When Argentina faces Nigeria it will be the first time in my life I will not support Argentina. Argentina are the reason I love football, remembering their legendary 1986 victory with the amazing, incredible and great Diego Maradona (I do admire him more than anyone!). Since then, Argentina has given me both happiness and frustration over the years, but still, one knew that it would be a quality side of players who fight for the Albiceleste shirt.
That is not the case any longer, and I believe that Argentina needs a renewal; and this renewal will not come if they continue in the tournament. The squad is in total disarray; it appears Sampaoli is being thrown out by the players, while players appear to blame each other and nobody (I wonder if anyone, even some of the friends he has forced onto the squad, have told Messi that he should have sweat a bit against Croatia?).
While they may have hope, one thing Argentina must also remember is that Nigeria will give nothing away; that their strikers such as Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho surely have the quality to run around the inept Argentine defense and their even more inept goalkeeper (in case Caballero starts at all). I think Nigeria deserves to be more in the last-16 than Argentina (or Iceland), and African representation would be great.
Finally, in the (unlikely) case Argentina wins, I would rather spare them the probable humiliation of facing a quality side in the next round, likely to be France. The French strikers and midfield are likely to have a field-day against Argentina! And we all know how Messi behaves when something is not to his little liking: just by walking around like a petulant child. He should grow some cojones.
It actually saddens me to say it, but I will support Nigeria.
In any case, I will not be able to watch the match, as I will be in Rostov-on-Don.
Showing posts with label Jorge Sampaoli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jorge Sampaoli. Show all posts
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Thursday, June 21, 2018
The disaster waiting to happen, happened
Nobody who has been watching Argentina under Sampaoli can be surprised about today’s 3-0 humiliation by a great Croatian side (where Luka Modric outshone everyone). Argentina are not a football team, and have not been one for long. They don’t work together, have any ideas, and their defenders are among the worst in the world. And when Lionel Messi does not perform, their only real football player, the team ranks below the mediocre levels of mediocrity. Nobody performed today and the slight hope any Argentina fan had (and it was just a slight hope) were dashed by the incompetence of the team.
Argentina are out (I do not mind much their slight theoretical chance if they defeat Nigeria).
But let us look forward a bit. This could be good for Argetina. Just like Brazil’s 1-7 defeat to Germany led them to re-organize, this could lead to Argentina starting from fresh: (1) get some competence into the Argentine FA, who has been largely to blame for all the chaos around the national team for years; (2) revamp the failing Argentine youth system that used to be one of the best in the world, but has failed because of FA incompetence; (3) get rid of many of the current players, notably Aguero, Higuain and Mascherano, and build something around new younger players who, first of all, must play with heart for their country. This generation of Argentine footballs did their part, but shall quickly be forgotten. And all this must also include a farewell with gratitude to Lionel Messi. Gratitude, because he did a lot for the country during a difficult time for Argentine football: great player with amazing skills, perfect for the age of Playstation and Twitter.
But among the best there ever were..??
No way in the world.
I am personally hugely disappointed to see Argentina out. I will not bear my Argentina shirt for a long time. But I certainly hope and expect that a revived Argentina will be back. Not least because of the fantastic fans.
Argentina are out (I do not mind much their slight theoretical chance if they defeat Nigeria).
But let us look forward a bit. This could be good for Argetina. Just like Brazil’s 1-7 defeat to Germany led them to re-organize, this could lead to Argentina starting from fresh: (1) get some competence into the Argentine FA, who has been largely to blame for all the chaos around the national team for years; (2) revamp the failing Argentine youth system that used to be one of the best in the world, but has failed because of FA incompetence; (3) get rid of many of the current players, notably Aguero, Higuain and Mascherano, and build something around new younger players who, first of all, must play with heart for their country. This generation of Argentine footballs did their part, but shall quickly be forgotten. And all this must also include a farewell with gratitude to Lionel Messi. Gratitude, because he did a lot for the country during a difficult time for Argentine football: great player with amazing skills, perfect for the age of Playstation and Twitter.
But among the best there ever were..??
No way in the world.
