Argentine defender Lionel Scaloni was one of a rare and special few South Americans to wear the colours of West Ham United, doing so for a mere few months during the 2005/2006 campaign.
But, how did he manage to make it into the club’s history books? Why did his spell in East London come to an impromptu end? And more importantly, where is he now?
Lionel Scaloni
Born in the Rosario region of Argentina in the year of 1978, a young Scaloni always dreamed of becoming a professional footballer and always seemed destined to do so.
His first club were local outfit Newell’s Old Boys, with whom he made his debut as a teenager, before moving to another team in his home Country in the form of Estudiantes, remaining in the Primera Division.
However, soon, the exiting talent was beginning to attract attention from further afield and more specifically Europe, where he was spotted by La Liga team Deportivo de La Coruna.
Here, Scaloni enjoyed the longest single spell at a club in the entirety of his career, figuring over 200 times in with Deportivo and managing to net close to 20 times from defence.
But, his eight years on the continent were about to come to an end in late January 2006, as a number of English sides looked to hone in on his signature, one of them being Alan Pardew’s Hammers.
The English boss was able to negotiate a loan deal for the Argentine star, the deal suited all with Scaloni hoping to force his way into Argentina’s squad for the 2006 World Cup, something he eventually achieved.
Fellow countryman Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano made him feel at home in London off the pitch, while he looked in his element on it as well, winning over the Claret & Blue Army in a short space of time.
Scaloni quickly jotted up an impressive tally of Premier League matches and also featured regularly in the FA Cup, this was where he made a name for himself, helping to lead the irons to the Final.
Having finished comfortably inside the top half in the League, the Millennium Stadium Final with Liverpool presented Scaloni with an opportunity to lift his first major career silverware outside of Spain, where he had won the La Liga, Supercopa and Copa Del Rey.
It would be a mixed outing for him as he started the match under Pardew and claimed an assist early on, providing a dangerous cross for Jamie Carragher to put through his own net.
Although with just seconds remaining, and the East Londoners leading 3-2, Scaloni failed to clear the ball properly, leading to Steven Gerrard smashing home a leveller, the Reds eventually winning on penalties.
This would be his final appearance in Claret & Blue as no permanent deal could be agreed to keep him at the club any further, moving back to Spain that summer with Racing Santander.
Having made just one appearance in blue and white during the World Cup, spending just a season with Racing, deciding to move to Italy for a fresh start in 2007.
His six-year stint with Lazio would be a very frustrating one Scaloni managed just over a half-century of showings mixed in with a loan at Mallorca and departed in 2013, well into his 30s by that stage.
However, he hadn’t lost his appetite for the game he loved and played out one final spell, staying in the Serie A with Atalanta and retiring from playing after two years in 2015.
Scaloni was in no rush to relax, though failing in his search for a new club, and being snapped up by fellow Argentine and manager Jorge Sampaoli, coaching under him at Sevilla from the early winter 2016.
Under a year later, the experienced boss with offered the job of his home nation, leaving Spain and opting to take Scaloni with him to take up a similar role with Argentina.
Nowadays, the former defender serves as Argentina’s assistant manager and is preparing to help to take them to this summer’s World Cup, 12 years after travelling to one himself as a player.
Much like many West Ham United stars of his generation, Lionel Scaloni’s story was very much of what could have been at the Boleyn Ground, though who knows where his possible managerial career could take him? To the London Stadium in the future, perhaps?
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