Spain-Argentina: 'Sadness,' 'Pride,' and Tears for Lionel Scaloni After World Cup Final

Lionel Scaloni, the coach of Argentina, was visibly emotional after his team's defeat to Spain in the World Cup final. Speaking at a press conference, he expressed a mix of sadness over not winning the trophy and pride in his team's performance.

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We have had many negative moments, injuries, we had to replace three of the four defenders. This is not an excuse. The players gave everything they could. But the team managed to keep the match open, it could have ended differently. I am proud of the way we fought. We could have scored. But this is football. We have to come back and continue.

"We are sad... We didn't manage to lift the trophy," Scaloni said, acknowledging Spain's victory as deserved. "But we were close... The match is over. We have to continue. When you win, everything is good, but not everything is negative when you lose." He thanked the supporters for their energy, which he felt the team needed.

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I would have liked to know what would have happened if we had finished with 11...

Scaloni reflected on the physical challenges his team faced, including injuries that forced replacements for three of their four defenders. "This is not an excuse," he stated, emphasizing that the players gave their all. He expressed pride in how the team fought and kept the match open, suggesting it could have ended differently. The expulsion of Enzo Fernandez also weighed on his mind, as he wondered about the outcome had the team remained at full strength.

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He represents everything we want in an Argentine player. We had no more defenders available. It's our DNA. I am so proud of him, of all his teammates... It hurts not to have lifted the trophy but we are proud of our performance. If we were in better shape for the end of the match... We were nevertheless close. We are proud of our players. We can ask them to fight until the end and that's what they did.

Despite the loss, Scaloni lauded Lionel Messi, calling him "the greatest player of all time" without any doubt. He marveled at Messi's performance at 39 years old and expressed hope that everyone is proud of his achievements. Teammate Nicolás Tagliafico echoed these sentiments, praising Messi's representation of Argentine football values and expressing pride in the entire squad's fight until the end, even though the loss was painful.

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He is the best player of all time. I have no doubt about it.