Even in that "great save" everyone is talking about he left the rebound right in front of the goal.... He touched 3 balls in the first have and fumbled all 3. Second half his feet were aweful... I just hope he doesn't mess up argentinas chances. Also, after watching the game again.... I do not think argentina played that well the first half. they had very few chances of scoring and were lucky to be up 2-0 They looked muched better the second half specialy after Riquelme was taken out... I swear he is too slow there... I still don't know why everyone is so high on him..... I say 4 out of 5 games he plays he plays like he did against angola. Crespo was invisible.... Maybe Tevez and Saviola should start Cambiaso was invisible too... maybe because he played a lot more defensively (maybe they told him to) A front of --------------Aimar----------- Messi (maxi)------------------- ----------Saviola---------Tevez Looks great to me. Much quicker AND will play better defence... Crespo and riquelme play 0 defence.
Every time pato comes out on corner kicks just doesnt know what to do, looses the ball, he has been making this type of mistake even playing for Boca lately. Pato is no longer the goalie he was for Boca in the libertadores a thousand years ago, let's get over that. Pato also said in an interview that he is thinking of retiring from futbol when the WC ends because he is burned out. In his own words, the man is tired. The other problem I se with pato is that he doesnt know what to do with his feet, in the angola game, every time some one threw a pass back to him,he got nervous and kicked it inmediately out or kick it 10 yards in front of him so the opponent can get a shot at him. Those poor defenders have to scramble every time there is a silly mistake like that. All I can say is that a single mistake like that could mean packing the bags and returning home in tears, like it already happened in 98 when Ayala f..ked up against Bergkamp,(for the second time, because he was also the cause for argentina getting a penalty that tied the game against, in the england match). Franco is at least more normal under the three posts, I'm not saying that he is Fillol but at least he is more normal.Unfortunately Ustari never was given the chance and honestly if they are not going to use him I don't know why the hell they brought him for, if experience plays against him, if thats the criteria or reason he doesn't play, than they should have brought Campagnuolo or Cessa or any of the older goalies like Navarro Montoya, an outstanding goalie. Too late unfortunately.
Riquelme is the best midfielder you can find in this world. There is no point risking an injury in a meaningless friendly just to convince some guy on bigsoccer.com that he is worthy enough to start. Why do you think Maxi and Sorin got so much space ? Watch Riquelme's shielding the ball away from 2 or even 3 defenders at time. He simply did not try hard enough which is understanble. Crespo was not invisible. Maybe he was to your eyes but not to he Angolan defenders. They were all focused on him, it is his movement that allowed Maxi to be free on the first goal. Simply world class off ball movement, I would start him every game. He can always be a threat in the air and allows the other strikers more space.
i completeoly agree with the post above, although Crespo did not show us his finishing best, his movement is an asset, and it showed once again.
I think part of the problem is that Cambiasso and Mascherano are not used to playing together, and Mascherano likes to cover the whole width of the field. Maybe Mascherano is not used to playing a double five formation, and he overcrowds Cambiasso. Or perhaps it is just a matter of them spending more time together on the field.
But Cambiasso and Mascherano did not have any problems defensively. Angola could not keep possession of the ball in the argentine half at all. Cambiasso did not contribute to the game offensively. I believe he was instructed to cover for Sorin.
You guys will see.... Riquelme gets fouled a lot, but even when he is not he plays like it. Yesterday the ref gave him the benefit of the doubt every single time. If we get a ref that doesn't (look at Villarreal Vs arsenal) he is taken totaly out of the game. So, Maxi had so much room because of riquelme and crespo? I don't think so. And this that he was playing half speed is BS..... taht is the way he plays. I have been seeing him play since his boca days.
if you have been following him since his days at boca, than how could you possibly think he's not the answer to our midfield. he's nothing short of great and he will perform come june 10. i honestly can't understand why you would doubt him after these past 2 seasons he had with villarreal. he's the leader and playmaker on that team just like he will be with our national team. to even make a statment saying he's to slow and why is everyone so high on him just blows my mind. he's a player that demands the ball and can distribute better than anyone. i think you should start showing a little more faith in roman because he will be starting and showing the world how great he is wether you like him or not. its one thing not to like someone like scaloni or colo but to hang riquelme out there and say he's not what we need and we can do better is just flat out ridiculous.
