Argentine NT: News, Stats & Players [R]

Well, going with 3 all around mids rather than specialists is what worked wonderfully against big teams (France, Netherlands, Brazil). We made France look silly and controlled Netherlands. Interestingly, against Croatia we had 4 mids and dominated the match even though they had more possession. So I am against going back to specialists (e.g. defensive like Masch plus offensive like Riquelme). Varela is quite a specialist, isn't it?

We have so many variations with Mac, RDP, Paredes, Enzo, Exequiel, Lo Celso that it would almost be a shame to not play 4 in the mid but whenever we play 3 we dominate possession. Messi is almost like a 4th mid in terms of link-up.

I think a combination of Paredes, Lo Celso, Mac, and Enzo is a bit static as you say. RDP suddenly breaks lines which the others don't quite do. I think Exequiel can do this as well. Messi is fantastic against bunker defenses so that would also change. Neither Di Maria and Garnacho do better with space but they had good games.

 

"Alvarez has been tried on the wing many times and it never works." You mean for the Argentina national team? Cuz iirc, it's been less than 4-5 times since he actually played there, let alone started. If you mean by Man City, they play their wingers a lot differently.

But yeah, at this rate, I see Lautaro starting ahead of Julian.

 

When on form, Lautaro will always be better finisher than Julian . You can just look at their goal ratio for both club and country.

People makes fun of Lautaro for not scoring at WC while playing under injury, but he scored multiple goals in last two Copa America, scored and assisted in Finalissima, had 7 goals + 3 assists in 2022 qualifier. I dont care how many penalties he misses for Inter but he scored two winning penalties for us. Even Messi second goal in WC final directly involved Lautaro. Lets just ignore that...

 

How do you even measure or say that. When both have won a world cup and copa america. One is already in the top 10 in scoring for Argentina and the leader in serie a goal scoring.

Another is 24, already has trophies at club level and more international trophies than most legends in the past 35 years for Argentina. At 23 was the only world cup and treble winner to achieve that in history. Alvarez already has accomlished everything in South American football.

Also it's presumptious of you to say that given are so young, they've accomplished more than the legendary players you think are legendary.

I think you're very wrong.

Maybe if some of our legendary players didn't choke we would have more trophies and we can really call them legendary. Some food for thought.

 

Nostalgia could be the reason. As you said, lots of the current crop of players already achieved much more than most of Argentina great players from the past.

The likes of Ortega, Lopez , Saviola, Tevez , Higuain, D.Milito etc never actually win anything for the senior NT... Not even Crespo.

Julian is third top scorer in WC behind only Messi & Mbappe and he didnt even score from the spot. I'll take that feat over CR who has no goal & no assist across five WC knockout stage.

 

Crazy to base your opinion on a rating. I would suggest to watch the match instead and base your opinion on that. Too many lazy fans base their opinions on ratings lol. Any decent player can stat pad by passing sideways and backwards. Lo Celso was even more positive for me, had nice buildup with the players, created some good chances. No one has said anything about Riquelme, so where do you get this from? I think Enzo will be in a similar situation as Papu. There are just too many good midfielders competing for the CM spot and CDM that Scaloni will eventually realize it. Paredes is even a better option in the midfield.

 

What do you guys think of the new kit? I was suprisingly shocked in how ugly it is. It looks so cheap. Seriously, the worst Argentina kit i have seen.

 

Agree with that midfield. Its the most balanced midfield as long as Paredes can keep his shit together and not become liability. Man, i missed Acuna. Love his aggressive style and his forwards runs. Tagli is very limited and "weak", easy to bully.

 

I saw the match thank you. Lo Celso look lost, unsure, when to move forward. He lost the ball on occasion. Enzo had two shots on net blocked by Navas, he was more comfortable on the ball.

Parades is on form for now, but he's pushing 30 and there are far better new players coming up.

Enzo Fernandez is going to stay on for a long time. You can bank on it.

I am reasoning Riquelme because his ability is something that none of the current midfielders who have. What people are asking for is that proactive passing and deep cutting penetration in the midfield. So if you want that, put players who can do that.

 

Riquelme always have trouble when team like Brazil keeps fouling and high pressing us in midfield and hit on counter quickly. That was evident in Confederation and Copa finals. We also struggle against Chile in those two Copa finals because our midfield was too static. If only there;s the likes of Enzo, MacAllister and RDP at the time....

 

Lo Celso and the new trio haven’t played a lot together and it was evident. Mac and Lo Celso were occupying the same space at times in this match. It’s more to do with them understanding each other rather than him “looking lost”. Lo celso brings something else to the table, links up better with the strikers and also is good at going at players.

 

Riquelme was a waste when he couldn’t dictate the pace of the game or if the tempo was too high for him. He looked so lost and detached.

 

It's hard to take anything from these games
Man I wish we played Spain or England. We are world champions we should be playing against the top.

