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.
Showing posts with label bilos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bilos. Show all posts
Friday, October 13, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
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
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
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