Argentine NT: News, Stats & Players [R]

Ok, so if La Nación reports it as "potential doping" that is very far from making it confirmed. So why drag the kid's name through the mud, especially since you say you like him? The only way doping can be confirmed is if CONMEBOL does so and then suspends the player, which didn't happen.

 

Come, come, his name leaked out, which makes me believe he in all likelihood a player that pissed hot. It's also funny that news broke on the 22nd about this news and the following day it was announced he was sold. As they say, "it was time to get the hell out of Dodge".

It's kinda ironic he's going to Russia, a country where doping is widespread(Unless WADA gets involved). But I'm not going to look at the player any differently, if he did in fact was doping, so be it, I'll still wish him success.

But I liked that Trump pic. I got a good laugh out of it.

 

So, reports are saying that Roma has made an offer for Lucas Alario for the ballpark of 15ME. That is way under what River will want, which is closer to the 23-24 range.

I believe it is time for Alario to make the leap to European futbol. He'll be 25 before the year is over and that makes him older than somebody such as Icardi. Perhaps this could hurt his development. Sometimes leaving too early can be a problem and sometimes leaving too late can also hinder his growth as a player. I don't think there is anything more to prove at River. But there might be a couple of problems.

One, the Libertadores... River is practically a shoo-in to make the quarter-finals. They've already sold Driussi and brought in Scocco but are they also willing to sell Alario in the midsts of a Libertadores run? I guess if Roma and River met somewhere in the middle then perhaps he'll be sold off. Second... It is a World Cup year, which by going to Roma, he will likely end up being a backup to Dzeko. If he ends up at Roma and rides the bench most of the time then that will be that he can kiss his World Cup dreams goodbye.

 

Paredes and Driussi. Their season kicks-off this weekend vs CSKA Moscow. I am not sure if they will play or not, especially Driussi who hasn't gotten a break, whereas Paredes has. I guess most of us will keep an eye on Zenit.



Marcos Acuna is off to the Portugal.

Angel Correa is being linked to Liverpool. It was an up and down year for Correa, he had some magical moments and was a bit of a super-sub the first half of the season but it slowed down in the second. Not sure if going to Liverpool would do him any good. I think he has the speed to play in England but at times there is a mental aspect to it. He was called under Bauza a few times but I am not sure if he is somebody Sampa will consider. It has also been a tough time for him in the summer, his brother apparently committed suicide. Whatever the case may be, I hope he perseveres on and off the pitch.

Another Liverpool target is Mammana, again, I am not sure if this would be a good move so soon. I liked what I saw from him and perhaps staying in France for another year will do everybody some good. Perhaps he will continue to be considered by Sampa.

Southhampton is looking at Vietto(yikes...) but Pellegrino is there now but I still a move to Italy would be better.

Also, Tottenham is also rumored to be interested in Foyth. I am assuming they'll buy him and loan him out to a team in Spain or so.

Bruno Zuculini has made an permentant move to Hellas Verona.

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Juventus... Some news of Juventus(Dybala). I do not see them doing anything this summer to improve their squad. Allegri is an incompetent fool who will continue to play Dybala further from goal. Not only that, Dani Alves basically walked away, who had become friends with Dybala and they connected well on the pitch together. The midfield still stinks and they'll continue to force Dybala to play further from goal. It is a team that has gotten weaker, instead of getting better, they've weakened their side(especially if the rumors are true that Bonucci is about to go to Milan for a measly 40 million). If we make it to Russia, we will need Dybala to step up his game, we're going to need the Dybala that I saw in his last year at Palermo and first year at Juve. He needs to be right behind the forward with a midfielder that can get him the ball. But I sense this will be his last year there. His frustration will continue to grow when Allegri subs him out early and plays him out of position.

 

In terms of Dybala, adding Costa, Bernadeschi, and a CM will liberate Dybala. Bernadeschi was one of the best attacking mid in the league last year. Costa is an upgrade on Cuadrado who could still feature from the bench. There are rumors that Allegri will be using a 4-2-3-1/4-3-2-1 next year in part to ensure that Dybala receives the ball closer to goal. If Bernadeschi arrives and hits it off, Juve will have acquires another #10 to play alongside Dybala.

Real won the CL with 4-3-1-2. Bayern look set to move to such a formation as they added James and Tolisso. Barca more and more resemble this type of formation with Messi playing the #10 in front of a midfield three. Don't be surprised when Juve move in this direction next year.

