Re: Juan Sebastian Veron I can't agree that Veron "no pone lo que hay que poner." Have you seen him play with Inter last year or this year (especially this year)? He is in phenominal form and has really increased his marking and pressuring of the ball. You can say that there is no place for him on the team or that his time has passed (everyone has the right to their own opinion on this) However, I don't think it's a fair statement to say that he doesn't give it his all.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron I understand your point of view and all but till he comes back to some team in Argentina or if he gets another chance at the national team we will never know.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Agree 100% with you. In WC02 Bielsa forgot one of his suitcases back in Baires ... he had Riquelme inside it. For WC06 Pekerman won't make the mistake of leaving behind a suitcase with Veron in it. Are you freakin kidding me? It is a 7 match tournie, injuries and suspensions can't disrupt the level of the NT. Even if it is to play the last 30 minutes, either to close the back or to add agressiveness in attack, Veron HAS to be in Germany. Leo ... Veron's level at Inter is superb. Forget about WC02, that was 4 yrs ago! ... he arrived burned to the WC. You think Ferguson didn't want to see him burned for the group stage game against England? .
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron I think we have a bigger problem in the striker positions then in the mid.... We dont really have any consistant forwards. Crespo is good but latly I haven't seen him play... Hes usually on the bench at Chelsea and just comes on in the last 10-15 minutes. Chelsea is just wasting his career.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron I agree with you. I would never accuse Veron of being a player 'que no pone lo que hay que poner'. But Veron is not a defensive mid. He is there to create, and so 'poner huevos' is not as big a factor as his genius with the ball. My view is that right now there are players who are more creative than he is. Let's say that Pekerman will choose seven or eight midfielders, which is a reasonable number in a list of 23. But in that group we need DM's, we need players who play wide an open the field, and we need creators. With that in mind, let's analize who we have. Here is a list of potential candidates to be picked: Sure picks if they are not hurt: Mascherano, Cambiasso, Lucho Gonzalez, Aimar, Riquelme. Posible for the last 2 or 3 spots: (including players who I don't like but Peckerman likes): Demichelis, Duscher, Battaglia, Bernardi, Santana, D'alessandro, Veron, Messi, M.Ferreira, Scaloni, Kili Gonzalez, Maxi Rodriguez, Solari, Ponzio, Ibazaga. (I may be missing a couple.) So, among the last three I would choose one more DM (probably Demichelis or Duscher, or even Battaglia), a wide threat (my choice would be Solari over Kili), and one more creator. The creator could be D'alessandro, a young Messi, or Veron. Make your pick. I would put Veron last among those three. I'd love to see Messi in the team.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Fair commentary. Veron is a creative player. However, he is also a versatile player. While he is not a DM the likes of Mascherano (ball winner, tackler), he does play deep in the midfield, chaces loose balls, and pressures the opposition. While I don't see Veron playing enganche like Riquelme, I can see him next to someone like Mascherano, being the distributor of the ball. He could even play in the spot Lucho has played in the past few games. I don't see Pekerman utilizing him as such, however....so you do make a good point. Can we win without him? Sure. Would it be good to have a player of his caliber and versatility on the squad, you bet. D'Alessandro. Although I like him, especially his play at the Copa America and the Olympics, he has not played well for the national team since then (except for maybe one game...I forget the opponent...Ecuador?)
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron I gave my preference, but I am not about to crucify Pekerman if he picks Veron over D'alessandro. Really they are both good players worthy of the national team.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Ok fair enough...With all this i'd rather have this guy then this dude what would be your lineup to take the field for the WC06? ...................................El Pato......................................... Zanetti........................Ayala..................................Heinze.. .....................................Mascherano.................................. Castroman...................Aimar.....Riquelme.......................Solari. .............................Crespo................Saviola(Bilos)................. Thats for now, of course I would also like to see these players: Lux Coloccini Sorin Lucho L.Messi Maxi Rodriguez D'Alessandro
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Castroman? No way. And Zanetti cannot play in a 3 man backline. I just can't say that enough. He's a wingback.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Veron from the latest eagle-eye scout reports has changed.Apparently he tackles harder (better) ,runs with more energy .Still doesnt change the fact that he does not dribble ,almost always passes the ball when he gets it and makes a terrible pass every now and then.Also he expects everyone to run and pick out his magical 30 - 40 yard passes where the chances of connecting are about 1/no of passes . In other words,nothing has changed.He will continue to disappoint ,he will continue to disappear from major games,he will not boss the midfield. There are 2 young players,Lucho and Mascherano.They do a heck of a job.They are not scared to run with the ball,they can also tackle and pass .
