Argentina squad against Norway

Ah, yes, yet another meaningless international exhibition match mandated by a shady deal done by the Argentinian FA. Only these friendlies will become increasingly meaningful as coach Alfio Basile seeks to work out the future of a squad in transition, and decide on a formation, let alone the team for the World Cup qualifiers starting very soon. Comments on the squad first, then a note on the glaring omissions.

Goalkeepers:
Juan Pablo Carrizo (Lazio, Italy)
Oscar Ustari (Getafe, Spain)
Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, Holland)

The big surprise here is the omission of previous no.1 Roberto Abbondazieri, which I'll discuss later. Carrizo has been threatening to break into the team for some time now, although I would question the timing of this promotion for him, given that he's just gone to Lazio and may need time to settle in there. Ustari is in a strange situation himself, having gone to Getafe to be backup for Abbondazieri, or at least that's the assumption given El Pato's form for the Madrid club last season. Hopefully he won't just warm the bench there, as he's an excellent prospect. Congratulations are due to Romero, who just won the U20 World Cup for Argentina. Also a big prospect, and it's good to see so many young 'keepers coming through.

Defenders:
Gabriel Milito (Barcelona, Spain)
Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain)
Nicolas Burdisso (Inter, Italy)
Ezequiel Garay (Racing, Spain)
Daniel Diaz (Getafe, Spain)
Javier Zanetti (Inter, Italy)

Oh dear, does that mean we might see Coloccini at rightback again? To be fair, he had a good second half of last season playing for Depor in that position, so maybe he could also be redeemed at international level. Zanetti is a no-brainer, other than the fact that I'm worried about the fitness levels of him and Burdisso, who have just returned to training for Inter after the Copa America.

Good to see Garay finally get his chance. An important member of the 2005 U20 World Cup winning side, he's become a vital player for Racing as well. Very reliable, and definitely one for the future.

I'm not sure about 'Cata' Diaz quite yet, having only seen him play one game for Argentina in the Copa America. I've heard good things, though, and hopefully Getafe will suit him.

Midfielders:
Luis 'Lucho' Gonzalez (Porto, Portugal)
Maxi Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid, Spain)
Jose Sosa (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, England)
Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, Spain)
Cristian Ledesma (Olympiakos, Greece)
Federico Insua (America, Mexico)

The return of Maxi Rodriguez is extremely welcome. I think we missed him at the Copa America, especially since Lucho was a bit off-colour.

I'm quite surprised by this part of the list, to be honest. No Riquelme (more on that later), no Aimar, 3 defensive/holding midfielders. Very strange. I haven't been too impressed by Insua's previous performances for Argentina, and young Sosa, who was so good playing in Argentina, has just moved to Bayern. Perhaps Basile will abandon his commitment to a single playmaker who can be stifled by heavy defending, although I don't see him playing anything else other than the diamond 4-4-2.

Forwards:
Javier Saviola (Real Madrid, Spain)
Diego Milito (Zaragoza, Spain)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain)
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli, Italy)

22 year old Lavezzi is yet another player on this list who has just made a move, in his case from San Lorenzo to Napoli. I have to confess, my knowledge of him is limited, but I'm excited to see what he can do.

Messi was asking to be included in this squad right after the Copa America ended, and not surprisingly he's got his wish. He has the same fitness concerns as everyone else who was in the Copa squad and hasn't been training for too long, though. Saviola has earned himself a recall by some good performances in pre-season for Real Madrid. It remains to be seen if he will remain in contention, given the competition for a place on the forward line at Real, but he's looked good for Argentina before, especially alongside Crespo. So welcome back. Good to see Diego Milito get another chance, too. He was much maligned in the Copa, but I've always been convinced of his quality.

the omissions

It's a young squad, almost half of whom have just been involved in a transfer, quite a few of them making the jump from Argentina to Europe, which is probably a fair reflection of what happens to any young talents who shine in the domestic league these days.

On the other hand, giving a chance to all these young players means the omission of a few surprising names. The retirement of Ayala and the probably retirement of Veron we all know about, but what about the likes of Abbondanzieri, Heinze, Riquelme, Aimar, Cambiasso, Tevez, Aguero and Crespo?

I suspect the omission of Riquelme and Heinze has a lot to with their uncertain future, and the lack of Tevez can also be explained by his long, drawn-out transfer saga, which has just been resolved. As for Abbondanzieri and Cambiasso, perhaps Basile already knows what they can bring to the table and wants to see what others can do in their place. Crespo still has fitness concerns, (I certainly hope his Argentina career isn't done yet) and so does Aguero, although for him it's more a product of a strange pre-season that included being called back to help Atletico qualify for the UEFA Cup straight after winning the U20 World Cup. When he's fit properly again, I hope Aguero gets more chances at senior level. He's certainly proven his devotion to the cause. As an aside, I'd like to see Pablo Zabaleta of Espanyol back in contention too, but he's young and I'm sure the chances will come. A fit Gonzalo Rodriguez would also be nice to see sometime soon. Such a great young centerback, so unlucky with injuries.

The likes of Aimar and D'Alessandro have been figures on the sidelines for a while now, and I can't really see any of those players ever fully breaking through, given the incredible rate with which Argentina turns up the Next Big Thing, leaving the former prospects behind. Just look at the way attention has turned to the stars of the side who won the U20 World Cup.

Hmm, that was a rather cynical note to strike. It will be good to see how this group of players shape up, and to get some indication of Basile's thinking ahead of the qualifiers.

Argentina v Mexico overview

We tried our best, but we must say the opponents were superior. There's nothing left but to recognize just how good this Argentina team really is.

- Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez

Argentina 3 - 0 Mexico

Goals: Gabriel Heinze 45', Lionel Messi 61', Juan Roman Riquelme 65' (pen)

Argentina (4-3-1-2):

------------Abbondanzieri
Zanetti----Ayala----Milito---Heinze
-------------Mascherano
-------Veron-----------Cambiasso
--------------Riquelme
----Messi-----------------Tevez

Subs: Palacio for Tevez (78'), Gago for Veron (78'), Aimar for Riquelme (86')

...and to think, the American fans had me believing that Sanchez was a sore loser. A gracious concession from the Mexican, who has done very well with the squad at his disposal. More on Mexico at the end of this post. Argentina on the other hand gave another patient, mature performance, although the disadvantages of the favoured diamond 4-3-1-2 formation were laid bare in the first half. Those disavantages being mainly a lack of width and the possibility of being overrun by a packed, physical midfield. Detailed analysis of Argentina's performance below.

Defence

• El Pato looked a bit more nervous than he did against Peru, but he did keep the clean sheet with the invaluable aid of the woodwork. My measure of how well a 'keeper has done aside from goal mouth incidents is whether or not he transmits a sense of security to his defence, and I'm sorry to say that Pato did not meet that criteria in this game. Still our no.1, though.
• Zanetti had a couple of lapses, but I'm willing to ignore them because of the rest of his performance. Tireless as ever, and he had a couple of very good attacking runs.
• Ayala made me nervous a few times, particular with a tough tackle early on that could have seen him ruled out of the final if the referee had seen fit to give a yellow card. A couple of lapses, but overall I was satisfied with the way he organised the defence.
• Milito had his best game yet in this tournament. Maybe the transfer speculation was unsettling him, and now it's done he can play without it weighing on his mind? Whatever the reason, he was solid in the back and did a good job dealing with Mexico's long balls out of defence.
• Heinze also had his best game yet in the tournament. Aside from scoring an excellent goal, he contributed well to the attack in general. The most improved aspect of his performance has to the balance he seems to have finally achieved between attacking and defending. Perhaps Basile had a word? Defensively he did a good job shutting down the left side.

Midfield

• What can I say about Javier Mascherano? What a player. Tireless as ever, and always in the right place at the right time, marking, tackling and passing to our creators. Plus, about 80% of his tackles are clean ones where he ends up with the ball. Almost the perfect holding midfielder performance.
• Juan Sebastian Veron has finally convinced me that he deserves to be in the starting line-up alongside Roman. It took some doing as he had a few wobbly performances, but his long-range passing has improved massively from the first few games, and his work rate has been impressive. Somehow, him and Roman are working together, although conventional wisdom says that there's no way they could. His only problem right now is that he doesn't seem to be able to last the full 90.
• Veron's replacement Gago has also improved from his prior showings, with better passing and better judgement with his tackling. I still wouldn't play him ahead of Mascherano, but a combination of the two does work very well in bossing the midfield when Veron needs to come off to rest.
• Cambiasso gave a satisfactory performance, continuing to improve upon his earlier showings. His movement and passing in attack is much better now, and defensively he's always done well to provide security for the main creators.
• I can't tell you how pleased I am reading all these reports about how happy and relaxed Riquelme is feeling right now. It's long been established that the key to getting great performances from Roman is to make sure that his head is in the right place. Easy to say, not easy to do, so much credit to 'Coco' Basile. Another impressive performance, not only in the passing, the impressive freekicks and corners, but also in the determination and effort displayed. Interesting thing about Roman - he's depressive, sure, but he's not unconfident. That chipped penalty took some nerve.
• Aimar didn't play long enough for an assessment, although I will note that he (still) combines really well with Messi.

