It’s a huge title,” said Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, after his team crowned with the Copa America title after 28 years beating Brazil 1-0 on Sunday.
Lionel Scaloni paid tribute to Lionel Messi, praising his team captain and revealing he played in the Copa America win over Brazil with an injury.
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— CONMEBOL Copa América™️ (@CopaAmerica) July 11, 2021
“If you knew the way that he played in Copa America you’d love him even more,” Scaloni told.
“You can never do without a player like him, even when he is not fully fit like in this game and the previous one.”
Scaloni did not say what the injury was but he showered Messi with recognition after his first victory with the national side.
“In the end, he did not throw in the towel and he succeeded,” Scaloni said.
“We are talking about the best footballer of all time and everyone knew how important it was for him to win a title with the national team.”
“I have a relationship that is different than the (usual) coach-player relationship,” Scaloni added. “It’s closer. We greet each other, we hug each other, and I am eternally grateful to him and his teammates.”
Argentina Defeats Brazil To Win Copa America
Lionel Messi and his teammates secured a spectacular victory after winning the first international trophy as Argentina wins the Copa America football championship against Brazil.
When the match ended, the tearful and joyful goat was thrown into the air by some of his joyous teammates.
The captain has four goals and five assists and has been involved in nine of the team’s 11 goals so far in the tournament.
The 34-year-old has also made it clear just how determined he is to win the tournament and finally lift a senior international trophy with Argentina.
He said after the semi-final win over Colombia, “We are very excited, happy, personally, I want to play one more, what I want most is to win a title with the national team.”
Argentina’s winning goal at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro came in the 22nd minute after Rodrigo de Paul made a long pass to Angel di Maria.
