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Gue ini sejak kecil hidup dengan keluarga yg struggle urusan finansial. Nyokap gue singlemother dr sejak gue SD (dan ga remarried) dan beliau menghidupi 3 anaknya dengan jualan nasi/catering.

Gue kadang jg mikir, puluhan tahun emak gue kerja banting tulang, tp kok kayak bisa ga keliatan ada tabungan yg wow gitu. Kayak hasil kerjanya ga berwujud apa². Padahal nyokap dan ketiga anak²nya juga ga punya gaya hidup boros / bermewah²an, jadi di dalam hati gue mempertanyakan hal ini.

Rumah yg ditinggali keluarga gue saat ini didapat nyokap dari warisan hasil jual rumah orangtua beliau (rumah masa kecil nyokap).

Nyokap pergi umrah itu dibayarin orang.

Motor di rumah ada 1 itu yg beli kakak #2 gue.

Gue kuliah bayar sendiri.

Kakak #1 gue nikah juga ada keluar dr duit tabungan dia sendiri, dan itu nikah sederhana di rumah yg bukan nyewa gedung/tempat.

Kejadian luar biasa kayak anggota keluarga jatuh sakit lalu sampe harus keluar duit banyak pun juga ga ada, kecuali saat nyokap gue digendam orang pas lagi bawa kalung emas sisa satu²ny perhiasan beliau (yg itu kalung rantai a la² hiphop gitu, alias berat dan panjang) dan sampai sekarang pun Nyokap gue ga ada simpanan emas yg bergram², saat ini beliau udah lansia 65th dan masih kerja jualan nasi untuk bs bertahan hidup (dan bayar hutang).

Dengan kondisi struggle sejak kecil inilah di keluarga gue gaada tradisi Lebaran sebagaimana yg banyak terjadi pada umumnya.

Ada 2-3 hal yang gue seumur hidup belum ngerasain, dan semoga aja jangan sampe ngerasain sih ya karena gue rasa gue gaakan sanggup buat menjalani tradisi seperti itu.

Yang pertama, berjejalan nyari baju baru untuk lebaran. Jalanan macet orang tumpah ruah setelah dapat THR untuk beli baju/sepatu,etc untuk tampil paripurna saat lebaran.

Keluarga gue ga relate sama hal ini karena saat jatuh 1 Syawwal yang terjadi di keluarga gue dr tahun ke tahun adalah simply kita pergi ke lokasi sholat ied terdekat (dengan baju / mukenah rapih,formal yg tidak harus baru), lalu balik ke rumah, and thats it, we call it done. Bahkan versi ekstrim beberapa kali sampe gembok pintu pagar karena kita mau lanjut tidur (leyeh²) dan ga mau diganggu orang dateng ke rumah.

Even bahkan kalo ga digembok pun juga jarang sih rumah gue kedatengan tamu/keluarga/relasi/tetangga yg berkunjung untuk maaf²an, bahkan klo sama tetangga pun sekadar jabat tangan pas ketemu di jalan.

Dan karena kita ga expect untuk nerima/nyambut tamu, tradisi lain yg tidak kita lakukan selanjutnya adalah beli kue kering. Mungkin kalo dulu, dulu banget sekitar 7-8 tahun yg lalu, nyokap gue masi nerima pesanan kue kering. Mengingat zaman dulu belum banyak orang yang jual / usaha bikin kue, jadi kuker buatan nyokap meskipun bahan premium dan harga pricey jadi tetep laris² aja, nah jadi dr situ emang ga terbiasa beli kuker. Bahkan ketika nyokap uda galagi bikin kuker, kita tidak mengharuskan kalo di rumah harus ada kuker tiap lebaran.

Saat nulis ini gue lantas jadi mikir. Mungkin Allah itu tau ya kalo hambanya yg ini kondisi finansialnya terbatas, jadi sengaja dibikin ga banyak didatengin tamu saat lebaran karena bikin kita ga under pressure harus nyiapin budget untuk nyetok kuker atau nyiapin duit saweran.

Perihal duit saweran pun, meskipun dr kecil gue uda ngerasa hidup miskin ((Miskin karena pemasukan nyokap < pengeluaran bulanan)), tapi ga pernah diajarin nyokap buat minta² duit saweran. Gue bahas ini karena banyak kan mulut² lamis orang tua yg saat bawa anaknya berkunjung lebaran di rumah orang trus sampai terucap dr mulut si orang tua "Sana minta uang saweran", alias ngajarin anaknya buat minta². Jadi alhamdulillahnya ga pernah ada kejadian kedatengan tamu yg berkelakuan seprti itu (seinget gue pernah sih 1x ada tetangga dateng trus ngomong gitu/minta saweran).

Tapi bukan berarti lalu saat ada tamu lalu tamunya anyep. Malah urusan menjamu tamu ini nyokap gue tipe yg totalitas. Karena beliau jago masak, jadi nyokap selalu menjamu tamu dgn ngasih makanan hasil masakannya. Ini jauh lebih hemat cost ketimbang beli makanan. Tapi memang tamu ini harus yg uda bikin janji dulu sama nyokap jauh² hari, jadi di hari itu nyokap bisa nyiapin jamuan. Tapi khusus untuk awal² hari Syawwal memang kondisi rumah gue terbiasa tenang, damai, dan tentram tanpa ada tamu² berdatangan. Kita pun juga hampir ga pernah pergi untuk berkunjung, karena pergi itu pasti butuh uang untuk transport mobil. Makanya itu seringnya sejak dulu kalo udah 2 Syawwal keluarga gue langsung bayar puasa Ramadhan biar bisa lanjut kebagian syawwal. Hal ini bisa dilakukan ya karena kita terbebas dari nerima kunjungan tamu dan juga tidak pergi mengunjungi orang.

