pen kick since he already scored a brace and aimed for a hattrick. But somehow after Lau took the ball from Ochoa, Paredes demanded the ball from Lau and kicked the penalty himself. Paredes eventually scored & celebrated the goal with Lau, and 6 mins later Lautaro succesfully scored a hattrick. After the game, Lau posted a photo of him and Paredes with a playful caption to quickly shut down any rumor about an ‘altercation’ between him and Paredes during the penalty kick.
As for now, for me, it is ironic how people assume bringing Garnacho to the Scaloni squad can bring ‘dressing room drama’. No, it’s not. It’s the fans' ‘toxic’ culture that could destroy this family. The way people start to compete players against each other or criticize players’ World Cup performance while disregarding their roles in the previous tournaments. Yeah, everyone has their own opinion, but acting like they have the right to decide who should join the NT or play as a starter is truly ridiculous.
Paredes was one of the ‘undisputed starters’ on Scaloni’s squad but quickly lost his place after the loss against Saudi Arabia. He accepted his role as a substitute player and helped his teammates from the bench. “ I didn’t arrive in the best physical way and I was aware by not being 100% gonna cost me a lot. The group was above everything and luckily the great teammates (Enzo & Mac Allister) appeared as they played enormously well. I was surprised and very proud of them. ”
Dybala interview with Marca: I needed some time after my injury and I was not yet in the best condition. I wanted to support, be positive with the best energies, and never put an angry or frustrated face for not being played. I made the team feel like they could count on me. And so it was, I felt better and Scaloni trusted me in one of the most important moments.
Lautaro interview with espnargentina: I have discomfort with my swollen ankle and I had to play with painkillers. It’s not the World Cup that I expected (because the injury made him underperform), but Juli’s arrival made me very happy. He’d give the team what I couldn’t give.
I’ve seen many people questioning why then Scaloni didn’t choose a 100% fit player if he knew Dybala, Lautaro and Paredes weren’t 100% fit. The audacity for these people to think like that, because despite their injuries, during the crucial moments, all the 3 of them stepped up and executed their roles perfectly.
What's next?
Scaloni's interview on March 21st: I thanked the players again for winning the title, now it’s time to celebrate but this goes on. And it’s going to cost us more than ever because they are going to want to beat us much more. We need a lot more energy from everyone because everything will be more difficult.
In regards to the national team:
“A new process begins. Those who are world champions don’t have an advantage. The most important thing is that the players don't feel like the owners of the National Team and that the coach is always watching. There are also kids who are going to grow and play at a high level and fight for a place (in the NT)."
Say, we, supporters, love this team. We'd love to see Messi to win more trophies alongside these Muchachos. The closest is that we aim for a Copa America back-to-back champion. This time it will be 10x more difficult because other countries will proly want to beat Argentina just out of spite, just for them to be able to say "WE BEAT THE WORLD CHAMPION, WHERE IS MESSI? WE POCKET HIM, etc etc", like Scaloni said, this squad needs a lot more energy from everyone, and imo that includes US, the supporters.
Why? As I said earlier, fans' toxic culture could destroy this team from outside. What supporters don't easily grasp is the fact that Scaloni can easily kick any players out once they don't perform well and there's better replacement. This fact, the players are fully aware as they said in numerous interviews "In this squad, there's only 1 player who's irreplaceable. Other than Messi, we always have to fight for 1 spot". Specifically, De Paul said this, "I'll do anything to be able to wear this jersey, but if one day I don't play, it's because there are others who play better than me.",
Well, I think it's safe for us (supporters) to love all players equally and love them based on their performance on the pitch. That way if Scaloni decides to drop them from the future squad list we won't be so upset or displeased with that decision because we know that it's because there are other players who (according to Scaloni's better judgment) play better than our faves. If the players can accept the consequences with big hearts (like Lau, Dybala, and Paredes) then supporters need to learn to be respectful toward Scaloni and just pray for the best.
⭐⭐⭐
📌 Bonus gifs+pics
Lovely place, with good feelings, and a happy squad. The return of the KINGS 👑
Because Tumblr can only have up to 30 images in a post, I can't say anything more about this squad, but if you enjoy reading this post you can also click here to similar posts I have already made:
(1) Little Things I love from La Scaloneta
(2) Hilarious & Heartwarming stories about La Scaloneta
(3) Crackhead Muchachos
(4) Full thread about AFA's Tournament de Truco
(5) Full thread about Players' room arrangement (¿Quién duerme con quién?) + more gifs about Messi and the gang
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