Lionel Scaloni is one win away from more than just a second World Cup title with Argentina. Should La Albiceleste get past Spain on Sunday’s final at New York New Jersey Stadium, the 48-year-old coach would also join an exclusive club that has had only one member for nearly nine decades.
That club belongs to Vittorio Pozzo, the Italian coach who led Italy to back-to-back titles at the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, becoming the only manager in the tournament’s history to win it twice.
Pozzo’s first triumph came on home soil in 1934, a run that included a playoff win over Spain in the quarterfinals after a 1-1 draw, before Italy beat Czechoslovakia in the final. Four years later in France, he repeated the feat, guiding Italy past Brazil in the semifinals and Hungary in the final to become back-to-back champions.
No coach has matched that double in the 88 years since, even though a handful have come agonizingly close. Scaloni, who already has one title with Argentina from Qatar 2022, now has the chance to do what none of them could.
Lionel Scaloni with the 2022 World Cup title after defeating France. (Getty Images)
Managers who fell short of matching Pozzo’s record
Several coaches have come close to matching Pozzo’s two World Cup titles. Some reached a second final after winning on their first attempt, while others had to lose first before finally winning on their second opportunity.
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Mario Zagallo won as Brazil’s manager in 1970, then lost the 1998 final with the same nation, while Carlos Salvador Bilardo led Argentina to glory in 1986, only to finish runner-up four years later in Italy.
Helmut Schon went the other way, losing the 1966 final as West Germany’s manager before winning it in 1974 — the same path Franz Beckenbauer would later follow, finishing runner-up with West Germany in 1986 before winning it all in 1990.
The most recent manager to miss out on tying Pozzo’s mark was Didier Deschamps, who won with France in 2018 and returned to the final in 2022, where his side fell to Argentina on penalties.
