Former Argentina Coach Jorge Sampaoli says he didn’t play Paulo Dybala or pick Mauro Icardi because “we had to win right away”.
The Albiceleste were knocked out of the World Cup in the second round by France, with La Joya, a key man for Juventus, playing only 22 minutes in the whole tournament and Icardi, the Inter captain, not even selected.
“We had to win right away and I had a lot of players who had been to the final we played in Brazil [in 2014],” Sampaoli explained to Marca.
Former Argentina Coach Jorge Sampaoli says he didn’t play Paulo Dybala or pick Mauro Icardi because “we had to win right away”.
The Albiceleste were knocked out of the World Cup in the second round by France, with La Joya, a key man for Juventus, playing only 22 minutes in the whole tournament and Icardi, the Inter captain, not even selected.
“We had to win right away and I had a lot of players who had been to the final we played in Brazil [in 2014],” Sampaoli explained to Marca.
“That’s why I bet on them. We had a plan for the short term, the medium term and the long term, with over 100 players involved. But after Russia everything ended.
“The World Cup was tough because we were obliged to win, and that meant the talent couldn’t express itself.
“We couldn’t play, quite simply because the only option was to win the World Cup and that meant it was hard to respond to adversity.
“The team always trained well and took to the pitch with conviction, but every game was suffering.”