Forwards

• Who said that a Messi and Tevez strike partnership would never work? Alright, I did, now I'm eating my words and loving every bite. Perhaps they could both pass to each other a bit more rather than make a difficult attempt on goal sometimes, but then we'd never have those spectacular, showy goals the two of them love scoring so much. A great performance from Tevez, not measured in goals scored but rather in his work rate, his wonderful assist for Messi and the powerful runs which eventually won that (slightly dodgy) penalty.
• His replacement Palacio did a decent job running the Mexican defence down with his pace, and had a good opportunity to score from Messi's throughball.
• I wouldn't say Messi was MOTM, but he put in another solid performance, never compromising his style of play no matter how many times he was fouled. That little incident early on in the second half where 3 Mexican defenders surrounded him and hacked him down, only for him to get back up and attempt to keep going twice (before Marquez effectively body slammed him to the ground) perfectly sums up his attitude. While Marquez did make contact on the penalty/dive incident, it wasn't a penalty. Neither was it a dive, but that was the easy call to make and I can see why the referee went for it. What else can I say? Oh, alright, that goal. Brilliant.
  

Mexico

They've been the most positive team Argentina have played in this tournament. Sure, they get by in midfield by fouling all over the place, but they're not as rough as the Columbians and the strategy was effective in containing Argentina's attack in the first half, in which Mexico were perhaps the better team for large stretches. They did try to keep possession, build up attacks from the back and take the game to Argentina, and they were unlucky to be denied by the woodwork on a couple of very good opportunities.

If I have any criticism of Hugo Sanchez, it's that his double substitution at half-time effectively game Argentina free rein through the midfield, but he was forced by circumstances to be chasing the game at that point. Substitutions or not, Mexico had to come out and attack even more for the equaliser, and Argentina have gotten very good at killing off opponents who are chasing the game by keeping the ball and hitting back on the counter attack.

We all know about Nery Castillo now, but that kid Guardado is some player. I can't wait to see him playing with the likes of Gio Dos Santos and Carlos Vela once the latter two have 'graduated' to the senior team in a couple of years time. I hope Mexicans are proud of El Tri's efforts and their remarkable achievements in this tournament, given the averse circumstances. They've got good reason to look to the future with hope.


Another news round-up to come, and then some words before the final.

(shorter) Argentina v Paraguay

Quick impressions only, I'm afraid, ahead of the quarterfinal against Peru.

Argentina 1 - 0 Paraguay

Goals: Mascherano (79)

Argentina (4-3-1-2):

---------Abbondanzieri
Ibarra--Burdisso--Diaz--Zanetti
--------------Gago
---Gonzalez-------Cambiasso
-------------Aimar
-----Palacio-------Tevez

The positives:

• Abbondanzieri looks much more confident, although he didn't exactly have a lot to do
• Zanetti is having a brilliant tournament. I can't praise him enough.
• Burdisso looks like a solid backup for Ayala and Gabi Milito.
• Cambiasso has improved massively.
• Palacio: he works hard, he's got pace, he can cross, and he can hit a ball. Not bad, although it's clear he needs a more traditional center forward to play off.
• Tevez looked very lively and created some danger.
• Messi's supersub performance. (And the fact that he's not injured, despite being hacked at every time he runs with the ball.)
• Mascherano. Not just a brilliant holding midfielder, but what a goal.

The not so good:

• Ibarra and Diaz were decent but one can see why they're not first choice.
• Gago looks out of sorts. Mascherano's a different class to him right now.
• Someone else who looks out of sorts: Lucho Gonzalez. Dear Lord. I really wish we had Maxi Rodriguez fully fit now.
• Aimar showed some spark, but also that he's better as an impact sub or a supporting midfielder than the starting playmaker right now. We definitely missed Riquelme.

Paraguay

I was very impressed with their defensive effort. They play a 4-4-2 with the two rows of four retreating very quickly and leaving little space everytime Argentina went forward, and it works very well. Offensively they were limited to counter-attacks or long balls up to their two forwards, but then they didn't have to win. If they can defend like this against Mexico, I think they have a chance.

Argentina v US fallout

Argentinean post-match comments:

• Basile: "We stayed calm," he said. "My players worked and were rewarded."
• Riquelme: “We knew USA would be a difficult opponent because they stay back and don’t let you play your game. But we were able to find a way to break through and were able to record a valuable victory”, said Riquelme.

Analysis of the game:

• A Pretty Move's match report
  
• Mundo Albiceleste's player ratings for Argentina
  
• La Nuestra's notes (Argentina-focused)
  
• That's On Point's take on both teams
• Jen Chang's take at ESPN Soccernet (US-focused, but makes some good points about Argentina)
  

I wanted to pick up a couple of points that I've seen discussed in the above reports:

• Aimar for Cambiasso was the key to the game, and Alfio Basile deserves a lot of credit for being brave enough to field four playmakers (Aimar-Messi-Riquelme-Veron) at the same time and doing it in a way that doesn't unbalance the team.
• As the report from That's On Point pointed out, the substitution was the antithesis of Pekerman taking off Roman for Cambiasso in the World Cup quarterfinal last year. I like Pekerman. I've written tributes to the man. But that decision still smarts today.
• I would very much like to see the 4-2-3-1 (with Veron or Cambiasso and Mascherano as defensive midfielders, and Messi and Aimar supporting Riquelme) we were fielding in the second half again.
• Oh yeah, and Tevez probably deserves to be in there somewhere too. But where?
• I don't think Paraguay are going to be as difficult for the US as they're anticipating. Having said that, they really need to look into their strike partnership.
• Yes, Gaby Milito is probably one of the slowest world class defenders ever. But his positioning sense is excellent.
  

Lastly, congratulations to Hernan Crespo for equalling one Diego Armando Maradona's record as Argentina's second highest scorer in international competition (34 goals, and it only took him 63 games), behind the great Gabriel Batistuta (56 goals in 78 games). Crespo is criminally underrrated as a striker and he fully deserves his great achievement.

Argentina vs US: full-time

[The US team] aren't underdogs, they're under-puppies. - Ray Hudson in the pre-game analysis

The under-puppies did pretty well. But even the most adamant US supporter would have to admit that there was a gulf of class on display here, and that eventually told against them.

Argentina 4 - 1 USA

Goals: Eddie Johnson (8, pen), Hernan Crespo (12, 64), Pablo Aimar (78), Carlos Tevez (85)

I was reading some US-centric blogs, and just being astounded by the pounding some of their players were getting. This is not meant to be patronising in any way, but I thought they were impressive in the first half. They were disciplined and sticking to what was fairly obviously a packed defence and counter attacking game plan well. In other words, tactically they played a perfect game, at least in the first half. Then they got tired.

The US team's low fitness level did surprise me. I actually thought at the end of the first half, 'maybe they'll tire', and followed by 'nah, it's the US, fitness is one of their great assets'. Well. Sure, they played hard in the first half and that tires one out, but that was a young US squad out there. The Argentinean team is much older, and managed to grow in strength as the game went on. What's going on there?

That question will be for the US-supporting bloggers to dissect, so I'll just end my brief analysis of their performance by repeating that they did about as well as they could be expected to in the circumstances. The solidity of the team is unquestionable, but they really need to look into where the goals are going to come from. Although, having said that, they won't have to worry against Columbia if the game against Paraguay was any indication.

Argentina: as a whole

"We knew it was going to be hard and that they would defend all the time," said Riquelme.

"But we played with patience. We knew we had 90 minutes and we were always sure we would win the game."

To be honest, I was quite worried before the game that the team wouldn't have the right mentality going into this match. Given all the hype, I was afraid that they would be caught up in it and underestimate their opponent. I was pleased to be proved wrong on this point, as Argentina clearly went into the game with confidence and patience, which proved to be crucial as the goal that gave us the advantage took a while to arrive.

(A quick note on formations: I thought it was going to be more of a 4-3-1-2, but it looked more like a 4-2-3-1, with Mascherano and Cambiasso on defensive duties and Veron and Messi on either side of midfield supporting Crespo.)

It was clear in the first half that this was a starting line-up who had never played a match together before. The defence took a while to gel together, as did the attack. Once they did, though, this began to look like a proper team who could play their way through the most determinedly massed defence through a patient passing game. On the whole, I was pleased with this performance. They got the job done, and they did it in some style.