Hal selanjutnya adalah mudik. Gue ngerasain mudik itu saat masih kecil dan momen terakhir mudik gue yaitu pas gue kelas 4 SD karena saat itu rumah masa kecil nyokap masi belom dijual jadi sesama sepupu, padhe budhe om tante masi bisa kumpul di rumah itu. Setelah itu uda gapernah lagi. Dan dari momen mudik yang gue rasain saat itu bukan momen mudik yg chaos bermacet²an sebagaimana yg lumrah terjadi di Indonesia. Gue dulu mudik selalu naik kereta. Dan itu posisi nyokap selalu kebagian tiket/dapet tempat duduk legal yg bernomor. Memori gue akan mudik itu paling ya harus tidur di lantai kereta dan ngerasa horor karena suka ada hewan² kecil kayak kecoa yg berlalu lalang. Tapi untuk suasana berdesak²an kayak kondisi kereta zaman Pra Ignatius Jonan itu Alhamdulillah ga pernah gue rasain.

Gue saban liat TV nayangin suasana mudik se-macet itu gue rasa gue pun bakal ga puasa kalo kondisinya kayak gitu. Dan sedihnya kalo sampe banyak orang yg mudik lalu jadi bikin lalai, ga cuma puasa, tp juga sholatnya. Makanya gue bilang, smoga aja gue ga sampe ngerasain mudik yg seperti itu. Karena gue ga yakin sama kekuatan iman gue bilamana sampe ada di posisi kayak gitu.

Dan karena keluarga gue ga mudik itulah yg bikin belasan tahun keluarga gue saban Lebaran seakan² jadi satpam komplek, karena kesannya 1 komplek cuma keluarga gue doang yg ga mudik, lainnya rumah tetangga pada kosong 😅

Yah jadi di malam yg udah mulai ganjil ini, gue tiba² pengen menuliskan ini semua di tumblr gue. Sebagai pengingat memori aja sih. Saatnya kita kembali baca Al Quran.

#personal rambling #family #lebaran tradition

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#la scaloneta #argentina nt #lionel messi #angel di maria #rodrigo de paul #leandro paredes #paulo dybala #enzo fernandez #julian alvarez #lisandro martinez #nicolas otamendi #giovani lo celso #cuti romero #lautaro martinez #kun aguero #tucu correa #gero rulli #nico gonzalez #nicolas tagliafico #holiday picts in no particular order <3

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¿La Scaloneta? Una poesía muy buena ~

Some heated, hilarious, and heartwarming moments when the boys meet each other as a rival ⚔️

↳ Previously on “¿La Scaloneta? Una familia (part 1)”

Nico: No estaría mal que Leo se coma una patadita Caro: NOOOO

Le dije que no se tenía que enojar porque fue todo pelota. Después se reía porque sabe que se tiró al pedo. Tenemos una gran relación con Ale, son cosas del Partido y quedan ahí - Cuti Romero's interview with Sofi Martinez

↳ Context: Mac was actually upset that Brighton lost because he felt injustice from the Ref’s decision

🔴 Enzo (Benfica) vs Messi (PSG): two legs UCL game all draw, vs Di Maria-Paredes (Juventus): two legs UCL game all won

🔵 Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Enzo vs Cuti – Licha-Garnacho – Julian – Mac Allister – Dibu: all LOSE 😭

Sad to know we don’t get to see Cuti vs Licha during the Spurs clash against United because of Licha’s injury, but at least we get to see Juli-Enzo together once again 💕

FROM THIS >>>> TO THIS

I'm not crying, you are :')

🟥 El Huevo got a red card that prevented him from playing in the Final match

The hard pill from having “The All-Argentinian Final” 😔

The more (Muchachos play in the same team), the better 💕

⚽ Molina dedicated his goal to Angelito Correa (who missed the game due to the death of his beloved Mother)

Is this even legal to have 5 Argentines in 1 club 😭😭

Lisandro Martinez es como mi padre - Garnacho on MUTV

In September, if all is well and Ten Haag is nice to us, let’s hope to see these two together play for Argentina, as what a stroke of bad luck that we had when in March it was Garnacho who couldn’t join the squad during the 1st FMD, and last month we missed Licha when Garnacho made his debut 😩

⚫⚪ Being Juventini for 20 years I’m happy both of them left the club, especially after Juventus’ point deduction that made them couldn’t participate in any Europe competition. And although to me they playing there is like a failed project aka wrong decision, at least I got to see Di Maria scored a hattrick (Sofascore rating solid perfect 10) and Paredes also got MOTM with his superb free kick goal (against Lecce) ⚽

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2022/2023 Season wrap-up:

CONGRATULATIONS:

Lautaro & Tucu for winning Super Coppa and Coppa Italia 2022-23 (Lautaro scored in both final matches) 🏆🏆

Licha & Garnacho for winning Carabao Cup 2022-23 🏆

Messi for winning Ligue1 2022-23 🏆

Gio Simone for winning Serie A 2022-23 🏆

Otamendi for winning La Primeira Liga 2022-23 🏆

Montiel, Acuña, Papu, Lamela, & Ocampos for Winning UEL 2022-23 🏆

Manu Lanzini for winning UECL 2022-23 🏆

↳ Not to mention Brighton & Hove Albion who finished #6 which makes them qualified for UEL Group Stage 👏 and Aston Villa (#7) who for the 1st time in 12 years have qualified for European competition (UECL Qualifier) 👏

Finally and above all, triple applause for ‘La Araña que pica’ Julian for winning the Treble [EPL-FA Cup-UCL] with City 🏆🏆🏆

🕸️

📌 Honorable mention from me goes to Facu Medina:

MAN IS ON A MISSION 🤭

We were talking, you know what Leo is as a person and as a player. To be honest, I congratulated him and thanked him for the World Cup - Facu Medina on his chat with Messi after the game @ SC_ESPN

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👋 if you enjoy reading this post you can also click here to similar posts I have already made:

(1) Little Things I Love from La Scaloneta

(2) Hilarious & Heartwarming stories about La Scaloneta

(3) Crackhead Muchachos

(4) Full thread about AFA's Tournament de Truco

(5) Full thread about Players' room arrangement (¿Quién duerme con quién?) + more gifs about Messi and the gang