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Definitely I want Tevez. Even if he doesn't start, he has to be on the bench. He is a difference maker. I am not sure if Pekerman thinks the same way, though. I'd be upset if he's not in the list. I think right now the only sure things for strikers are Crespo and Saviola. I'd say (asuming five forwards) the others should be Tevez, Figueroa, and a wide threat, probably Chelito. Other alternatives: Rosales, Zarate, Lisandro Lopez, Cavenaghi, Galetti, Palacio, maybe even Aguero, the kid from Independiente. But I will stick with my five.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Zanetti - agreed. To my knowledge, he's never played a CB position - unlike HEinze who has played CB and LB.... Castroman - he is the best player in the Argentine tournament at this time. He has consistantly done a heck of a job with Velez. You may not like him from Lazio....but you cannot argue with his current form (if you fallow the Argentine league). That said, he still has to prove himself at the national level.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Zanetti doesnt play or havent played cb? Maybe not left cb but right yes a bunch of times.Maybe some perfer him as right mid and played there most of the time cause of his ability to be able to run up and down the right side of the field 90 minutes. As for Tevez I would also have him on the NT anytime of the day,as a starter with Crespo on the attack.But I also like Bilos and he definatly deserves a shot to play in these last 2 qualifiers that are left.Hes tall,wins in both areas and despite him being as tall as he is, he can play with the ball at his feet.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Castroman was not called to the NT. @ Pekerman. The list includes Gabriel Milito ... he is inan outstanding form atm. Leonardo Franco (Atlético Madrid - España). Luciano Galletti (Atlético Madrid - España). Roberto Ayala (Valencia - España). Pablo Aimar (Valencia - España). Gabriel Milito (Zaragoza - España). Leonardo Ponzio (Zaragoza - España). Juan Román Riquelme (Villarreal - España). Juan Pablo Sorín (Villarreal - España). Luciano Figueroa (Villarreal - España). Aldo Duscher (Deportivo La Coruña - España). Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruña - España). Lionel Messi (Barcelona - España). Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol - España). Diego Placente (Celta de Vigo - España). Walter Samuel (Internazionale - Italia). Cristian González (Internazionale - Italia). Mario Santana (Palermo - Italia). Hernán Crespo (Chelsea - Inglaterra). Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich - Alemania). Luis González (Porto - Portugal). César Delgado (Cruz Azul - México). Carlos Tevez (Corinthians - Brasil Roberto Abbondanzieri (Boca). Sebastián Battaglia (Boca). Germán Lux (River). .
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron Veron and Riquelme are both PLAYMAKERS. The team's football revolves around them. there can only be 1 playmaker in a team or none, just fluid passing like arsenal. Aimar is NOT a playmaker. he is more like a forward or AMC. maybe somewhere in between those two. Cos, he doesn't hold up play, doesn't really wait for runs before execuing a superbly accurate long pass. Messi is a bit like Aimar, but if asked to choose between them for WC 06, i will field Aimar. Cos he has more experience and is a better passer of the ball.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron I don't have anything against him from the Lazio days. He was a fine player - nothing amazing, but fine. If not for Cirio's collapse, we'd have kept him. He certainly came closer to fulfilling his promise at Lazio than Piojo. My issue with starting Castroman is that he's a prototypical player who can lead a decent team but won't have nearly the same effect on a very good one. I'm not sure how much European football you watch, but its the Simao Sabrosa or Danny Murphy phenomenon. Simao was the best player for Portugal last season, but he's never played well for Portugal, because he's not as good when he can't dictate play through his position. Castroman will be the same way.
Re: Juan Sebastian Veron I don't recall Zanetti playing a central defending role. With Inter he has played both right and left backs (lateral no central) and right and maybe left midfield. I don't recall his days at Banfield too well. however. I could be mistaken..... I couldn't agree more with your comments on Tevez and Bilos.