El Clasico: a preview through a look back at last season's classic

For all the hype about Super Sundays in the Premiership, and with apologies to the Milan derby which is happening on the same day, in my humble opinion there's nothing that quite matches up to El Clasico, the game of the century, Barca v Real, whatever you want to call it.

Remember what happened at the Camp Nou last season?

Barcelona and Real Madrid had both just been knocked out of the Champions League. Both teams were in a low ebb, one slip-up short of crisis. It was expected to be a low-key affair. Instead, we got this:


(Barcelona 3 - 3 Real Madrid)

It had everything one could want in a football game - drama, controversy, passion, great attacking play, and several protagonists in the shape of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Guti, both goalkeepers and, most of all, young Leo Messi, who cemented his status as a rising star and a hero of the fans by hitting a great hat-trick, the last scored in stoppage time to tie up the game with Barca down to 10 men.

I'll be honest - I missed that late equaliser because by that point, I couldn't stand to watch. It's brutal watching one's team trying to play with 10 men in any game, but in el derbi it's just about unbearable. Having said that, at times in the second half it was difficult to tell which team was a man down - and that's just as it should be.

It's El Clasico, after all.

There's no sense in intellectually analysing a game like this, because it isn't played out against a background of careful tactical planning and previous form, at least not once the players step on the pitch. This game is beyond that.

It's a fixture that has featured some of the world's greatest players throughout the last century. It has made and destroyed careers, and provided countless storylines for the world's press. It invokes passions that go far beyond football.

The Camp Nou will be full. There will be 250 or so Real fans stuck in a corner on the coldest, highest tier, isolated by the partisanship of the rest of the 98000-odd crowd. There's going to be a massive mosaic, perhaps the biggest ever.

And both sides will field 11 players, and they'll play a football game, watched around the world by millions upon millions of fans, to whom it means everything.

Visca el Barca!


A couple of links:

Phil Ball's preview of El Clasico. Includes a recap of last week's games, and excellent as always.

Not Barca, but thanks to Em at Dying Midseason for the link to this wonderful post in tribute to Juan Roman Riquelme.


(If you're wondering what's happened to me, the short answer is work. Hopefully normal posting will resume in January.)

Argentina vs Australia squad news

This is the list of 21 players who have been called up for the friendly against Australia, to be played in Melbourne (in the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground) on the 11th of September:

Goalkeepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe, Spain), Oscar Ustari (Getafe), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, the Netherlands)

Fair enough, given the situation with Carrizo (which I'll touch on below). I'm becoming increasingly concerned about playing time for Ustari at club level as well.

Defenders: Daniel 'Cata' Diaz (Getafe), Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid, Spain), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain), Nicholas Burdisso (Inter, Italy), Javier Zanetti (Inter), Gabriel Milito (Barcelona, Spain), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich, Germany)

I can understand the need to experiment, but I would have liked to see Garay get another call-up. He's definitely a solid performer, and the defeat to Norway cannot be blamed on him. (Playing Gabi Milito at leftback, however, has to be one of the strangest decisions I've ever seen. With all the players Argentina have, you'd think we would have a couple of leftbacks to spare when Heinze isn't available.) I've put Demichelis in this category because Basile has called up so many defensive midfielders that I doubt he also wants Demichelis for that position. Still not too sure about Coloccini, although I hear good things about him at club level playing rightback.

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Maxi Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid, Spain), Jonás Gutiérrez (Real Mallorca, Spain), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, England), Cristian Ledesma (Olympiakos, Greece), Federico Insúa (Club America, Mexico)

Gago must be getting concerned about his amount of playing time at Real now that the double pivot era seems to be over, especially when he's competing with the brilliant Mascherano. Gutierrez has been called up a couple of times, and he's done well for Mallorca in the past, but to be honest, I'm not sure he's the answer. Ledesma is a bit of an unknown for me, although I've heard good things. Insua has been on good form since going to Mexico, and it will be interesting to see if Basile intends to give him the responsibility of being the playmaker.

I'm still advocating for Aimar and D'Alessandro, but they've been off-colour for Zaragoza so far this season, so we'll have to wait and see.

Forwards: Javier Saviola (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Hernán Crespo (Inter), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)

I'm glad to see Aguero called up, since he's very much deserving. Other than that, my concern is still the lack of no.9 options other than Crespo.

Unfortunately, Diaz, Crespo and Maxi Rodriguez have all had to pull out of the squad for various reasons. This means that Basile is left with a squad of just 18 players to face a difficult opponent on their home ground.

That doesn't even touch on the urgent and very serious problems that Basile must address before World Cup qualification starts with a match against Chile, which is our next game:

• Many of the countries went to the Copa America with an experimental squad in order to prepare for the qualifiers. We didn't.
• This lack of preparation has been compounded by the inactivity at club level of several important players, like Crespo, Riquelme and Carrizo (who has been loaned back to River but is at risk of not starting).
  
• Riquelme's case is the most severe, since he won't get called up if he's not playing at club level, and Basile had built the team around him in the Copa America.
• The team doesn't have the time to look for a new playmaker and to calibrate their strategy to that player.
• There is uncertainty in defence with the retirement of previous leader Ayala.