Interestingly the EPL sides have opted to drop a CM as more of their top teams play in a back three (Chelsea 3-4-3, United 4-2-3-1, Tottenham 3-4-2-1, Arsenal 3-4-2-1, City 3-2-4-1)

 

Zenit starts against SKA Khabarovsk, not against CSKA Moscow.
http://www.soccerway.com/national/russia/premier-league/20172018/regular-season/r41733/

 

Yeah, @SupaMario!

What the fu(k is wrong with you!?

 

I am still quite saddened at how cash poor the Primera teams are that they are selling these youngsters for a pittance. Acuna was sold for PEANUTS. It is awful and I don't think it gets any better anytime soon.

Regarding Giuve, I hope you are right with your musing, that they do not improve, AND ACTUALLY START TO SUCK A BIT.

 

Sorry comrade. I saw SKA, I was thinking they were playing CSKA Moscow, which would be odd to play a rival(assuming it's a rival) on opening day.

 

In the past I have about my disapproval that our clubs sell our players to Portuguese side who within a couple of years flip them for a huge profit. It's Portugal after all, it's not like they are going to some great league.

Milan should be a interesting side now, I am going to be interested in seeing the partnership of Bonucci and Musacchio.

Juve will gradually lose their stranglehold on the league. I sense the likes of Buffon, Dybala and Alex Sandro will be gone by next season, which is great news for you, then you could actually start liking La Joya.

 

Paredes played a full 90 for Zenit in their 2-0 victory over SKA Khabarovsk. Driussi came on with about a quarter left in the match.

Here are some highlights of the match.



In the Ukraine, over the weekend Chucky hit 2 goals in Shakhtar Donetsk's 2-0 win in the Ukranian Super Cup. Today, he also scored once in their opening match of the league. Perhaps he can take the next step in the near future and play in Italy, Spain or even Germany.

Reports are circulating that Ricky Centurión will be returning to the Serie A and he'll be back with Genoa. He's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed yet he is talented. One can hope he gets it together. I believe he was on Sampa's list of local players that he wanted to call-up. Perhaps this won't happen now if he, in fact, is making the transfer.

Also, Biglia has joined Milan. I understand he is a good guy and all but every single time I see him play for us, he's absolutely terrible and is a waste of space. He's slow, he doesn't defend well, nor can he help the attack. He manages to continuously get called up for us, he was the captain of Lazio and now he'll be joining Milan? These are the great mysteries of the sport that make you scratch your head. I sincerely hope Sampa drops him.

Romero has decided to be the quintessential bench-warmer that he is, as he has renewed his contract with Manchester United. But can you blame the man? Another player I hope Sampa drops(Or puts him as a second or third option).

 

I've been saying the same thing for few years. He's similar to Zabaleta, not skillfull, not fast, no physical strength, not sure what makes him rated highly by every recent Argentina manager.

In their prime, the likes of Redondo, Veron, Aimar and Riquelme made Argentina midfield dominant no matter who's the opponent. Biglia in 2018 WC (if Argenitna qualify) will make Argentina midfield getting owned against powerhouse team. Too bad Roman retired from NT just one year before Messi turned into a goalscorer that he's today.

Biglia is like every English players that made it into England NT. Famous, highly paid and rated highly for no reason.

 

Biglia was good when he was younger, a lesser talent but similar to Cambiasso or Basualdo. After CA15, he should not have been called anymore.

 

How about Musacchio? I hope he stays healthy. He's got a golden opportunity in front of him.

 

It seems that Higuain aged 10 x faster than the rest. He's still in his 20's I believe...

 

Just some rumors and news updates.

Apparently, there will be a mini-tournament in March(During the FIFA Friendly Calendar Date) that will bring, France, Chile, Portugal and ourselves together. We are set(Or supposedly) to play Portugal in our first match, and if we win, we will play the winner of the Chile-France. If we end up losing, we will play in a third place match with the loser of the other match. This will be called the Copa Artemio Franchi, which was the precursor to what is now the Confederations Cup, which we won the trophy vs Denmark in 93. There is no confirmation of this happening but yet there are just talks. Regardless, I hope this takes place because of the teams that are involved. It can help Sampa continue to build his team for Russia(That is of course we qualify). It surely will be better than playing the U.S. in NY for the 10,000th time. I guess we will find out if this happens in the next few months.

Centurión has reportedly passed his medical with Genoa. Another Argentino that could(will) be joining him at Genoa will be Thomas Rodriguez of Banfield. Even though he was born in Chile, he is the son of Leonardo Rodríguez, who played for the seleccion in the early 90's(Thomas was born in Santiago when Leonardo was playing for La U). There will be quite an Argentine contingency at Genoa. Gio Simeone, Ezequiel Muñoz, Nico Spolli, and now with Ricky and Thomas, it will be interesting to watch and see how they do.

