Argentine NT: News, Stats & Players [R]

I just can't get wound up by a coach's politics when such destructive naivete is widespread. I'd be shocked to find out a coach wasn't a suck up to the Kirchners. I'm sure you have to be to even be considered by AFA.

 

Brazil once struggled to beat North Korea, do not underestimate Asian team

 

Well, the friendly won't be televisied here in the U.S. I guess extended highlights/ the game being posted on YouTube will be the way to go.

 

So far the streaming is good, I'm in the same timezone as Singapore.

 

We're pressing them as expected. Speed difference is quite obvious , even with some misplace passes, Argentina still end up getting the ball. Dybala nutmegged his marker but angle is too narrow to shoot.

Goal at last, it might end 4-1 or 4-0.

2-0, Correa scored , asisted by Dybala. I'm glad Messi skip this game cause this looking more and more like training session.

 

This goal sum up the game. Too easy...

 

Paredes and Papu were really good, but this game can't really allow us to make conclusions.

However, if any, Joaquin Correa is a much mobile striker than Higuain and Aguero, and I like his work rate.

Paredes should be introduced in the midfield.

Still no Argentina goal for Dybala.

 

Paredes had an assist, goal, hit the post in 13 mins of play time. However, it seems that Sampa views him as a ball carrier/backup to Banega rather than a DM.

 

I liked the move of trying Acuna at LB. He looked really good & it brought out the nature of his physical abilities.

The game was really a scrimmage and a chance for the new faces to show how they'd implement Sampa's style. He might have to find a replacement for Jose Gomez when playing Uruguay because Im not sure Salvio can play RB.

 

The purpose of this match was to introduce some of the new prospects with confidence of an easy win. More psychological than anything.

 

That back heel definition from Di María was so unnecessary...

 

Yes, but soon or late Sampa will find way for Dybala to be effective. It took few years and over 65 matches before Messi finally scores regularly for NT. Before that he only scored 16 in 66 games.

 

At least he made it....

 

Paredes is being linked to the Russian giants Zenit. There appears to be 3-4 teams in the running for him; i.e. Juve, Liverpool, and Zenit. I wouldn't like the move to the RPL but at the end of the day, the player decides where to go. I am not sure why Roma want to sell him since many appear to really like him but perhaps he stays in the Italian capital and they'll be under a new coach, Eusebio Di Francesco, who played with Bati at Roma.

Joaquín Correa has been impressive in these two showings, no wonder Sampa used him quite a bit at Sevilla. Playing him higher up is interesting and clearly, gives the team a new dynamics. It's not that Sampa subs a 9 for a 9, he wants the team to have a different approach. Now I am not sure if he will continue to do this but it is interesting to see.

Glad to see Alario get his first goal for us. Granted the game was already over but within three touches of the ball, the ball was in the back of the net, great team-work.

The real test for Sampa begins in August when we play Uruguay. He took a look at the players and the players will have an idea of what he wants and expects. We need to go and get points from every match left. We cannot walk away with less than four points in the new two rounds. Granted the teams behind us will perhaps take points off each but we need to secure ourselves a spot in the top 4. Only a few points separate teams from 2-5, so in a single day, the entire balance can shift.

There is also a friendly scheduled against Russia I believe in November. If we do manage to qualify, this will give Sampa another game against a formidable team. I hope we set ourselves with a number of friendlies, I believe March is another FIFA date, where two games will be played and perhaps a couple games before the kickoff of the tournament. So, if we do manage to schedule a couple friendlies in March, this will give Sampa 9 games. If you throw in another friendly before the World Cup, that will be 10, which I believe was around the number of games Bozo had with us.

 

7 goals scored by 7 different players over 2 friendlies. Maybe Sampa already sees Argentina's flaw in recent years where everytime the attacking players got nullified, we struggled to score. More goal from midfielders and defenders are a great sign.

 

Nice little story.

Football: VIP house call leaves local barbers starstruck

http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/vip-house-call-leaves-local-barbers-starstruck

 

The WC will start exactly 1 year from today. Time flies and this next qualifying round would be the most crucial.

 

Time flies brother @Rattlehead - time flies. It's insane that we are already on the cusp of another World Cup. It's a good thing I'm not actually getting older right?

 

Yes, it seems like only some months ago we're all posted and supporting this team as they went all the way to the final. Yet, that was 3 years ago!

Also, you're only as old as what you think I believe ... hope we're gonna see they finally lift the damn thing next year.

 

I really hope argentina wins this thing next year!! Sampaoli has loads of work to do.

 

I haven't really followed futbol for the last few days but I did a bit of reading last hour or so. It seems Dani Alves gave Dybala a piece of advice, that if he ever wants to fufill his potential, he needs to get out of Juventus and I 100% with the brazuca. I simply did not like the direction that Allegri went this season with Dybala's growth.

Barboza is a player that continud to impress with his play for Defensa y Justicia, I sense Sampa will give him a closer look. There were rumors circulating that Sampa wanted to host a couple domestic sided matches just to get a look at some players. Not to mention Beccacece who is Sampa's assistant is/was the D.T. for DyJ.

 

I personally think Dani Alves sees the immense talent in Dybala and he's being played out of position by Allegri. I see the frustration on Dybala's face. In his first season, Dybala thrived at Juve but he only regressed the following year. Outside of that Barcelona game, I cannot think of many goals he scored that were not PK's nor FK's. He played at a high level where he dominated games without scoring much but you felt he could do so much better. If Dani is in his ear, then it is something he will perhaps listen to.

As for Diego... He always has something to say. Most people take it with a grain of salt but at the end of the day, if he speaks people will publish what he has to say. By now, most people have tuned out his opinion. He won a World Cup in 86, but with the AFA ridiculous decision to place him as our manager for 2010 perhaps cost us a deep run. Who knows if we would've won it with another coach at the helm, but they sure as hell couldn't have done any worse. I remember when Inter won the CL that year, and how his decision to take Samuel and Milito to the tournament were justified by their victory in the CL. But yet, he left out Pupi, who had a monster season for Inter that year and was the captain of that side. That's Diego for you...

 

I also remember, and I was such a culprit, that the overwhelming public opinion was that Higuain start over Milito despite his Champions League heroics... What happened? Higuain scored a hat-trick against Korea the "Sassuolo" of the world cup, then barely touched the ball against Germany... Plus we had Tevez who was looking for his stats, then Jonas Gutierrez...

That game was so bad, the blame is shared between Maradona, Romero, and Otamendi... I was there that day my friend, surrounded by Germans...

 

Diego's team was getting thrashed in qualifier, 0-2, 1-3 (at home), 1-6... Losing 0-4 to Germany wasnt exactly a surprise. Had they face Holland in that tournament, they'd suffer the same fate. You could see how organize team like Holland, Germany, Spain and Uruguay compare to Argentina in 2010.

Granted Messi has yet to evolved into what he became in last 7 years, but in 2010, Messi, Higuain, Masche, Di Maria and Aguero all came into the tournament injury free and Pipita was still fast and confident. Yet they never look like a team except in second half against South Korea.

Diego pretty much cost Argentina that WC. Look at Argentina in 2006 and 2014 for intense... they have playing style and looks organized. Hence even when playing teams like Holland and Germany, there's no gap in quality. He brought Veron and Samuel and they were injured (or perhaps a phantom injury).