Coming up next: Argentina FMD + Holiday picts, stay tuned 😉

#LA SCALONETA #Argentina NT #Lionel Messi #Angel Di Maria #Paulo Dybala #Cuti Romero #Leandro Paredes #Nahuel Molina #Rodrigo de Paul #Lisandro Martinez #Enzo Fernandez #Julian Alvarez #Dibu Martinez #Alex Mac Allister #Alejandro Garnacho #Nicolas Tagliafico #Lautaro Martinez #Scaloneta #Football #Repost

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🔎Am looking for a video 🔍

If my memory not gone sour, I remember watched the clip here on Tumblr, I hit 'like' but now I couldn't find it. It's the short clip of the bald guy reporter from Canal deportv who asked Otamendi to clarify De Paul's statement who said "Otamendi is a teddy bear in our pieza" and Otamendi laughed and said that it happened just one time when De Paul forgot to turn his phone, it's loud so Otamendi had to turn it off, but of course De Paul being the master of giving hyperbole story fabricated it like that.

Where's that clip now??? 🤔🔎

#argentina nt #la scaloneta #rodrigo de paul #world cup 2022 #nicolas otamendi #arg nt

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" Yo estaba en la habitación de al lado de Cuti y Licha. Te levantabas y el pasillo era Londres. Abrías la puerta y había un humo increíble. Palo santo había por todos lados. Llegó un momento en que le dije 'Licha, pará un poco' " -- The story of La Banda del Palo Santo as told by Leandro Paredes

💨

IDK, it's either let these three share a room together or give them the connecting room.

....Un error de uno hace que sea más chiquito, porque el otro lo banca o le dice no pasa nada. O porque el otro la arregla sabiendo que es un amigo - Lionel Scaloni on AFAStudio

💙

Cuti - Licha: *happily slanders Molina*

meanwhile, Molina: *tries not to cry while thinking about Cuti - Licha*

Cuti 🤝 Licha

It just had to be that way. The first and only time Cuti, Licha, & Molina played as starters in this World Cup, Molina scored such an amazing goal which gave us this moment when the last players embraced him leaving only Messi, De Paul, Licha, and Cuti.

#TMI: (Probably) the first ever they played together as StartingXI was on this edition of CONMEBOL 2017 (Sub20) with Cuti being Cuti got his 2nd red card (after the 1st one happened exactly right on their 1st match 😂 )

Our 98 Line ~

Many people think Cuti's recent tattoo is a silhouette of their WC photo, but it's actually from the Finalissima one.

UPDATE: LICHA'S NEW TATTOO !!

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Frequently seen together, DO NOT SEPARATE THEM EVER!!

#argentina nt #arg nt #la scaloneta #LISANDRO MARTINEZ #CUTI ROMERO #NAHUEL MOLINA #la banda del palo santo #“You open the door and it was LONDON” 😂 I'm so dead at how Paredes vividly explained the situation in the Qatar dorm #FULL CREDIT FOR DE PAUL WHO BROUGHT UP THE STORY THE FIRST TIME #and Scalo's statement 🥲 You know it's the truth #WORLD CUP 2022 #COPA AMERICA 2021 #FINALISSIMA 2022 #OT3: Cuti-Licha-Moli 💕 #football #fifa world cup #Licha martinez #Cristian romero

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If they indeed come to my country, idk man, it's a mixed feelings between I HAVE TO WATCH THEM IN A FLESH and THERES NO WAY MUM LET ME GO, especially if they play at night since it's 12hrs train trip (cant afford the plane tix) from the city I live to Jakarta (Indonesia's capital city) and some months ago I've made promisE to not engage myself directly with football ever since the Kanjuruhan Deathly Riot happened, it terrifies the shit out of me that I dont want something bad happen to me while I go watching football for I used to actively and physically support my fave local team by watching in the stadium, etc

Aaaaa i hate this.

I've loved Di Maria since forever. There wont be any more chance to see him, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially he's gonna retire soon. But, should I break my promise, commit more sins, and add extra stress for my mum if i selfishly want to go?

Just one month to see them again 🇦🇷

#Argentina vs Indonesia #FIFA Friendlies #international break #La scaloneta #I fuckin hate this #It's better they don't come at all

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ARGENTINA INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY WILL PLAY IN MY COUNTRY INDONESIA IN JUNE

IM TREMBLING

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Scaloni vs Everybody 😂

Rodrigo De Paul on Lionel Scaloni: If it's 10 in the morning and Scaloni says 'Good night', then it's a night for us too. And if he asks us to jump from the balcony because he says we have wings, we do that too.

EXPECTATION:

REALITY:

😂

When they give you everything but not the one you really wish for

#La Scaloneta #Scaloneta #Argentina NT #Seleccion Argentina #Lionel Scaloni #Leo Messi #Lionel Messi #Rodrigo De Paul #Leandro Paredes

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La Scaloneta is a...

It’s clear that both fans and players share the same sentiments toward La Scaloneta. “ An incredible group that was put together. When you are at the club sometimes you say, how long is it until you go to the national team? You are happy to be there ”, this is how Paredes defined the squad.

- The 'infamous' Players' Group Whatsapp

Paredes is the one who was in charge of creating the group chat. “ We were following the World Cup group drawing through Whatsapp. No, it’s not called La Scaloneta. The coach doesn’t like the nickname, sometimes we tell him jokingly. We left it (the Whatsapp group chat's name) at ‘Copa America’ because it was created when we play for Copa America ”

(Lautaro and Cuti confessed that a day after the World Cup Final, Paredes renamed the group chat from 'Copa America Champion' to ‘World Cup Champion’).

