Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni placed his continuity in doubt following the men’s national football team’s 1-0 victory over Brazil Tuesday, sending shockwaves throughout the entire country. 

“There’s an important bit I wanted to say,” Scaloni said at the end of the press conference following the game. “I need to pause a bit in the coming months because I need to think about many things. These players have given us a lot, and I need to ponder my next move. They’ve set the bar very high and it’s hard to carry on.”

“This isn’t a goodbye, but I need to think things through,” added Scaloni. “This team needs a coach with energy and who’s feeling well.”

The comments came as a shock to the public, given that there were no previous indications that Scaloni, who won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, was thinking about stepping down.

“We were hyped up by the celebrations, and later shocked by the news,” Nicolás Otamendi, who scored the winner at the Maracanã Stadium, admitted after the game. “We haven’t spoken to him yet. We’ll wait until the mood calms down, and we’ll talk.”

Defender Cristian “Cuti” Romero and midfielder Leandro Paredes admitted being surprised after hearing Scaloni’s words during the press conference. They both expressed that the players will  “try to convince him to carry on.” 

Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister added that “[Scaloni’s] wishes should be respected,” although he hoped the current Albiceleste coach “carries on forever.”

The sentiment is echoed by Argentine fans. The picture of the coaching staff at the Maracanã shared by Scaloni on Instagram was immediately flooded with comments from fans asking him to stay. “45 million Argentines depend on you staying on, we will always support you”, reads one message, while another added that “nothing will be the same” without Scaloni.

Without much in the way of explanations, most thorys aim at either economic or differences of opinion between Scaloni and Argentine Football Association president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia. The Argentina coach, however, confirmed that “everything is good” with the AFA president.