A couple things. It's not that he is bashing Pipita, he is a fine goal scorer and does his job, but yet he lacks that killer instinct to go for it. But our last 2 great goal scorers knew how to play the line and beat traps. Crespo was probably one of the best of all times. He did not need fancy dribbling or etc. Higuain right now is 50/50, I have said it before. He will play a poor game then come back with a hat-trick, I don't know, but that's how he always plays. He is not a traditional 9. And yes, defense is what we should be worried about, it's the core of the issue.
Coloccini got a lot of looks early on in his career and was honestly in over his head. When he had a shocker it was really a shocker and from there I think a lot of people wrote him off. He was also really young at the time and the expectations after his success at the Olympics and U20's were a bit high. He never really settled anywhere until Deportivo and then he got on with Newcastle. He's probably been one of the most consistent defenders in the EPL over the past two, maybe three seasons. I think he's finally come in to his own yet will continue to be left out. Another thing is that he's now Newcastle's captain which means he's a leader, an asset we sorely lack right now. I'm now curious as to whether any of the players we've used in the qualifiers are skippers for their club sides. Dark days for the AFA and the shirt.
Lol listen to all of you. It's going to be fine. We just need to watch out for the counter. Sabella also needs to train to attack a 10 men defense. Demichelis needs to get the fock out though
Why do you think that the seats are empty at River? It's past the conspiracy theories, we are venturing into cold hard facts, it's just a matter of putting the pieces togehter. Cristina takes control in Oct 2007, we peak in June 2008 (Fifa #1) and then comes futbol para todos! She's in bed with Grondona and it's showing. Why on earth do you think that Carlos Avila, the owner of TYC is fighting with Grondona. This set up is messing up ratings! I know this is all speculation but its becoming so evident!
Wow some people are really just bi polar when it comes to the team. Does anyone really think the domestic squad is better? We've seen them play and they were terrible, they did not fight hard. They got out played. Get the clowns out of defense or we will never be able to win games like this. Every team has games where they just dominate and can't seem to find the net, but the difference is that when a team has a strong defense they can still pull off a 1-0 win. Something we could have done today if Demichelis wasn't a moron. Our attacks were mostly fluid and we had some unfortunate calls. These things happen, but if we had anyone that isn't Demichelis, then we probably would have won. We broke them down and eventually scored. It was bound to happen the way we were playing, however having such a shitty defense means always worrying about a weak goal like today. I mean he gave the ball to the forward in our box, and then the forward beat him and Burdisso and scored. A goal can't be much softer than that. We will never win anything with a defense making such stupid mistakes because to win big you have to be able to grind out a 1-0 win once in a while. This will never happen for us with these idiots in the back. We can't expect to score 3-4 goals every game and I guess some people just don't understand this concept. Sometimes you can shoot and shoot and only get a single goal, and that is when your defense needs to remain strong and focused. Yes sometimes we do put them all away like against Chile, and we can afford a dumb mistake, but those dumb mistakes will cost us the big games. Messi plays better than any other option we have. I can't believe some people actually think we have better finishers than him just because he had a bad game. He played fantastic against Chile and Venezuela, 2 out of 3 isn't bad, and it isn't like he was awful, he was just less good and not on target. Pastore and Messi had some good combination play and Higuain finished two chances that were taken away stupidly, he didn't miss any big opportunities and is a great finisher. Someone said Aguero is a better finisher than Higuain? Uhhh he is a better dribbler and player, but Higuain is one of the best finishers in the world right now, while Aguero has missed a number of chances. Instead of calling for us to build the team around Aguero or Pastore as opposed to Messi, how about just calling for us to build a team that isn't around anyone. A team that just uses Messi as a decoy when they decided to put three people on him, and a team that uses Pastore as a playmaker and uses real defenders to defend. I also think I read someone call for a different midfield because our guys weren't winning the midfield? What are you on we had like 70% possession, what more do you want from a midfield?
Messi can not get a pass every single time. He had a VERY poor game today, he had many chances to score and well did not. For his standards he was bad, that simple. If this was Di Maria, Lavezzi,Carlitos we would be calling them a headless chicken. I believe and hope he will do better on Tuesday. The question for me is, will I bother watching this game. Colombia drew today, and they may of been thinking ahead. So I don't know... And Kun IS a better finisher than Higuain. I would trust Kun a lot more in front of goal than Higuain. I am not saying start Kun over Higuain, no, not at all. Higuain has size and can play was back against a defender and use his size and strength to keep defenders off, but as many of us have pointed out Higuain is not a traditional 9. Yeah, he scores goal and the end of the day that's all that matters; however it does not change the fact that Higuain is on and off. And yes, the defense is a joke. We are still at that phase that we hope to outscore a team by 4 or 5 goals for us to be comfortable. When we score 1st we are really tough to beat, when we give up the 1st goal then hell breaks loose.