Another story Paredes told about the group chat was, “ We always talk. Every time one of us has to play we try to watch and talk after the game. There are many times that we have to play at the same time and we can’t, but we always try to look at each other ”

- A lot of times they have to become rival for 90mins, but let's pray for this squad to remain as a "Brother" for a very long time 🤞

- The way they take care of each other

Paredes took a trip down memory lane to the first moment he and De Paul broke the ice with Messi. He said, “ It was during an afternoon when we still had 2 hours before training and didn’t know what to do. And Rodri said, ‘That’s it, let’s grab the cards, mate, and knock on Leo’s door’. The idea is that simple; to play truco, drink mate, listen to some music, and hope he would receive us in the best way. We were lucky he opened the door to his room for us and everything has worked well since that moment "

De Paul on Messi: Having him, everything is easier. On a club level, I only had contact with him once, at Valencia vs Barcelona. Apart from that, I didn’t know him. Given everything he lives through he could be a reserved character, so he surprised me (as it turns out) he enjoys having a mate, listening to a song, and playing truco. We do warm-up games, and I say: ‘Leo, I’ll take you on!’, he loves that. That humanizes him. You can see him like he's from another dimension, but he’s just a person.

Furthermore, De Paul describes his role in the National Team as a ‘spare tire’. I have no problem putting it like that. And I’ll do anything to wear this jersey. With my role, we can cover Paredes and help Messi, everything comes in its own time whether it’s to help Messi to attack, or hold back to cover Paredes. You compliment them.

Messi's praise of De Paul

Between players, it has been well-known that the secret to make Leo (Messi) happy is by treating him normally. However, Cristian Romero said in reality it worked the other way around.

Cuti: Since I joined the National team, Leo always treats me like I am one of them, he made me see how simple it is beyond everything he has won in his career. 

"Rodrigo De Paul desde el primer día lo protegió, lo abrazó y lo apadrinó." - Molina's father told the story about how De Paul took care of his son when Molina first time played abroad for Udinese

Molina: I was at my house when Rodri with Correa were the first ones to call me and said ‘Congratulations! You deserve it! I hope you don’t flatter yourself (note: in a joking manner)’. I didn’t understand it until they told me that I had been summoned by the National Team.

Paredes to De Paul: How well we raised these 3 (Cuti-Licha-Moli)

Meanwhile, long before acting as Molina’s ‘godparent’, Rodri was the ‘little brother’ of Ota back when the 2 of them played for Valencia (and they’ve been a roommate since Brazil's 2019 Copa America). Take a look back at their Instagram, there are so many photos of them together both on-off pitch, even after Ota moved to Manchester, the friendship still continued.

- Players' bonding time with Asado

Love how the young ones 'take advantage' by making the elder do the cooking

- Their attention to the injured ones

Players' support for Gio; before, during, and after his comeback from injury

Mac Allister about Garnacho: I'm sure Licha is working on it (persuading Garna to join Argentina) right now

Licha: I'm taking him with me to Argentina

It’s like a cycle of them taking care of each other, one another 💕 Just like how Ota took care of Rodri and Rodri took care of Molina in return. Gio’s presence helped Cuti to adapt when they were both in Tottenham even for a little while. Tagliafico helped Licha while both played for Ajax. Leo welcomed Paredes in the NT and later Paredes (together with Di Maria & Ney) helped Leo adjust to a new life in Paris, and now it’s Licha’s turn to be ‘the old brother’ of Garnacho.

Meanwhile, so many people against Garnacho join the Argentine side, mostly because they are afraid this kid’s personality will ruin the ‘harmony’ within players and all those bullshit talk about him idolizing Ronaldo. Well, in my opinion, I am 100% sure that the second Garnacho misbehaves (if ever), Licha will be the first to reprimand him. For real though, I don’t think there will be bad individuals inside this NT as long as there are players like De Paul, Paredes, and Dibu.

And yes, like Kun said, wish that the more Garnacho spends time seeing Messi play, the faster he will realize who the real GOAT is,

although imo it’s not a crime to choose CR7 over Messi? if Messi can be best friends with Neymar and Suarez (both are Argies’ rivals), then why can’t Garna choose CR7 over Messi? It's only a matter of preference (not loyalty), anyway.

Meanwhile, Haters had a field day over Garnacho's injury news. Too bad we can't see Licha really taking Garna to Argentina.

- The 'dont-touch-Leo-or-I-will-kill-you' movement:

Throwback to Kun's reaction seeing the UCL drawing when PSG, Juventus, and Benfica were in the same group.

Meanwhile… Di Maria (& Messi himself) be like.. 😂

- Different interviews were conducted at different times, but these players shared the same stories about the squad

To quote Paredes: none of them makes a bad face if they have to be corrected, while Dibu said: ‘Acá nadie pone mala cara’

Dibu: One fell and the other ten help him to get up Licha: If they touch one (of us), we all go (to defend him)

De Paul said ‘Everyone knows what they’re expected to do’, similar to Paredes’ statement ‘Each one knows what they have to contribute’

Throwback to September 2019 during the match against Mexico. Argentina got a chance to score a goal via a penalty kick after Lautaro’s shot touched the hand of Mexico player. It’s understandable for Lau to think that he should be the player in charge of the pen kick since he already scored a brace and aimed for a hattrick. But somehow after Lau took the ball from Ochoa, Paredes demanded the ball from Lau and kicked the penalty himself. Paredes eventually scored & celebrated the goal with Lau, and 6 mins later Lautaro succesfully scored a hattrick. After the game, Lau posted a photo of him and Paredes with a playful caption to quickly shut down any rumor about an ‘altercation’ between him and Paredes during the penalty kick.

As for now, for me, it is ironic how people assume bringing Garnacho to the Scaloni squad can bring ‘dressing room drama’. No, it’s not. It’s the fans' ‘toxic’ culture that could destroy this family. The way people start to compete players against each other or criticize players’ World Cup performance while disregarding their roles in the previous tournaments. Yeah, everyone has their own opinion, but acting like they have the right to decide who should join the NT or play as a starter is truly ridiculous.

Paredes was one of the ‘undisputed starters’ on Scaloni’s squad but quickly lost his place after the loss against Saudi Arabia. He accepted his role as a substitute player and helped his teammates from the bench. “ I didn’t arrive in the best physical way and I was aware by not being 100% gonna cost me a lot. The group was above everything and luckily the great teammates (Enzo & Mac Allister) appeared as they played enormously well. I was surprised and very proud of them. ”

Dybala interview with Marca: I needed some time after my injury and I was not yet in the best condition. I wanted to support, be positive with the best energies, and never put an angry or frustrated face for not being played. I made the team feel like they could count on me. And so it was, I felt better and Scaloni trusted me in one of the most important moments.

