What's the secret behind Messi and Argentina's brilliant World Cup run? A WhatsApp message

Lionel Scaloni was not well-accepted by even his compatriots when he took charge of the Argentina football team. He was by no means a high-profile coach and once Diego Maradona said, "I don't want him for my team, he couldn't even control traffic." So when he led Argentina to a World Cup final, burying the ghosts of 2018, he must have remembered those tough days and most importantly a WhatsApp message. 

"Hello Leo, I'm Scaloni. With Pablo [Aimar] we want to talk to you," was the message that Scaloni sent to Lionel Messi after he had decided to retire from international football in 2018 after a disappointing World Cup campaign. 

Now, Messi and Scaloni go back a long time.

In a friendly match against Hungary, Messi made his eagerly anticipated national team debut for Argentina. A substitute, Messi was only on the field for 45 seconds until Vilmos Vanczák grabbed him by the shirt as soon as he touched the ball. 

The 18-year-old Messi attempted to push him away with a slap that grazed his face. Markus Merk, the referee for that match, decided to show the red card as a result of the foul. Scaloni was one of Messi's teammates protesting the referee's decision on the field. And Aimar, now Argentina's assistant coach, was Messi's idol growing up.

When coach Scaloni first spoke with player Messi, it resulted in a video chat during which the interim coach persuaded the player to serve as the focal point of his new initiative.

That was the initial communication in a connection that helped Argentina win the Copa America after 28 years - at the Maracana and against Brazil - and advance to the World Cup final. Even though he was attacked by his own countrymen, the inexperienced coach knew how to assemble a team around his best player.

Argentina might not have been in the World Cup final if Scaloni had not talked Messi out of retirement. The coach will now want to see his former teammate end his World Cup career on a high.