Lionel Scaloni came to direct the Argentine National Team in a surprising way, when his name was not on anyone’s radar. And little by little, he was consolidating as DT until he won his place and became champion of America.
From left to right: Franco Carboni, Tiago Geralnik, Luka Romero, Matías Soulé, Alejandro Garnacho, Valentín Carboni and Nicolás Paz ESPN.com
The last list of those summoned for the next date of the South American Qualifiers resembles, in some way, the arrival of the Santa Fe native to the National Team: unknown names appear on the list for the vast majority of the public, who were not in the sights or of the more fans.
They are the juniors Alejandro Garnacho, Tiago Geralnik, Nicolás Paz and the brothers Franco and Valentín Carboni. They are joined by two other youngsters who have already had a stint with the National Team, such as Matías Soulé (for senior) and Luka Romero (for youth).
Since they all have dual nationality, and in one case up to three, some boys have already participated in calls for teams from other countries. That is why Scaloni’s call caused surprise: it could be said that it did not go down well with some coaches who lead teams where these youngsters have already been summoned.
This was reflected by various media in Europe, which understand that the Argentine DT seeks with these calls to capture and convince these young promises for the future. In other words, give them a sense of belonging by thinking that when they wear the light blue and white or when they share training sessions with Messi, the idea of putting on the jacket of another team will not be so tempting.
#MajorSelection Pre-list of soccer players reserved by @lioscaloni for the next double qualifying date against @SeleVinotinto 🇻🇪 and @LaTri 🇪🇨. pic.twitter.com/3Xbnt74Ne8
– Argentina National Team 🇦🇷 (@Argentina) March 6, 2022
Beyond the opinions, the decision of the Argentine coach is supported by the FIFA regulations: there is nothing illegal in these calls, since none of the players played for the senior team of any country.
Who are the hidden talents that the DT wants to add to the Scaloneta?
MATIAS SOULE (Juventus)
He is perhaps the most experienced of this group of youngsters. The Juventus player had already been summoned to the call for November last year, for the matches against Uruguay and Brazil, but he has not yet made his debut with the national team.
Soulé was born on April 15, 2003 in Mar del Plata, and is 18 years old. He plays as a winger (because of his style of play he is compared to Di María) and took his first steps in football at Argentinos del Sud and Kimberley, both from his hometown. He also had a stint at the Vélez Inferiores.
In 2020 he was acquired by Juventus, and at the end of last year he made his debut in the First Division, entering a few minutes in the Vecchia Signora’s victory against Salernitana. He is usually on the substitute bench, not only in Serie A: he is also called up for Champions League matches.
LUKA ROMERO (Lazio)
He was born on November 18, 2004 in Durango, Mexico. She is 17 years old and in addition to Argentine nationality, she also has that of Mexico and Spain. However, he has already been called up several times for the youth national teams.
Luka was in the U-15 category representing Argentina in the South American U-15 Championship (2019), and in March 2020 he was called up for the U-17 that was going to play the Montaigu Tournament that year, later suspended due to the pandemic.
At the age of three he left Mexico for Spain, and at the age of 15 he signed for Mallorca, where he became the youngest player to debut in the League: at the age of 15 he had a dream debut against Real Madrid. He now wears the Lazio shirt, in Serie A. Because of his speed and his physique, they call him the «Mexican Messi.» He already has 13 games in the First Division.
TIAGO GERALNIK (Villarreal)
He was born in Rosario on March 3, 2003. He is 18 years old and is a hooker, and he stood out in the Inferiores de River. His good performances in the Seventh division led him to earn a place among those called up to the Reserve.
Although the directors of River wanted to retain him and offered him an interesting contract to stay at the club, in 2020 he left with his family for Spain (he has dual nationality) and signed for Villarreal, where he has not yet made his debut.
Gallardo himself expressed himself some time ago about his case: “We did everything possible to make him stay, but many times there are things that are not within our reach. When the responsibility lies with the family, everything is different. It’s a shame, but these are situations that don’t happen only to us”.
In Spain he has already played one game with Villarreal B and played eight games in the UEFA Youth League.
NICOLAS PAZ (Real Madrid)
He was born on September 8, 2004 in Tenerife, Spain. He is 17 years old and is the son of a renowned former soccer player for the national team: Pablo Paz, a defender who played in the 1998 World Cup in France and won the silver medal in Atlanta 1996. Paz is an attacking midfielder and has been with the Real Madrid subsidiary since 2016. Madrid Castilla, which plays in the Spanish third division.
ALEJANDRO GARNACHO (Manchester United)
He was born in Madrid on July 1, 2004. He is 17 years old and plays as a left winger. He plays in the lower divisions for United, where playing in the FA Youth Cup he scored a great goal.
Son of an Argentine mother and based in Spain, he took his first steps at Atlético de Madrid, which could not retain him. Despite some tempting offers from Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, Manchester was the chosen destination.
His speed and his vision of the game position him as one of the great promises of football. Scaloni hopes that all his potential can be shown with Argentina. Although he played for the Sub 18 of Spain, he is excited to wear the blue and white.
FRANCO CARBONI (Inter)
He was born on April 4, 2003 in Buenos Aires. He is 18 years old and plays as a left winger. He was called up to play for Italy’s Under 17 and Under 19 youth teams. And he was also part of Inter’s substitute bench in Serie A matches and in one of the Champions League.
His father is Ezequiel Carboni, a player with a long career in Lanús. He came from the minor divisions of Garnet, but then he went to Europe, where he was first in Catania and then in Inter.
VALENTIN CARBONI (Inter)
He was born on March 5, 2005 in Buenos Aires. He is 17 years old, he is Franco’s brother, and he plays as an offensive midfielder; he can also do it as a hitch, thanks to his good ball handling. He already played for the Italian Under 17, where he scored a goal.