La Scaloneta continues its path and made it clear on the FIFA date, when it not only beat El Salvador (3-0) and Costa Rica (3-1), but also adapted to playing without Lionel Messi, out due to injury. But if we talk about walking, Lionel Scaloni didn’t brake either: after the friendlies, The coach of the Argentine National Team got back on the bicycle, his other great passion, and traveled through the landscapes of our country. This time he went to Córdoba and, of course, there was no shortage of photos and signatures.
While drawing conclusions and projecting the future, none other than the America Cupwith two friendlies in the lead-up, Scaloni took some time to pedal. “It’s a little bit of everything, a little bit of sport which is what I like, a little bit to clear your mind, to be able to think about things,” Scaloni told the sports newspaper Olé in the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar., and that didn’t change. It is still a moment that unites sport, distracts your mind a little from the football madness and brainstorms the future.
Scaloni walked with a group of friends along the roads of Córdoba. According to what one of them, whose Instagram user is @litoviedo, told Olé, they passed near the Bosque Alegre Observatory, an Astrophysical Station. “Two hours of the route with a very nice climb,” he added. To come back, The world champion coach shared some dunks with his team, took photos with children and not so children, with new and not so new Argentina shirts and left signatures everywhere. Always with a painted smile.
“It’s true that if you get distracted a little, what happened to me with the accident happens to you, heh. But it’s true that it helps, it helps to distract you, to think about many of the things we do. It happens to me like when I went out “running makes your head spin, it does you good, it gives me energy in a good way, it relaxes me… It’s a grounding cable. Sport in general is,” he said a while ago.
The day Lionel Scaloni spoke about his passion for cycling
-Is it true that you infected the entire coaching staff with the bike?
-During the pandemic we bought rollers to ride our bikes, so we put a program that simulates a climb and we put it in. We all do the same thing, we chat about football, we sweat. We have gone a few times to pedal at the KDT (the cycling circuit in Palermo), which is very good, because it is outdoors. It is a nice sport for those of us who have had ankle or knee problems, because this has no impact. You pedal and the next day you are as good as new and you can do another two hours.
The extreme challenge he overcame in Spain
In May 2024, the coach of the world champion National Team got on the bike, invited by a Spanish TV program, and managed to complete one of the toughest tests on the planet, known as El Infierno. “It is an incredible experience to know this mythical climb,” said the man from Pujato once the objective was achieved.
Professional cyclists are already beginning to look askance at Scaloni, who draws attention for his state of form and his times on the bike. Last year he also broke it in a race in Mallorca, where he resides with his family. Observing his performance, Pedro Delgado, winner of the Tour de France in 1988 and the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989, invited him to share the climb in El Angliru, a hill in the Principality of Asturias.
“Lionel accepted quickly, he was motivated by the challenge we posed, and it has already been seen that it was a success to bring him,” said the former Spanish cyclist in dialogue with La Nueva España, and added: “I was very surprised by the strength and preparation that “Scaloni has it. I knew he was doing well, but I didn’t expect a performance like that.”