So to sum up, we don't know how we're going to play, and who should be playing. Needless to say, this is not a good situation to go into the qualifiers with.

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.

Argentina vs Columbia and other Copa thoughts in bullet point form

Hey, remember what I said last time about how great it was that the first round games were full of positive football and didn't have too many fouls and diving? What happened to that?

Perhaps because the stakes had began to weigh more heavily on the players involved, the second round featured quite a lot of exaggerated rolling around, diving, dirty fouls and some really dire games. Sadly, this trend is only likely to continue as the knockout stages begin and the stakes get even higher, going from recent international tournaments.

Following the results of today's games, we now know which teams will be in the knockout round, with two match-ups yet to be decided. They are: Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay. We'll know tomorrow whether Argentina and Paraguay will be playing Mexico or Peru respectively.

Argentina 4 - 2 Columbia

Goals: Edixon Perea (10), Crespo (19, pen), Juan Roman Riquelme (34, 45), Jaime Alberto Castrillon (73), Diego Milito (90)

I can't say I'm particularly satisfied with Argentina's performance, and there are still issues that persist from the first game, but at least we're through to the next round.

First the news items, then my evaluation.

• the big news is that Hernan Crespo will unfortunately miss the rest of the tournament, having torn a muscle taking the penalty that equalised the score for Argentina.
• at the same time, congratulations are due to Crespo for beating Diego Maradona's scoring record for Argentina and becoming the second highest scorer ever for the national team. The first is of course the great Gabriel Batistuta.
• Riquelme and Messi comment on the game, urging caution in general.
  
• Argentina supporter and Guardian writer Marcela Mora y Araujo writes about Argentina's progress. I think she's being a tad too optimistic, given the latest news, but then it's always nice to be feeling good about the national team again.

Argentina (4-3-1-2): Abbondanzieri; Zanetti, Ayala, G. Milito, Heinze; Veron (80' Luis Gonzalez), Mascherano, Cambiasso; Riquelme; Messi (84' Tevez), Crespo (21' D. Milito)

No formation diagram since it's the same starting line-up as the game against the United States. I will note though that Cambiasso played less like a second defensive midfielder this time around, so the team looked more like the 4-3-1-2 people had assumed they'd line up in rather than a wingless 4-2-3-1. Then again, Zanetti's frequent forays forward and Messi's constant tracking back meant that we spent much of the match with 6 men in midfield, which is a bit much, especially when at least 3 of those 6 are trying to run the game at their own pace. The midfield and attack still hasn't quite clicked together.

Another issue of concern is how exhausted many of our players looked at the end. I know it was really, really hot at the ground, and hopefully that's all it was. Personally, though I trust that Basile knows what he's doing, I was getting really antsy as some of the players (Veron and Messi, to name just two) looked really tired and he still wouldn't make any substitutions.

Last general comment: the referee made quite a few dodgy calls. One of them was the penalty, which was as soft as - well, as soft the one Robinho just won against Ecuador. Additionally, I felt his standards for what constituted a yellow card were somewhat inconsistent. The Columbians are well within their rights to complain, and as Argentina won I will refrain from pointing out that Arizala should have been sent off for that horror challenge on Mascherano, et cetera.

(Luis Gonzales and Carlos Tevez didn't play long enough for me to judge their performances. They should probably both have come in earlier, in my opinion, to relieve the players they replaced who both looked absolutely spent.)

defence

• Abbondanzieri worries me. I know we can't blame him for all our defensive problems, but he's at least partially responsible for the two goals we conceded, through sheer sloppiness if nothing else.
• Great game from Zanetti, both in defense and in attack. Lovely assist for Roman's first goal.
  
• Ayala was as solid as ever, although I still think him and Gaby Milito don't have a fully working understanding. Speaking of which, a much improved game from the younger Milito, although he still had far too many wobbly moments.
• Solid game from Heinze, who played on despite biting his tongue quite badly and through subsequent bleeding. I hope he's okay.

midfield

• Better from Veron, although him and Roman still aren't really clicking. He was obviously running on nothing by about 75 minutes in, though, which is a bit worrying.
• Mascherano shares my MOTM award along with Roman. Another brilliant performance from the tireless Liverpool man. But Masche, just one thing - other than Arizala's challenge, which was truly terrible and deserved your 'rolling around in pain' reaction, the others just look embarrassing.
  
• Cambiasso was much improved from the first game, involving himself more in the attack and giving the midfield some much needed width at times. Not bad.
• Roman showed up big time when we needed him to. That's the highest praise I can give to the fulcrum of our team. What a wonderful freekick as well. Unfortunately he was another one of the players who simply looked to be running out of stream by the end.

forward

• As the Argentinean papers like to say, Argentina Messi still doesn't look quite like Barcelona Messi, but in this match he got to use his trademark dribbling runs straight through the opposition defence to better effect, most notably in the run that resulted in the freekick which Riquelme converted. Went down too easily for the penalty, although he was viciously fouled away from the box for much of the match.
• Hernan Crespo played an important part in Argentina's progress, here as in the first game, and his work rate and intelligent movement will be much missed. Good penalty, and I'm truly heartbroken for him, having gotten injured at what is probably the last international tournament of his career.
• Diego Milito had a difficult task, coming on at such short notice to replace a striker of Crespo's caliber, having not had much significant playing time with the NT before. His lack of pace was readily apparent, but so was his striker's instinct and ability to dominate in the air despite not being all that tall. A bit lucky with the goal, but he worked hard for it. Hopefully his understanding with the rest of the team will improve with more practice.

