On paper, everything separates the two men: age, experience, personality.

One, the Argentinian, only managed his national team.

The other, the Dutchman, has already been coach of the Netherlands three times and has worn out the benches of the biggest clubs of the old continent: Ajax, Barça, Bayern and Manchester United.

The former has a rich career as a professional player which even saw him play in a World Cup in 2006, with the young Messi;

that of the second is much more modest.

Assistant to Jorge Sampaoli at the 2018 World Cup, Scaloni was on the staff during the defeat of Messi and others in the round of 16 against France (4-3).

After his boss left, he was bombarded as an interim, with no prior experience.

He hung on, and finally signed a contract, which has just been extended until 2026.

It remained to gain the confidence of the players.

It was done with victory in the 2021 Copa America, Lionel Messi's first trophy in the blue and white jersey and Argentina's first international title in the 21st century.

"At first we didn't have too much confidence" in him, admitted midfielder Rodrigo De Paul after this continental title, "but now he can take us anywhere".

"God's Father"

The Albiceleste arrived in Qatar with the status of favourites, but the initial defeat against Saudi Arabia (2-1) caused panic in the press and among fans at home.

© Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP/Archives

Scaloni then demonstrated his calm, and his ability to take a step back: "You have to keep your common sense, it's only a football match", he immediately tempered: "I received a message from my brother who told me that he had cried. It's not possible! (...) It's difficult to explain to people that the sun will rise tomorrow, that we lose or that we win. The only thing that matters is how we do things."

Two 2-0 victories against Mexico and Poland allowed his players to get back on track and emerge first in their group.

The 2-1 victory against Australia in the eighth reinforced the impression that this team is strong, carried by a Messi at the top of his game.

Van Gaal, on the contrary, is known for his volcanic character.

His ego is his weapon.

"The problem with Van Gaal is not that he takes himself for God, but that he takes himself for the father of God," his former boss at Bayern Uli Hoeness said one day, half serious, half - laughing.

"Eminence"

But the Dutchman has never won a title with his national team, unlike Scaloni.

And if he led the "Oranje" to third place in the 2014 World Cup, he certainly did not forget that he had lost the semi-final on penalties against... Argentina.

© JUAN MABROMATA / AFP

Regardless, Scaloni admits that Van Gaal is a reference in a profession where he is only a beginner: "I played at Deportivo La Coruña when he coached Barcelona, ​​and he was already a reference, it is a source of pride to face him," said the Argentinian, who arrived at just twenty years old as a central defender in Europe.

At the time, the Dutchman already had a Champions League on his record, with Ajax Amsterdam in 1995.

The future of the two men also diverges, inevitably.

Van Gaal, who had already announced the end of his career for the first time in 2016, could retire definitively after this World Cup, even if he joked about the possibility of taking charge of Belgium, after the resignation of Roberto Martinez.

Scaloni can dream of a Van Gaal career.

A victory on Friday would be a new golden line on his resume.

© 2022 AFP