Until Argentina gets 4 good young defenders you will NEVER win anything!!! The 80's and 90's style where defense did not matter much is over.
The anti K are just unbeleiveable.Its all CFKS fault Messi plays like a geinius against Osasuna or Rubin Kazan but is a pecho frio in the seleccion.Cristina should have kicked the ball into the stands not Demichelis.For f sake we were playing against Bolivia any sort of local seleccion would have beaten BOLIVIA who now after 100 years of goleadas have drawn twice with this disastrous lot.Defensively we are a joke we need two tough hard centrales with huevos not these two boludos.The central midfield is a serious problem with not enough creativity while Messi demands star billing and fails continiously.We can talk about futbol local or anything else but what Sabella must find is a TEAM notbthis collection of egotisticals
Dude stop supporting los K. Please tell me anything these people have done right. When was the last time you went to Argentina? This women and her chronies are awful. People can't buy dollars any more. Security is a mess. Illegal immigration is at is all time high. Villa Miserias are growing exponentially. And what is she doing? Going to Paris before the G20 summit to spend thousands on shoes and cloths Its funny the way argentina goes is, the people who have money will continue to live fine lives but the people who are poor and live in the shantytowns are the ones who vote for los K and they think she is trying to help them, when in reality she is making them dependent and reliant on her for everything much like these same people believed in Peron, who died one of the richest men in the world after robbing Argentina dry, the same people who called Evita a saint, failing to realize she hated the church and wanted them all drestroyed and tried to monopolize charity (making the poor/working class dependent on the gov) political rant over. get rid of all the european based players and make a local based national team. clemente was the best play on the field today, he was the only one being ovationed by the fans and a boca player is not cheered often in el monumental brandon- you asked it anyone thought a local based national team would do any better... well yes i do. argentine club teams destroy bolivian clubs and this bolivia nt was almost entirely locally based and these euro stars have now tied with them twice at home and lost 6-1 on the road in the last three games against them also if there was a local contingent in the national team it would likely get the public behind the team
How do you know Messi is the best option? Messi has been playing every match since 2006... meanwhile Aguero, Higuain, Riquelme, Pastore, Di Maria, Aimar, et all have all been in and out of the team, fighting for their spots, but Messi has been the one man to always be there during these failures He didn't play well against Venezuela either. i don't know what game you watched, but ole, la nacion, and clarin all gave him 3/10 for that match and i thought they were being generous I just want to see Argentina play ONE competitive match without Messi and see how it goes. If we do worse, bring him back in, but at this point in time its worth a try.
I get where NYC_Cosmos is coming from, but you're right. Burdisso has always been a yellow card waiting to happen while Demichelis has been past it for a while now. I thought the Germany loss would be a wake-up call that we need to get rid of these players we call defenders and get a new bunch. Obviously that didn't happen. Copa America comes and Batista actually fielded the slowest back line you could likely ever see in a tournament. Nicolas Burdisso and freaking Gabriel Milito. Naturally, we get our asses handed to us despite being a man up for most of the match. Even though we lost, it could have been much, much worse had Forlan got his scoring boots on that match. Sabella comes in and has not done well so far. Our next set of qualifiers is next June and even then it's one match (since we have a matchday off due to Brazil not being in there). So the 1-2 friendly matches we have (I know we're facing Switzerland in February) are going to be extremely crucial. Sabella has no reason to pick Burdisso, Demichelis or any of the old bunch. I've always thought that maybe Sabella didn't want to throw the young guys into the fire which is the reason why he's going with more "experienced" players... ******** that. I'd rather play anyone but them. You're going to tell me we don't have TWO CB's who are better than these clowns? This team has no identy, at all. You know it's going bad when: 1)You draw against Bolivia. 2)You draw against Bolivia at home. 3)You haven't defeated Bolivia in the last 3 matches. 4)2/3 of those matches were played in Argentina 5)Clemente Rodriguez is the MOTM (against a defensive BOLIVIA) when Messi, Higuain and Pastore are playing. 6)You're greatful you didn't lose to Bolivia. 7)You're greatful you didn't lose to Bolivia at home. 8)You need Lavezzi to come off the bench and save your ass. Of course I could go on and on, but I'm past the point of anger with this team. I will continue to watch because I always said to myself I'll support this team no matter what. Through thick and thin. Gago, who looked like he was instructed to be an attacking midfielder as opposed to a defensive midfielder I thought did a pretty good job. He had some nice solid passes up front which helped the attack. And on replay he's the one who passed it to Lavezzi for the goal. Had Higuain's goal stood, we probably would not be freaking out as much. But even if we would have won 10-0, it doesn't change the fact that our defense is beyond terrible at this point and needs fixing, FAST. Go with Mascherano and Fernandez as CB, I don't care.