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 v US preview

Well well well, the Copa America has definitely provided some excitement so far. Mexico have to be congratulated on their performance against Brazil, especially coming right off the back of another tournament where they suffered a loss in the final. Even if the two line-ups are substantially different, that's gotta hurt morale. By the way, it's good to see Rafael Marquez back in form. Hopefully he'll hold on to that when the next season comes around.

Argentina are due to take on the team who beat Mexico in the aftementioned final. Well, not quite, given the differences between the US squad for the Gold Cup and the Copa, but I'm sure it was a welcome boost at the time. That's On Point has great coverage of the US squad and the group in general. (As opposed to Goal.com, who somehow managed to call Real Zaragoza 'relegation-bound' while trying to shed some light on Gaby Milito. They've corrected their mistake now, but geez. It only takes a couple of seconds to check a league table.)

Anyway, I've already posted about the Argentinean starting line-up, which was announced well in advance by coach Alfio Basile as a player-management tactic. And here's my earlier post on the squad in general.

As commenter Rio pointed out, a lot of the reservations I expressed in the post about line-ups were related to one Juan Roman Riquelme. It's not that I don't rate him - see sidebar and numerous posts for evidence to the contrary - but he is rather unique. La Nuestra has two excellent posts exploring the upsides and downsides of Roman. On the eve of Argentina's first match, he says that he's very happy (the original interview has him saying that his family are very happy too), which is definitely a good sign from such a moody player. When he's on, Roman's the best player Argentina have, no question about that.

Basile himself is wary of the tag of 'favourites' before we've even played, and rightly so. Most of the time premature arrogance will only come back to haunt the team, after all. That's why it's good to save the gloating until after one's victory, which is a rule that applies as well to football as it does to supervillains. So let's see what happens first.

Here's hoping for a good game, and as always: Vamos Argentina!

Argentina starting line-up against the United States

The Copa America kicked off with an upset today, Peru beating Uruguay 3-0. Peru does have a fairly talented squad, but many people - including yours truly - expected better of Uruguay. In the day's other game hosts Venezuela drew 2-2 with Bolivia. Good to see lots of goals being scored so far. Hopefully that will keep up throughout the tournament. I'll also be keeping an eye on matches such as Brazil v Mexico and Chile v Ecuador, but to be honest, my tournament really starts when Argentina take on the United States in their opening game.

Argentina coach Alfio Basile has revealed his starting 11 far ahead of time, which I thought was quite a strange move on his part. The big news is that Carlos Tevez drops to the bench in favour of Lionel Messi to partner Hernan Crespo in attack. Speaking of the undoubtedly talented Carlitos, Sports Illustrated has a lovely interview with him. In other squad news, captain Roberto Ayala had an injury scare on Saturday but seems to be fine now.

Argentina starting 11 (4-3-1-2):

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

At first glance it looks broadly similar to the formation used at the World Cup, but in reality given the change of key personnel like (now former) captain Juan Pablo Sorin dropping out and former captain Javier Zanetti coming back in, as well as the presence of Juan Sebastian Veron and swapping Messi for Saviola I suspect it may work very differently in practice. In fact, that's the problem: no one knows how well it's going to work because Argentina haven't used this particular starting 11 before. Basile's results from friendlies have hardly been impressive, but this team is substantially different to the one that lost to Brazil or the one which beat France.

The defence looks very good on paper and should be fine as long as they've learned their lesson from the embarrassment of conceding 3 against Algeria, which, to be fair, wasn't entirely their fault. Hopefully Abbondanzieri, who was at fault for at least 2 of the goals will go back to the form he showed for his club during this season in Spain and during the '06 World Cup.

The questions that remain, at least in my mind, are these:

1. Can Messi and Crespo form an effective strike partnership? They've played together before, but the jury's still out on their effectiveness as a duo.
2. Can Riquelme and Veron work together?
3. Lastly, and broadly speaking, will these players, many of whom have had excellent seasons, translate their club form into good performances for their country?
   

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. The United States have bought a relatively unexperienced squad who might benefit from the low expectations, and it would be wise to avoid underestimating them. At the same time, I'm always wary of the tag of 'favourites' before a ball has been kicked. Having a star-studded squad (which ours definitely is) doesn't guarantee anything unless they can play well together, and we'll have to prove that on the pitch. Can't wait.

Lastly, and I don't care how sappy this sounds: the evident desire of all the Argentinean players called up to wear the shirt and bring glory to their country makes me so proud to support the Albiceleste.

Vamos Argentina!

Argentinean birthdays and net etiquette

Ah, a nice break from the firestorm of news that's been the last few days. Two largely frivolous things to be covered here, one nice and one...not so much.

Firstly, a very happy birthday to Lionel Andres Messi, who turns 20 on June 24. Yes, he's still that young. Scary, isn't it? There's not much that hasn't already been said about him, so I'll skip all that and just say that as someone who supports both Argentina and Barcelona, I hope he goes on to become one of the best players in the world - if he is not in fact there already.