Argentina: player by player

Defence

There were far too many hairy moments in the first half for my liking, despite the number of actual shots by the US (2 shots on goal for the whole game). At times Ayala and Milito looked flustered by the opponents' pace, especially when Zanetti and Heinze were caught up field on breaks. A lot of that seemed to be communication issues, though, and once they got those sorted out, the whole defence looked much better in the second half. Benefitted hugely from Mascherano's help.

Keeper Abbondanzieri was hardly tested, so it's difficult to say what kind of form he's in. Did well catching that volley at the end of the first half and looked alright on the few crosses the USA managed to put into the box. Good decision-making overall.

Javier Zanetti's legs are clearly not as fast as they used to be, and he had trouble linking with Messi in attack. However, his defensive performance was very impressive, letting little past him. A reassuring presence to have guarding the right flank.

Captain Roberto Ayala continues to amaze me. He's not particularly tall or big, but somehow manages to dominate in the air and boss forwards around all the time. Led by example and gave everything for the team, as usual. His partnership with Milito has yet to convince me, as they don't always seem to be on the same page.

Gabriel Milito has been named as the worst of the defenders in several discussions I've seen. In my opinion, this is probably fair, but not as bad as it sounds. He did have several slip-ups, including the one which led to the US penalty, which really shouldn't have happened, but it wasn't a horror show by any means. (Then again, my club is Barcelona. I don't even wince at terrible defending anymore.)

Gabriel Heinze was also partially responsible for the US penalty. Compared to Zanetti, his forays forward were more successful - most notably the lovely cross that provided the assist for Aimar's diving header - but he didn't reassure me as much in defence. Still, his absolute commitment as ever cannot be faulted. Not to mention that he also had a hand in Argentina's first goal, challenging for the ball in characteristic fashion to flick it on to Crespo who scored.

Midfield

Took a while to gel, but looked better as the game went on. Initially smothered by the US's tight marking and lacked ideas until Aimar came on.

Javier Mascherano was immense. I've seen him named as Man of the Match by some commentators, and it's a fair pick. Bailed the defence out of trouble countless times, made many brilliant clean tackles and was generally everywhere at once, winning the ball off an opponent and then passing it with unerring accuracy to one of the attacking players. How any team couldn't find a place for him in their starting line-up I cannot understand. I'd have him start over almost any other defensive midfielder in the world, and he's just 23 years old. Great stuff.

Juan Sebastian Veron returned to the national team after a 4 year absence and played...well, I'm not sure, really. He seemed to have trouble combining effectively with the other attacking players and most of his passes forward did not result in threatening moves. On the other hand, he was industrious, especially in defence, and one of Argentina's best chances in the first half came from his well-struck shot from outside the box. I'm still not convinced that him and Riquelme work well together.

Fernando Gago didn't play long enough for me to make an informed comment. Having said that, I will note that he will have a very hard time winning a starting place, given Mascherano's form so far.

Esteban Cambiasso worked quite hard in defence but didn't link up well with the other midfielders in attack. He should probably be given another chance, though, given his previously consistent performances for the NT. As Seba over at Mundo Albiceleste pointed out, the way the US played may have simply not suited his style. The problem is, his replacement Aimar was simply brilliant and that substitution was the catalyst for a huge improvement by the team. Leaving aside Aimar, there's still Lucho Gonzalez waiting in the wings for his position.

Speaking of which, Albiceleste supporters, doesn't the sight of Pablo Aimar playing beautifully again warm your heart? He's had a hard time with frequent injuries and being overshadowed by other players but when he's playing well it's a real joy to watch. And he certainly was playing well from the moment he came on, connecting well with both Messi and Riquelme and scoring a great header. The thing about Aimar is that he brings a certain dynamism to the attack that - with the exception of Messi, and Tevez when he came on - Argentina lack. That energy and those combinations were great to see. If he doesn't start the next game, he should certainly get more minutes. Having said that, Aimar does have a tendency to blow hot and cold at times, dependent on his fitness. So fingers crossed that won't be an issue.

As for the big one, the guy everyone has an opinion on, one Juan Roman Riquelme, well, opinion will probably be divided on his performance as usual. He was involved in setting up 3 of the 4 goals Argentina scored, and for me that is enough. The pass for Tevez's goal was especially brilliant. Like I said above, I don't think Roman and Veron have gelled, although to my pleasant surprise he did combine well with Messi. Not the best performance I've seen from him, but he was given very little space in which to operate and did his best. Dangerous as ever from freekicks and corners. (For my money, still one of the best freekick takers in the world.)

Strikers

(Messi and Tevez could also be classified as midfielders, but I thought it looked silly having Crespo in this section on his own.)

Frequently isolated in the first half, and benefitted in the second half from better service.

Lionel Messi only showed flashes of his best form but still produced some of Argentina's better chances. I'll be honest, I've seen Messi play so many times now, and this wasn't one of his best performances. Being double marked by the US in the first half stifled most of his forays forward. When Aimar came on it sparked him to life. Two factors were involved in this: 1) the switch to the left and 2) Messi's natural understanding with Aimar. Messi also showed a good understanding with Riquelme as in the great move that led up to Crespo's goal. Additionally, he also tried to help the defence out by tracking back, although his tackling leaves something to be desired. Decent display from the 20 year old, who also showed signs of an increased understanding with Crespo.

Carlos Tevez only played for 10 minutes, so I won't assess his performance in detail. He looked very lively and I suspect would have done very well against the USA's physical, tight-marking style if he'd had more time on the pitch. Great finish from Roman's pass for the goal.

Last but certainly not least, our number one striker Hernan Crespo. Who is only 31, article writers, so please stop writing about him like he's about to retire. Crespo's not really my type of striker - I prefer the type that participates more in build-up play - but that's by no means a criticism. Jeez, how do you criticize a guy who puts away 2 of the 4 chances he's given? That's not bad, is it. Besides, he also tracked back and helped out in defence. A great performance from one of the deadliest strikers in the world. Much as I like Diego Milito, Crespo deserves to be first choice.

other comments

• the spectators really love Messi and Tevez.
• GolTV shouldn't turn down the crowd noise so much.
• From looking around the US-supporting blogs, I really feel sorry for some of their players. These guys are young and inexperienced, people. The youngest guy amongst their opponent's starting line-up, the one with the least caps has 14 of them and has won the Champions League. There's no need to be so criticial given that difference.
  
• Our bench is awesome. And by that I don't mean the seats.
  
• I cannot understand why Riquelme and Aimar didn't get more playing time together in the past.
• The US have a decent shot at qualifying for the next round.

Argentina squad for Copa America

As has been widely reported, Juan Roman Riquelme makes his return to the national team. Coach Alfio Basile has opted to bring along a formidable squad, mostly made up of Europe-based players. At this stage, questions have to be asked about how a seeming overabundance of creative players will be used. For example, there's absolutely no point in calling up Roman if he doesn't start. So does that mean that Aimar will be relegated to the bench? What about Veron? Can Messi and Tevez be played together? Which striking partnership will Basile choose? I suppose we'll have to wait for the first match against the United States for these questions to be answered. For now, it's certainly a very impressive squad on paper.

Goalkeepers

Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe, Spain)
Juan Pablo Carrizo (River Plate, Argentina)
Agustin Orion (San Lorenzo, Argentina)

Abbondanzieri should be the undisputed number one, despite his alarmingly poor performance against Algeria. He's had a great club season in Spain and his expertise with penalties should serve the team well. I have to confess I don't know as much about Carrizo and Orion as I should, beyond the fact that Carrizo has impressed observers at River and is rated by some above Independiente (and next season Villarreal)'s Oscar Ustari, who I'm very fond of. (He would have been in the squad but for a last minute injury.)

Defenders

Roberto Ayala (Valencia, Spain)
Javier Zanetti (Internazionale, Italy)
Hugo Ibarra (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Gabriel Milito (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Gabriel Heinze (Manchester United, England)
Daniel Diaz (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Nicolas Burdisso (Internazionale, Italy)

An impressive roster of defenders, really. If they can play like they did against France rather than the shambles that was the Algeria game, we'd be set. Ayala and Milito are a solid defensive partnership, which Burdisso is a nice backup to. I get nervous everytime he's played as right-back, but he really is a fine centre-back who gets used out of position too often. Otherwise Heinze can also double as a centre-back, although I prefer him on the left. Zanetti can play right-back or midfield, but with the options we have in midfield, I'd much rather have him in the back. Ibarra's experience will be nice to have in the squad, especially since we have all these young players. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Diaz, but he's just won the Copa Libertadores with Boca, so hopefully he's coming in with some good form should he be needed.

By the way, Ayala is a fine captain of the team, and I really hope his last international tournament brings him some well-deserved glory.

