‘His way of leading’ – How Lionel Messi acts as ‘assistant coach’ for Argentina 12 months on from Inter Miami superstar inspiring 2022 World Cup glory

On December 18, 2022, Messi completed his remarkable journey towards greatness when inspiring his country to global glory at the World Cup finals in Qatar. He walked away with the Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament, with the ultimate prize added to his medal collection during a fifth outing at FIFA’s flagship event.

Scaloni was the man to lead Argentina to the World Cup crown, but even he admits that Messi acts as an “assistant” of sorts – with the all-time great inspiring those around him. Scaloni, speaking to Laureus Spirit of Sport, has said of his captain acting as another coach: “He has his way of leading. As the captain he is a leader and he drives his team-mates on. And of course, he also leads by example, by beating his opponents. He's always helped us, he's always been great with us and it's a pleasure to coach him.”

Messi scored twice for Argentina in their thrilling World Cup final showdown with France, before converting his penalty in a shootout at the end of a 3-3 draw, with Scaloni still pinching himself 12 months on. He added on capturing the biggest prize in football while watching a video of Messi’s famous trophy lift: “This is when Leo raises the trophy. It's a historic moment. I really hope it happens again, but at times I still can't believe it's true, it doesn't seem like it's true. Because if I go back four or five years, when we started, I'm not saying the idea of winning was utopia, but in the situation we were in, it was hard to imagine. Even though we had confidence in our football culture, which has the raw materials, winning a World Cup is tremendously difficult and we did it.”

Messi has hinted at extending his international career through to 2026, allowing him to form part of a World Cup title defence. Argentina will also be looking to go back-to-back in the Copa America when that competition heads to the United States in 2024 – with Messi now playing his club football in the U.S. for MLS side Inter Miami.