I am personally hugely disappointed to see Argentina out. I will not bear my Argentina shirt for a long time. But I certainly hope and expect that a revived Argentina will be back. Not least because of the fantastic fans.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
The worst Argentina ever
Recently a friend said to me that Maradona had made a bad team World Champion, and that Messi could make this Argentina World Champion. I completely disagreed: Compare the Argentina of 1986 without Maradona with the Argentina of 2018 without Messi, and you will see that the 1986 side was far superior to the spoiled mediocrity that Argentina is today.
Argentina in 1986 did not have the world's greatest players, but they had a solid team, that Maradona made the best of all. Without Maradona Argentina had good and experienced players such as Jorge Valdano (who contrary to one guy named Higuain would not miss the chances he got), Oscar Ruggeri (who was to become a solid Real Madrid defender), Jose Luis Brown (who replaced the veteran Daniel Passarella), as well as a strong midfield with players such as Jorge Burruchaga, Ricardo Giusti, Sergio Batista and Julio Olarticoechea. Carlos Bilardo was a cynical but organised manager, who knew what he had and what he wanted.
Maradona, with his strong leadership and indisputable skills, brought this team to the pinnacle of world football amid a number of teams that were probably better.
Argentina today has a lot of overpaid and overrated players. And Messi is indeed the world's best player, who has made his name in the Champions League and in a Barcelona team where he has an outstanding team around him. Rather than Maradona, Messi is perhaps better compared to George Weah, who in the 1990s was also the best of the world, but never managed to lift his national team. And unlike Maradona (or Weah), Messi may be brilliant but is not a born leader. He can win for the team (like when he alone qualified them for the World Cup), but he cannot lift the rest of the team to perform. The other Argentine players are simply not good enough.
Finally, Argentina has a manager in Jorge Sampaoli who has no plan with the team beyond "pass it to Messi".
Today, the debacle that is waiting to happen got its first warning when Argentina (without Messi) was thoroughly destroyed 6-1 by Spain. The same Spain that normally has difficulty scoring goals had no problem outclassing an Argentine defense that is barely worthy of being called a defense. In the end this is Argentina's biggest problem compared to 1986: back then Bilardo's defense gave little if anything away. Today, the defense is an open door which I doubt Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria will be unable to not score against, no matter how hard they try not to (and why would they...?).
Argentina in 1986 did not have the world's greatest players, but they had a solid team, that Maradona made the best of all. Without Maradona Argentina had good and experienced players such as Jorge Valdano (who contrary to one guy named Higuain would not miss the chances he got), Oscar Ruggeri (who was to become a solid Real Madrid defender), Jose Luis Brown (who replaced the veteran Daniel Passarella), as well as a strong midfield with players such as Jorge Burruchaga, Ricardo Giusti, Sergio Batista and Julio Olarticoechea. Carlos Bilardo was a cynical but organised manager, who knew what he had and what he wanted.
Maradona, with his strong leadership and indisputable skills, brought this team to the pinnacle of world football amid a number of teams that were probably better.
Argentina today has a lot of overpaid and overrated players. And Messi is indeed the world's best player, who has made his name in the Champions League and in a Barcelona team where he has an outstanding team around him. Rather than Maradona, Messi is perhaps better compared to George Weah, who in the 1990s was also the best of the world, but never managed to lift his national team. And unlike Maradona (or Weah), Messi may be brilliant but is not a born leader. He can win for the team (like when he alone qualified them for the World Cup), but he cannot lift the rest of the team to perform. The other Argentine players are simply not good enough.
Finally, Argentina has a manager in Jorge Sampaoli who has no plan with the team beyond "pass it to Messi".
Today, the debacle that is waiting to happen got its first warning when Argentina (without Messi) was thoroughly destroyed 6-1 by Spain. The same Spain that normally has difficulty scoring goals had no problem outclassing an Argentine defense that is barely worthy of being called a defense. In the end this is Argentina's biggest problem compared to 1986: back then Bilardo's defense gave little if anything away. Today, the defense is an open door which I doubt Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria will be unable to not score against, no matter how hard they try not to (and why would they...?).
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