Did Di Maria even play today? The only time I saw him was when he was being substituted. I think Diego had more touches than him.
yup i agree. if he is giong to be mvp like everyone suggest then he needs to improve his game big time.
If he and the team end the tournament the way they want, NO ONE will remember this first game. He (along w/ Higuain) looked a bit nervous. Look for that to be rectified in the next game. Having said that, I don't think he'll be the player of the tournament...Best young player, perhaps.
3-4-3 sucks for him. especially that Tevez didn't do anything to deserve a starter. Without a doubt, the worst seleccion match for Di Maria ever.
Tevez did very little but more than him. I kept seeing Higuain at the places where Di Maria should be, wtf.
he was clearly nervous. his positioning didn't help, but his touch was way off from what we normally see
His (and Higuain's) first game at a world cup, it's a big moment when you have the eyes of millions and millions of people on you and he's only a young lad, so I'm not surprised he was nervous. Hopefully now he's got that out of the way he'll get better.
Come on dudes, it's just his first game...Don't worry then, I still trust him. He always offers his service when we need it the most like he did in U20 and Olympics, especially in the knock-out stages!! But he really has to fit into this new formation cos I kept seeing him in the #9 zone....kinda weird...It's Diego's tactics to switch him with Higuain (Pipata sometimes switched to the right side) or what?
Today DiMaria took one for the team, in that others shone besides him. The game that ended up being played today did not benefit him. Come the game against Korea and we will see the DiMaria runs again. VAMOS ARGENTINA!!!!
Where has Di Maria been the whole tournament? I love the way he plays, always have.. ever since his Rosario Central days, really. But the truth is he has been absent the entire World Cup so far. Is it time to sub him out?
I don't know what is wrong with him, hell I been impressed with Pastore with the 20min he has played than Di Maria for the 3.5 games thus far. He did well vs Germany in Berlin in a friendly, but maybe he is running out of fumes. He is dead weight, but I am somewhat hopefully. But who would we replace for him?
Awful. Angel Di Maria is a nervous wreck so far. He is the first candidate to be subbed out for any decent left midfielder. I'd say to give Pastore a chance or Kun. Or maybe even more defensive ever since the right midfield side of the Germans is not the worst.
Give him credit he is playing aan unfamiiar role against his natural inclinations. He needs to play up top on the left stretching the pitch and cutting in or providing crosses which is his forte. But then we'd need to remove Tevez probably and bring in Pastore/ Bolatti for midfield balance attack/defence wise.
I think Di Maria isn't getting any benefit with Tevez playing in front of him. The 4-3-3 doesn't favour him at all. I think he had a very good match against South Korea, in the other matches, when he gets the ball there's a good difference.
jajajajaja And the fact Heinze refuses to go up. He makes a run for 10 yards and stops when he overlaps, then the ball turns back going to Mascherano or Burdisso. Di Maria played like a DM today, he had 2 or 3 chance getting the ball above the half way line and there was no one to support him in all of those chances. His side was clearly told to stay back and he did just so, running back and forth getting a workout for nothing.
In this system, he is more of a balanced side midfielder than a fully attacking winger.... He still has three games to shine...Hope he would expose at least once
Are you just pulling stuff out of your ass, cause I don't see a 4-3-3 anywhere in the formation. It's a 4-4-2 straight up, with a traditional South American diamond midfield (DM: Mascherano, RM: Rodriguez, LM: Dimaria, AM: Messi). However, I think it's a waste to have Messi come back so far down next to Mascherano to begin our plays. I would prefer a Veron, Bolatti or Pastore in there in a 4-2-3-1.
Apparently we just purchased him, so info about where and how he plays would be appreciated. I've watched a few clips of him in the recent past, but nothing substantial. He'd better be good!
Up until the World Cup he had been playing at a freakishly high level for both club and country. Tremendous on the wing, very quick and unselfish. He makes good decisions for a young player and can honestly move to either wing and be effective. You guys got a wonderful player.
Is he a 4-3-3 out-and-out winger type, or can he also play as a wide midfielder in a 4-5-1? The main concern on our forum seems to be whether we can get Kaka, Ronaldo, Di Maria and Higuain (or Benzema) all on the pitch at the same time. We might be able to do that with a 4-5-1, but if he doesn't track back and we use a 4-3-3 then our midfield looks a bit flimsy.
At his best he's an out and out winger. If needed he can play as a wide midfielder and he will track back. He and Ronaldo along with Higuain in the middle would give Madrid a nice bit up front and if Kaka can play consistently for a long clip then you'll be happy.
Di Maria, I'm sorry brother but you messed up by going to Real. Hopefully, Mourinho plays you the right way. I would have preferred to have seen you wearing Barca colors.