Di Maria set to return for the March friendlies Besides Benedetto, it looks like fellow Boca teammates Marcone and Andrada will also be called up. Gazzaniga and Walter Benitez are competing for one of the GK spots (to accompany Armani and Andrada)
Its actually a good list overall. Glad to see Romero out of the picture. Midfield look much stronger this time unlike the super slow old Masche, Banega , Biglia era. The lack of real #9 kinda off bothers me though. Remember 2007 final? instead of replacing Crespo with Milito (who scored in semifinal), we put Messi and Tevez upfront and they never stays upfront in that game due to their tendency to pick the ball from midfield. If Benedetto is there, I'd take Aguero over a very limited Simeone.
Rumor said he's not getting along with Icardi but then both of them are missing from the list. Whatever the reason, I think the final list for Copa will be different, at least few players.
It’s not Icardi he’s got a problem with it is apparently Kun. In fact, it was said that Scaloni wanted to have Icardi to lead the attack. But with all the drama and him being “injured” the timing isn’t all that great for him to be called
#SelecciónMayor El jueves 7 de marzo a las 13, el entrenador Lionel Scaloni brindará una conferencia de prensa en Ezeiza para dar la lista de convocados de la gira por España y Marruecos. pic.twitter.com/R0ehF5kjCm— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) March 2, 2019 Scaloni is going to reveal the official squad list for the March Friendlies on Thursday, March 7.
Article on Dybala: http://mundoalbiceleste.com/2019/03/04/argentina-and-juventus-have-a-paulo-dybala-conundrum/ When you ask most soccer fans about the talent the Argentina national team has, a name that will pop up nearly every time is Paulo DYBALA. The Juventus forward has flung himself into the national spotlight since transferring to Turin in 2015, becoming a crucial figure for the club and even being christened as the club’s new “No. 10”. There is no denying that DYBALA has immense talent. He is a fantastic dribbler, has an eye for creating scoring chances and can finish like a striker. He isn’t overly fast, but he’s agile and has good acceleration. Not any player can score 17 goals as an 18-year-old in the Argentine second division, move to Palermo and help gain promotion and follow it up with a 13-goal season, then move to Juventus and score 77 goals and notch 31 assists in 172 appearances as an attacking midfielder. Despite his accomplishments and performances to this point in his career, DYBALA’s usage for his club and national team continues to perplex. DYBALA made his national team debut in October of 2015. He missed out on the 2016 Copa America, but was frequently called up by Edgardo BAUZA and Jorge SAMPAOLI following the tournament. Since 2015, DYBALA has appeared in a measly 18 matches for his national team and scored just one goal. Under Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus, DYBALA continually gets playing time, but he routinely gets subbed off with 10-30 minutes remaining in many matches. This season, with Cristiano Ronaldo on the team and Fernando Bernardeschi improving, a logjam at the wing positions has been created, and DYBALA has suffered because of it. Across all competitions (36 total matches), he has come off the bench six times for a total of 72 minutes. And he has been unused and left on the bench on four different occasions. It’s only gotten worse recently, as he’s been a substitute over the last two Serie A matches and only played five minutes in a massive clash against Napoli over the weekend. Argentinian national team fans consistently call for DYBALA to start and be the centerpiece of La Albiceleste, yet he doesn’t even appear to be an unquestioned fixture for his club’s plans. Several Argentina managers have noticed and it’s no coincidence that DYBALA hasn’t been a stipend in starting lineups for the national team under four different coaches: Tata MARTINO, BAUZA, SAMPAOLI and Lionel SCALONI. Sure, his penchant for hanging around the right wing – in the same position as Leo MESSI – has had something to do with that, but even when MESSI hasn’t played, DYBALA has started in just five of those matches. I don’t believe his sporadic playing time at Juve is a problem of his, as DYBALA is more of a center forward or second striker than he is a right wing, plus he has plenty of competition at the position. But the fact that an assortment of coaches hasn’t been able to fit him in with other star players is a legitimate concern that shouldn’t just be glossed over. Say what you will about any of his previous or current managers, they are among the best in the world. They know more than us, and DYBALA not being an indispensable figure on an every-week, every-match basis should tell us all we need to know about the player’s dependability. DYBALA is a wonderful talent who has the ability to break matches wide open and decide the final outcome. That is valuable, but he just hasn’t proven to be extremely consistent, which is expected of a player of his supposed caliber. His contributions are a tier or two below the Messis, Ronaldos, Neymars and even Mbappes of the sport. His managers have recognized that. We should, too, and lower our expectations in the process.
