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Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente reveals he spoke to Lionel Scaloni after the World Cup final.
Spain edged Argentina 1-0 in a tense and tactical World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, producing a disciplined display that kept Lionel Messi largely quiet throughout the contest.
However, the drama escalated after the final whistle when Leandro Paredes grabbed Eric Garcia by the neck before clashing with Spain substitute Gavi. The pair had to be pulled apart, but the confrontation continued as Paredes threw Gavi to the ground during a midfield melee. The Argentina midfielder was shown a red card after the match had ended and was eventually restrained by teammate Thiago Almada. FIFA has since confirmed it will be investigating the incident.
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Speaking after Spain's triumph, De la Fuente praised the character of his squad and revealed he had shared a heartfelt moment with the Argentina manager, who left his post-match press conference in tears after seeing his side fall short of defending its world title.
“We have shown that this team is made up of good people, supportive people, with values and principles that put the common good before individual interests,” said De la Fuente.
“We hugged, we thanked each other… I’m sorry to hear about his situation, I understand, but he must be very happy, very proud of the trajectory the Argentine national team has had. They’ve broken all the records and still have a long way to go. He’s young, in fact younger than me; I have less football left in me than he does. So today I think we deserved to win."
Scaloni's future as Argentina head coach has also been thrown into doubt after an emotional end to the World Cup. "I will talk to the president," said. "I have an idea of what I would like to do. I will see out my contract and I feel the need, I don't know if something as big can be done. We need to speak this through.
"I am thankful to the president for bringing me this chance of being in this place where I am at the moment. It was a dream place for everyone. We have tried up until the very last minute to give our utmost, the staff and players. I believe it's only fair that I can take this time for myself to think this through.
"In order to continue you need a great deal of things, especially resetting your mind, rebooting, creating a group like this again. That is very difficult to create again.
"It hurts my soul. I’m sorry. I have to be honest and say that I have to take time and think about the future, because I’m not sure this kind of group can be assembled again.”
Before leaving the press conference, an emotional Scaloni added: "It's really painful, I am very sorry."