Defensive Midfielders

Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, England)
Esteban Cambiasso (Internazionale, Italy)
Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, Spain)

Very pleased by the options we have here. Neither Gago nor Cambiasso are pure holding players, but I can see Cambiasso starting with one of Gago or Mascherano since the Inter player is more of a central midfielder, and he's been a consistent member of the starting line-up for Argentina. If it came down to a choice between Gago and Mascherano, my personal preference would be for Mascherano. Yes, he's not much older, but he has tons more international experience and a better understanding with many of the other players who are likely to start. Plus, his form coming into the tournament looks very impressive. Gago has had a decent season at Real and Basile rates him very highly, but his performances haven't impressed me as much as Masche's have.

Creative Midfielders

Luis 'Lucho' Gonzalez (Porto, Portugal)
Pablo Aimar (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes, Argentina)
Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors, Argentina)

Oh boy. An embarrassment of riches, anyone? Especially since Basile seems to count Messi as somewhat amongst this category instead of a wing-forward. The problem with this group of players is that barring Lucho - who I think has a high probability of starting - arguably all three of the others need the team to be built around them, which means that only one of them can start at any one time. Arguably both Veron and Aimar could be deployed on, say, the left side of midfield instead of in the playmaker role, but there's no point in playing Roman if he's not in the no.10 role. So we'll have to wait for Basile to make a decision, and hope that the reported antipathy between Roman and Veron doesn't rear its ugly head.

Form-wise, Lucho has had a great season at Porto, where he is now frequently dubbed the best player in the league, or at least close enough to it. Aimar has been plagued by injury problems as always, but when not laid up in dry dock he's done very well for Zaragoza, playing on the left side of midfield. Veron had a great first half of the season, but I haven't heard enough to judge how he did in the second half. Roman of course had a great second half of the season with Boca, playing some of his best football.

Forwards

Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain)
Hernan Crespo (Internazionale, Italy)
Diego Milito (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Carlos Tevez (West Ham United, England)
Rodrigo Palacio (Boca Juniors, Argentina)

Continuing the 'embarrassment of riches' theme, Basile has taken along 5 strikers who barring one - Palacio, who's had a decent but not brilliant season - have all done very well for themselves in 06-07. Crespo is arguably still Argentina's best centre striker and this is probably his last international tournament, so he'll want to go out on a high. 14 goals in his 22 Serie A appearances this season is a pretty good return. Milito has had a brilliant season, scoring 23 goals and just being pipped to La Liga's golden boot by Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Leo Messi was out for 3 months with a serious injury but bounced back and played brilliantly for Barcelona during the latter half of the season. Last but not least, Carlos Tevez is widely credited with the survival of West Ham in the Premiership, carrying the team on his shoulders through his passion, hard work and sublime skill. Carlitos will also be keen to win the cup to erase the memory of the 2004 competition, in which he missed a penalty in the final shootout which Brazil ultimately won.

The mix is broadly similar to the '06 World Cup squad, actually, since Diego Milito is similar to Julio Cruz, except for the fact that Pekerman took 6 strikers. The one who has been left out this time around is Javier Saviola, whose lack of playing time this season probably counted against him in such a crowded field.

I would expect Basile to play one of the 'target men' - Crespo or Milito - and pair him with either Tevez or Messi. Palacio will probably only have an outside chance of starting, unfortunately.


So a good mix overall, but I'm still concerned about tactical arrangements. If supporting Barca for all these years has taught me anything, it's that just having a bunch of brilliant players won't help if there's no coherent tactical plan for how they're going to play together.

Argentina round-up

Transfers

Young striker Fernando Cavenaghi has finally gotten himself out of Russia with a move to Bordeaux of France. Hopefully he'll rediscover his scoring boots there and work himself into national team contention.

As for Mascherano to Liverpool, the latest is that the loan deal with an option to buy will go through, and poor Masche will finally end his West Ham nightmare. Good luck to him.

Injuries ahead of France friendly (February 7)

Aimar's reoccuring knee injury is acting up again and he's doubtful for the game, which would be a major blow since there's no ready-made replacement for him in the squad.

Gago also seems to have picked up a minor injury, although he should be fit in time. I guess we'll see, depending on his appearance this weekend for Real.

U20s and Olympics

I'll be honest, the main reason I made this post is to congratulate the U20 squad that travelled to Paraguay on their second place finish at the South American U20 Championship. Sure, they missed out on the trophy itself, but the placing ensures that they qualify for the U20 World Cup in Canada later this year, as well as more importantly - the Beijing Olympics, meaning that they can defend the title won in Athens in 2004.

So well done to the mini-Albicelestes for a massive effort, especially their last gasp win in the last game against Uruguay.

Spain 2 Argentina 1 - A Dissection

First of all, I have to congratulate whoever decided to play the match in Murcia, on a newly re-laid pitch which led to two injuries and at least two more scares. Neither manager wanted to play on that pitch, and with good reason.

The most serious of these is the one that forced Maxi Rodriguez out of the game early on. Poor Maxi - his injury is a huge blow to both Argentina and his club Atletico, who are doing very well at the moment. The lastest news seems to be that he's going to be out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage, which is truly horrific news. Atletico must be concerned about losing one of their best players for so long, and this is just awful for Maxi personally since he looked to be on track for his best season in Spain. Get well soon, Maxi!

The other injury that really got on my nerves is the one sustained by Carles Puyol in the warm-up. He'll hopefully only be out for a short time and might be back in time for the Chelsea game. The two scares I mentioned are Luis Garcia, who was set to start but instead came in from the bench, and Carlos Tevez, who played on despite a knee injury. Hopefully neither will turn out to be serious.

Spain

4-4-2: Reina; Sergio Ramos, Juanito, Pablo, Capdevila (Antonio Lopez 46'); Angulo (Fabregas 76'), Albelda (Xabi Alonso 46'), Iniesta, Xavi; Villa, Torres (Luis Garcia 57')

I'm happy for the Barca boys, especially captain Xavi, a wonderful player who I'm very fond of. His goal was a cracker, beautifully set up by Iniesta's run. Iniesta had a brilliant game overall, highlighting just how criminally underused he has been in the Spanish team. Granted, they have a lot of midfield talent - Fabregas, Albelda, Xabi Alonso, Senna, the aftementioned Xavi - but what a waste. His time will come, though, perhaps in the next World Cup. In the meantime, Aragones has proved me wrong about wingers - he doesn't seem to need them after all. That said, Argentina didn't exactly use the wings either, so it's not a foregone conclusion.

Argentina

-----------Abbondazieri
Zabaleta--Ayala--Milito--Arruabarrena
--Gonzales--Mascherano--Bilos*
--------------Insua
-------Messi-------Tevez

*replaced Maxi Rodriguez early when he had to go off with a knee injury.

After the subs -

-----------Abbondazieri
Zabaleta--Ayala--Milito--Arruabarrena
---Gonzales--Somoza--Bilos*
--------------Aimar
------Saviola------Aguero

Now, before I dig my nails into the whole thing, a caveat. It is no great disaster to lose narrowly to a team like Spain. Certainly this is a better result than the loss to Brazil. Having read the Brazilian media's complaints about the quality of opposition they've had for friendlies (New Zealand and Kuwait come to mind from recent games) I think matching up against top-quality teams like Argentina are doing is better. Even if we lose the experience gained is valuable. We have friendlies against the likes of France and Germany lined up for next year, which has to be a good thing for this young team. The overall reaction from Argentina fans seems excessively strong given the above. That said, there are some causes for concern.

Problems: Line-up

I wasn't happy when the starting line-up was announced, but kept quiet in the hopes that I'd be proven wrong. No dice. Let's start from the defence and work our way up, shall we?

To me, there was nothing particularly wrong with the backline. However, poor Arruabarrena is now being slated for his performance at left-back. The chattering classes do have a point in that if Basile was so desperate for a left-back that he recalled a 31-year-old whose last cap came quite a few years ago, he might have gone for former captain Sorin instead. Not that Arruabarrena is bad, it just smacks of an emergency choice given Basile's stated preference for young players. That said, Argentina do seem to have a bit of a problem at left-back. I can only think of Diego Placente and Leandro Cufre who can play in that position. Other suggestions are more than welcome.

On to the midfield, then. I really like Mascherano, and he's a great player, but in current form I really don't know why he started the game. Unlike the problems at left-back, we've got plenty of great holding midfielders, so it's not like there's a shortage.

A position where there seems to be a critical shortage right now is the #10. I realized that when I say 'lone playmaker' that's not actually getting the concept across properly. What I mean by that is the Maradona role, basically. In this game the team missed Riquelme, not the Riquelme of Villarreal's semi-final defeat to Arsenal, but the Riquelme of Argentina 3, Brazil 1, the man who could impose his will on a game. Even the Argentine press - who practically hounded him into retirement - have now admitted he's simply the best Argentinean player right now.

Both Basile's choices to replace him failed that test this time. Aimar should perhaps be given another chance since he didn't get enough time in this game to show what he could do, but Insua has tried and failed twice now. Two games don't tell the whole story, but the question has to be asked whether someone who hasn't exactly made a massive impact for Borussia Monchengladbach this season yet should be the center of Argentina's game. I'm being a bit harsh on the man, since he did set up the equalizer, but all of us expect so much more from our playmaker.

