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Argentina must learn to loosen up if Lionel Messi is to dazzle Argentina must learn to loosen up if Lionel Messi is to dazzle
(35 minutes later)
In a World Cup you can never underestimate your opponent because margins in football have become narrower and narrower. But this is as wrong as respecting them too much and that took place on Sunday when Argentina played their first match.In a World Cup you can never underestimate your opponent because margins in football have become narrower and narrower. But this is as wrong as respecting them too much and that took place on Sunday when Argentina played their first match.
Alejandro Sabella’s decision to play 3-5-2 baffled me and looked as overcautious as it could be. As a consequence, the first half was horrendous. With all due respect to Bosnia, Argentina should never have played so defensively against World Cup debutants, as much as Bosnia’s more physical style could give them problems. But my main issue with the system Sabella deployed was that it almost neutralised Lionel Messi. Alejandro Sabella’s decision to play 3-5-2 baffled me and looked as overcautious as it could be. As a consequence the first half was horrendous. With all due respect to Bosnia, Argentina should never have played so defensively against World Cup debutants for all that Bosnia’s more physical style could give them problems. But my main issue with the system Sabella deployed was that it almost neutralised Lionel Messi.
Although Argentina finally realised after South Africa 2010 that Messi is not a player like any other, using him to his full potential remains elusive. He is more lethal for his country when he plays behind two strikers, bringing the ball from deep. He needs strikers around him to link up play and tease out spaces as well, something he couldn’t do in the first 45 thanks to the fact that only Sergio Agüero was by his side. Argentina, nonetheless, were lucky and went 1-0 up with an own goal, which calmed things down and finally convinced their manager to change things for the second half. And that changed the game. In that 4-3-3 Messi had both Gonzalo Higuaín and Aguero to play with and the formation even gave Ángel Di María freedom to roam after a third defender came off for Fernando Gago. Although Argentina finally realised after South Africa 2010 that Messi is not a player like any other, using him to his full potential remains elusive. He is more lethal for his country when he plays behind two strikers, bringing the ball from deep. He needs strikers around him to link up play and tease out spaces as well, something he could not do in the first 45 minutes thanks to the fact that only Sergio Agüero was by his side. Argentina, nonetheless, were lucky and went 1-0 up with an own-goal, which calmed things down and finally convinced their manager to change things for the second half. And that changed the game. In that 4-3-3 Messi had both Gonzalo Higuaín and Agüero to play with and the formation even gave Ángel Di María freedom to roam after a third defender came off for Fernando Gago.
You could immediately see Messi play a whole new game. In the first half he was isolated and all Bosnia had to do was surround him with players, hence the fact Messi didn’t have a single shot on goal. Neither did it help him that Maxi Rodríguez is a player who lacks the necessary skills and creativity. In the second half Argentina were more daring and it paid off big time when Messi scored that beauty. It’s much easier for Messi to be Messi if the system is made to exploit his qualities rather than throwing him against a wall of defenders. One could immediately see Messi play a whole new game. In the first half he was isolated and all Bosnia had to do was surround him with players. Hence Messi did not have a single shot on goal. Neither did it help him that Maxi Rodríguez lacks the necessary skills and creativity. In the second half Argentina were more daring and it paid off big time when Messi scored that beauty. It is much easier for Messi to be Messi if the system is made to exploit his qualities rather than throwing him against a wall of defenders.
Before Sunday Messi had scored only once in eight World Cup games but I find stats very relative. Wayne Rooney has never scored in this tournament and I don’t think he’s a bad player. Messi has always been great for assists as well as goals, and maybe that’s the way he can fit in better for his country. You also have to remember he is the second-top scorer in Argentina’s history. But these days he is more studied than any of the other players and this season he has had injuries. I still believe Argentina are hot favourites for this tournament, but it is important that the manager doesn’t complicate things. Before Sunday Messi had scored only once in eight World Cup games but I find stats very relative. Wayne Rooney has never scored in this tournament and I do not think he is a bad player. Messi has always been great for assists as well as goals and maybe that is the way he can fit in better for his country. You also have to remember he is the second-top scorer in Argentina’s history. But these days he is more studied than any of the other players and this season he has had injuries. I still believe Argentina are hot favourites for this tournament but it is important that the manager does not complicate things.
Messi is Argentina’s most important player but he can’t carry all the responsibility. The way people just expect sometimes reminds me of what happened to Ronaldinho in 2006, when Brazilians wanted him to emulate his Barcelona form in a Seleção squad that had significant problems and where he was played out of position. Something similar is now happening with Neymar for Brazil and after his two goals in the win over Croatia, this will only get worse. I don’t think Brazil had a rampaging game but they got the victory in conditions that were psychololgically tough for the players. You could see how they were moved by the occasion and maybe that played a part in how erratically they behaved in the first part of the game. Messi is Argentina’s most important player but he cannot carry all the responsibility. The way people just expect sometimes reminds me of what happened to Ronaldinho in 2006, when Brazilians wanted him to emulate his Barcelona form in a Seleção squad that had significant problems and where he was played out of position. Something similar is now happening with Neymar for Brazil and after his two goals in the win over Croatia this will only get worse. I do not think Brazil had a rampaging game but they got the victory in conditions that were psychologically tough for the players. One could see how they were moved by the occasion and maybe that played a part in how erratically they behaved in the first part of the game.
It was interesting to see how much character the team showed in coming back from conceding an early goal – an own goal, at that – but the situation only reinforced what I said here before. Brazil’s centre-backs sometimes take too long to cover the advances of our full-backs and Croatia’s goal last week was a good example. Ivica Olic seized the space left by Dani Alves and put in a very good cross because Thiago Silva arrived late. In fact, Croatia put in a lot of crosses from that side and this is one of the reasons why David Luiz had to work harder than usual. This will have to be repaired for the next games, but you cannot expect Dani Alves not to be an attacking full-back. It was interesting to see how much character the team showed in coming back from conceding an early goal – an own-goal at that – but the situation only reinforced what I said here before. Brazil’s centre-backs sometimes take too long to cover the advances of our full-backs and Croatia’s goal last week was a good example. Ivica Olic seized the space left by Dani Alves and put in a very good cross because Thiago Silva arrived late. In fact, Croatia put in a lot of crosses from that side and this is one of the reasons why David Luiz had to work harder than usual. This will have to be repaired for the next games but you cannot expect Alves not to be an attacking full-back.
Brazil didn’t play well in the second half and Croatia dominated to the point where the Seleção could not shoot. That made the penalty call even more important. Do I think Fred was pulled down? No. But Dejan Lovren held him and that was enough to give the referee something to think about. I don’t buy that the referee was under pressure or anything like that. There was some holding back there and Fred, being an experienced guy, went down. Brazil did not play well in the second half and Croatia dominated to the point where the Seleção could not shoot. That made the penalty call even more important. Do I think Fred was pulled down? No. But Dejan Lovren held him and that was enough to give the referee something to think about. I do not buy that the referee was under pressure or anything like that. There was some holding back there and Fred, being an experienced guy, went down.
Defenders get into trouble if they allow these situations. It was the same with Diego Costa in the Spain game. He left his foot there, but when the Dutch went sliding into the box he risked giving away a penalty. Referees have split-second decisions to make and sometimes they will get it wrong. But defenders are also to blame. Defenders get into trouble if they allow these situations. It was the same with Diego Costa in the Spain game. He left his foot there but, when the Dutch went sliding into the box, he risked giving away a penalty. Referees have split-second decisions to make and sometimes they will get it wrong. But defenders are also to blame.