Ivory Coast and SM should be respected, no doubt. they are not teams like T&T, whom you are certain to win. if we play Ok game then i am sure we are going to loose against them. we have to play at our best to beat these teams. i watched how IC and SM made it to the WC and since then i am getting more nervous. IC can play very offencive game and they shot from everywhere, whenever they get near to the 16 meter they barely play ball towads the box and remember we have Pato on goal who don't seem very comfortable in these sorts of situations. for SM, they are very good on air and this is again where Pato is weak. if pato plays as he is doing in friendlies, we are in serious danger. our 2 opponents play exactly the same game, which our keeper is uncomfortable with. i am getting more and more nervous as the game is approaching and if we are to beat these teams our each and every players have to fulfill their duty, and most of all our keeper has to improve a lot.
When Holland don't have injuries he would be a substitute. Van Basten knows him for a longer time. He had his first game in the national team after a few games in the fist team of Ajax. Today they have their last 'amistoso' against Australia. Half time 1-0. They create a few chances to score more goals. in defence and midfield they have some worries. Cocu is tottaly different as he plays for his clubteam. And was going off in the first half with a injury/tired? Sneijder is going off in the second half, with a injury. VD Vaart is injured for a longer time. Penalty for the Aussies. VD Sar stop the penalty but in the rebound they score the 1-1. And as always they miss many many chances.
rotterdam, i hope noone of your player get injured. just read one article in skysports and here is what Drogba has to say about Argentina: this guy have some big mouth. may be he don't realise that we have other 10 players on the field those are not afraid of him and IC. thig guy's statement just ignited fire on me, now i want Argentina to crush this team. 1 goal win against them won't make me happy anymore.
3 players off with a injury after todays last friendly before the opening match. Cocu, Sneijder and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. the injury from Sneijder did not looking good and was he one of the better players in the weeks before the world cup. Second half was really bad today. Van Persie was ok. At the end i was surprised to see Robben on the pitch, did not seen him before, maybe one or two times when he was on the ground. Crying like a baby for a free kick. I like the Argentina futbol for many years. and will be difficult when i see both teams on the pitch in Frankfurt. About Drogba. Futbol is a game what they play on gras and not on paper. Let him talk and beat them in the opening match. Suerte!
Cocu is a great player but he could be a weakness for Holland against Argentina. He is an aging veteran who works hard and is very important to Holland's tactics, and after two tough matches in a short time, we should get him when he's tired. If I was Pekerman I would have Argentina pressure him, force him to work hard on defense, attack him with Maxi and of course Riquelme, maybe bring in a fresh Aimar. I think we can take advantage of the matchups. Of course, if Holland is already qualified after two matches, Van Basten might wisely choose to bench him and rest him. It all depends on what both teams need at that point, if anything.
Drogba's mentality is something to be expected. I already told you guys that this was the way the Ivory Coast was going to approach our game. And I think this is the way we should approach it too.
pekerman, you seem to be fundamentally confused. unlike drogba, none of us are captaining our country in a wc, we are contributing to a fans' forum, there's a subtle difference we can all talk shit in order to rally the troops, but as cordobesen has so eloquently said, it makes absolutely no difference to our chances. this is not the stadium, nor the changing room, this thread is designed to discuss our rivals, in an informative and stimulating fashion, we can either do so truthfully or we can all bury our heads in the sand and do as you do i trust that your posts express what you honestly believe, which is fine and i respect it, even if i disagree that ivory coast are shit and that our B team would beat holland's A team etc etc. but understand that not all of us are quite so dismissive of our opponents, and understand that this doesn't hamper argentina's chances in the wc. if we fail, i'm afraid you'll have to ask questions of your namesake, rather than the contributers to this site. i visit this thread to learn about our opponents, who are all good teams, even if, like you, i wish that they weren't.