Aimar's situation is that he has both the talent and the form problems of Riquelme. I remain convinced that he can succeed as the #10 if Basile shows enough faith in him. The only thing he can do right now is to continue improving for his club and hope that Basile is watching closely.

Moving on to the front line. Tevez is a great player, but he is not in form right now, and therefore he should not have started. Compounding the problem is the fact that him and Messi are in some ways very similar players - both are more comfortable bursting into the box from out wide or midfield than playing as a central striker. Despite what Basile said about playing Messi in a free role, that's not going to work if he's running into the same space as the playmaker - who also has a free role - all the time and attempting to do the same work. Neither Messi or Tevez are clinical finishers in the 20 goals a season sense. In fact, both are more like a #10, as discussed above. Rather than pushing them forward, playing them a bit further back might actually work better. I understand that they're both not quite mature enough as players to be the playmaker just yet, but both would make good strike partners for a proper finisher.

Saviola and Aguero together make a touch more sense since at least Saviola has some of the qualities of a central striker. Aguero on the other hand is more like Tevez and Messi. He was Independiente's #10 before moving to Spain, where of course they don't use playmakers in the same sense, unless you're Villarreal. Basile knows what these players are like. So why was no replacement for Crespo called up? It's not as if Argentina only have him as central striker.

Problems: Execution

The midfield was pretty shambolic at times, nobody seeming to know what they were supposed to be doing. Neither playmaker could stamp their authority on the game. Insua was all over the place and Aimar failed to shine. Insua also ended up in the same positions as the forwards far too many times, especially Messi. Perhaps that was inevitable, since both forwards were playing like midfielders - dropping deep to win possession, running through the midfield and expecting whoever was on the end of the penetrating pass to finish. Maybe that's a hint to Basile to actually play them in midfield, but I digress. Both Messi and Tevez squandered absolutely golden chances to score off great passes from...each other, actually.

Positives

Zabaleta should continue to be called up. I'm convinced that he can develop into a really good player with more experience. Works hard, never gives up and has a mature head on his shoulders. Additionally, I'm convinced that this backline, even with the current personnel, can work well with a bit more training time together.

Bilos has done well against Brazil and in this game. More chances for him, please, especially now that Maxi's out for so long. There seems to be no need to worry about the midfield in general, with the notable exception of the #10 position. Even then, it seems to me that those who claim Argentina lack suitable candidates for the position need to look harder. We have plenty of options, it just depends on whether Basile wants to use them or not.

(Seriously, Messi or Tevez on the tip of midfield. Try it. If Basile's willing to give him a free role, then why not take the next step?)

Conclusions

In the end, the fundamental problem for Argentina is three fold. First, the bulk of these players are young. Some have played very few or no competitive internationals. Less than half the squad have Champions League experience. That is going to show when it comes to big matches.

Second, the forward line for this game was so lacking in height it was comical - the tallest, Sergio Aguero, is a hardly Peter Crouch-esque 1.72 meters. That in itself isn't a problem. The issue is more that of the four, only Javier Saviola could be said to be anywhere near being a center forward. That position is something Basile will have to sort out fast.

Third, some of these guys were meeting each other for the first time. They had 2, 3 days of training together, and then, bam, they have to play against Spain. It was the same versus Brazil. Argentina aren't going to win matches with this set-up. In this vein, I agree wholeheartedly with Basile's approach to the Copa, which is to get a group of players based in Argentina together to train regularly and add in some players from abroad. He won the Copa in '93 with this approach, so we know it works. That said, I'll still feel disappointed if he doesn't use certain very capable and deserving players who ply their trade in Europe. Roberto Ayala for example - if anyone deserves a trophy to go out on, it's him. It would be a nice thing for Crespo as well.

Logically, when a team built around one player loses that player, it falls to pieces. The job Basile is faced with now is rebuilding the Argentinean team entirely. It's certainly not an easy task. I wish him luck.

Jose Pekerman's Argentina: A Retrospective

There's been various things said about Pekerman's performance as manager of the Argentinean team, especially now that he's been linked to the US job, and I wanted to clarify a few things as well as get my point of view across, speaking as an ardent Argentina supporter who still thinks that team was good enough to make the finals.

I think a balanced view of Pekerman's merits and weaknesses is probably best achieved by looking at his entire involvement with the Argentinean FA, starting with successes at youth level.

Pekerman coached the U20 Argentina teams until 2003, winning three World Youth titles in four attempts. Most of Argentina's finest players today came out of those teams, and have Pekerman to thank for kickstarting their careers.

Youth Success

In 1995 a solid team display from the team won them the tournament in Qatar with the only stand-out performer being captain Juan Pablo Sorin. He went on to become a fine wing-back who got to the Champions League semi-finals with Villarreal last season, and of course was captain of Argentina at the 2006 World Cup under Pekerman.

The 1997 team was a remarkable group of individuals who took the South American title before going on to win the world title in Malaysia, even bagging the fair play award in the process. This team was well organised and played great, clean football, characteristics which would continue to mark Pekerman's way of coaching. He also displayed exceptional skills in managing the personalities of the budding stars, famously starting his most heralded player Pablo Aimar on the bench in the final to teach him about patience, having encouraged Aimar's fragile mental strength all through the tournament by repeatedly assuring him of his excellence.

This group has thrown up most of the backbone of today's Argentina, including Pekerman's favourite player. I'm speaking of Juan Roman Riquelme, of course. Pekerman knew how to make Riquelme happy enough to perform and how he would function best. This was back before the Villarreal playmaker's ill-adviced move to Barcelona. In those days, Roman could do no wrong, and he would go on to lift a Boca Juniors team built around him to glory in the Argentinean League three times, twice in the Copa Liberadores and even in the Inter-Continental Cup, sweeping aside a Real Madrid side which was still on top of the world back then to leave the likes of Raul and Figo admiring his talents. Discussing his World Cup performance would take a whole other post, but let me just say that I was perfectly happy with his displays.

The second most talented player of that generation - and indeed from Argentina today, I would argue - is the aftementioned Pablo Aimar, now of Zaragoza. Unfortunately Aimar has similar problems in that he also needs the confidence of the coach to do well, and has had absolutely horrid luck with injuries and illness in the past couple of seasons. He was brilliant for River Plate in those days, though, winning the Argentinean League five times with a formidable team. Other good players from that squad include Esteban Cambiasso and Walter Samuel, now of Inter Milan, Diego Placente, now of Celta Vigo and goalkeeper Leo Franco, now of Atletico Madrid. All of them have had lengthy runs in the full national team.

Things did not go so well for the 1999 team, who were knocked out in the round of 16. This team still produced a couple of excellent players in the form of Gabriel Milito, now of Zaragoza, and Federico Insua, who now plays in Germany.

(By the way, 1999 seemed to be an amazing tournament for discovering talented players - look at this partial list of those who shone: Ronaldinho (BRA), Ashley Cole (ENG), Rafael Marquez (MEX), Roque Santa Cruz (PAR), Damien Duff (IRL), Robbie Keane (IRL), Gabri (ESP), Xavi (ESP), Diego Forlan (URU). Insane.)

Argentina hosted the 2001 tournament, which provided Pekerman's team a chance to reassert themselves, and they did it with aplomb. A brilliant team stormed through the tournament playing fabulous football in a flexible 3-5-2, scoring 27 goals in all and again winning the fair play award.

The greatest product of that team - or so it looked at the time - was surely Javier Saviola, who repeated a feat only Maradona had managed up til that point by sweeping both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot, as well as obviously a winner's medal. The record he set of 11 goals scored in that tournament still stands and probably will for years to come. Saviola was also part of that great River Plate team with Aimar, winning 2 league titles in his time there. His move to Barcelona didn't quite go according to plan, but he's back with them now and has a chance to finally fulfill his enormous promise. What he did in the World Cup as first choice, trusted ahead of Messi and Tevez was certainly very impressive.

A whole host of other great talent also came from that team, most noticeably Maxi Rodriguez of Atletico Madrid, who had such a great World Cup, along with the likes of part-time NT goalkeeper German Lux, defender Fabricio Coloccini (who was captain) and playmaker Andres D'Alessandro, who after derailing his promising career with a move to Wolfsburg now seems to be back on track at Zaragoza.

Time with the NT

Pekerman was asked to take over the NT when the previous coach surprisingly resigned in the middle of the world cup qualification campaign. He had a slightly rocky start but gained great credit with his insistence on sticking to a South American style, using Riquelme as sole playmaker, and for getting a victory out of a tough away game against Bolivia, which Argentina almost never wins because it's played at high altitude, by sending in a reserve team. Then came the possibly the greatest moment of his coaching career so far, Argentina qualifying for the World Cup in style by beating Brazil 3-1 at home. Riquelme was brilliant, the striking partnership of Crespo and Saviola was paying off, and Pekerman's Argentina was off to a great start.