I wont quote anyone in particular here just because we all contribute just enough to keep arguing with one another. I'm not blinded by the BOCA shades, I admit El Pato leaves some things to be desired. Is Franco the answer? No one has given any specific reasons as to why he should be. Our coaching staff as well as that of Bielsa thought Pato was the best we had so how come they don't see Franco as the savior the rest of you (some of you) seem to think he is? Ustari is only there for the whole experience of the atmosphere. He will be our number one in four years and having gotten all the bells and whistles out of the way will benefit him greatly. Stop harping on the handling of the back passes My concern isn't so much how he handled them so much as why in the hell would any defender make such weak back passes. I just watched the match for the third time and if anything costs us in the WC it will be because a defender freaked and did what they did yesterday against Angola. If you put just a bit of force in those back passes, the keeper wont be rushed into trying to clear a ball. Let's also stop with the sudden attempt to bash Riquelme. He's not fleet of foot nor has he ever been. No one imho at this time reads the game better than Roman. Few pass as good and even fewer can control the ball the way he does. He dogged in the Angola match for whatever reason but that being said, Angola had to resort to fouling him just to get the ball away from his feet. Maxi and Sorin most definitely benefited from the attention Roman received. Roman will win us at least one game because of his skill in set pieces. Aimar is faster but in the WC, you need a set piece maestro. Amigos thank you for allowing me to ramble from my first buzz of the day. Saludos!!!
i don't know how Crespo played against Angola because i have not been able to find any site to download it or any tv channel broadcasting it. if anyone have any clue then please let me know. Pekerman i would like to add onething about Crespo here. he is one of the best goal getter in the world right now. this guy have pure striker instinct, he places himself very good at the box and all those rebounds ball from goalie, he can smell it from miles away. Having Messi, Riquelme, Tevez on the team we are sure to get many rebounds from the opposition goalie, Crespo will be very useful on those situations. Riquelme is back bone for Argentinian attack. Aimar is good but he is no Roman. Riquelme is not flashy but he have very good ball control, very good balance and very good passing abilities. he dictates the midfield and when we have guy like mascherano, we don't need any defencive work from him. Riquelme brings fears to the opposition and confidence to the team. there is no point in discussing whether we should replace him.
Dude, I posted a link to the match torrent yesterday here.. Look at the thread headed Argentina match torrents.
Look Riquelme is class of that there is no doubt, but with the amount of talent and options we have I would not have any problems with subbing him out after one half of play and putting Aimar in as a very credible change of pace. If Tevez would be added to the mix, and Messi as well we then would have pace in the later stages of a match wich would throw off a team that is perhaps a little tired allready and used to defending Riquelmes style of play. We ALL AGREE that Pato is crap , the thing that gets me is why Peker sticks with this clown.... he is the number one and has been for some time now, reason why I think if he is in goal we will not win this Cup
Download a torrent client (I like utorrent) open the torent file with that program.. it will take a few hours to download.
it has been downloaded, and i tried playing the avi file in all kinds of media players, but with no use. i get the audio commentary but no video footage. all codecs are updated. can you help? thanks in advance
I just saw Holland - Mexico game, and even though it was a friendly, holland overran them, like against France, Mexico ran and ran while their opponents controlled the game. It was a good thing that the dutch played with their B team, because if this B team nets at every chance, the result would have been easily 4-1. Man, the dutch have a great team and if the starters are much better than the subs it's not going to be a walk in the park for Argentina. Regarding tactics, I think the first thing our opponents are going to do is to isolate Riquelme, if Argentina can play without him it's going to be great if not, it's bye bye.
Well put. I would just add the minor detail we all overlooked. The way Argentina celebrated their goals. It should give a measure of the intensity with which they played the game. They played an "old school" friendly. The objective was one: Get the team together on the field and AVOID ANY INJURY. .
Moishe, I agree that Riquelme will give us a lot of great play in this world cup and that he can with one touch or pass change the outcome of a game. Having said that, he can be inconsistent and at times marked out of a game. His speed is not something I have an issue with I think on the contrary, at times Argentina played an erractic and hectic game with out getting results and only to loose possesion in the mid of the pitch and be caught on the counter. Thusly Riquelme can slow the pace of the game down and wait for the runs of Crespo or Tevez or whomever will be the partnership and link, but if he is on an off day wich he has many of, or he is marked out of the game we must be prepared to change our style on the fly and pace and put in Aimar. As for Pato, I NEVER, repeat NEVER liked him and Im a huuuuuuuuuuge Boca fan since I was 4!! I cannot and will not support a keeper with such bad basic technique, first touch, lack of communication with his defenders, bad angle choices, sloppy hands you name it!!
Oh one last thing have you Moishe stopped to think why a "defender freaked" and did such a weak backpass?? Any defender of this world caliber would have and or should have enough confidence in their keeper to make a decent backpass with relative pace to their keeper,,, heck even the lame Canadian team does it with more affect. Fact is the backline has no confidence in Pato and I have seen this for a looooong time now,,, NOT GOOD!! Franco, is not a Kahn or a Buffon either but he did play a decent season for an avarage club and at many a time it as his performances that saved the club. This is why we rate Franco over Pato.