Lautaro interview with espnargentina: I have discomfort with my swollen ankle and I had to play with painkillers. It’s not the World Cup that I expected (because the injury made him underperform), but Juli’s arrival made me very happy. He’d give the team what I couldn’t give.

I’ve seen many people questioning why then Scaloni didn’t choose a 100% fit player if he knew Dybala, Lautaro and Paredes weren’t 100% fit. The audacity for these people to think like that, because despite their injuries, during the crucial moments, all the 3 of them stepped up and executed their roles perfectly.

What's next?

Scaloni's interview on March 21st: I thanked the players again for winning the title, now it’s time to celebrate but this goes on. And it’s going to cost us more than ever because they are going to want to beat us much more. We need a lot more energy from everyone because everything will be more difficult.

In regards to the national team:

“A new process begins. Those who are world champions don’t have an advantage. The most important thing is that the players don't feel like the owners of the National Team and that the coach is always watching. There are also kids who are going to grow and play at a high level and fight for a place (in the NT)."

Say, we, supporters, love this team. We'd love to see Messi to win more trophies alongside these Muchachos. The closest is that we aim for a Copa America back-to-back champion. This time it will be 10x more difficult because other countries will proly want to beat Argentina just out of spite, just for them to be able to say "WE BEAT THE WORLD CHAMPION, WHERE IS MESSI? WE POCKET HIM, etc etc", like Scaloni said, this squad needs a lot more energy from everyone, and imo that includes US, the supporters.

Why? As I said earlier, fans' toxic culture could destroy this team from outside. What supporters don't easily grasp is the fact that Scaloni can easily kick any players out once they don't perform well and there's better replacement. This fact, the players are fully aware as they said in numerous interviews "In this squad, there's only 1 player who's irreplaceable. Other than Messi, we always have to fight for 1 spot". Specifically, De Paul said this, "I'll do anything to be able to wear this jersey, but if one day I don't play, it's because there are others who play better than me.",

Well, I think it's safe for us (supporters) to love all players equally and love them based on their performance on the pitch. That way if Scaloni decides to drop them from the future squad list we won't be so upset or displeased with that decision because we know that it's because there are other players who (according to Scaloni's better judgment) play better than our faves. If the players can accept the consequences with big hearts (like Lau, Dybala, and Paredes) then supporters need to learn to be respectful toward Scaloni and just pray for the best.

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📌 Bonus gifs+pics

Lovely place, with good feelings, and a happy squad. The return of the KINGS 👑

Because Tumblr can only have up to 30 images in a post, I can't say anything more about this squad, but if you enjoy reading this post you can also click here to similar posts I have already made:

(1) Little Things I love from La Scaloneta

(2) Hilarious & Heartwarming stories about La Scaloneta

(3) Crackhead Muchachos

(4) Full thread about AFA's Tournament de Truco

(5) Full thread about Players' room arrangement (¿Quién duerme con quién?) + more gifs about Messi and the gang

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#La Scaloneta #Seleccion Argentina #Argentina NT #Scaloneta #World CUp 2022 #Lionel Scaloni #Lionel Messi #Sergio Aguero #Angel Di Maria #Cristian Romero #Leandro Paredes #Rodrigo De Paul #Giovani Lo Celso #Nahuel Molina #Lisandro Martinez #Papu Gomez #Lautaro Martinez #Nicolas Otamendi #Dibu Martinez #Enzo Fernandez #Julian Alvarez #Alejandro Garnacho #Juan Foyth #German Pezzella #Gero Rulli #Nicolas Tagliafico #Marcos Acuna #Guido Rodriguez #Gonzalo Montiel #Angel Correa

[cloudsspoke]

and now I am convinced that the real motive behind their fighting spirit to win the title is just so they can recreate their own photos 😭😭

And don't get me wrong, not that I am against Papu, but I am delighted to know that PAULO JOYITA DYBALA is fucking finally part of these group photo 😭😭😭

He's always been there (sans Copa America), he's always part of Leo's close circle, but somehow he wasn't part of this 'inside jokes' (the photo), and there's a chance he won't be too if Papu was here today, so yeah because Papu out, Dybala in 🥲

Leo´s friend circle seems to love recreating their own photos (to the point they video called Kun when they won Finalissima match and took that pict) but too bad during the World Cup celebration, they forgot to strike the similar pose 🤣

#Argentina NT #La Seleccion #World Cup 2022 #Seleccion Argentina #Lionel Messi #Angel Di Maria #Rodrigo de Paul #Leandro Paredes #Nicolás Otamendi #Giovani Lo Celso #Paulo Dybala #Scaloneta #La Scaloneta

[cloudsspoke]

Interesting how in almost previous events (Copa America & World Cup) the question about "¿Quién duerme con quién? " is one of the main topics and the media always fully covered and told the public about the sleeping arrangement between the Argentina NT players, but not on last year's World Cup. One of the clips that resurfaced online was the one where they showed some parts (rooms) of the Qatar University Dorm but no one bothered to give us the full players' room tour. Well, the cameramen only shot a little part of Messi's room and that's all we got to see (since the public's sole focus seemed to only curious about who'll sleep with Messi after he 'lost' his long-time roomie).

Anyway, since all I can do is to guess the reason behind this anomaly, my assumption is that maybe there's a restriction or some kind of a 'new rule' that prevents them from publishing these? Because there will be an upcoming docu that will reveal everything?

It's just that when I'm curious, I'm annoying, so I really wish at the end of the day this thing that pricks my curiosity will have the answers.

And just in case you want to know how they arranged the players' rooms in the past, these are what I have discovered so far.

2014

2016

2017

2018

2019

Fun fact: Di Maria's roommate *coincidentally* is always his PSG clubmate; from Pocho, Lo Celso, and Paredes at last.