Icardi is apparently refusing to train since he says his knee is still bothering him. I think we can all call B.S. here. Just by chance, his knee bothers after he loses his captaincy? He is probably done for the year at Inter and probably done with his career at Inter. This hasn't been all bad news since Luataro has been given games and has recently scored and Colidio got promoted to the first team. There are rumors that say that Inter and Juve will do a swap for Icardi and Dybala I'm sure there will be some cash going way here or there but I am not sure what to make of this. Inter's midfield is pretty shitty, perhaps even worse than Juve but I sense they'll go for some players in the summer. And Icardi at Juve with Cristiano...? The amount of douchery... Perhaps it is merely rumors (The other rumor is that Icardi to Napoli, which probably will be a bit more interesting. Napoli always seem to be one player off to really challenging Juventus) but I guess we will have to wait and see how this drama unfolds.
Its certainly a phantom injury, the timing & his recent criticism toward the club on social media is the proof. I think Napoli would good destination for Icardi. I just cant picture Icardi in same team as CR. They'll probably fighting on who's going to take the penalty. Icardi moving certainly will benifit Lautaro & Colidio playing time.
LOL nothing to do with the NT in any way, shape, or form, but Sergio Ramos is looking like the world's biggest idiot right about now. You could tell he was digging his own grave as soon as he opened his mouth after the first leg.
It seems like the Palacios to Madrid deal has cooled down and perhaps both parties are moving apart from one another. Recently, Palacios manager talked about Inter and how he's spoken to Pupi and that he'd like to play for Inter. I think that would be a much better place than going to the circus that is Madrid.
So, is Lanzini in any shape to play? I would like for us to try Messi-Dybala for an extended time at least once.
Haven't seen Lanzini play this season, but his first game since the injury, he played -vs Fulham for 14 minutes (feb. 22) -vs Man City for 45 min. (Feb. 27) -vs Newcastle full game (March 2) I looked at the West Ham forum and they say that he played really well vs Newcastle and needs him for the next game. I think that's a good sign.
Would somebody mind translating Scaloni’s press conference? Lionel Scaloni : "Buscamos seguir un poco con la mayoría de jugadores que estaban viniendo y también ver otros que nos están llamando la atención y es evidente que merecían una oportunidad". "La decisión del cuerpo técnico había sido que Leo (Messi) no viniera en los primeros partidos. Ahora vuelve y será bienvenido". “Todos los jugadores que fueron citados tienen un gran nivel". “Hay que trabajar para el futuro de la Selección". "Necesitamos ver jugadores en el puesto de arquero. No tenemos totalmente decidido quién va a jugar desde el inicio en los próximos partidos". “Leo (Messi) está convocado, después veremos si juega un partido o dos. Yo tomaré esa decisión". “El grupo es sagrado y el que venga aportará lo suyo". “"Argentina siempre que compite debe hacerlo lo mejor posible. Pero la idea no cambió, siempre queremos trabajar a futuro". “Con César Luis Menotti nos encantaría hacer una selección local. Sabemos que es difícil pero es una ilusión grande". Con humildad y trabajo podemos volver al nivel que tuvo esta Selección". Creo que supimos aprovechar a Messi por momentos. Con él, el equipo llegó a tres finales y no se pudo por muy poco". "Vamos a la Copa a competir como lo tiene que hacer Argentina. Va a ser difícil, yo no me puedo sentar acá a decir que vamos a ganarla". La figura de César (Menotti) para nosotros es muy importante. Nos va a ayudar mucho. Trataremos de lograr un consenso con los clubes para poder trabajar durante la semana con algunos jugadores locales".
The english part is at this link http://mundoalbiceleste.com/2019/03...s-copa-america-lionel-messi-local-squad-more/
Basically textbook commentary.. That he wants to continue with those who have been part of the process, but also give an opportunity to those who deserve it. That we must build for the future (long term) That the NT is sacred and those who are called-up must do their part That Argentina must always compete and be a strong contender That everyone who was called-up is currently in excellent form That the coaching staff had decided to not call-up Messi for the first games of the cycle, but are happy to have him on the team. Perhaps the only actual non-robotic statement of his is the confirmation that they still have doubts regarding who will occupy the GK role and that they will be taking a very close look at the candidates in the upcoming FIFA dates. The other thing to highlight is his mentioning of an intent to incorporate domestic players to some sort of training camp on a weekly basis
He’s in fantastic form, it’s not that crazy. You’re acting like they called up Chino Luna or something