From the same school… but with irreconcilable styles

Once they were close aides to Jorge Sampaoli. They shared locker rooms, tactics boards and World Cup dreams. But today, Lionel Scaloni, the man who led Argentina to the top of the world in Qatar, and Sebastián Beccacece, the coach trying to revolutionize Ecuador, face each other from opposite sides. A clash that smells of unfinished business, despite the respectful words both repeat publicly.

Both were shaped under the influence of Marcelo Bielsa, both grew up in Rosario, and both spent countless hours alongside Sampaoli. Yet they were never friends. Their relationship inside the Argentina staff was marked by constant tension.

Scaloni, close to the players, flexible and pragmatic.
Beccacece, strict, disciplinary and obsessive.

One former colleague summed it up brutally: “Leo is Peronism, Becca is Trotskyism.”

Clashes in Russia 2018: betrayals and a divided locker room

The definitive break came at the World Cup in Russia. As the team drowned in controversies and poor results, Beccacece and Sampaoli argued to the brink of blows during a training session. Meanwhile, Scaloni gained ground and earned the trust of leaders, including Lionel Messi.

A detail many remember: after Messi’s hat-trick against Ecuador that sealed qualification, the only assistant who ran to celebrate with the substitutes was Scaloni. Beccacece watched from the outside.

Inside the team, Messi and Mascherano backed the man who would later become World Cup champion. Beccacece, on the other hand, was never forgiven for one gesture: giving instructions to the No. 10 as if he were a youngster.

After the draw with Iceland and the heavy defeat to Croatia, the locker room exploded. The players demanded changes. Scaloni sided with listening. Beccacece, instead, threatened to resign: “I won’t accept this, players don’t give the orders.” That day sealed the split.

The end is well known: Sampaoli shattered, Beccacece back at Defensa y Justicia, and Scaloni, almost by accident, turned into Argentina’s head coach. From there to the World Cup title, the rest is history.

From invisible rivals to declared enemies

Over the years, the relationship cooled, but it never healed. Even in 2019, Scaloni sent Samuel and Ayala to visit Beccacece at Defensa y Justicia to avoid meeting face-to-face. Time and distance lowered the intensity, but the tension remained alive.