(and yes, Otamendi has been De Paul's teddy bear since their Valencia era circa 2014-2015 and has been a roommate since 2019).

Things got hard during the pandemic when La Scaloneta had to stay on Ezeiza as part of Copa America 2021 because of the lockdown.

Despite the sleeping-alone rule, we know players still hang out in each other's rooms like usual.

At the very last of this long thread, I can't help but wonder, do you think are there any other football roommate couples like Kun and Messi in other countries / National Teams?

Real question. Am not the only who’s dying to know who slept with whom, right?? Well, I can only guess Papu probably shared room with Dybala, either in room #B203 or #B205.

++ bonus

++ update 31st Jan 2023

Di Maria mentioned Lea, Rodri, Cuti and Licha persuaded him not to retire and decided he’ll stay and try his best to play for Copa America 2024  😭😭

 call me greedy but I want back to back champion with him scores another goal on Final #creeengrande 

#Seleccion Argentina #History #Full Thread #La Scaloneta #World Cup #Copa America #Futbol #Football #Lionel Messi #Sergio Aguero #Angel Di Maria #Pocho Lavezzi #Javier Mascherano #Gonzalo Higuain #Paulo Dybala #Nicolas Otamendi #Rodrigo De Paul #Leandro Paredes #Papu Gomez #Giovani Lo Celso #Lisandro Martinez #Cuti Romero #Nahuel Molina

[cloudsspoke]

KUNESSI vs CUTI-LICHA

The Remote TV anecdote

In Romero & Martinez's room, no one knows where the remote is. It's just that when they're together (in the Ezeiza camp), the TV becomes a black mirror. - Clarin interview

The Playful Banter

The Times When They Against Each Other

#La Scaloneta #Argentina NT #Seleccion Argentina #Lionel Messi #Sergio Aguero #Kun Aguero #KunEssi #Cristian Romero #Cuti Romero #Lisandro Martinez #what's the couple name for Cuti Licha btw? #All eyes will be on White Hart Lane when Spurs meets United (April 28th)

[cloudsspoke]

FULL THREAD about the legendary AFA's Truco Tournament

It is well known, the players of the Argentina national team spent many years playing this truco game when they were enlisted in concentration camps. I tried to trace the history of this tradition, and these are the results.

Trivia: Messi lent 2 of his MOTM trophies to be used as a prop when the winner of the 2014 Truco Tournament, Martin Demichelis and Maxi Rodrigues, took their commemorative shot.

A year later, it's Otamendi & Javi Pastore's turn to win the tournament.

Kun & Messi in 2017.

The AFA pres won the 2018's truco tournament.

And now fast forward to their 2021 Copa America Journey. With the new coach and youngsters joining the Old Guards, the Truco Torneo tradition still lives on.

This marked the first time Messi had not partnered with his long-time best friend/forever roommate Kun, and eventually, the new trio consisting of Messi-Rodri-Lea won the tournament.

Last, the most recent tournament took place in Doha, Qatar. We got to see who was in charge of it (De Paul, Paredes), who teamed with whom, and who wasn't participating (Aimar, El Huevo, and German Pezzela).

The weird thing is, I found several articles that talked about different results about who won the torneo. Some said Tapia won again with Leo becoming the runner-up, others said Tapia won and the runner-up was another AFA's staff, and I too found people who were hyped up about Juli winning the tournament.

Someone on Twitter made a thread about the same topic (Truco Torneo) and from her post, we get to know that Di Maria denied this rumor about Juli.

Thanks to Taglia and Lauti who shared another inside story about the tournament. In their version, after Di Maria-Dybala-Ota team beat them, the trio then beat the Leo-Lea-Rodri team and based on the bracket maybe they (Di Maria-Dybala-Ota) were finally beaten by Chiqui Tapia's team.

Taglia mentioned about the tournament kinda 'lost its sparks' once the favorite team lost. It seems fitting to the one Rodri said as per this OP's post. (Or it could also maybe they wasn't in the mood after the loss against Saudi Arabia).

Well, we're lucky that the topic of this confusing torneo is being mentioned during El Kun's legendary Twitch Stream, although it isn't very clear at all since no one mentioned the opponent who challenged Messi's team.

++ Torneo de Truco UPDATE

According to this recent clip, Lea did admit Ota-Di Maria-Dybala team beat his team and said the winner from the torneo was a team consisting of a manager, utility staff, and a goalkeeper coach.

...

One thing for sure is, 3 of the known loser teams have something to be blamed for. Lauti blamed Foyth, Lea called for the injustice, and then Cuti and Licha joined forces in slandering Molina's truco skill right under his Insta post.

I hope the upcoming docu will reveal the real winner of the 2022 Truco Torneo.

==END OF THREAD==

#La Scaloneta #Seleccion Argentina #Argentina NT #Lionel Messi #Rodrigo De Paul #Sergio Aguero #Leandro Paredes #Nicolas Otamendi #Lisandro Martinez #Cuti Romero #Nahuel Molina #Dibu Martinez #Lautaro Martinez #Nicolas Tagliafico #Angel Di Maria #Paulo Dybala #Papu Gomez #Gio Lo Celso #Gero Rulli #Julian Alvarez #Gonzalo Montiel #Campeonato de Truco #Torneo de Truco #Copa America 2021 #World Cup 2022 #WC 2022

[cloudsspoke]

Rodrigo De Paul talks about Lionel Messi's promise "I felt pain days before the game against The Dutch. I came to Leo's room, and when he found out about my injury he said: Don't play, stupid. I said, no. It'd be the last time I'll ever play in World Cup, maybe in 4 years they won't summon me. And then Leo said: Don't worry. I promise I'll take you to the semifinal."

Kun: *totally wasted* Leo: *stared at his drunk friend* Kun: *noticed the way Leo stared* what? Leo: stop it. Kun: stop what? Leo: the drink. your heart. you drunk. Kun: my heart's fine. well, even if something bad happens, let it happens here. i don't mind dying. i'm happy. we're world champions pa' !