All I can tell you is that if Higuain and Aguero are our strikers for game 16 of the qualifiers, then Messi and Co will be enjoying the World Cup from the comfort of their living rooms.
Listen COSMOS. Open your eyes instead of prattling on with these anti European based player tirades. Why not go the whole hog and strip them of their Argentine passports. Suppose Blandi ends up at Palermo say or Tagliafico at Internazionale ? Like Moralez at Atalanta should they be banned from playing ? They are in Europe for a reason because that is where the best players end up because the clubs can offer the biggest salaries. The standard of the domestic league is not great. Other sides like Uruguay for instance whose side is composed of foreign based players are doing rather nicely. Similarly with Brazil under Dunga who but for a wave of madness against Holland would have sailed into the semifinals last year. I suppose when Neymar, Ganso and co go to Europe as they will do they wont be picked ? It doesn't boil down to where a player plays like you keep prattling on about. It boils down to the awful coaching set ups whether it be the seniors, u20 or u17. They all play in the same haphazard manner without any semblance of collective play relying on individual talent to pull through. Messi did set up a goal yesterday even though he had a poorish game. But when players surround him no one decides it is worth their while to run into space or rotate around the ball carrier. They instead stand agog. What has happened to creating space by running off the ball and running into space to receive the ball. And as for this criticism Higuain is receiving. Puerile. He is still young. Crespo did not reach his peak until he was 28. He scored twice yesterday from acute angles and well the referee ......... The facts are it the side is a disorganized rabble. No wonder players come into the seleccion and scratch themselves in puzzlement at the setup they come into and lack confidence. The defence is crucial. Until that is sorted out everything else is pointless. It makes the midfield sit deep and look idiotic and heaps pressure on the attackers who know they have to score a few times because the defence is like a sieve. As for this Kun news. I hope he does not count Manchester City as more important pulling out of the game..... The sole cause of failure is the coaching. No structure. No plan. Not picking the best players for the job. Not playing them in their right positions. Sabella at present can be counted worse than Maradona who at least managed to motivate the team as he did as a player. At this point Bielsa should be summoned. Or Pochettino who actually understands what it is to use modern coaching techniques even Menotti who understands what the imbalances are in the side. Messi is not a leader. He is too introverted for that. But if you have a team that passes and moves off the ball, runs into space and keeps hold of the ball instead of trying to pass it off with aimless passes at every available oppurtunity we might see him excel. Honestly hand on heart I could do a better job of managing this side. Here was I like a fool thinking Sabella might have some idea of being a coach. Not a chance. Argentina has some of the best players in the world. Yes indeed it does led by one Lionel Messi the best player on the planet thought not according to a chemical hazard and a Viagra spouting twisted old hack who must be grinning. What of the defence you say ? Even there somewhere there is talent. Ready to come in and replace the old failures and posesses of that crucial ability of actually being able to run with a modicum of pace. As for the coach. He picks players who are past it. He places players to compound his errors further in the wrong positions and then gives them no definable match plan. A team packed with talent but without leadership or a plan will lose to a well organized mentally tough side.This mantra is truth. And this is what we are. A mess ,a rabble relying on moments of individual brilliance to pull through matches. No remote semblance to the side of 2006 with its measured controlled football dictating the pace of a match to suit their own needs. No wonder the team looks bereft. There is still precious little pass and move. When Leo has the ball the others stand in amazement waiting for a miracle to happen. What has happened to the fluidity under Pekerman. It has evaporated. What is a staple of the Argentine game is conspiciously absent from the national side. People may say Venuzuela and Bolivia are progressing. Yes indeed. But Argentina could be said to be in exact reverse. It is embarassing and humiliating for us with such a proud tradition and heritage in the game to be in the situation it is now. A laughing stock its own players booed in a half empty stadium. The way the coaching is organized is years behind other teams and their banks of analysts, mental and physical conditioning coaches right down to the laundry man. And while the manifestations are on the pitch the illness can be traced to years of mismanagement from the top with a corrupt morally bankrupt organization lead by an even more corrupt man than you could possibly imagine who is more content to count his bank balance than tackle the many issues of who should coach the best kids in the country, the barra bravas, the poor infrastructure of many stadia, the pinching of young players for a song right down to making sure the national coach is the best man for the job and has the best tools at his disposal for winning the ultimate prize. Win 2014 ? This team will be lucky to get qualified at this rate. I am sure Colombia are shaking in their boots. No doubt the coup de grace will be administered ever so ironically by players schooled in the Argentine league in Falcao and Rodriguez. Just when I thought new depths could not be plumbed they just have. I am filled with anger, sadness and despair for what might have been confronted by what I am presented with as indeed are all Albiceleste fans across the world. Anger because of how this situation is allowed to fester for years. Sadness because of what these players could acheive given the right coaching set up and selections and despair because I see no chance of any change for years to come so long as the evil Don presides over his empire. Saludos.
