Wow great game to watch considering I have been waiting to see Albiceleste since November. Player Ratings Carrizo: 8.5 - what can I say he played very solid had 2 or 3 good saves and that great stuff on Anelka in the first half that could have changed everything. I thought he was in bad form with Lazio but played great for the NT. Zanetti: 7.5 - very solid in the back, not many if any mistakes and got up in the attack everyonce and awhile. Great shut down on Henry all night. Still shows that he can play with the most talented players in the game. Demi: 9.5 - I don't care what anyone says, Demi was probably the best player on the pitch. Amazing defensive stops every time france would attack. Was a beast in the AIR on every set piece and always calm and collective. "They Shall Not Pass" Heinze: 6- Looked shaky in the first half over comitted a lot which casued gaps in the back four luckliy Demi was there to stop everyone. Very clumsy kick on Gourcuff I think that could have been called a PK. Watch it Heinze. He seemed to be more calm in the second half however. Papa: 7 - Again like Heinze, he was shaky in the first half but in the second half picked up his play and was able to get invovled with the attack. Ribery was tearing him up all first half, but in the 2nd half there was no ribery so he played well. Maxi: 2 - ??? was he even on the field? He did absoulelty nothing all game except get a yellow card...I dont know, Maxi usually plays well but come on get more invovled. Mascherano: 8 - Like Zanetti, a tank holding the midfield. He stayed further back then Gago, but still had a solid game as usual. Stopped the French midfield from being creative like they usually are. Great hustle all over the pitch Gago: 9 - Wow great match, I was speculative of having Gago start but i take that back. Not too creative in the attack, but literally ran all over the field the entire 90 mins and took some rough hits just to get back up and hustle back to win the ball again. one of the main reasons why Argentina held more possesion and gained confidence towards the end of the first half. What a WARRIOR!! Jonas: 8 - Like Gago, Jonas will scrap and run all game. not amazingly creative but will get stuff done. He would hustle back and help Papa with Ribery all game. And oh yeah great goal, Mandanda could have saved it but great settle on the left side of the box, good move on Sagna, and low and to the corner. great finish JONAS!!!. Keep him starting hes a beast. Aguero: 6 - Very queit night for El Kun other than that one chip across the box that set up the goal to Jonas. Other than that he did not get invovled too often. would make a good run everyonce and ahwile and beat 2 players but to no avail he would get stopped. Again great work but would have prefered TEVEZ to start. Messi: 8 - You could tell that messi wanted to play better tonight. There was a good 20 mins in the first half when he didnt even touch the ball. But once he got a touch he would always create, not run at players as much as i would have liked but still great work. Should have scored in the first half with taht slicing run with his right foot, but he went with his left foot. In the second half towards the end it looked like he was jsut starting to show his usual dominance. He hooked up with Tevez brilliantly and great FINISH. SUBS Angelerei: n/a: got in with about 10 mins didnt really do much good or bad so no rating needed. Tevez: 9: give him a nine why not, he had about 10 or 9 mintues to play and his first touch was a sizziling run, great pas to messi, to a messi GOLLAZZOO. Reminding us all that this is Argentine football we are watching. I would have started Tevez over Aguero and I hope that he will start next match. ---Second time doing player ratings...tell me what you guys think. start the conversation....AGAIN GREAT VICTORY FEELS GOOD RIGHT NOW but still a lot to work on...ONE REALLY GOOD POSITIVE IS THE DEFENSE. GREAT GREAT PLAY AGAINST A VERY ATTACKING TEAM----
I thought Aguero had a better game than you described. Remember he's the youngest player on the team, and he's probably intimidated by Messi (Even his coach). He showed some great runs, but made poor decisions in the moment when he had his opportunity. Like when he motioned himself between two defenders and passed the ball to Gago who ended up screwing it up. That should have been his ball and he should of tucked it away or at least tried. Lacking confidence there and intimidation, he's entirely different when it comes to Athletico, because the pressure of his surrounding players isn't that great.
Pretty much agree with both you. The ranking was pretty accurate. I would give el pupi zanetti a.k.a. horse-legs a.k.a superman (dude does not age) an 8. I would give Papa a.k.a. el jockey a 8 as well, dude did pretty well for being a newcomer and especially against France and with being around so many stars. I don't know what was up with Maxi, was he sick or something. If he would have stepped it up and played like usual we had have scored much sooner and more. Jonas was solid. Great addition to today's team. Gago, i wouldn't give him a 9, 8-8.5 max. He played today like he always should. I have doubts about him sometimes. He's definitely not as consistent as Masche. Masche was Masche, strong, confident, a pitbull. Aguero def needs to have a consitent confidence in order to be a starter. He's sick, he showed his speed and skills but sometimes I don't see why Tevez shouldn't start instead. Between Tevez & Aguero I really don't care who it is. Messi was good but obviously not his best. Again if Maxi or one other player, maybe JOnas, was being more of a feeder in the middle, Messi would have done more damage. Solid performance but definitely not our peek/best. Vamos los pibes, Vamos Diego!! Vamos ARGENTINA!!