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

#not even fanfic writer can't beat these shits #it's too damn romantic i can't #50 days has passed and here we are still crying #World Cup 2022 #WC 2022 #Argentina NT #Lionel Messi #Sergio Aguero #Rodrigo De Paul #Seleccion Argentina

[cloudsspoke]

Random talks about the Arg NT 🇦🇷 : part 2 - Football & KPop, when my 2 fandoms collide

This is another random Argie talk, but before I get to write about them, first I want to mention my other fandom (outside football), which is KPop, as a prologue.

Yesung from the KPop group Super Junior is my first KPop bias, when I first fell into KPop hole circa 2013 (though I never call myself ‘ELF’, am just a ‘Cloud’, a Yesung-fan). It’s only after I became Shinhwa fan (4 years later, back in 2017) that I ended up 'left' football fandom.

Quick introduction about Shinhwa, they are the longest KPop group that ever exists, the one with no members changing, and never disbanding either. One of the reasons I love them badly is because the bond between members. The way they get closer with each fight (the members fought a lot, and I talk about real fistfight), at the same time use excessive skinship method (kissing, hugging, cuddling, getting naked together, having a bath/poop/pee together) to strengthen the chemistry, and it's been like that since their debut, back in 1997-98. The chemistry which makes the 6 of them a really good pairing, either in a form of a duo (15 OTPs) or a trio (10 pairings consisting of 3 members).

In 2018 this group celebrated their 20th anniversary with packed schedules, that's the major reason I skipped World Cup (other than all my faves played badly; The Dutch didn't even qualify, Germany's early exit and Argentina made you question the coach 'Why???').

After World Cup ended, obviously I still didn't bother to watch football (club-wise, I'm a fan of United and Juve since 2003/2004) because Shinhwa took away all my free time, considering so many stories they've had within that 20++ years and I was obsessed to learn everything about them.

But in the midst of busy fangirling over Shinhwa, somehow, I managed to watch Copa America 2021 semifinal, although I couldn't recall anything about the match, or the players, but my old tweet reminded me that I did watch La Scaloneta unconsciously.

Fast forward to this Qatar World Cup, tbh I only started to watch La Albiceleste until they played against the Netherlands (I need a good night's sleep more than football, so mostly just watched the highlights), and when they advanced to semis I watched their Prime “Camina a Qatar” docu-series, and just like that I am trapped.

It's like, initially I came to see Di Maria (my love since 2008) but ended up stuck with the rest of them. And just like years ago when I ditched football for KPop, now it's the other way around.

Call me crazy but I can't help to feel/think La Scaloneta bears several similarities with Shinhwa.

The way the Scalo boys bonded thru truco games ((jackstones, in Shinhwa's case)), barbecues, drinking mate ((for Shinhwa it's soju or beer)), and using profanities as a way to show affection, not to forget Scalo boys also give kisses and hugs, being playful/cheesy to one another (both IRL and on their SNS), every players is shippable (OTP material, I say), their brutal honesty and willingness to protect and defend the team, Scalo boys just remind me of all the things I love from Shinhwa.

And tbh I don't think I've seen a football team/group like this before ((maybe in the good ol' days of Barcelona. I read my old diary, and there I wrote 'this team is like family, no selfish/individualistic players at all)). But a good thing like this sometimes, unfortunately, doesn't last long, no matter how sure we are that these boys will stay solid like this forever.

This, I learned the hard way from Shinhwa. Even with the 6 of them spending 20++ years together, I used to be so confident their friendship will be eternal, that nothing can break the members' bond, turns out I was wrong cuz time and situation changed it little by little.

(Until today the group Shinhwa is still not disbanded yet, but they've been on hiatus since the pandemic, and only came together twice during the event of their members' weddings.)

Now let's go back with La Scaloneta. The way I see it, it all started with a good internal relationship between players, coaches, and AFA's long-time staff. That positivity, combined with Scalo's ability as their coach, helped them to play well on the field and won some games. The victories then generated public support in which boosted players' morale, till they had 36 unbeaten games, and earned 3 major trophies in just 17 months.

Post World Cup, now they are superstars. All eyes are on them. Enzo already stirred something between him, Benfica fans, and Chelsea fans with his transfer rumor. Lautaro scores a goal for Inter and toxic people won't stop talking shit about him because of his performance in WC, all the while praising La Arana Alvarez. Then there's this growing public opinion about Macca being too good to play for 'small team' Brighton, Dibu too good for Villa, Moli Rodri should leave Atletico, etc.

My question, when there’s a thin line between ‘supporters’ and ‘haters’ since people are so easy to judge, and so quick to switch sides, will that stuff affect them?

Today they all can say it's a healthy competition among players about who gets to play and who stays on the bench. But will tomorrow they say the same too? Especially now they are separated for a while, focusing on their club with each of them pursuing different goals, will they keep the chemistry intact once they back to Ezeiza, or will they start to act more individually as time go by?

That's why the more I fangirl over them, the more I actually feel anxious about the future of Scalo boys (especially if/once Leo no longer there), simply because I want to enjoy this happiness for a bit longer since it's only fair cuz we’ve suffered for a long long time.

#World Cup 2022 #La Scaloneta #Argentina NT #Fandom mash-up #KPOP #Yesung #Super Junior #Shinhwa #Angel Di Maria #What surprised me the most is that football fans can also be toxic and dramatic like KPop fans :( #I hate fanwar I hate people who started fanwar I hate people comparing people/stuffs #Football #I want to enjoy La Scaloneta while it lasts #I hope nothing can ruin these muchachos #p.s Yesung is real madrid fan #random arg talk

[cloudsspoke]

              How does it feel, to be the reason FIFA changed its rule?

***

This thing that Dibu did, despite we’ve seen it already during Copa America 2021 Semifinal when he distraught Yerri Mina by saying “I’m gonna eat you up, bro” , and then 2 months after Copa, this time took place in Premier League when Villa against United, and all the other Goalies before Dibu must have done it thousand times, but funny how FIFA only reacted to this kind of behavior AFTER Dibu’s performance in this World Cup.

++ This OP made a thread explaining from the psychology aspect after that Villa game versus United. What a thread.

