Lionel Scaloni once said publicly that he was in no place to think about a World Cup. His mother was ill, he was torn, and the manager who would go on to lift the trophy a year later admitted the national team job was not his first thought.
That mother, Eulalia Marzetti, died on Tuesday, 27 October in Pujato, Santa Fe, at the age of 74, according to beIN Sports. Scaloni, 48, left the national team’s base and travelled home to the small Santa Fe town where he grew up.
Marzetti had been in poor health for years. Infobae reports that she suffered a stroke in the middle of 2021 and was treated and rehabilitated after it, with recurring complications in the years that followed.
The Copa America he dedicated to her
Her illness has shadowed Scaloni’s entire run as Argentina coach. Days after she was taken ill in 2021, Argentina won the Copa America at the Maracana, and Scaloni spoke about her at the trophy press conference.
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“I want to dedicate it to my mother, who had a pretty serious health problem a few days ago and is fighting through it,” he told reporters, as recounted by beIN Sports.
A few months later, after a World Cup qualifier against Peru in October 2021, the strain spilled out again. He said he was not in a position to think about Qatar, and Goal reports he considered stepping down from the Argentina job to spend more time with her.
He did not step down. A year later, Argentina won the World Cup.
AFA orders nationwide tribute
The Argentine Football Association announced the measures through bulletin 6966 on Wednesday, per Goal. A minute’s silence will be observed at every match of round 15 of the Torneo Clausura and across the lower divisions, with flags flown at half-mast, including at the Lionel Messi training complex, the national team’s base in Ezeiza.
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“The entire Argentine Football Association, led by President Claudio Tapia, sends its condolences to our manager Lionel Scaloni and his family on the passing of his mother, Eulalia Marzetti,” the federation said in the statement carried by Mundo Albiceleste.
The Liga Profesional de Fútbol issued its own message, calling Marzetti “mother of Lionel Scaloni” and telling the coach that “the entire country stands with you and your family”.
A small town, a private farewell
In Pujato, around 40 km from Rosario, Marzetti was a familiar figure well beyond the Scaloni name. Infobae notes that she had served as a local justice of the peace in the town. Her husband is Ángel “Chiche” Scaloni, a former footballer himself, and she leaves three children: Mauro, Lionel and Corina. Corina runs the family’s Scala Bakery, which closed its doors on the day of her death.
The family has asked for a private farewell. Scaloni is expected to remain in Pujato for the funeral before rejoining Argentina’s staff.
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