June 24 must have been a good day for Argentinean football, because it was also the day Juan Roman Riquelme was born, 9 years before Messi. My best wishes to him also, and if you want to read one of my posts waxing lyrical about him, you've got several to choose from.

Right, so that's the warm and fuzzy part over. Since I started this blog in September of last year, I've been very pleased by all the comments I've received and enjoyed all the discussion, which has enriched my own knowledge. So thank you to everybody for that. Today, I received my first personal attack.

To be honest, I kind of expected it long before this, but it's rather ironic that I've managed to discuss the future of Real Madrid with very nice and eloquent Madridistas (thank you, Gonzalo) without a problem on this blog while it's my post on Thierry Henry joining the club that got me attacked.

No, I'm not letting the comment past moderation. There's no need for that kind of language around here, and by that I mean the abuse of netspeak and the English language in general, not this poster's apparent desire to fornicate with my mother and young Leo Messi. No idea why he's even relevant in the discussion, but hey. Well done, wanker. You look really classy. Feel free to join the conversation any time in the future when you've learned to be civilized.

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.

the Spanish league season wrap-up: team by team (2)

Continuing with my round-up of the Spanish season, this post covers the teams who finished 5th to 9th in the table.

Villarreal

62 points; UEFA Cup

I spent the entire first half of the season becoming increasingly saddened by going-ons at Villarreal, which culminated in the departure of Juan Roman Riquelme. Happily, the parting turned out well for both parties, although both Roman and Villarreal took a while to get going in the second half of the season. Like many other clubs in La Liga, the Submarines had been hit hard by long term injuries to Nihat, Robert Pires and Gonzalo Rodriguez. The mid-season signing of Chilean wonderkid Matias Fernandez eventually began to pay off and the aftementioned injury victims began to return, which made an immediate difference. Villarreal hold the longest winning streak of this season, which just happened to be their last 8 games, started by - ironically enough - their home defeat of Barca.

So it all ended happily, for once, and it will be great to see Villarreal back in Europe next season. Unfortunately, poor Gonzalo Rodriguez has sustained the exact same injury that kept him out of most of this season yet again, which will keep him out of a great deal of the next campaign. It's a good thing they signed Roberto Ayala from Valencia on a free transfer, then, isn't it? They still have to deal with the thorny question of what to do with the returning Riquelme, since Boca can't afford to buy him and management won't have him back. Watch this space on that one.

Real Zaragoza

60 points; UEFA Cup

It's hard for me to dislike Zaragoza, since they're a bit like the Inter of Spain - Argentine central. The Argentine contingent certainly had a hand in Zaragoza's achievements this season. Captain and central defender Gabi Milito has been excellent (although he's almost certainly leaving the club during the transfer window), increasingly brilliant striker Diego Milito managed to score 23 goals, just 2 less than van Nistelrooy with a far less galactic midfield behind him.

Speaking of which, they may not be galactic, but Pablo Aimar and Andres D'Alessandro are damn fine players. Neither are what you'd call consistent, but they've both had pretty good seasons and played some fine stuff.

Then there are the other fine South American players like Diogo and Ewerthon, although the latter has been sidelined for Barca youth system product Sergio Garcia this season. Speaking of former Barca players, young Gerard Pique - from the same year as Leo Messi and Cesc Fabregas - has had a fine season too.

An UEFA Cup finish is certainly not bad at all, and I'd say they've broadly accomplished their aims for this season. There were times during the season when a Champions League place looked possible for them, but the 4 at the top were always going to be too strong to be overcome.

Atletico Madrid

60 points; entered Intertoto Cup

Oh dear. I'd rather that my comments about Atletico aren't read as bashing; the last thing I want to do is jump on the let's-make-fun-of-Atletico bandwagon. But seriously. As Ray Hudson likes to say, Atletico are a big club, with a budget to match and many long-suffering supporters. They managed to bring in a great coach in the form of the refreshingly honest Javier Aguirre and spent a lot of money assembling an impressive-looking squad. Then disaster strikes in the form of long term injuries to crucial players. That's plain old bad luck, although as I've pointed out above, quite a few Spanish clubs were similarly afflicted.

Still, they started alright, and there were moments in which they dared dream of returning to the Champions League, but in the end they were simply far too inconsistent, especially at home, where they dropped far too many points to teams like Levante and Real Sociedad. I can't imagine how frustrated the rojiblanco supporters must be - they've just been pipped to the last UEFA Cup spot by Zaragoza on head-to-head results (wait, maybe I can...). To put it into perspective, they're only 6 points off Valencia, who occupy the last Champions League place, so it's not really that bad. But that doesn't really help, does it? The Intertoto it is, then.

The good news: when not busy insulting the squad, Atletico's club president has managed to get Aguirre to sign a new deal. He's really a decent coach, so hopefully it's onwards to better things for Atletico.

Recreativo de Huelva

54 points

It may sound strange to be saying this about a team who finished up well outside the UEFA Cup place that looked so attainable to them for large stretches of the league campaign, but Recre are really the surprise package of the season. No one expected the new boys to stay up this season, especially not while playing nice football and challenging for an European place.