 

Nothing more than FIFA trying to make money by pitted Messi vs CR.

 

Yup, FIFA knows it will almost likely never happen in an official international match.

 

Perhaps. If these matches were happening in Qatar or UAE, then yes but it will take place in Milan. Cash grab or not, we are in dire need for friendlies with Sampa. He needs to work with the team as much as he can. So, I personally find it welcoming.

Other news. The rumblings for Dybala to Barcelona have begun. Neymar is on the verge of a world record move to PSG (because he'll always be the #2 at Barca and he doesn't want that anymore, so he'll join a large brazuca contingency in Paris).

I always felt that Dybala would end up at Madrid but the Spanish side are keen on the French born Cameroonian instead. But a move to Barcelona for Dybala could happen now. Barcelona will surely have to replace Neymar and Dybala has made no secrets that his fondness for Messi and the club. This could be a good thing for us, especially Dybala and Messi getting time together and they'll likely be in the starting 11 for Sampa. Let's wait and see what develops in the next few days/weeks.

 

Dybala to Barca with Messi would be an amazing turn of events for us. It's always been a downside that our stars don't play together regularly so that would help a lot.

 

Well, you're right about the fact that we do need more matches since we just got a new manager. It just the way they suddenly created this tournament made it so obvious. There's already a Confederation cup itself which just finished , which made this tournament look ridiculous. Even in 1993, its a bit stupid there's this Artemio Franchi cup while there's already Confederation cup in previous year which includes more teams (which Argentina also won anyway).

Neymar will certainly move as you said, so he wont be playing second fiddle anymore. It would be great for both him and the club. With such money, Barcelona can easily get Dybala plus few more quality players which they badly need if they want to compete in CL (and make Messi happy off course).

 

Driussi with a brace today for Zenit in his debut at home. He could've had a hat-trick with a beautiful move and the shot but it was saved by the goalie. His game winner in the 90th minute was a beauty though.

He deserves to be called up or at least be in Sampa's immediate plans. He could end up being a useful sub, as he would be a boost of energy to us...If keeps this up, I don't think he will be in Russia for very long.



Centurión has decided to stay with Boca rather than go back to Italy. He made that journey to Italy for nothing. Well, let's hope he can continue his high level of play because he was guns blazing in his last campaign.

If Dybala ends up joining Barcelona that will be to our benefit(As @Burr stated). Will FCB change to a 4-4-2 because I don't think Dybala playing out on the left(In a 4-3-3) is going to do him any good. Also, the last time I saw Dybala and Messi play together was the friendly vs the brazucas. They somewhat got into each other's ways. They have similar traits and see the game in a similar fashion so they need to figure out a way to play together in an effective fashion.

 

I like Russia very much in terms of it's cultural heritage in the arts be it poetry, literature the ballet or classical music, sciences and humanities. Amazing how in the space of a century they turned around a agrarian almost feudal like economy into one reaching for the stars.

Football wise they were pretty strong as the Soviet Union but have not hit the heights since. St.Petersburg and the hockey team (CC will know with the Bolts having missed out on Gusev) are very rich. It's a jewel of a city but the league is far from what young Argentine players need. I am very disappointed with the moves Driussi and Paredes have made at their ages. For both it is no more than a sideways move. Fingers crossed they impress enough that they either go back to Italy or Spain to develop.

However it's not as if we are short on talent upfront or in midfield with numerous players emerging.

Argentines have done well in Russia before and become cult heroes like Leandro Fernandez formerly of Newell's and a cult figure at Dinamo Moskva.

With this being a World Cup year (I'm pretty confident we will make it) I sincerely hope our key performers do not tire themselves out most notably Messi. Don't bother with the Copa del Rey and think about the bigger goal. With Samp's systems our players will need to be fresh as possible and ultra fit. Something that does concern me a bit.

Here is an interesting piece on how one of Samp's team members came to be part of the seleccion. Perhaps not that surprising. You don't need to be a top class footballer or even professional ex-player now to realize what needs to be done on and off the field.

http://www.planetfootball.com/in-depth/story-guardiola-bielsa-blogger-entrusted-sampaoli/

I am glad that at last we have a team that does use modern analysis. Something previous coaches have lagged at. Bauza seemed to use pin the tail on the donkey and set my feet in concrete idea.