Crazy Dibu. No wonder Bruno dragged the Argentine without reason (he shouldn’t do that with Licha as his United comrade tbh).

soon after I read the news, I tagged Dibu on my IGStory and he saw it 😂 I hope he feels proud. And pretty pissed off that he’ll find a way to cheat FIFA rule again 🤞.

#TeamDIBU #LA Scaloneta #Argentina NT #The drama doesn't stop yet #Emiliano Martinez #Dibu Martinez #Lautaro Martinez #Julian Alvarez #The Argies against the World #WC 2022 #World Cup 2022

[cloudsspoke]

Though the final match between Argentina versus France has been dubbed by the majority of people as the best World Cup Final, personally this is the best match throughout World Cup 2022, or more like, the most unforgettable one.

The altercation between players started after what Lea did to the Dutch’s bench. Things escalated quickly from that moment. It got worse because Lahoz gave them 10mins additional times and once it ended, the 2nd brawl happened almost instantly.

Dunno what the hell is wrong with that Bergwijn guy 💀🤬.

It’s a good thing Ota came right on time. It looks as if he noticed Bergwijn’s movement and Ota used his body as armor to protect his teammate from violent Bergwijn. We never know which player Bergwijn intended to hurt when he suddenly marched into the players’ mob like that (there’s Macca and Lea right there, Bergwijn proly wanted to hurt them).

This post is solely to capture the fight scenes, for the penalty shoot-out scenes read here.

The game ended after Lautaro successfully converted his penalty kick. The Dutch players got to see El General do this ‘Roman’ celebration right in front of their faces.

But the next fight happened exactly after that. Well, actually there are 2 fights happened at the same time.

Scene #1 was when Lahoz gave Dumpfries red card and Dybala was seen happily mocking Dumpfries. His mouth and his gesture showed that he told Dumpfries to go home. Dumpfries fumed and marched to probably kill Dybala, but Tagliafico shielded Dumpfries from doing that.

can someone tell me what Papu posted on his Instagram story that day 🤔?

Meanwhile, the other scene involved Noa Lang who pushed Paredes and Papu who pushed Lang back.

From this angle we can see how Tagliafico held Dumpfries off with all his might.

It’s a never-ending drama that we saw one after another. And again, in between Argies’ celebration, Messi came to Van Gaal and this whole thing happened:

I know we should respect the elder, with Van Gaal being the senior coach and all that, but at this moment, somos todos Rodrigo De Paul. I can imagine De Paul proly said: “Ay, señor this is what happens if you talk too much about us. See, now you make Leo angry. Jajaja~ Enjoy your exit, señor. Chao~”

And while Rodri loved every second of provoking Van Gaal, our Angelito came to pull Messi away from the altercation. He’s our MOM, okay? Fide is truly the MOTHER ANGEL 👼 of this chaotic group. First, he protected Enzo from Dumpfries, then protected Enzo from hearing DIbu’s cursing, and at last, when everyone tried to calm the shit out of Leo with no success, somehow as soon after Fide stepped in, just like that the altercation ended.

And of course, being such an Angel as he was, Fide took a moment to hug Frans Hoek 👼❤️♥️(The Dutch’s GK coach, who used to work with both Van Gaal and Fide in United)

Not only did Messi pay a ‘friendly’ visit to The Dutch’s bench, but our beloved Dibu too, this time we all could hear his direct message clearly.

Impressive.

My favorite moment?

It’s when Dibu joined his teammate’s celebration and half-joking cursed Enzo for his failed penalty attempt. Di Maria stood there watching that moment smiling, but he saved Enzo from Dibu’s wrath when Di Maria pulled Dibu into a hug, gave Enzo an exit to escape from Dibu.

***

Talk about La Scaloneta destined to be World Cup champion cuz it’s been written in the stars, there are 2 things I found that are interesting from this match against Nederland.

First, when Lahoz yellow-carded Gonza for protesting just 3 minutes after Gonza came to the pitch to replace Molina. That yellow card banned Gonza from playing in the next game, in case the Argies advanced to the Semifinal round. But that didn’t stop him from executing the penalty kick.

With his success, along with Leo’s, Lea’s, and Lautaro’s, La Scaloneta did advance to the next round, where they won easily against Croatia, and Gonza was benched without major problems. Meanwhile, during Argies’ last, final game against France when the victory had to be determined through a penalty shoot-out, we got him ready, unpunished, and he did his job well once again.

*

And then we have Dybala 💎. People have been asking and waiting for when he will play. His chance came to light with Argentina’s victory over Nederland. Fun fact, his first-ever World Cup debut was in 2018, the same game against Croatia when he came to sub Tevez, only this time the Argies won 3-0 and advanced to the final.

And as we all know, in the Final match Scaloni put him in to prepare La Joya to take part in the penalty shoot-out. He didn’t waste that chance. He helped Argies to get the World Cup trophy, despite only playing for no less than 20mins throughout the whole tournament.

The reason why I mentioned Dybala in this post is because of what he revealed later that he remembered what Dibu said to Enzo: "kick the ball to the center". I can say that Enzo’s failure during the match against Nederland somehow helped La Joya to convert his kick successfully.

***

If you think the drama between Argentina players and The Dutch ended on the field, nope. It continued even during the post-match interview session.

Dibu, they hear you: Lahoz announced retirement and Van Gaal too.

🇦🇷✨🏆

#Argentina NT #World Cup 2022 #La Scaloneta #Lionel Scaloni #Lionel Messi #Angel Di Maria #Leandro Paredes #Rodrigo de Paul #Alexis Mac Allister #Nicolas Otamendi #Geronimo rulli #Juan Foyth #Lautaro Martinez #Gonzalo Montiel #Paulo Dybala #Marcos Acuña #Nahuel Molina #Emiliano Martinez #Dibu Martinez #Enzo Fernandez #Nicolas Tagliafico #Papu Gomez #Virgil Van Dijk #Louis Van Gaal #Mateu Lahoz #Arg v Ned #Scaloneta #WC 2022