They played some great stuff in the Confederations Cup but exhaustion ultimately took its toll, especially on Riquelme, who was irreplacable and hence played far too many minutes leading up to the final, where they were thrashed by Brazil. The Bronze Ball for Riquelme was no consolation, judging by his reaction to winning the award. And then, of course, there was the World Cup.

The World Cup and Beyond

You all know what happened - Argentina played wonderful football and won the heart of neutrals, even some who had previously disliked Argentinean teams, taking them for a bunch of hatchet-men and divers who just happen to play well. Pekerman's team changed ingrained perceptions of what Argentinean football is all about by - as one English journalist put it - kicking the ball instead of the opponent. They played beautifully at times and were generally one of the cleaner teams of tournament. After the debacle of 2002, Argentina supporters could finally feel that things were back on the right track.

That's why most Argentineans didn't want Pekerman sacked when the team went out to Germany. I've seen more neutrals - and Messi fans, although yours truly was not amongst them - calling for his head than Argentina supporters. The work he had done in helping these players become who they are today, and in molding the team into such a force cancelled out any tactical blunders he made.

Make no mistake, Pekerman does have tactical problems. The Germany game was not the first time he dismantled his team with about 20 minutes to go and lost the lead because of it. Anyone who saw the friendly match with England in Geneva will know that he did the same thing there, turning what would have been a great 2-1 victory into an embarrassing 3-2 last minute collapse. The same thing could have happened against Ivory Coast in the first group stage match if the Ivorians' finishing was better, after he took off both strikers and replaced them with one totally inexperienced at international level and a midfielder, completely changing the shape of his team.

However, despite that, I believe Pekerman had a positive effect overall. If it weren't for his team-building efforts it's doubtful Argentina would have got so far anyway. One incident will demonstrate what I mean by that. The 2002 World Cup squad did not get along with each other - everyone knew that. One enterprising Argentinean journalist even managed to listen in on the loud arguments inside the dressing room after they were knocked out by putting his ear to the wall. The same journalist had no such luck four years later, as the team was united even in the face of a difficult loss. There were bitter tears and commiserations, and an emotional apology from Pekerman, convinced he had failed them. None of the players blamed him, though, nor did they want him to leave.

So to sum up, thank you, sir, for making Argentinean football great again. Whatever your failings, the self-belief and footballing ethnics you installed in this extraordinarily talented group have more than made up for them, at least in the eyes of this Argentina supporter. Because you made me believe again.


There was going to be an article lambasting Luis Aragones here, but I'm superstitious when it comes to football and follow the rule that it's always inviting bad luck to laugh at the enemy before you play them. Murphy's law dictates that they will then humiliate your team, leaving you looking like an idiot. Don't get me wrong, I really like a lot of the Spanish players, but Aragones, no.

Early preview for Spain vs Argentina

I know it's in a week's time, but what an exciting (friendly) game this could be from two attack-minded teams with plenty of flair between them. Being the staunch Albiceleste fan I am, I want Argentina to win, but La Furia Roja are growing on me as well. They can hardly fail to, with the type of players they have. Anyway, preview time.

Argentina

Two highly important players have had to pull out for Argentina with injuries. Hernan Crespo, the only center forward named in the 22-man squad, picked up a muscle strain playing for Inter and will be out for a month. Gabriel Heinze got injured playing for Manchester United and will be out for two to three weeks. (Side note: this also means that there are no Serie A players in the squad, strangely enough given Inter's tendency to collect Argentineans. Or maybe not, since half of their collection - Cambiasso, Cruz, Samuel, plus the aftementioned Crespo - is injured.)

Basile has not named any replacements, unfortunately. To my mind he should have at least called up a proper center forward - either Diego Milito or Cesar Delgado would do - since one of the problems Argentina had against Brazil was that they lacked a proper finisher. How that's going to change with the same forwards this time is beyong me, but we'll see what happens.

My preferred starting 11, with the personnel changes (assuming he plays 4-3-1-2 again):

---------------Abbondanzieri
Zabaleta----Ayala------Milito----Arruabarrena
--M Rodriguez---Somoza---Bilos
-------------------Aimar
-------------Messi-----Saviola/Aguero

I considered previous track record with the team, but mostly it's based on club form and how well these guys have linked up in the past. Abbondanzieri is the undisputed number one, not only because he had a great World Cup but also because he's been doing very well for new club Getafe this season.

At the back, young Zabaleta has been giving his all for Espanyol as usual, even when played in strange positions. I think he's played at left-back, right-back, holding midfield and right side of midfield for them - and that's just this season. Random aside: I do wish he would find a better club. Nothing against Espanyol, but they're so inconsistent despite all the talent in the team and have therefore looked like they're in relegation danger since the beginning of last season. If they do well this season then it's all fine, but if they do get relegated, then I really hope he gets out of there. Anyway, Argentina have had problems filling the right-back position, and he's played well when called up before, so he should start.

Ayala should of course start and be captain, no question about it. Gabriel Milito did well in the single match he played in the World Cup and should fill Heinze's boots effectively once again, partnering one of the best central defenders in the world. He's excellent for Zaragoza and to my mind cannot be blamed for the club's inconsistency as a whole. Again, they have some brilliant players - Aimar, D'Alessandro, Diego Milito, Ewerthon, young Gerard Pique - but somehow fail at getting results in week in week out. Coloccini of the crazy hair should not play unless there's an absolute need, since he utterly fails at being consistent.

Arrubarrena has been a great leader at Villarreal for a long time, giving 100% in every match, and I expect to see the same from him for Argentina after his surprise call-up. I'm not sure how solid he is in defense, but he goes forward quite well - typical Argentinean wing-back, in other words.

In midfield, Maxi Rodriguez's World Cup heroics, not to mention his recent great form for Atletico should see him start. I've put him on the right since Daniel Bilos played on the left against Brazil and did very well, hence his inclusion instead of Luis Gonzales. Somoza starts at holding midfield instead of Mascherano because what I've heard about his form for West Ham hasn't impressed me, plus he's not even properly match sharp yet. It pains me to write this, since I really like Masche and he's been always been great for Argentina, but he was very poor against Brazil and we can't afford that again. Somoza in contrast has been doing very well at new club Villarreal, earning good reviews, and played well against Brazil when he came on.

Insua I haven't seen too much of, nor was I convinced by his performance against Brazil, so - unfairly or not - he hasn't been considered. Aimar has really found a new lease of life at Zaragoza, playing in a more South American style alongside Andres D'Alessandro. His recent form for the club has been very impressive, although there has been the usual murmurs that he should pass more and dribble less, etc. But to me, that's not Aimar's style. After Riquelme's retirement, Aimar is now Argentina's best player, as well as the most creative. Like Riquelme his style is distinctive, and like Riquelme he can run a game if he feels like it. I'm hoping he has a good day, continuing with the great understanding he showed with Messi at the World Cup.

Speaking of which, my favourite Barca youngster should be very pleased to be playing alongside his childhood idol in Aimar. I was concerned with his form after the game against Racing, but it would be crazy not to start him after what he's done in recent games against Werder Bremen and Atletic Bilbao. So the question becomes who is going to partner him? Tevez should not be in contention to me, because he hasn't really gotten into his stride for West Ham and the stress surrounding all that means he probably won't play all that well (like against Brazil).

Saviola on the other hand has been on great form for Barca, where he has suddenly gotten a new lease of life due to the injury to Sammy Eto'o. He would probably just edge Aguero in my book because he has shown 1) that he can score goals right now and 2) he can play well with Messi. Those two train together everyday and therefore probably have a better understanding. Aguero has been on great form too, but - like Messi on a bad day - I'm still not convinced by his finishing. While the two claim that they would play well together because of their friendship and understanding, I'm not convinced since they've hardly trained together. Besides, they both seem more like second strikers to me, and we had that problem against Brazil already.

The major problems I can see with the line-up above, besides the striker issue I've already highlighted, would be 1) a lack of height, 2) a lack of width, and 3) midfield strength. Height problems are pretty normal for an Argentinean side because we've always had great but short players. But this proud tradition could find its most absurd expression in this formation, since the front attacking triangle could have an average height of about 1.67 meters (Aimar-Saviola-Messi). Aguero and Tevez aren't much taller. Thankfully the Spanish team aren't exactly giants themselves, nor are they always solid at the back or good at defending dead balls, so it's not exactly a disaster. Imagine if Argentina were playing the giants of Germany, though.

The second problem mostly stems from the specific opposition we're facing. This Argentina team is usually pretty good at using the wings, attacking with the full-backs linking up with the midfielders who feed the front three, but the single pivot style plus a front two does limit the width up front. This isn't normally a problem, but Spain do play my favourite formation, the 4-3-3, although they don't do it nearly as well as they could, to me. However, they do have excellent wingers and full-backs, not to mention great midfielders to link them, so our full-backs need to be careful, especially since the front two won't be able to help them push the opposition on the wings back in this kind of formation.