Shame about Europe, but it was pretty inevitable late in the season given their lack of depth compared to the teams above them with deeper pockets. The oldest club in Spain worked miracles on a shoestring budget and should be congratulated.

Getafe

52 points; UEFA Cup (Copa del Rey finalist)

Yet another remarkable season from the club that has made their name through defying the odds on a shoestring budget. (They should be the model of every promoted club going through second-season pains, like Recre above most likely will.) After a few seasons of the same, I do wonder if the club's supporters were getting sick of their tendency to fall off the European spots towards the end of the season, but this time they have done tremendously well and qualified for Europe anyway through their place in the Copa del Rey final.

Speaking of which, their campaign in that competition has been incredibly impressive, and should they win the trophy they will be very much deserving. The massive efforts to knock out Valencia and then Barca come to mind.

Much of the credit for their progress has to go to the ever-astute coach Bernard Schuster. He's done very well to put Madrid's 'third' club (speaking in budget terms only) on the map (and now into Europe ahead of Madrid's 'second' club). He says he's going to become coach of Real Madrid. Well, if so, good luck to him. He's a bit of a character, that man, in a league where thankfully most of the coaches don't bother with the verbal warfare, but it's somehow rather endearing coming from the former Barca and Real legend.

(Update: oh boy. If people assumed that Getafe president Angel Torres would be fine with the apparent tapping up of his coach by Real just because he happens to be a card-carrying Madridista, well, they assumed wrong.)

Finally, congratulations to 'keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri (Argentina's no.1) for winning the Zamora trophy (goalkeeper who conceded the least). What a great start to his career in La Liga, and I trust he will be able to play on for a few seasons yet despite his age.


Next post: the also-rans.

Argentine Watch

Starting off with a topic near and dear to me, Juan Roman Riquelme set up 2 of Boca's 3 goals in their eventual 1-3 victory over Independiente. Same as always, then. He was of course over-shadowed by Martin Palermo's incredible goal from the half-way line in the 94th minute.

What a goal, although I do feel terrible for poor Oscar Ustari, Argentine international and Independiente's young 'keeper, who was understandably crushed after conceding the goal. Ustari is a really good goalkeeper, and he saved his team's ass so many times last season, so this really does suck for him. But he's also a very mature lad, so I'm sure he'll pick himself up quickly and move on.

But Roman...I saw highlights of the game, and I haven't seen him smile like that in a long time. Maybe the move really is doing him a world of good.

Long-suffering Javier Mascherano finally made his debut for Liverpool against Sheffield United and put in a good performance. Frankly, I can't wait for him to start proving his doubters wrong. He is after all an excellent player, and you know what they say: form is temporary, but class is permanent. Liverpool is probably the ideal club for him, too, since about half the squad and the coach speak Spanish.

On the other hand, what's happened to Carlos Tevez? I dread to think...unfortunately West Ham seem doomed, especially given their injury woes. Asking fans to feel some empathy for another club's injury problems seems like an alien concept in the Premiership, but you've got to admit they have had terrible luck.

Congratulations are also due to young Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain for opening his account with the Spanish giants, and in his first Madrid derby, no less. (On a related note, congratulations are also due to Fernando Torres for finally scoring against Real on what I believe may be his 9th attempt. The curse is broken!)

Argentinean National Team coach Basile has announced that Juan Sebastian Veron will be getting a recall to the NT for a pre-Copa America training camp. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, he probably deserves the call-up after such a storming season. On the other, I'm not convinced by his ability to deliver at international level. The latest is that he's injured, and I'm not sure for how long. Despite my doubts, I have to say if injury makes him miss a long-awaited international recall, one has to feel sympathy for the man.

In better injury news Villarreal centerback Gonzalo Rodriguez is finally ready to play again after recovering from a major knee injury suffered in the beginning of the season. Villarreal have missed him and will be glad to have the talented and reliable youngster back. Argentina have a good, solid defence right now, but having him as an option on the bench would be a great confidence booster.

(Imagine Villarreal with a central defence of Ayala and Gonzalo next season. None shall pass, indeed. Now they just need more decent right-backs and left-backs, since all of them seem to be leaving.)

If you've read Phil Ball's book on David Beckham (which is really a great look at the Spanish league through the Beckham transfer) there's a bit where he explains how the Argentineans in La Liga like to meet up and drink mate tea together in groups. I've always gotten the general impression that there's a certain solidarity and mutual admiration society dynamic, especially with the Argentinean internationals. Certainly a lot of the younger segment are friends. Riquelme and Aimar are still close, D'Alessandro and Saviola are childhood friends who still speak a lot, Aimar is Messi's idol, Zabaleta visited Messi almost everyday when he was on crutches and Aguero and Messi are email pen pals.

So it's rather sad when two of them come into open conflict on the field, as D'Alessandro and Messi did in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinal, Zaragoza v Barcelona. Seemingly, Messi incurred D'Alessandro's displeasure when they were fighting for the ball (not literally), after which words were exchanged and D'Alessandro headbutted Messi. Not very hard, mind, so Messi really didn't need to go down clutching his face. D'Alessandro fully deserved hs red card, but Messi also fully deserved his yellow, for exaggerating the contact. There's no need for a fine player like him to do that. I didn't like it when Thierry Henry did it in the World Cup, and I don't like it when one of my favourite young players - who contrary to popular opinion in England is not actually a habitual diver - descends to that level.

