That AMAZING kick when the ref attempted to give them a freebie and Ospina just barely took the ball against Aguero allowing them to clear it out and the two epic saves he did in the second half.
Cuadrado played poorly, the usual game play. How many fowls did he commit? to the point that he had to be taken out.
Before he got a yellow he did a hard slide tackle looking to get carded to pay Argentina back for MurieL Seriously surprised we didn’t take Paredes out in a stretcher Instead went after Messi who kept getting free kicks in our box we got lucky didn’t go In
He has really good reflexes for sure. Has saved our ass so many times. He also sucks at coming out and getting the ball. he lacks confidence in that aspect. i think its mostly due to the fact he is a sub
Was not the best day for Cuadrado but even he had some moments where he would fake out his opponents and go up to gear 5 in speed when the Argentines were not ready for it so it kind of kept them off balance. I expect him to have a much better game against Qatar. As for Ospina, yes he sometimes has problems coming off his line and a problem with the aerial balls on crosses and judging them. But he has gotten much better as he has aged.
Maybe my perspective is wrong, but I didn’t mind so much the physicality that Cuadrado brought. Yes the shaolin high kick was OMG but we can’t knock the hustle. I said before the game that we have to suffocate Messi/aguero and that is exactly what we did. Di María - did anyone even notice him during the first half? I credit that to solid defensive teamwork freezing out the opposition. If that means pushing the envelope to the point you get a yellow so be it. It’s good to rattle the cage at times...but within limits. I’m going back in time but if you recall the 2007 CA final - Brazil, with essentially their B team, showed no respect and gave no space to an Argentine team that was even stronger than the 06WC team. Same with Lerma’s “haircut compliment” to Messi. It’s all about rattling cages. Separately - I really loved seeing Roger dropping back many times to lend defensive support. And the flip side to the coin was seeing Lerma whip that cross to Duvan. Can’t recall anything recent when prior CM/DM were that involved in an attack
It was much like a heavyweight fight trading body blows and each fighter was trying to impose their will and style. Once we got the first goal which was like a big hit to the head Duvan provided the final knockout in the late rounds.
I just don't think we want Cuadrado as a physical player but rather a fast talented one. WE have Barrios and others to bring in the physical play. His fouling is more due to him making up for his current lack of play
I would rest some players for the next game: Cuadrado (Cardona), Barrios (Cuellar/Lerma) and Falcao (DuZa)
It is a bit difficult because too many changes can work against you when it comes to cohesion and team mentality. Why mess with a good thing? That said, Queiroz has been known to tinker with lineups so your guess is as good as mine.
In a short tournament and after such an intense game with a bunch of yellows I think rotating would be smart. Besides I think for CQ its going to be good to see more guys in action, I want to win but we still need to focus on the process of working towards the WCQ especially if we can help some guys recover and minimize injuries.
Both Falcao and Duvan have yellows. Basically let’s qualify before we start talking about resting our guys Other then Diaz or Roger for Muriel because of an obvious injury Cuellar/Lerma for Barrios as no reason to rush him if injured. Qatar isn’t going to be a cake walk
I've been saying it since the end of last year, we are entering a phase that we likely have our best team ever and we have a real shot over this next cycle to reach heights we never have. All the right mix of guys hitting their peak and good young players like Davinson, Mina, Barrios who are becoming big players in our system, CQ updating our play and having us play on the front foot is what we need to achieve greatness. When Quintero comes back we will have creativity for days and two guys who can pick apart any team in the world, give them players around them who can play and our monster defensive triangle of the three I mentioned earlier and we have a recipe for success, but we have to be ambitious in our approach and play.
What a joy! After 20 years in the Copa America we finally won them. My rating\thoughts: Ospina - Didn't have too much job during the match besides 15-20 minutes in the second half and he reacted very well. (7) Medina - Very good performance for him. after what he's been through, finally he played well defensively and offensively, although he needs to improve his crossing. (7) Mina - Very solid perfomance, and this is a guy who barely played this year. Arrived first to each ball in the air, with him in the back I'm relaxed (7) Sanchez - Same as Mina. didn't have too much job but when he had, he did it the best he can. Him and Mina can easily be among the best defensive duo in the world. (7) Tesillo - If it's up to me, I give him automatically the LB spot. Played excellent defensively and offensively, worked very hard on his flank and a great job. Just like Medina, needs to cross better. (7.5) Barrios - MOM along with Roger. Broke Argentina's attempts time after time. Bossed the midfielder, reminded me of La Roca at his prime, but much better. Messi felt so miserable next to him. Crack. (8.5) Uribe - Solid game for him. co-op very well with Barrios but I expect from him to try and aim the goal much more. But maybe it was an order from Queiroz not to attack too much. (7). Cuadrado - didn't like his game. He is rusty, dribbled too much and wasn't concentrated. I would start him on the bench vs. Qatar. (6.5) James - Not his best game and also, although was much more active in the first half and less in the second. But what a pass to Roger... (7) Muriel - without grade. finished the tournament due to an injury unfortunately. Roger - MOM. I must admit that I didn't think he deserve the call and I'm glad I was wrong. He did a hell of a job in the left flank, was very active (8.5) Falcao - Not his best game. He's having difficulties to be lone up front. With all due respect, it needs to be either Duvan or both Duvan and Falcao as starters. (6.5) Lerma - Very good game for him, off the bench at the 64 minute to help Barrios in the middle of the field, when Queiroz saw that Argentina is taking control on the pitch. Great pass to Duvan in the second goal. (7.5) D. Zapata - Our best striker at the moment, period. Played 12 minutes and scored. too bad that he isn't a starter because not many defender could handle him.This goal will gives him confidence. As a super sub ha can also be very helpful. (7.5) Queiroz - Excellent debut for Queiroz. Argentina was horrible but it wasn't his fault. I thought that he should've replaced Cuadrado with Cardona, but eventually all of his substitutions were correct. Pekerman Who!? (9)
now do some of you see why I disliked Pekerman! With a worse Argentina and a better colombia we got wrecked 3-0 under Pekerman. This team went man to man and all out attack We had them playing us like Bolivia did Brazil on Friday. It was like watching someone play FIFA on easy minus the goals. The team needs to get more confidence and start shooting which with Quintero or Cardona that is going to happen. We should have scored 1 or 2 in the 1st half. Finally got the stink of not being able to beat them. Now to win the next 2
We have a ways to go before the Pekerman-CQ comparison talks are valid. Pekerman took the team to a certain level and now we have CQ who will hopefully raise the bar further.
You need to go with your strongest line up get the 6 points then maybe rest one or two in the 3rd game plus Qatar came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, they are going to be up for it now
Pekerman and CQ being good are not mutually exclusive. That's poor logic. On C4 - he is such a tough player to watch - one minute does something brilliant and the next makes a horrific decision on a break or takes too many touches. I like him active and aggressive taking on his opponent, when he starts trying to get physical and ornery you just know cards are coming and his decision making gets worse. I was relieved CQ took him out and thought it was for C4s own good, he was begging for another card...
It was a joke. Pekerman deserves a massive respect for what he has done with us. We were pure garbage before he arrived. And you didn't really compare Argentina in his time to what we saw yesterday. Yesterday was by far the worst Argentina I've ever seen and I see them since 1990. They were horrible, they played like Uniautonoma. Queiroz deserves all the compliments, but Pekerman is the one who brought us back to TWO WC and reached the QF.
that's true. Just the strongest line up is not necessarily the starting 11 from your last game. We have to take Qatar seriously and I am confident CQ will do it independently of the names we'll use