The last problem is linked to the second, namely that I can see this midfield being stifled out of the game. Maybe not by Spain, unless they play three central midfielders again (which would be stupid of them, judging by the last time they did such a thing), but Aimar is very liable to being shut down by a physical team, so Maxi and Bilos are going to have to cover for him, maybe even more than they did for Riquelme.

Spain

This will be less detailed as I don't know nearly as much about Spain as I do about Argentina. Still, they're fast climbing my favourites list, despite an admirably consistent tendency towards failure. On to squad news, and Reyes has pulled out with an injury, which is bad news since he's been in such good form lately for Real Madrid. Racist bastard coach Aragones could call up a replacement, but we're not sure who that will be just yet. Raul has been dropped for the first time in forever (literally), which is kind of awkward given the fact that he seems to be getting back to form. I'm not quite convinced that he is, so let's leave that and move on.

My preferred starting 11, out of the 17-man squad list (4-3-3):

-------------Casillas
Ramos---Pablo---Puyol---Lopez
---Fabregas--Alonso--Xavi
--Angulo---------------Vicente*
--------------Villa

*My preferred replacement for Reyes, since there's no one else in the present squad list who can play on the left wing

I love the fact that Spain use 4-3-3 but hate how flat and wingless their particular version can be. So my preferred Spain formation will probably never happen because it actually uses the wings, but nevermind. If Senna was fit he'd play instead of Cesc, because no matter how much I like the Arsenal boy Senna is still more reliable. Angulo and Vicente should be used because they're actual wingers, unlike some of the other players Aragones has used in their positions (Villa and Torres), who would provide some proper width, and they're on form. Villa is preferred to Torres because I think he's the best Spanish center-forward, period, and completely wasted on the wing.

On a final note, this will be a very interesting game in one sense because most of these players will be very familar with each other, since the majority play each other all the time in the Spanish league. So Sergio Ramos knows the joys of defending against Messi, Aimar and Aguero, for example, while the entire Argentine backline (all of them playing in La Liga) will know what a pain Villa can be to stop. It will also pit team mates against each other in Barcelona players Puyol and Xavi against Messi and Saviola, not to mention Atletico Madrid's Pablo, Antonio Lopez and Torres against Maxi and Aguero, and Valencia's Albelda, Angulo and Villa against Ayala. Should be fascinating to watch. Here's hoping for a good game.

Argentine Watch

Hopefully this will become a regular section in which I search various news sources for changes in the status of players in the Argentinean National Team or on the fringe. There's been interesting news regarding two of the players who I covered in my 'future of Argentina' articles.

River Plate goalkeeper German Lux will join Spanish club Real Mallorca in the January transfer window. This would mean that Argentina's 3 top 'keepers (the other two being El Pato in Getafe and Leo Franco in Atletico Madrid) all now play in mid-table La Liga clubs. Or in Mallorca's case, hopefully a mid-table club since they look to be flirting with relegation danger so far. That said, some of their bad results have come because of goalkeeping errors by aptly named veteran stopper Antonio Prats, so maybe Lux can help them stay afloat and avoid the fate of fellow former River 'keeper Constanzo whose club Alaves was relegated last season.

I wrote that former Boca midfielder Federico Insua would probably act as back-up to Maxi Rodrigues and Luis Gonzalez, but apparently not, according to the Argentinean media. They think Basile likes him so much that he'll be the new playmaker. I remain unconvinced that he should and ready to accuse the former Boca boss of anti-River bias if he doesn't give the in-form Aimar and D'Alessandro (both of Real Zaragoza in La Liga) a look-in. The media reckons that Aimar would be second choice behind Insua since they think he hasn't regained his form yet. I'd say he's well on his way, given recent displays in the league.

the future of Argentina part 2: midfielders

My series on the look and shape of the new Argentinean National Team continues, this time on the exciting topic of midfielders. Due to the number of players covered, they've been divided up into three categories - defensive, attacking, and playmakers. At the end I'll sum up their possibilities of being involved with Basile's Argentina and to which extent.

Abbreviations: WYC = World Youth Championship, the U-20 tournament run by FIFA. Held every 2 years and won by Argentina in '95, '97, '01, '05 since Maradona first led his team to win it.


defensive

Esteban Cambiasso (Internationale, Italy) was one of former coach Pekerman's most trusted players, even if he was playing a bit deeper for Argentina than he does for his club. Most of this was due to Mascherano's injury lay-off which forced Cambiasso into the holding role. Arguably plays much better in a more central midfield position, making tackles, linking play and even scoring the odd goal. Etched his name into World Cup history by scoring the 24-pass goal against Serbia and Montenegro and then missing the penalty which sent Argentina crashing out. I still remember Cambiasso crying and murmuring "why did it have to be me?" repeatedly as his teammates tried to counsel him. It's all the poignant given that he was once one of the greatest young prodigies of his generation - a member of the '97 WYC-winning 'golden generation' team, signed by Real Madrid in his teens. Now 26 and a definite starter for Inter, he should definitely be part of Basile's plans for the next four years.

Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich, Germany) rather infamously declared that he had lost the will to live after being omitted from the '06 World Cup squad. (Yes, I'm still miffed about that. You're young, what's the hurry?) He does have some cause to feel despair, though, having been called up quite a few times when Mascherano was injured but as far as I know only getting to play once or twice. In Pekerman's team he was firmly behind Mascherano and Cambiasso in the battle for the holding midfield position, despite Cambiasso arguably not actually being a natural holding midfielder. At Bayern he faces competition with England's Owen Hargreaves for a starting place, playing more than 30 games last season and scoring the odd goal. If he continues to start for Bayern he should certainly be considered for the holding midfield role, despite fierce competition for the position. Unlucky at 26 years old to be amongst a crop of great young players all competing for the same role.

Javier Mascherano (West Ham, England) is Argentina's first choice holding midfielder at the moment. Coming up through the youth teams, he put in impressive displays first in winning the South American U-20 Championship and then as the first choice in the '04 Olympics-winning squad. In the past Mascherano has been a hallmark of consistency, with crucial, tidy tackling, great passing ability and a cool head in spite of his 22 years. I fear that the dispute with Corinthians which led to him missing training and the subsequent weight of expectations surrounding his move to the Premiership have disturbed his consistency. He played badly in the friendly against Brazil, the first time I've had cause to say that about him. Mascherano needs to get back to top form for West Ham soon or he may find that the position he had made his own will be slipping away.

Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors, Argentina) is perhaps the biggest threat to Mascherano's future dominance, despite the presence of the more experienced Cambiasso. A member of the '05 WYC-winning squad where he shared playing time with Biglia, both putting in impressive demonstrations in how to dictate play from a defensive midfield position, Gago's star has definitely risen faster in the aftermath. This is primarily thanks to the good work of former Boca coach Basile who has helped him develop into the kind of player who earns rave reviews and comparisons with the great Redondo. The 20 year old has yet to be capped for Argentina, but surely it's just a matter of time especially since the coach who helped him become a great player is now coaching the NT.

Lucas Biglia (Anderlecht, Belgium) has perhaps fallen behind the race with Gago to establish themselves in the NT with his move to Belgium last year. In one sense, the move is earning him more playing time than he would get at a big European club in one of the bigger leagues, but it's also keeping him out of sight. Apparently Biglia is putting in great displays in the holding midfield position for Anderlecht, as he did when they came to the Bernabeu to play Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly. I kind of hope he'll do well in the Champions League and maybe a mid-sized club in Spain snatches him up. In the '05 WYC squad Biglia played alternately with Gago, and was arguably the more impressive by a hair. They are very similar players, both 20 years old, so with Gago's current ascendancy it's hard to see Biglia getting the call ahead of him. Maybe in the future, though.


attacking

Daniel Bilos (Saint-Etienne, France) has only ever played two friendlies for Argentina. So why is he here? Well, he was arguably the most impressive player for a sorry Argentinean side in the friendly against Brazil, and Basile likes him. Many people would like to see him get called up again, especially after he renounced the chance to play with Croatia, his other nationality, to try and get into the Argentinean NT. I'm sorry that I don't know much about his displays for his new club so far, but early feedback has been good. Has a good chance of featuring, if only because the coach rates him, and because he's a good combination of experience and energy at 26 years of age in what may be a very young midfield.

Federico Insua (Borussia Monchengladbach, Germany) is another player I don't know much about who has been on the fringe of the NT for a bit but has seen his stock rise because Basile rates him. Played a bit against Brazil and was just as good as the rest of the team - which is to say, not very. He did very well for Boca last season, scoring 11 goals. May very well be called up again despite being somewhat out of sight because of his choice of club as a substitute for the two below, who I expect to start over him.