It's an unfortunate incident, which I hope won't affect the atmosphere next time both are called up for the national team, although given poor D'Alessandro's luck that seems unlikely. His last call-up, if memory serves, was well before the World Cup.

A heavy-hearted goodbye: Juan Roman Riquelme leaves La Liga

For those who have read my previous writing on Argentina before, my reaction to the news that Juan Roman Riquelme the depressive genius had finally given up on life in the Spanish league and returned to Argentina is probably quite predictable. I'm heartbroken, just a bit.

The terms of the deal, in black and white, are these: Boca Juniors, who were Roman's benefactor (and he theirs) before Villarreal, have taken him on a five-month loan.

I don't think he'll be back, not in any meaningful sense. His fairytale in European football ended the moment he missed that penalty. Yes, that damned penalty in the semi-final against Arsenal last season. That damned penalty, taken by a man with the look of someone damned in his eyes, saved by Jens Lehmann, of all people.

After that, he went to the World Cup and played beautifully, and I, who had merely been an admirer before, fell in love with his slow motion genius - the passes, the set pieces, the intricate scheming, and even the sorrow, which never really seems to leave him.

But Riquelme has always been loved and hated in equal measure, especially in Argentina. That's perfectly understandable - his is not a style to everyone's taste.

In Argentina, the weight of expectation on the shoulders of the number 10 is enormous, far more than a man can bear. Maradona did it, but look at what happened afterwards; Ortega is still battling his demons in public, even today; Aimar has always been brilliant but too brittle, with his countless setbacks and wildly inconsistent form; and then there's Riquelme, whose performances are dependent on mood, and who has always been moody.

That has proven his downfall at Villarreal, a club where his stay has been highly successful for both parties. Villarreal would not have finished third in La Liga or gotten into the semi-finals of the Champions League without him, and he would not have enjoyed a career revival without the support and trust he had at the club. He once won awards for best foreign player, most artistic player - and this in a league with Ronaldinho and (at the time) Zizou. But it's all over now.

Perhaps I'm being pessimistic. Perhaps Roman will find himself again, back at his old stomping ground, where some say he played his best football ever at the turn of the century. But I don't think he'll come back.

That's enough wailing and garment-rending from me. Just to conclude, I wanted to quote some passages from articles about Riquelme. He was always a pundits' favourite, but these passages encompass both the positive and the negative sides of his game, and I thought that was fitting.

Former Real Madrid and Argentina striker Jorge Valdano:

A friend of mine calls him "tollbooth" because when the ball passes through him it has to stop. It's a jibe I don't subscribe to but it helps to define him in football terms. The rhythm and direction of play will depend, to a great degree, on Riquelme's level of inspiration. And Riquelme is not always inspired.

Argentinean football journalist Marcela Mora y Araujo

[Vs Serbia and Montenegro] Riquelme was the axis, constant and steady like the beat of Tula's drum, calmly setting the pace, playing like only he can.

For him football is the same always and everywhere. He plays the way he plays and if you don't like it, that's not his problem.

Jason Cowley in the Guardian:

Very occasionally a player emerges in world football who, in style and method, defies categorisation. He is the player who invents his own idiom, plays in a manner and at a tempo that is entirely his own...At this World Cup we have Juan Roman Riquelme of Argentina, the outstanding player of the tournament so far, and the one stylistically most unlike any other here in Germany.

...in many ways, he is the closest thing football has to a quarterback, the most influential and glamorous position in American sport. The quarterback is the creator, the player who invents the game as he goes along. If it means passing back or sideways, in order to progress, so be it. Because what Riquelme has, above all else, is patience...

Sid Lowe in the Guardian:

Riquelme is a difficult, introverted character, porcupine-prickly, a man who needs constant reassurance and has to live entirely on his own terms, who utterly lacks the normal trappings of vanity but is vain nonetheless. Villarreal knew that and created the perfect environment for him.

...it has become impossible to exaggerate his importance, his centrality to Villarreal. He may not run defences ragged like Maradona but he does run games. In his own way he is as dominant. [In the 04-05 season] Riquelme picked up 13 man-of-the-match awards, scored 14 goals and provided 15 assists, more than any other player in the top flight.

"We play to Riquelme the way we played to Zinedine Zidane at Juventus," says Alessio Tacchinardi. "Whenever we have the ball we just give it to him," adds Senna, while Arruabarrena rates him as one of the five finest players in the world. "Román," he says, "carries the team on his shoulders."

Goodbye, Roman. I still like the Yellow Submarines, but it won't be the same without you.

La liga and Copa del Rey round-up

Barcelona

On the Barca front, there's further good news about Samuel Eto'o, who has earned great credit during his recovery from injury. On the one hand, his absence has made Barca fans appreciate his importance and character even more, and now people who wanted to replace him with Fernando Torres at one point (in response to which I can only say that person knows nothing about football) think that he's irreplaceable - which is true. It works both ways, of course - I think Eto'o himself has matured during his unfortunate down-time. His behaviour in the past 3 months has been impeccable, earning plaudits from the fans for his determination and work ethic. Anyway, his nightmare is nearly over, and he's set to return to training on Monday. Oh happy day indeed.

