This was the reaction of the Argentine players to coach Scaloni's possible departure

When referee Piero Mazza blew the final whistle and sentenced the victory of the Argentine National Team 1-0 against Brazil at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, nobody imagined that the celebration would be so short. The world champions had reason to be happy, as they beat their main rivals, regained the lead in the standings and wrote their name in history by being the first to win in Brazil in South American qualifiers.

But a few minutes after the match, all that joy was eclipsed by an unexpected announcement from Lionel Scaloni. At the press conference, the Argentine coach questioned his continuity in the job, assuring that he has to "think" about what he will do in the future. "The bar is very high and it's complicated to continue," he said. However, when asked if he was announcing his resignation, he replied: "I'm not saying that".

This surprised the journalists who were there, the fans who were watching on TV and even the Argentine players, who were then interviewed. Nicolás Otamendi, who netted the winner, said: "We are with the euphoria of having won and the celebrations and receiving the news was a shock but I think that things have to be talked about. We have not yet had a conversation with him and hopefully we will be calmer. We will try to talk to him and then we will see."

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero assured that this "surprised everyone" and added: "Nothing was discussed in the dressing room, I don't know what went through his head. We will try to convince him to keep us all together, he is a very important person for the group. We have the Copa América ahead of us, he will surely be there". And Liverpool player Alexis MacAllister assured: "We did not talk to Scaloni. We have to respect his feelings, but hopefully he won't leave. We want him to stay forever.

What happened?

While it is not yet clear why Lionel Scaloni said those words at the press conference, reports indicate that in recent weeks he had differences with the chiefs of the Argentine Football Association, especially with president Claudio Tapia, and that is why he decided to give that message.