Maxi Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid, Spain) saw his stock rise dramatically during a great World Cup in which he scored one of the goals of the tournament. Many thought he would move to a bigger club, but he has chosen to stick by calamity-prone Atletico, for whom he has been often been the lone spark in an uninspired mess last season, scoring 10 goals. A member of the '01 WYC-winning squad, Maxi was on the fringe of the NT for much of World Cup Qualifying and was somewhat of a surprise inclusion in the final squad. After the World Cup, no one is doubting his claim to be a starter, bringing his complete array of skills - defensive and offensive - to either side of midfield. 25 this year, with any luck he could feature well into 2010.

Luis Gonzalez (Porto, Portugal) was the other 10-goals-a-season midfielder in the World Cup squad, playing on the opposite side to Maxi when he wasn't busy being injured or squeezed off the starting eleven by Cambiasso. 'Lucho' has settled well at new club Porto, claiming the captain's armband after just 3 months there and helping them to the title last year. Apparently Barcelona are monitoring him, although I can't see where he'd fit into Rijkaard's system. He plays a similar game to Maxi, combining defensive workrate with good vision and long-range shooting. A key member of the '04 Olympics-winning squad and the NT through World Cup Qualifying, Lucho has seen himself become perhaps more of a fringe player due to a combination of factors since then. His unimpressive display in the friendly against Brazil will not have helped, although I think the 25 year old will continue to stake a claim for a place in the side.

Neri Cardozo (Boca Juniors, Argentina) is the youngest of this young bunch, a vital member of the '05 WYC-winning squad playing mostly as a striker. There have been doubts over him because no one was sure where his best position was - in attacking midfield or as a forward. He's pretty good at both, but was at risk of becoming a jack of all trades, master of none. Basile has done some great work with him and he has really found his place as an attacking midfielder at Boca. Probably a good thing, as his finishing was very suspect in the WYC - not good if you're being used as a striker. 20 years old and one for the future, it remains to be seen how he will develop.


playmaker

Pablo Aimar (Zaragoza, Spain) is an undoubtedly brilliant player who has been blighted by everything from inconsistent form, endless injuries, trouble with management to viral meningitis (yes, meningitis) and prevented from reaching the heights he touched in River Plate for former club Valencia. Being rather pocket-sized by birth, a lot of people feel that he never really adjusted to the greater physical demands of La Liga, and it is indeed true that he typically runs out of steam at around the 75th minute mark. Still, when he's on form, Aimar is one of the most entertaining and graceful playmakers around. Free-kicks, corners, great passing vision and an eye for goal - everything that Riquelme offers he can do in about equal measure; add to that pace and great dribbling skill, and you have 'El Payaso' on a good day.

However, Aimar has rarely been that consistently good for Argentina since orchestrating the '97 WYC victory alongside Riquelme and Cambiasso. There were many flashes of brilliance in various Qualifying matches, but the team crashed and burned at Japan-Korea despite his best efforts after coming in as a replacement for a below-par Veron. Due to Pekerman's preference for Riquelme, Aimar has mostly languished as a substitute under him, but he has somehow notched up 40 caps for Argentina in between being injured and being left out. Now 27 years old, the retirement of Riquelme would seem to be a good chance for him to get back into the starting line-up, and that seems to be what a lot of people wants as well. On the plus side, he's in good form with Zaragoza. On the minus side, I'm not sure Basile rates him, there's a lot of competition, and a side built around Aimar would have to contain almost as many safeguards as the team built around Riquelme.

Personally, I would prefer that he be at least given a chance to dictate play for Argentina again. Obviously no one is asking my opinion, so here's an almost definitely impossible idea - how about a double-playmaker system using Aimar and perhaps Messi? They've combined well in all the times I've seen them play together - not surprising since Aimar was Messi's childhood idol. I'll explain my reasoning for this further down, along with why I think Messi should play in midfield and not as a striker.

Andres D'Alessandro (Zaragoza, Spain) would probably be the one I'd nominate as the perfect substitute for Aimar. because they're similar enough that one would slot right into a system designed around the other. Unfortunately he's had the same run of luck as Aimar despite starting just as brightly, failing to settle at Wolfsburg and then Portsmouth in a couple of miserable seasons.

D'Alessandro was the midfield general earning accolades alongside Saviola in the all-conquering '01 WYC team and repeated this success as the playmaker in the '04 Olympics squad three years later. He's only been capped 13 times for the NT, though, playing some World Cup Qualifying games and friendlies as Pekerman tried him out as a Riquelme substitute without much success. That's fairly predictable considering the fact that they are in no way similar. He's far more of an Aimar-type playmaker, using pace and dribbling as well as passing to break down defences.

So far this season D'Alessandro seems to be getting a new lease of life at Zaragoza, playing well and finally back in an environment that makes him comfortable. There's no reason he shouldn't be tried as a playmaker alongside Aimar (similar to how they line-up for Zaragoza) or as his substitute when Aimar runs out of steam. There are questions over his temperament and reliability in big games, but that can change with time and experience - and he's only 25.

Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain) is actually not a striker. No, really. I have a hard time convincing people of this very obvious fact. The role he occupies for Barcelona on the right wing is more like that of a cross between a playmaking midfielder and a winger than a striker - a strange, difficult to nail down position first patented by his 'big brother' Ronaldinho. It suits Messi's characteristics well and doesn't ask him to deliver what he is currently incapable of (goals in every match). My contention is that the Argentinean NT has up until now not used Messi in his best position, with the possible exception of the friendly against Croatia and the World Cup match against Serbia and Montenegro. Sure, he plays well as a striker, but not as well as he could be playing.

But anyway, before I get into all that, an introduction to 'Leo' for those who don't know him. Messi lifted Argentina to the WYC in 2005 while picking up the top scorer and Golden Ball awards - all at the tender age of 18. I can say without exaggeration - and many would agree - that Messi was half of that team. At least, he scored half their goals and set up quite a few of the others. Acting as playmaker, Messi ran games with his maturity, leadership, great passing vision, ball control and eye for goal, not to mention great ability at deadballs including two 'ruthlessly' well-taken penalties in the final.

In between being injured and being disqualified from playing on the grounds of nationality, he helped orchestrate Barca's amazing 14-match winning streak in the league as part of an attacking trident alongside Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho, which included the famous 3-0 win in the Bernabeu. In one match Messi managed gain both admiration and infamy all over the world as he ran through the Chelsea defence like a hot knife through butter at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, provoking Asier del Horno into an idiotic tackle for which he was sent off, and the ire of Jose Mourinho at what he perceived to be a dive.

All this excitement was dimmed, however, as he sustained an injury in the second leg at Camp Nou which contributed to Pekerman's decision to underuse him at the World Cup. Ever since there has been increasing calls from not only Argentina fans but also the neutrals for him to start for the Albicelestes - which brings me back to my point.

Of the 11 times Messi has played for the NT (mostly as a substitute) he has had good games in general. However, despite appearing for about 9 of those in a striker position, he only has 2 goals - surely unacceptable for a forward. Moreover, both of those goals came when he was playing further back. I think that's enough to prove that he isn't a natural striker. There have already been murmurs that he's suffering from 'Ronaldinho syndrome' - performing for club but not for country. I think that's not the issue at all. If Basile decides to use 4-3-3, then he can take up the same job he does so well for Barca on the wings, but if a different formation is going to be used Messi should really be playing just behind the strikers, using his talents to rip apart defences and set up goals. On the issue of playing him with Aimar, Messi's combined well with him when playing up front in the friendly against Angola and the World Cup match against Mexico, but imagine what those two could create with two lethal finishers in front of them.

You'll notice I haven't considered whether or not he'll be selected. One advantage of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world is that if you perform well, people will notice. He's only 19, but so what? International competition isn't going to be more testing than a Champions League game against Chelsea. I have faith in Leo having a good season, which would make it rather wasteful of Basile to leave him out, recalling what Pekerman did in Germany. And nobody wants that.

(Sergio Aguero would have gone here, but I've decided he's more of a striker, so he's going in the next post.)


unlikely to feature

none - I think everyone I've listed has a good shot at being in the team

likely to feature in Qualifying/Copa America

Esteban Cambiasso - consistency and experience
Martin Demichelis - as a substitute for either Cambiasso or Mascherano
Javier Mascherano - first choice, as long as he's in form
Fernando Gago - on a high right now

Daniel Bilos - good option to have, even on the bench
Federico Insua - Basile favourite
Maxi Rodriguez - previously underrated, now a hero
Luis Gonzalez - if he can keep improving for the NT

Pablo Aimar - at least a couple of chances to show what he can do
Andres D'Alessandro - Aimar substitute?
Lionel Messi - it would be criminal not to when he's on form

likely to feature in 2010

Lucas Biglia - good competition for Gago, hopefully

Neri Cardozo - if he develops well