To be honest, I was quite worried about the team at the beginning of the year, especially after the whole delayed arrival thing. Which, by the way, Ronaldinho still hasn't really explained, although Deco is now exempt from criticism in my book since he apparently presented medical documentation of his (pregnant) wife's sickness scare in Brazil to the club - which was the cause of his late arrival.

Neither of the Brazilians were in the squad for the Copa del Rey game, because they were doing double sessions of physical training to get fit in time for the big one this week: the Barcelona derby, an always exciting and contentious affair. Both Zambrotta and Oleguer should be fit for the clash, which combined with the recovery of Motta and Gio would abruptly end Barca's short injury crisis. And good thing too, since Espanyol's Olympic stadium is never an easy place to get a result.

...except that would be too easy. The latest is that while Oleguer will be fit, Deco will not be, having injured himself in training on Wednesday. It's a shame since he has such a good scoring record against Espanyol. Zambrotta has been declared fit, but Rijkaard has decided not to risk him.

Espanyol have their own problems, of course, with a rash of injuries ruling out several players including possibly veteran striker Walter Pandiani, which would be a big blow for them. Unfortunately my favourite young Argentine right-back Pablo Zabaleta will also miss the game through suspension.

Another little twist in the saga: Espanyol have all but announced that they intend to bid for Saviola after his contract expires in June of this year. Nice timing. I don't see this happening, but I didn't think Becks was going to MLS so soon either, so we'll see.

My hopes for the game? A win for Barcelona, of course, and no red cards would be nice too. I think last week's sparring match between Diogo and Fabiano in the Zaragoza-Sevilla game has satisfied the universal demand for perverse footballing entertainment for a while.

Alaves 0-2 Barcelona

Forca Saviola! He's now Barca's third highest scorer, after Ronaldinho (whose 14 goals, many of them crucial, have kept Barca alive so far this season and himself second in the pichichi table) and Gudjohnsen, which is incredible given how little playing time he's had. The press, who were rather nasty to him during the pre-season, have been won over and are pretty much firmly on his side - for the moment.

If it weren't for El Conejo, things could have been very embarrassing indeed. Barca had 70% of the possession and 29 fricking shots, only 7 of which were on goal. Poor Ezquerro in particular really needs to find his shooting boots.

Second-choice goalie Jorquera got a run out in place of on-form number one Valdes, which was nice, and Gudjohnsen got a rest, but other than that Barca played pretty much the first team, which is surprising from Rijkaard, since he's shown no sign of caring about the Copa before, until you realize that he doesn't exactly have a lot of choice where players are concerned right now. Mourinho's moan about having 'no players'? Frankie knows how you feel, Mou.

Gio and Motta who have been laid up in dry dock both got a run out as substitutes, and in Gio's case he got to play in midfield, which doesn't happen too often. Also notable: is this the first time Saviola and Gudjohnsen have played together? In any case, Saviola and Giuly seem to have a good understanding. Plaudits also go to Xavi and Marquez, the latter after his howler against Getafe, a match in which his other contributions were actually quite good.

Xavi deserves special mention though. The reason I prefer him ahead of Iniesta, despite the youngster's brilliant form, is because Barca control games better when Xavi is playing. He also made 8 successful interceptions in this game, which is astonishing for a midfielder who was never famed for his defensive efforts. What's Rijkaard going to do when Deco is fit? There's a nice selection dilemma for him.

(Curiously enough, Barca had never won at Alaves' ground before this game in 3 attempts. Not a team we enjoy playing against.)

Valladolid 2-1 Villarreal

Villarreal put out pretty much their strongest squad (without the dropped Riquelme) and got beaten away by second division leaders Valladolid. 'Striker' Guillermo Franco, whose continued inability to actually shoot on target has frustrated me for the longest time, even managed to get sent off. I'm not all that surprised, given his tendency to put in stupid tackles, get booked and then run around looking like a pissed (as in drunk) guy spoiling for a fight for the rest of the game.

Villarreal will probably still go through of course since they play the second leg at home, but they need to do something about their limp form and the general malaise first. As for the Riquelme mess, maybe I'll write an analysis of the problems later on, but for now I just feel too crushed about it all. My initial impression, however, is that the off-field problem is solely between the coach, Riquelme and the president.

There is some good news for them - Bobby Pires and Gonzalo Rodriguez are finally back in training after being sidelined with knee injuries at the beginning of the season. The Submarines can really use both of them right now, especially since Riquelme missed training yet again with a 'muscle injury', according to the club (yeah, right).

Atletico 1-1 Osasuna

10-man Atletico held on for a draw against manager Aguirre's former team Osasuna in the Calderon, increasing their run of bad results at home. A draw with ten men wouldn't be so bad if they didn't give up an away goal. Osasuna are not very good right now, especially away, so I expected Atletico to take this, despite missing Argentine goalie Leo Franco and a couple of other players through injury.