and i dont see u apologising for the lying u do on this thread, misinformation to fellow forum members shud I say
I am well aware that this is a place for the fans to share information. I never talked shit, what I am simply saying is that we need to go into a World Cup with a little more confidence. When I say "we" I am referring to all the fans. I know that it will have no effect on our chances but the fear I witness on this forum is absolutely pathetic especially when you consider that people here are supposed to be Argentina fans...not some African country who just made it to the tournament in the first time in its history. I have my own opinions about other national teams. It is really fine if you do not agree with me. I guess there is no way to know who is right until the games start. To even consider failure at this stage is a little too pessimistic on your part. This is not something exclusive to this board or to you, people in Buenos Aires also suffer from the same defeatist attitude. I am not closing my eyes and pretending that our opponents are weak, I know for a fact that they are good ( except for the extremely over-rated Ivory Coast. READ: OVER-RATED =/= shit) but I have enough confidence to believe that we can surpass them all. No need to be such a cry baby. I won't apologise because I did not mean to mislead anyone. This is an internet forum and you should know better than trust everything you read here. Asking me to apologise for something I posted is simply laughable. I am here to express opinions, I have as much right to post here as anyone else.
peker, nowhere on this thread has anyone said they expect us to lose, but even if they did, that would be okay, for it would be their opinion. most of us are just ackowledging they will be tough games, tougher than we would all like, but let's hope we get through.
This opinion games is getting rather lame. It is also my opinion that they should be mentally stronger or else they should just support Brazil. Everything is an opinion, especially in football or sports in general where people can have a different opinion of players and teams. Some say Maradona was the best, some say Pele was, some view Zidane as the best modern footballer, other think it was Romario. Everyone rate players differently depending on how they perceive them in certain games. You should just move on when I say that I don't rate the like of Drogba and Toure very highly. It is my opinion and I am entitled to it despite all the raving reviews Toure might have received in the EPL.
Toure is, in my opnion, a quality defender, fast, strong, a good tackler and header. Drogba on the other hand, in my opnion, is an overrated, over priced donkey who won the footballing lottery because someone with more money than sense paid 24 million quid for him (more than Barca paid for Ronaldhnio) and put him on 65k a week wages when really he should be working on Blackpool beach being hired out for rides at 1 pound a go.
You don´t have to pay attention to what players say in the media. Perhaps the journalist has distords Drogba´s words. I don´t like Drogba his attitude, he is always diving and asking for a yellow card. The same thing goes for Robben, great talent but he is irritating me at the moment, he is always crying like a little baby!!!
I see a lot of Drogba as I live in England and I think he is an average player, of course now I have written this he is sure to score against Argentina. Don't what has happened to Robben but he seems to have developed an "attitude" during his time at Chelsea, a fantastic talent but he's spoiling it by continously acting like a spoilt brat.
Respect is not the same as fear my boy. And make sure you know what you are talking about here, you are calling a nation full of passionate fans pathetic. Hail Hail the REAL football fan is here. Its absolutely fine you have your opinion about somebody, but I am not sure you actually seen Toure play, doubt you actually know what he looks like This statement has really p*ssed me off here. You hold absolutely no right in telling ppl who to support. I think it was a mistake on my part to respond to your blatant lies in the first place. I am just ignoring you from now on.
He is certainly not overated, actually I saw him scoring 2 great goals today. If he is a overated player, why does he play for Chelsea (and often instead of Crespo). I think the scouts at chelsea are not stupid. He scored lots of great goals for Marseille and he scored also great goals for Chelsea. If he was a overated player then Mourinho would have put Crespo instead of Drogba in the starting line up. Just because he said some ´´horrible´´ things, that does not make him a bad player!! You have to judge him on his qualities; Strenghts, Acceleration, Great header.
The nice thing about this discussion is that we will have answers beggining next week. We will find out who is overrated, who is underrated, and who moves on. I do hope Pekerman (the poster) is right, and it turns out to be easier than most of us think. But I'm not about to be hyperoptimistic this time. I like our players and I think we will advance, but I learned my lesson. In 02 I was convinced we'd beat England and win the group easily and possibly the title, and it didn't work out that way. So this time I'm more cautious. As much as I like our talent, I also respect the other teams in the group. I think Ivory Coast will be a very tough match. If it turns out that we beat them with ease, then I'll be wrong but extremely happy.
