Lionel Scaloni

Club

Early years and Deportivo

Born in the small town of Pujato in the province of Santa Fe in Argentina, with Italian origins from Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Scaloni began his career in the Argentine Primera División with local club Newell's Old Boys and then Estudiantes, before joining Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain in December 1997 for 405 million pesetas. Regularly used with the Galicians over an eight-and-a-half-year stint, he competed with Manuel Pablo and Víctor for both starting spots on the right flank. Due to a knee injury, he appeared in only 14 La Liga matches as Deportivo won the title for the first time. After falling out with manager Joaquín Caparrós, Scaloni joined Premier League side West Ham United on loan on 31 January 2006, the final day of the transfer window, in an attempt to increase his chance of selection for the upcoming World Cup. He took the number 2 shirt from the departed Tomáš Řepka, and made his league debut for the East Londoners against Sunderland on 4 February; he also helped the team to reach the FA Cup final, a penalty shootout loss to Liverpool.

Racing Santander

Scaloni left West Ham after a permanent move could not be agreed. Deportivo released him on 1 September 2006 alongside Diego Tristán, one day after the close of the summer transfer window. However, due to the fact there were no limitations for free agents, two weeks later Scaloni signed a one-year contract at Racing de Santander, The Cantabrians…

Assistant

On 11 October 2016, Scaloni joined compatriot Jorge Sampaoli's coaching staff at Sevilla. The following June, when Sampaoli was appointed as the new national team boss, Scaloni was again named as his assistant.

Argentina

After Argentina's failure at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Sampaoli left his post as Argentina manager by mutual consent. Scaloni and Pablo Aimar were subsequently named caretaker managers until the end of the year. In November 2018, the former was confirmed in the post until the following June when the 2019 Copa América was due to take place. This decision unleashed a wave of criticism against Scaloni's appointment, including from legendary footballer Diego Maradona, who criticized the move for appointing an "unqualified" and inexperienced person in charge who "wouldn't even be able to direct traffic". Scaloni's appointment, at the time, was also seen as an offence against the national team due to the lack of consultation with other experienced managers at the time and the AFA was blamed for having no strategy regarding the appointment. In the 2019 Copa América, he led the side to third place in Brazil, but not in the style fans expected as Argentina struggled to advance further in the tournament. The poor performance on Argentina's way to the third-place finish ultimately released a new wave of criticism against Scaloni appointment due to Argentina's inability to win the tournament despite expectation, and Scaloni's…

Scaloni is regarded as one of the best men's national coaches in the world due to his success with the Argentina national team. Scaloni has stated that Carlo Ancelotti is the coach he most admires and that he tries to emulate his coaching style with Argentina. In his time as coach of Argentina, the national press nicknamed the national team 'Scaloneta'. Scaloni has instilled a coaching philosophy with Argentina centered on fostering unity and camaraderie among players through team bonding and ensuring clear, open communication to define each player's role and value within the team structure.

Scaloni has both Argentine and Italian citizenship. His older brother, Mauro, also played at Deportivo, but did not progress beyond its reserve team. Scaloni and his wife Elisa Montero met at age 31 and 30 when he was playing in Mallorca, where she lived. They have two sons. In April 2019, Scaloni was run over while cycling in Calvià in Mallorca. Some media initially reported him to be in serious condition, but he was discharged a few hours later. In 2024, a street was named after Scaloni in his hometown of Pujato.