He Argentine coach, Lionel Scaloniappeared before the media before playing tomorrow against Austria in the second match of their World Cup tournament.
How emotionally and mentally after Messi’s father. We are fine, the team is ready to face tomorrow’s game.
How did you see Spain? (MARK question). We watched the game against Saudi Arabia in the training gym because we were traveling. I’m not surprised he won, really. In the first game they no longer deserved to draw. They tied against Cape Verde because football has those things, and if we have to tie, let it be that way, with many shots on goal. It seems to me that it is a National Team that is in good health, that has shown that it is well and will undoubtedly be in the final fight.
Emotional stability of the group. We firmly believe that the group is what brings out situations, both good and bad. It is always better to share situations with a friend and that is what we all feel. I imagine Leo thinks so too. I prefer not to add more on this topic.
Surprises. Austria is a difficult opponent that has very good players, that presses well, a vertical team. He has made a great classification. It will be a complicated match. We won our first match and that will possibly help make the show better. There are no easy games in this World Cup. The group stage has always been difficult for everyone, the hot conditions, the match being stopped due to hydration breaks, the match is a little short. In the end the great National Teams will be there. Without a doubt, it will be a difficult World Cup.
See all the games. Those of us who can see them all live. Now I was watching the end of Uruguay-Cape Verde, you continually learn. Concentrated, there are not many things else to do, watch the games, talk to your team and see where the World Cup is going. The statistics in the end are quite misleading.
Differences between Algeria and Austria. There are them in all the teams, but they have to have similarities in that they are going to look for the goal in front. Austria more vertical. They are teams that go out to find the game and that is good for the show.
Breaks. Everything on your mind can change based on what happens in those 22 minutes. We have people analyzing upstairs plus us who are on the bench. It gives you time to correct but it becomes strange to adapt to that. Surely for some time, if it continues to be done, it will be something normal. It’s not normal for us, it gets pretty rough.
Throw yourself back. The rival plays and submits you. The important thing is to dig in and defend. If you’re not ready to do that, it gets complicated. We are clear about that, you cannot always dominate the ball.
Leo Messi’s birthday on Wednesday. For his birthday my wish is for Leo to be happy, I imagine he is the one we all want.
Evolution of the team. After Qatar we have played great games. The final was very good, but after the final we have maintained a line, we have added Thiago who did not have so much prominence before. We are looking for variants and we have people on the bench who can change the game like Giuliano, Nico González. Nico Paz is a good appearance. I think the team is in good shape even though three and a half years have passed since the World Cup. The team has shown signs that it wants to improve and they have not slowed down. There is always room for improvement and they have understood the message well.
Ancelotti’s reviews. I understood very well what he meant. We’re thinking he misspoke. What happened is that he spoke a mixed Italian – Spanish. I understand that it was a compliment more than a criticism and I am very sure of that.
Available. The important thing is that they reach the maximum of their possibilities. They are all available to play and that is good.
High intensity world cup. We have to see what is meant by intensity. This is a World Cup in which when you don’t have the ball you have to try not to get hurt. It is at midfield where the game is being decided. It is still early to analyze, in my opinion, where the World Cup is going to go, but I have no doubt that this is where this tournament is going to go.
40th Anniversary Goal Maradona. It was a very small television, it was at my grandfather’s house, I didn’t know that it was 40 years old, I’m sure that tomorrow we will enjoy it and cry a little too.
Improvements for the second meeting. I’m not going to tell you. I don’t think there is a coach who will tell you negative things. But I understand that any rival coach analyzes how to hurt Argentina. There are always things to improve and correct. Whenever we see things that are not going well we try to tell the players. All coaches do this. We all have our weak points but we hope you don’t know how to find them.