Sorry if this has already been posted. http://www2.afa.org.ar/Notas/Notas.asp?Op=3300&CodNota=26846 This link mentions who Bielsa called into camp for the friendlies against Mexico, Honduras, and US. It also mentions that Delgado didn't show up for camp. The Argentine media speculates that it is because he's 29 and realistically doesn't have a chance to play in the next world cup. From the article these players are listed (I must confess I am not familiar with any of them): Sebastián Saja, Andrés D´Alessandro, César Carignano, Wilfredo Caballero, Nicolás Burdisso, Sebastián Battaglia, Ariel Garcé, Leonardo Poncio, Clemente Rodríguez, Lucas Pusineri, Diego Milito, Luis González, Leandro Romagnoli, Mariano Gozález, Pablo Guiñazú, Gabriel Milito and Federico Insúa.
You will know about them soon. And not just by seeing them against the US. Alot of these players will be in europe soon(maybe even in a few weeks). D´Alessandro has been linked to Barca and Juve, Diego Milito has been rumoured to move to the EPL, Romagnoli is a future star, and Gabriel Milito is one of Argentina's best defenders and should be on his way to europe very shortly. I'm surprised Fernando Cavenaghi(Argentina's top scorer) wasn't selected for the friendly.
Yes, you will be hearing a LOT about D'Alessandro as soon as he lands in Europe. He's amazing to watch: solid and creative on the ball, has an amazing shot with either foot, has incredible vision to find the open man, etc., etc. The kid is simply good. We do so much touting here about Donovan and he's not even close to this kid. Not by a mile. Just wait and see. It's gonna be a great match.
This is a group of young but very talented argentinians. D'Alessandro is dubbed to be the next Maradonna, Milito is a great defender who is said to be going to Barca very soon, then you have Burdisso, Battaglia, etc. All are good, probably 70% will be going to Europe soon. This will be a good test for the USA, it is sure to be a hard and entertaining match.
I just bought a World Soccer mag and there's a page entitled "Talent Scout: Argentina." It has the ten best players in their domestic league and a little description by them. BTW, its in no particular order. 1. Sebastian Battaglia - Boca Juniors - 80' - "Strong midfielder with plenty of fight and stamina who stands out both in attack and defence." 2. Carlos Alberto Tevez - Boca Juniors - 84' - "Has been an excellent replzcement for Juan Roman Riquelme, now at Barcelona, as a playmaker and third striker." 3. Gabriel Milito - Independiente - 80' - "Independiente, winners of the opening championship, had their achilles heel in defence. But Milito was the back-line savior on numerous occasions." 4. Martin Demichelis - River Plate - 80' - "Has stood out in River's defence, while his liking for setting up attacks has also been to the fore." 5. Andres D'Alessandro - River Plate - 81' - "Already outstanding last season, he has been a marked man and treated rather roughly by opponents who know all too well that he easily reacts to provocation. Yet he was again a stalwart and playmaker this term until suffering in the general decline of his team in the latter stages of the championship race." 6. Guillermo Pereyra - River Plate - 80' - "Stood out in his team's midfield, showing experience beyond his age." 7. Fernando Cavenaghi - River Plate - 83' - "Tournament top scorer last season, he has not been so prolific this term, though he suffered from a lack of continuity in striking partners." As a sidenote, there is an exchange student from Argentina at my school who has played with this guy before. He said this guy is amazing at finding the net 20 yards or so and in. You could say he's a "natural" goalscorer. 8. Alejandro Dominguez - River Plate - 81' - "Dangerous forward acquired at the start of the season. He did not reach his full potential at River mainly because he was not given enough chances in the first team." 9. Roberto Nanni - Velez Sarsfield - 81' - "Explosive young striker and his team's leading scorer, but a victim of his team's general decline in the opening championship." 10. Cesar Carignano - Colon Santa Fe - 82' - "Second highest scorer in the opening campaign and a standout in his middle-of-the-table team. Sure to be snapped up by a bigger club sooner rather than later." Eric Weil is the name of the guy who wrote all this in World Soccer magazine. Its the January 2003 edition on page 11.
"From the article these players are listed (I must confess I am not familiar with any of them):" dont you have fox sports?? Andrés D´Alessandro: will be a star in europe, he will be like zidane in a few years just watch Leandro Romagnoli: will be a star in europe Gabriel Milito: same
I prefer Romagnoli to D'Alessandro because he's stronger & willing to come back into the defensive half. Romagnoli is still rounding into form after missing most of 2002 with a knee injury. He's a more physical playmaker in the mold of Zidane, or Riquelme. D'Alessandro is good, he is not the next Dieguito. Compared to Donovan, D'Alessandro is more skillful on the ball & maybe a bit quicker. Donovan is faster, stronger & fitter. D'Alessandro can be bumped off his game easily, and he will have a tough time with Mastroeni. One player I'm surprised no one mentioned is Clemente Rodriguez. He's short (5'5"), but speedy, scrappy & tireless on the left side. I'm looking forward to see him & Ben Olsen go against one another. Lucas Pusineri had a nice season for the champs Independiente as well. I like the way Bielsa picked this squad. Much like Il Bruce, he has rewarded players who may not be household names, but are playing well like Cello Delgado (too bad he's taking a pass).
