Lionel Messi has earned the fitting to put on the Argentina captain’s armband — not solely due to his famous person standing and on-field brilliance, but additionally on account of his management within the later phases of his profession. Nonetheless, at 38 years outdated, the second to cross the baton is approaching, and one Argentina star has his sights set on changing into the Albiceleste’s subsequent captain.
The armband hasn’t modified arms usually in the course of the Lionel Scaloni period, with solely occasional rotations when Messi has been unavailable or began matches on the bench. One participant who hasn’t but taken half in these transient captaincy alternatives, nevertheless, is Enzo Fernández, and the midfielder has now overtly put himself in line to change into the nationwide group’s future chief.
In an interview with GiveMeSport’s Ben Jacobs, the Chelsea star shared his ambition: “I dream of captaining Argentina however that call doesn’t come all the way down to me. It’s as much as the teaching workers. After all, I dream of being the Argentina captain. I don’t know when it could be. Time will inform and it’s as much as the teaching workers to make the choice. It’s actually one among my desires and I’d be honoured to put on the captain’s armband.“
The midfielder remained grounded, maintaining his give attention to the upcoming World Cup throughout the USA, Canada, and Mexico. “My ideas are on the current, although. Profitable the World Cup is up to now and we’re centered on what lies forward. We all know it might be Messi’s final World Cup, so we’ll purpose to defend our title from Qatar as a group. Let’s hope for a form draw,” he concluded.
Enzo Fernández of Argentina celebrates after scoring in opposition to Brazil.
Enzo burst onto the scene quickly, first starring at River Plate after which at Benfica, the place he earned a late call-up to Argentina’s 2022 World Cup squad and performed a decisive position of their title run. Now sharing captain armband at Chelsea with Reece James, the midfielder goals to achieve an analogous standing with Argentina, even at simply 24 years outdated.
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Who have been Argentina’s captains throughout Scaloni’s period?
Lionel Scaloni started his tenure as Argentina head coach in 2018 on an interim foundation after a disappointing World Cup in Russia, a time when Messi remained removed from universally celebrated at dwelling. Now, with 90 matches in cost, Messi has established himself as the first armband-holder, captaining Argentina in 61 of these video games and leaving restricted alternatives for others.
Rounding out the record are Ángel Di María with 9 matches as captain and Nicolás Otamendi with eight. They’re adopted by Nicolás Tagliafico (4), Germán Pezzella (3), Cristian Romero (2), Sergio Romero (2), and Gabriel Mercado (1).
Among the many present squad, solely Otamendi, Tagliafico, and Romero have stepped in when Messi has been absent. Nonetheless, with the Inter Miami star and the Benfica defender nearing the top of their nationwide group careers (at 38 and 37 years outdated, respectively), Enzo Fernández seems poised to ultimately compete with Tagliafico or Romero for the position, making the Chelsea midfielder a robust candidate to succeed Messi as soon as he steps away.
