Argentina take the field against Spain on Sunday on their mission to retain the World Cup; a win in the final would give coach Lionel Scaloni a second World Cup. But the match has created division in the Argentine coach’s own home, as many of his family are Spanish by birth. Facing the media before the final, the Argentine mastermind revealed whom his loved ones are actually backing in such a high-voltage match.
Speaking in the mixed zone before the news conference, Scaloni said with a smile: “My wife and children will of course be with Argentina. Even though my wife is Spanish, she knows very well how hard I work for this team, and how much pressure and emotion I go through. And my children understand it even better.” Scaloni fell in love with Elisa Montero after joining Mallorca on loan from the Italian club Lazio in 2008; their first son, Ian, was born in 2012 and their second son, Noah, four years later, both on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Spanish by birth, both sons will cheer for the sky-and-white camp out of love for their father’s work, as they were seen doing in the champions’ celebrations at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the 2024 Copa America.
All of Scaloni’s wife’s family are Mallorca residents, so they will naturally want Spain to win a second World Cup trophy. Of his Mallorca in-laws, Scaloni said: “Our relatives in Mallorca must be in a real dilemma. I understand the situation is a little hard for them. But whatever happens, in the end they will be happy.” Whether it is Argentina’s fourth or Spain’s second will be known on Sunday; the match at MetLife Stadium in the United States begins at 1am Bangladesh time, shown live on T Sports.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report