What on the basis of one game when he played out of position ? He's really been given a chance to settle in and strike up partnerships with the other players around him. Not forgetting because Sabella instead of asking the fullbacks to push up (no doubt scared witless by who was covering the centre) to open the pitch up until the last twenty minutes when miracle of miracles chances began to appear combined with the tiring Bolivians. The number of times they were double marked does not help because there simply is no fluidity in the team still in creating space by running off the ball say as opposed to when Lavezzi came on injecting some movement flank to flank. You know what. Let's just line them up and shoot them...... Pastore is rightly hailed as an incredible talent drawing comparisons and rightly so with Zidane and Kaka and with more ability than the latter. Yes I have watched both and he has more tricks and skills in his locker. And he is only 22. But lets forget that and throw him onto the scrapheap. According to the maestro who coaches us he is a striker. News to me and no doubt news to Flaco......
Sure he does. As he did at the Copa assisting virtually every goal and creating them too. No doubt his shoulders are too small to hold up the weight of expectations like some mini Atlas unlike Diegol but I think even Diego would struggle in a side like this. Dios at least had a defence to work with that brooked no insult, a solid midfield and the odd madcap flying fullback a la Chamot. I say we strip them of their Argentine passports and shoot them. They cannot do anything right. Let's recall Veron instead and make Desabato captain.
I think you are completely right. I knew once this game was over that people would be asking for Messi's head on a platter. The team is to blame, not just him. Sure he missed a couple of chances, but a couple of chances was all he got. When he plays for Barca he get ten times as many chances as he does for Argentina therefore has more of an oppurtunity to score. From what I saw we held possession of the ball for the most part. Many mistakes from the defense, nothing new there. People are calling for a locally based team but how about just locally based defenders? We really have nothing to lose there and it cant get any worse. It literally cannot get any worse. Anything will be better, that way when our offense isnt finishing chances we dont have to worry about conceding stupid goals. Im not sure why people think our local team would do better, I think I remember people saying they played horribly against Brazil, but I may be wrong. I can't believe anyone would suggest building a team around anyone. You are right about just building a solidly good team. By blaming Messi you are giving him too much importance, putting all the weight on his shoulders. Yeah he's no Maradona but jesus christ we are not living in the 80's anymore where one player can make the difference for the entire team. Give the kid a break he is not asking to be dubbed the best player in the world. If we stopped pointing fingers at him then maybe he would be able to play to his full potential. He can do brilliant things for us, I know it in my heart but the sad truth is we are not letting him. My wish is that this team had more time together to figure things out. I know its unrealistic but it would be nice for them to take a 3 month long break from their club duty and have rigorous NT practice instead. Testing out new defenders and seeing who really vibes well together. I don't understand why Higuain is getting blamed either, I think he played great. Maybe a little inconsistent but he is 23 and has time to improve on that. Where did we get with Crespo anyway? I may have been too young to rememer but we didnt win the world cup with him if I recall correctly... Ay yi yi I just dont know anymore. I never claimed to know what the answer is and I dont know any better today. May God Bless us and I sure as hell hope we are not destined for ultimate heartache.
The Coaching and tactical part is to blame nothing more, sure there are a few loose ends to replace like the CB's and a more creative midfielder in place of Macherano but the most important and vital mistake in this team is the tactics and coaching. You can't possibly blame Messi, Higuain, Pastore etc etc... they play 10 times better for their club teams as they do here, how is that a coincidence? Its simply impossible under normal circumstances. Do you think they want to play bad?
Crespo played no part on world cup and copa america failure.. he's sitting on the bench in 2002 world cup, bielsa opted for out of shape batistuta (Crespo was serie A top scorer at the time) . It took only few mins for Crespo to scored against Sweden but it was too late. In 2006 world cup Crespo scored 3 goals + 1 assist in 4 matches. He was subbed alongside Roman by Pekerman when the team was leading 1-0 in QF. Crespo was injured in copa 2007 after scored 3 goals in first 2 matches. Messi has 60+ caps at the age of 24, its not coincidence everytime he failed to scored. 3 goals in 4 major tournament and the team is always to be blame? Messi is the only one that never get replaced even the team lost 1-6 or 0-4. 10 man defense can be broke down by set pieces or direct freekick. The last time Argentina scored from freekick was ... when Roman is still there.
Futbol is simply - pass the ball to the open guy, continue to do that until you can pass the ball into the open net. Do it better than the other guy.