Two goals against a less than average team in a friendly are not a big achievement to say the least. He was never impressive with Chelsea, he is quite a poor finisher for his price tag. Crespo was brought to add depth from the bench, he was never meant to be the starter and I do not think he fits Chelsea's system anyway. With less time on the field Crespo proved to be a much more lethal finisher than Drogba even though Crespo dropped in form in the last few games I saw. You are talking as if Drogba has been dominating the EPL like Henry or VanN when in fact he is as much of a flop as Cisse. I realise that he usually performs better with his country but not by much. When at full strenght our defense can cope with the best in the world, the likes of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, players who surpass Drogba in every department yet people on this forum are so fearful that they completely forget that. We are not simply rating a country or a player based on his performances here, we are talking about a match-up. It will be a head-to-head battle between our offense and their defense and vice-versa. Drogba will be facing Heinze and Ayala, Toure will be facing Tevez/Saviola and Sorin. Everything changes under this context, and there is no point to talk about the players attributes without this direct comparison. After all every player can be good in his own right. Unlike most of you here I do not just look at the strenght of a player but I also look at the weaknesses. It is great to note all the positives of our opponent but no need to over-rate them just to make a point. I believe the difference in class between us and the Ivory Coast will be made clear once the ball starts rolling. We will monopolise possession from the start with Riquelme in command and they will try to counter effectively. I expect a comanding performance from Mascherano ( similar to the one in BA against Brazil last year) and Cambiasso, their objective is simple: destroy the opposition's midfield, do not let them create chances and do not allow them any space to breath. Sorin should be assuming a little more defensive role, something he has not exactly excelled at, I want him to mark the dangerous player. Heinze and Ayala should be capable of absorbing any danger be it aerial or not. I have no doubt that Crespo's movements will allow much space to whoever is his companion in attack. I believe that will pierce through the Ivory coast defense or even earn a penalty. Do not forget that they are a pretty careless side when it comes to fouling which might give us a lot of set-pieces. If we do not win against the Ivory Coast ( something I really doubt) then we are not a real contender and we never were. We should not even bother hoping because losing against such a team will be a complete disgrace especially with the arsenal we have at our disposal. But I believe the team is ready both physically and psychologically. It is our first game, we have all of our players ready and everything prepared. There will be no excuses.
The reason Drogba is at Chelsea is because despite all their money and despite the so called sophistication of their manager, Jose likes a big strong striker who will jump into the opposition centre half. As he will do against Argentina. However when Ayala played against Drogba in the UEFA Cup Final Drogba did not get a look in all game.
I also hope that Pekerman is right about Drogba, if I have to believe him he should be playing for a English 3 division club, but if I have to believe a lot of football experts he is a dangerous striker to watch out for, like Crespo. Our national coach Van Basten said yesterday that he is a good striker, and that it will be very difficult for our defense. For me Hernan Crespo is the best striker of this group, but Drogba is certainly not a rubbish player!! He has some qualities to win a match. Fact remains that he has scored some nice goals in CL matches and in the qualification against Cameroun (incl. 1 free kick). You cannot compare him with Ronaldo, Henry or Ronaldinho, they are totally different players. He is just like Crespo a very dangerous striker.
SR, you need to calm down, bro. i am not saying Drogba is little too overrated because he said some horrible things. i have reason to say it. he plays for Chelsea because Chelsea needed one huge striker that can hold the ball and he plays instead of Crespo because Chelsea's system fits him more than it fits Crespo. Crespo is a better striker than Drogba because Crespo has proven himself in many big clubs except Chelsea by scoring tons of goals, Crespo is better finisher than Drogba and still Drogba is regarded as better striker than Crespo. isn't this reason enough for you to conclude Drogba is overrated?