I'm not really worried about D'Allessandro vs Donovan (even though it would be fun to see them try to one up the other on the spectacular). Its the fact that other than Pope, none of our defenders will have seen anything like What Argentina brings to the table. OK they've played against Landon, but I don't think they've ever had to play 4 Landon's at a time. Just through shock favtor I'd suspect that Argentine will score 3 - 4 goals. Of course, with LD, Convey, DMB, and Mathis our attacking players are also impressive. If both teams play well andthis just might be the most entertaining match of the year for the US. Especially since there is no pressure on either team.
I'd be surprised if either team gets shut out. In fact, I'd be surprised if either team gets held to only one goal...
Willydonc I was thinking the same thing about Clemente Rodriguez and Olsen, it will a nice battle to watch during the game. I'm not so sure about this game being a high scoring one. The US will play their game and I'm sure they won't be overwhelmed by any means, I was say a 2-1 going either way.
I posted this back on 1/28/2002...my post is at the bottom of the page...see this link... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=25224 Argentina Squad... Code: Player Club DOB HT WT G Wilfredo Caballero Boca Juniors 9/28/1981 - - G Sebastián Saja San Lorenzo 6/5/1979 6-4 185 D Nicolás Burdisso Boca Juniors 4/12/1981 5-8 170 D Ariel Garcé River Plate 7/14/1979 5-10 155 D Gabriel Milito Independiente 9/7/1980 5-9 155 D Leonardo Ponzio Newell´s Old Boys 1/29/1982 5-8 155 D Clemente Rodríguez Boca Juniors 7/31/1981 - - M Sebastián Battaglia Boca Juniors 11/8/1980 5-11 175 M Andrés D´Alessandro River Plate 4/15/1981 5-4 120 M Mariano González Racing Club 5/5/1981 5-9 165 M Luis González River Plate 1/19/1981 - - M Pablo Guiñazú Independiente 8/26/1978 5-8 160 M Federico Insúa Independiente 1/3/1980 5-10 160 M Lucas Pusineri Independiente 7/16/1976 5-10 160 M Leandro Romagnoli San Lorenzo 3/17/1981 - - F César Carignano Colón 9/28/1982 - - F Marcelo Delgado Boca Juniors 3/24/1973 5-9 165 F Diego Milito Racing Club 2/12/1979 6-2 170 No younger studs - such as Tevez or Cavenaghi - since the CONMEBOL U20 WCQ will be taking place just before USA-ARG play; though the U20 WCQ's end on 1/28/03 some more players could be brought in. This is the squad Argentina is bringing for all three of their games in the U.S. It is essentially an U23 side. No more crap about how small DaMarcus Beasley is, okie-dokie! Look at how "big" D'Allesandro is. I didn't watch any games from the latest Argentine league. Can somebody throw out a possible starting XI in a proper formation?
Yes, 120 is correct. Most U14 players don't have the ball skills, vision, and most importantly, the speed that D'Allesandro has. Frankly, size does not matter, it's what you can do that does. Although, would you rather have a D'Allesandro that is 5-4, 120 or one that is 6-2, 175 (see Michael Ballack, but faster)?
As DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan proved in the world cup. As for the 2nd its purely a matter of style. I'd personally rather have a D'Allessandro type player as my A-Mid, becasue he'd probably be better at leading a counter or if all else fails, just dribbling at a defense.
US Squad Anyone know what the US Squad will be? Any of the Euros coming over, or is it definitely another MLS "evaluation" squad? Oh, and where's Eddie Pope?
Re: US Squad It will be the same sort of squad that played against Canada. Who knows about Eddie Pope?
Follow Argie league with passion and read their papers daily, here's my formation Saja Garce G. Milito Burdisso Rodriguez Battaglia Pusineri Romagnoli Insua D'Alessandro D. Milito Marcelo Delgado of course would be there as a starter but as you know, he quit the national team.
Blessed with Fox Sports World, I've watched A LOT of D'Alessandro, and he is unbelievable. What a talent. He can do everything in the middle of the field. And Landon Donovan is much better than D'Alessandro right now. Don't sell our boys short.