Tapia: "Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C is Scaloni"
The AFA president assured that there are no alternatives to replace the Argentine National Team coach, with whom he hopes to renew his contract.
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AFA
Tapia: "Plan A, plan B, and plan C is Scaloni"
The AFA president assured that there are no alternatives to replace the coach. Though he clarified: "I can't have 'the Gringo' chained up." And he maintained: "This is the best National Team of all time."
Scaloni and Tapia after the final loss.
06/08/2026 07:04 PM. Updated 06/08/2026 08:38 PM.
The president of the AFA, Claudio Tapia, was emphatic in his desire to renew the contract of the Argentine National Team coach. "Plan A, plan B, and plan C is Scaloni," the executive stated. He said this the day after the Executive Committee unanimously backed his stance.
"I want him to continue, we all want him to continue. I have to respect his decision, for him to reflect, to make the best decision he believes is correct. I can't have 'the Gringo' chained up, if he feels he doesn't have the necessary desire or any superior projection. I want him to be well and, for all he has given us, we all must want the same, even if it hurts us and they say 'after the Scaloneta, who?'"
"This is the best National Team of all time," affirmed the executive, in his firm defense of Scaloni's process. "The National Team brought joy to the entire Argentine people. It made people identify with a group, have a family plan, where friends say 'hey, where are we meeting to watch the National Team?' Or going out to celebrate in the streets. In '22, it managed to vindicate the Malvinas veterans. And in this World Cup, it managed to put on the world's diplomatic agenda, and in more than 30 countries, people are saying ' why are they called Falklands if the Malvinas Islands are Argentine?'" he added.
"Out of 13 World Cup matches, we lost the first and the last, with Saudi Arabia in Qatar and the last with Spain, now," he argued in Scaloni's defense.
Watch Tapia's support for Scaloni
Tapia affirmed that he only considers Scaloni.
The AFA president announced that the coach is plan A, B, and C to lead the National Team. Source: TyC Sports.
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The AFA president announced that the coach is plan A, B, and C to lead the National Team. Source: TyC Sports.
Furthermore, he responded to conspiracy theories. "There are people who are bothered that the Argentine National Team continues to win titles or it seems to bother them that the Argentine people are happy," the executive opined, although he did not name the people he believes act this way.
"In every match, something was going to happen or things happened that touched the deepest fibers. There are things in life you don't mess with, and in this World Cup, they messed with that. When you cross a line, you say 'whose side are you on?'. Are you conspiring against the National Team? Claudio Tapia might be a problem, but solve it with Claudio Tapia. But in every match, there was systematically a different operation. We passed the first phase, and in every match, it seemed something was going to happen. Or they announced something, or something bad was going to happen, or there was an attempt to destabilize something that is football," he argued.
"My success was knowing how to choose who should lead the National Team, who should be in charge of this project, how to continue the project for all the national teams. After that, it's all up to the players and the coaching staff, that's the reality," he considered.
The executive also expressed his intention to continue for at least one more term at the head of the entity, anticipating that he wants to be president during the 2030 World Cup, and his current mandate is until 2028. He made these statements in an interview with the program Presión Alta, on TyC Sports.
"The conclusions from the World Cup are favorable, those one thought from the draw. More than sensations, it was feeling that the objective was met. We went with the conviction of playing all eight matches. Personally, very happy. A great World Cup was played. We would have liked to be two-time World champions. That was the objective as you move through stages, and because of what our National Team was generating. Match by match, we saw that you could be world champions," he added.
"We are happy with the group; it's not the first time they've made us proud. Five finals, four titles, these are many milestones and achievements that give you positive things," he maintained.
"Being able to lift the World Cup is superior, without a doubt. But I say that due to the emotional burden and the responsibility the National Team had, I say that beating England was like winning the World Cup," he stated.
"People were already making it felt before, when it was clear we could cross paths with England, that it was the match to win, the match to win. I believe there were matches that marked us a lot: against Cape Verde, Egypt, England, which were heartfelt. And I had the president of the English Federation next to me, and she ended up congratulating us because, she said, the courage and heart of your national team, she even wrote a letter, everything. But I didn't have the feeling that we were going to lose," he stated.
Furthermore, he recounted the vindicatory episode of the players with the flag in favor of Argentina's sovereignty over the Malvinas. "This was something from the people. Yes, we know, obviously, you find out later. And we know who the lads were. A group of lads from Fuerte Apache who have a connection with one of the players in the squad, or who know them. And it just happened. Nothing was ever prepared. Nor has there been any complaint from FIFA until now, well, until four or five days ago when a file arrived. There was no sanction note or any warning, quite the opposite. Because truthfully, to be fair, it never happened. If it had been your turn to play that match, if you were playing for the Argentine National Team and people expressed what they felt with that flag, what would you have done? Would you leave it on the ground or pick it up?" he asked the journalist interviewing him.
Regarding the chance of seeing Messi in the 2028 Copa América: "It's his decision. We have to be proud of him. I enjoyed him on the field, he was the standard-bearer of this World Cup, as in all the competitions he was in." He also stated: "He has to feel the desire. In '22, we didn't know if he would play in '26. He said 'match by match' and we saw a great version, if not the best. May he continue to enjoy playing football and may we enjoy it, and may he make the decision he feels is right."
"From Messi with every hug after the match, we were happy with the results. I'm sticking with that, because it's personal, everyone saw him as a player," he added.
"Di María was ready to play in the World Cup, because of what he did in Argentine football and what he showed. If he wanted to and the coaching staff called him up. One has to be respectful. He made a decision, he felt fulfilled. I joked with him that he rushed it," he said about Fideo.
News in development...
Scaloni with Chiqui Tapia (@tapiachiqui).
See also
Peñarol's coach's revelation about the youth player River loaned him: "We joked that they had given us Messi, ha!"
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Topics appearing in this note:
Claudio Tapia
Lionel Scaloni
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