Young Argentine striker Sergio Aguero is having quite a good season so far, and for me he's been far more impressive than strike partner Fernando Torres. Critics have pointed out that Aguero has gone missing in some matches, but I believe that's more down to his playing style being somewhat incompatible with Atletico's. Aguero needs to have the ball at his feet near the penalty area to be effective, but Atletico aren't the type of team who like to keep possession. So it's not easy for him to be doing as well as he is, although of course his pace is helping in that respect.

Rayo Vallecano 0-0 Sevilla

A second-string Sevilla side were held to a 0-0 draw by third division Madrid side Rayo Vallecano, who boast the most awesome (slightly mental) female club president in Spain. Needless to say that Sevilla will be confident of picking the minnows off at home in the second leg.

Malaga 0-3 Zaragoza

Congratulations to Barca cantera (youth program) graduate and Andres Iniesta best pal Sergio Garcia for his brace against Malaga (who were in the first division last season) for Real Zaragoza. They put out a fairly strong squad, which doesn't surprise me. Zaragoza have a great track record in the Cup and I expect them to take it seriously, since after all the winner gets an UEFA Cup spot, which would be nice insurance to have if somehow they manage to botch it in the league. I doubt that will happen, but you never know. It would be an understatement to say that Zaragoza will be confident of going through, even if they play a bunch of reserves in the second leg at home.

By the way, I caught some of Zaragoza v Sevilla, and Aimar is on great form. Just wonderful to watch his passing and dribbling. He's even making successful tackles. In my opinion, he's the next best thing Argentina have to an on-form Riquelme, and if he continues on like this I'll be very annoyed if he doesn't start the friendly against France in early February.

Mallorca 1-2 Deportivo

Reserve Baby Depor (Embryo Depor?) won away at Mallorca, with on-loan Barca striker Maxi Lopez scoring what I suspect could be just a consolation goal for Mallorca at the death. Still, congratulations to him for finally getting another one. I doubt Mallorca have what it takes to get a result in the return leg in such a difficult ground. Looking at Depor's team sheet and counting the number of former Barca cantera players makes me smile and wince at the same time. It's good that the likes of Rodri and Verdu (part of Messi and Cesc's age group, I believe) are part of what could be a great new era for Depor, but what a shame that they had to leave Barca to get regular first team football.

Getafe 1-1 Valencia

Getafe got a good draw at home against Valencia (who also put out their first team, go figure), although they will be distraught at conceding a very, very late equaliser after having taken the lead so early. At least their shiny new striker Paunovic got the goal, which is always nice. I thought given their injury problems Flores might want to be careful in the Copa, which supposedly no one in Spain cares about, but it appears that everyone is going for it this season.

Oh yeah, to the small section of racist idiots who abused Valencia's excellent defender Miguel: the whole club gets a bad reputation because of you. I hope you're pleased with your bigoted selves. It's sad, because Getafe's president Angel Torres (a Real Madrid member) is a pretty cool guy, and coach Schuster's doing a good job with his team. That should be the news coming out of their stadium, not this crap.

Scary and awesome Argentine center-back Roberto Ayala's tranfer saga goes on at Valencia, with the Argentine center-back (reportedly targeted by Liverpool and Chelsea) stating his desire for a new deal - which he is not going to get. While coach Quique Sanchez Flores wants him to stay on, sporting director Carboni doesn't. (Kind of like the Saviola situation at Barca). Also, while Ayala was wonderful at the World Cup and continues to put in some excellent performances, he's had problems this season with form and injuries. And he's 33. So that's that.

Poor Vicente is injured yet again. When will the misery end for him? At least Angulo has been in good form lately.

Real Betis 0-0 Real Madrid

Real Madrid were held to a goalless draw by improving relegation battlers Real Betis. Both teams played half a first team squad, although one can't really be sure who's first team at Real Madrid these days. Higuain and Gago both started and looked promising, which is good news for us Albiceleste supporters. Err...not much else happened, I'm afraid.

At least there was an improvement from the last couple of games, with signs of a return to Capello's early season style of uninspiring forward play but great solidarity at the back. Roberto Carlos had to come off injured, further compounding Capello's injury problems (since his back-up Marcelo got injured in training right after his first game in Spain), but at least new boy right-back Torres (not the Atletico Madrid forward) did alright. Interestingly, Capello said that Torres (who seems like a keeper - nice kid) could start again in the league game against Zaragoza, which means that either Helguera or Cannavaro will be dropped, in Cannavaro's case for the second game running - unless of course Capello is stupid enough to play Sergio Ramos at left-back again, and I don't think he is. Although it is understandable that anyone facing the prospect of having to start Raul Bravo tries everything else before resorting to that.

The next big piece of transfer news after Becks to MLS is that Ronaldo is officially being shoved out the door by Capello. I'm surprised teams aren't rushing in for his signature - fat or not, he can still score goals with great technique and instinct alone, as he showed in the World Cup. That said, I have a lot of respect for the player he was, but slightly less for the player he is now. The way his career has gone is incredibly sad. So ends the galactico era, I guess.

By the way, Luis Fernandez seems to be doing very well with Betis so far. I've always maintained that they have too much talent to go down, and it seems like some defensive solidarity was exactly what they needed to pick things up. As long as they don't leak too many, players like Dani and Sobis should ensure that they win enough games to survive. All of this makes Barca's rescheduled trip to Betis' stadium on the 24th even more interesting.