Argentine NT: News, Stats & Players [R]

Nevermind...

Argentina Copa America squad confirmed. Julian Alvarez in with Lucas Alario out. pic.twitter.com/OjYVxJ2x0q

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) June 11, 2021

 

We win 2-0. Barco played well and we picked up our play in the second half.

 

Gaich somehow always gets his goal in the youth team. His lack of club game dont seem matter. I wonder if he just have great chemistry with the u23 teammates.

Is Barco has improved his footballing IQ? He reminds me of Angelito & Ortega during Sudamericana with those extended dribbles

 

Ortega lost his head in that QF match v the Dutch(Pun very much intended). What an idiotic thing to do and get baited in by Edwin freakin van der Sar. He pretty much cost us a semi-final birth.

Smh.

 

Nobody questions his talent. Talent is only one part of the game. Temperament is another. We can’t have a bunch of hotheads in the team. You have to know how to play that line, we’ve had plenty who could and could not. But that’s in the past now.


But with this group, there are a few players, if I were Scaloni, I would pull to the side and tell them to control their emotions. The opposition sees that as a weakness and they know how to exploit.

 

People never forget Ortega's red because its a World cup knockout stage where the game still in balance when it happened. Also, imagine Brazil vs Argentina semi

In comparison, people already forget that Masche and Rojo has been sent off aswell , in CA 2011 & 2015 repsectively in a game where Argentina could have had one man adventage for large chunk of the game, since opponents has a player sent off before that. Those game ended up with a draw and we lost the shootout to eventual champ.

Then again, Ortega was having great tournament up to that point, scores few goals plus some assists and winning fouls in dangerous area, including the one against England.

Most fouled player in a single WC... and Maradona and Ortega only played 5 games in 1982 & 1998

 

Oh, ADM. I remember a British commentator getting into trouble for saying something in the lines of “ADM and his Latino temperament.” I burst out laughing when I saw a clip of that.

But yes, players need to check themselves. I worry about Paredes though, as well and maybe the youngsters need to be careful.

 

Otamendi is alway stiring shit up out there and getting the other team fired up by creating drama. Paredes too. This escalates tempers and gets our other players into trouble too like the 2nd half of the Colombia game. If our guys could just quietly and professionally kill off a game, that would be fantastic. Instead, there always seems to be drama.

Also, there is a shit ton of diving in the SA Qualifiers that pisses a lot of players off. Otamendi, Lautaro with Scaloni supporting it, even Messi was diving last game and then smiling to the opponents about it.

 

Messi should be just put as a #9, he does nothing in midfield other than walking around. Doesnt press when off ball and rarely tries to penetrate or unleash rockets like he does regularly at Barca.

 

Messi plays even deeper at Argentina. But i feel like he isn't given any instruction. At Barca at least he is the mix of midfielder and forward.

 

Always feel amazing that Messi manages to edvade most of those fouls.

 

For the large part of Messi’s career with us, especially towards the last few years, we have always been too static. No movement up front, no one making runs in behind or to the blind side of defenders, no one trying to combine with, no one dragging defenders away to clear up the spaces, no fullbacks pushing forward to give numerical superiority in the final third. Even in the Colombia game there were two instances where Messi was in the box and got frustrated because he didn’t receive the ball back. Even Lautaro has to fight alone a lot of the times.

So the strategy is to put 2-3 men on Messi.

This issue gets better when Lo Celso or any creative midfielder is around.

 

He takes more shots from distance and tries to make more penetrating dribbles at Barca. He rarely does that for Argentina. He has nobody to link up with most of the time and one of Messi trademark move is using one-two before shooting. He scores this way hundreds of times.

Sabella was able to link up Gago with Messi and Kun/Higuain during 2014 qualifier. I think Lo Celso could do the same. Paredes never seems to link up well with Messi.

Messi needs to do less passing when he's near or inside the box. His hattrick against Ecuador proof it would be more effective if he goes for the kill by himself.

 

Messi's best comes with players who can play short 1-2 passes ie pass and move in small places like Deco, David villa and especially Alves. If only we had a right back who can do that.

Lautaro is just a bull he doesn't combine with Messi at all. Same thing happened with Tevez-Messi duo that resulted in a horrible combination.

Right now the only one who can do that is Lo Celso not just because he can pass very well but he is also mobile. Paredes is a long range passer who is pretty much playing as a sole DM without much support most games. Di Paul is a good workhorse but his passing and finesse is way off.

I wonder if we drop Lautaro and Gonzales and play the two Correas with Messi. What do you guys think lol

 

Lautaro and Nico and two Correas are interchangeble I think. They all seems to be good only for one half , never for full minutes.

If we starts with Lautaro and Nico, then I think Lautaro needs to be replaced by J Correa in second half or Nico with A Correa. The problem is, its usually takes forever before the manager replace the forward. Last 5-10 minutes is simply too short for the sub to make any impact most of the time.

I think Lautaro would still get the pass regardless his finishing since he often earn fouls in dangerous area. He has won like 7 penalties in NT. Even at Inter he won penalties which converted by Lukaku and Alexis.

 

With the exclusion of Buendia and Scaloni thinking Papu is the sub for Messi instead of as another option to play with Messi, Lo Celso is the only midfield player who can link up well with Messi in the final third.

Paredes is more of a deep lying playmaker and I see the likes of De Paul, Dominguez and Palacios as more of a box to box midfielder. It makes the exclusion of Buendia more incomprehensible.

 

Yea Lautaro has the work ethic we need in a #9. I think Nico Gonzalez should be on a short leash and replaced by J Correa if things are not going well for Nico. He is trying to get back into form after injury.

Wasn't there something about J Correa not being fully fit?

J Correa fit in really well down the left side when he did get minutes in the previous qualifiers. Then again, so did a healthy Nico.

Quarta and Otamendi are a scary combo at the back...

 

Me personally, hoping to see this pairing more at CB

 

Not only Otamendi and Quarta but Armani & Tagli could possibly starts aswell ... This would be 2018-2019 all over again

Scolani seems to prefer a guy who does sideway & back passes rather than the one who could put up crosses and running down the flank

 

Chino isn’t all that bad. We have to give him a bit more time.


I don’t think Armani is starting. I haven’t heard of anything that has hinted at that. So, it isn’t all that bad.

 

He’s alright but there better options. Good 3rd choice. Though.

honestly watching the matches if it’s not a brasil /Argentina final it’s a choke job. Haven’t seen Uruguay yet but I don’t see how they can match either team

 

Yea, I dont think Quarta is bad but nobody will look good being paired with today's Otamendi . Our team seems struggling to score if its not from penalties or recently from a setpiece. I just feels that most strong teams these days rely heavily on winger backs and with Tagli , once opponent park the bus, we will struggle to get a single goal. Nobody could provides or help Messi if let say Lo Celso is having a bad game.

I wonder if Scolani brings 4 goalies cause he expect Emi to be not fully fit and could possibly re-injured at any time?