big daddy
15 Jul 2007, 08:01 PM
All very sad. They key moments in the game happened early on. Brazil scored, Argentina hit the post. Brazil could then afford to put men behind the ball and make it very difficult to break them down, and as Argentina committed bodies forward they became more vulnerable to the counter. However, it must be said, despite this, Argentina didn't create nowhere near enough, neither from open-play or set-pieces, where Brazil's extra height told, although it was a shame that Riquelme didn't vary his set-pieces.
Brazil correctly identified Riquelme as the main man and they didn't give him room to breathe, fouling him incessantly. Veron and Cambiasso needed to provide more from an attacking sense but both of them failed miserably in this aspect. For me, Basile should have risked taking off Cambiasso at half-time, as Argentina were more fluent when Aimar came on, even though they still failed to prise Brazil open.
At 1-0, the Brazil keeper pulled off a stunning save. When called upon, he was up to the task. Sadly this didn't apply to Abbondanzieri.
I had a feeling before the final that Pato may be the weak link. The defeat wasn't his fault, far from it, but the fact remains he only made one save the whole game, from a deflected shot that he should have dealt with comfortably and he fumbled round the post. He just doesn't inspire confidence.
Admittedly, I didn't see the game against Paraguay, where by all accounts he played well. However, against Colombia, I felt his reactions for both goals were totally non-existant. He just didn't anticipate the ball coming towards his net. Against Peru, he set up the fourth goal by rushing out of his area and booting the ball upfield to Tevez. However, the need to rush out was only caused by him getting into all sorts of trouble with a cross. However, it was the semi against Mexico where the alarm bells really started ringing in my mind. There were two instances. The first when Castillo hit the bar, Pato needed to rush off his line and narrow the angle, instead he stayed rooted to the spot, making it far easier for Castillo, who should have scored. Secondly, with the game dead and buried, in the last minutes, a cross floated over to the far post and a Mexican volleyed the ball across goal. Pato didn't move, instead he raised his arm like he knew it was going wide, which it was, but only by an inch or two. Both times he was very lucky, and the Castillo chance occured when it was only 1-0. Of course, if chances are created it's not his fault, but he should be doing all in his power to stop a goal. Standing frozen isn't good enough.
Today, in the final, he could have done more. Maybe Ayala could have got slightly tighter to Baptista for the first goal, and certainly Argentina were cruelly exposed by one single long pass down the middle. However, Baptista's shot, though powerfully hit, wasn't very far from Pato. It didn't go in the corner of the net or anything. His position was very bad, as if he wasn't sure whether to come out or stay on his line, but his reactions were even worse, he just stood completely still, didn't even stick out an arm, let alone move his body. He needs to react instantly and he needs to anticipate that his goal may be threatened at any moment. The second goal isn't Ayala's fault at all in my book, he has no choice but to go for the ball. If the keeper is going to come out, which in my opinion was the wrong decision, he needs to give Ayala a shout to leave the ball. Sadly this wasn't forthcoming. Even the third goal, he covers his near post too much, allowing Alves an easier opportunity to score. That said, it was a good goal and maybe this is being hyper-critical.
The team as a whole were disappointing but from what I've seen of Abbondanzieri, he isn't good enough at the top level. I don't know if Argentina have any better keepers, but I sincerely hope they do by the time 2010 comes round.
Barring the Paraguay game, which I didn't see, he didn't make a single save of note during the whole tournament.
Brazil correctly identified Riquelme as the main man and they didn't give him room to breathe, fouling him incessantly. Veron and Cambiasso needed to provide more from an attacking sense but both of them failed miserably in this aspect. For me, Basile should have risked taking off Cambiasso at half-time, as Argentina were more fluent when Aimar came on, even though they still failed to prise Brazil open.
At 1-0, the Brazil keeper pulled off a stunning save. When called upon, he was up to the task. Sadly this didn't apply to Abbondanzieri.
I had a feeling before the final that Pato may be the weak link. The defeat wasn't his fault, far from it, but the fact remains he only made one save the whole game, from a deflected shot that he should have dealt with comfortably and he fumbled round the post. He just doesn't inspire confidence.
Admittedly, I didn't see the game against Paraguay, where by all accounts he played well. However, against Colombia, I felt his reactions for both goals were totally non-existant. He just didn't anticipate the ball coming towards his net. Against Peru, he set up the fourth goal by rushing out of his area and booting the ball upfield to Tevez. However, the need to rush out was only caused by him getting into all sorts of trouble with a cross. However, it was the semi against Mexico where the alarm bells really started ringing in my mind. There were two instances. The first when Castillo hit the bar, Pato needed to rush off his line and narrow the angle, instead he stayed rooted to the spot, making it far easier for Castillo, who should have scored. Secondly, with the game dead and buried, in the last minutes, a cross floated over to the far post and a Mexican volleyed the ball across goal. Pato didn't move, instead he raised his arm like he knew it was going wide, which it was, but only by an inch or two. Both times he was very lucky, and the Castillo chance occured when it was only 1-0. Of course, if chances are created it's not his fault, but he should be doing all in his power to stop a goal. Standing frozen isn't good enough.
Today, in the final, he could have done more. Maybe Ayala could have got slightly tighter to Baptista for the first goal, and certainly Argentina were cruelly exposed by one single long pass down the middle. However, Baptista's shot, though powerfully hit, wasn't very far from Pato. It didn't go in the corner of the net or anything. His position was very bad, as if he wasn't sure whether to come out or stay on his line, but his reactions were even worse, he just stood completely still, didn't even stick out an arm, let alone move his body. He needs to react instantly and he needs to anticipate that his goal may be threatened at any moment. The second goal isn't Ayala's fault at all in my book, he has no choice but to go for the ball. If the keeper is going to come out, which in my opinion was the wrong decision, he needs to give Ayala a shout to leave the ball. Sadly this wasn't forthcoming. Even the third goal, he covers his near post too much, allowing Alves an easier opportunity to score. That said, it was a good goal and maybe this is being hyper-critical.
The team as a whole were disappointing but from what I've seen of Abbondanzieri, he isn't good enough at the top level. I don't know if Argentina have any better keepers, but I sincerely hope they do by the time 2010 comes round.
Barring the Paraguay game, which I didn't see, he didn't make a single save of note during the whole tournament.