 

🇦🇷 ¿Cómo está la lista de Scaloni para la Copa América? Nota en @DiarioOle que hicimos junto a @SergioMaffei . Los que tienen su lugar asegurado, los que luchan con el pico y la pala, los que esperan de atrás. https://t.co/1Hdg6HFygc

— Hernán Claus (@hernanclaus) March 28, 2024

 

To be fair, we recently beat Brazil at Maracana, again. Argentina won countless friendlies againts Germany, it never translate into WC victory. Its better playing top opponents for sure, but it wont become barometer of our major tournament performance.

 

Exactly, which is why I mentioned he needs someone like RDP or at least Mac alongside him to compensate his lack of speed & stamina. Instead he's being paired with Veron.

 

Feel free to impeach my opinion based on my bias - I am fan of Scaloni.

With that admission, let me add that I am very bullish on our post-Messi team. I think Scaloni's managerial style will be very suited to our pool of players. I think our NT is set-up for the next 10-15 years with a deep pool of talent (forget what Mascherano is doing, that team is DEEEEEEP). I think we have the deepest national team since 2002. Since Messi, we have been playing Messi-helix football; where everything in the team was added/subtracted to maximize the best of Messi.

And this made sense, Messi is the GOAT and we won it all with him, so having a team made up of players to compliment Messi made 100% sense.

But as we are now looking at the future and wondering how can we succeed without Messi, I don't think that its going to be one player, or the "best starting XI" - no, I think that what Scaloni is going to do, and I am very excited, is manage the team as unit of players that can play in multiple ways and can change tactics halfway in a game.

I think Scaloni outcoached just about every manager he has ever faced. He is clearly a genius. Deschamps is a great manager, but big reason we won the WC was b/c Scaloni out-managed Deschamps - so I have a lot of confidence that Scaloni can do this.

Look at the Costa Rica game. First half we were getting plenty of chances, but lacked definition. A clumsy defense mistake, and we were 0-1 down. Any of our previous managers would've just taken out a defender/midfielder and added attackers; thus creating the unbalance that would see us be 0-2 down. But not Scaloni, after the half we were playing so much better. He must've said something in the lockeroom to get them inspired. And then after we were up 2-1, he takes out Mac Allister for Paredes, and our midfield is much more organized. DePaul for LoCelso made us so much more solid in the mifield even if we lost creativity - and of the sudden we were playing like a completely different team.

The flexibility of this team makes gives them an ability to adopt to any kind of tactic, even during a game. Argentina can go from a team with lots of width on the wings (Garnacho, Soule) but can make a couple of substitutes and playing as effective but in a completely different way. Its insane!!

For the next 15 years we may not have a balon d'Or winner, but our depth is going to be our source of strength. It won't be about one player or not even about one way of playing, I think that we could dominate by being the most versatile team.

 

It's not about that at the moment. We already won. It's about entertainment and pride. It's not always about the end game. Football after all is a spectacle.

 

Good point. That has also to do with that the coach not understanding how to make a squad that compliments their star players. That’s where pekerman shocked. He just put the best players at that time.

 

Agree with you. The team is playing well without Messi. The dependency of him is still there but the gap is not as big as before.

when it comes to the future, it’s a good sign what Scaloni is doing but Argentina will lose that edge as well. Not having one difference maker in the team. That’s what helped them lift the trophy, not only were the team good without Messi but he was the difference maker, just like Mbappe is for France. We need to let a player like that have the chance to develop as well without ending up like a system or academy style of play where everything and every move is calculated. I don’t know how Argentinian academies work but those players need to have chance and time to shine without too much interference in their development.

 

We're hoping that the likes of Soule and Echeverri could be those difference makers in the future. We'll see.

 

Paredes is not old. He is 29, almost 30. He is in his prime and will be for a few more years. What he has over the younger guys is EXPERIENCE. This is extremely valuable. Paredes is an valuable member of our squad, starting or as a sub. He also seems to play better for NT than for club, although he has been good at Roma.

There are no easy opponents. Let's not forget Costa Rica beat Japan and was up 2-1 on Germany in the 70th minute of the last World Cup. Here's something you're not thinking about: not playing top teams helps to hide our strategy and our play style against them, so we can surprise them in big moments. Why let them practice against us? Argentina football is so unique, let's keep our cards close to our chest. Let our guys battle against weaker teams that will be motivated to beat us. Let our guys be reminded "there are no easy games". I'm totally fine with this. Let England and Germany wonder what it is like to face us. Let them find out when it really matters...

Agreed regarding Paredes. That is his one weakness, but it also makes him a tough MF to play against!

Acuna was great going forward and a bully on defense. If only he could stay healthy. He played so hard for his club teams, had a great career, but his body is catching up with him. Love Acuna, wish him well. We need to find a more offensive replacement at LB (Barco/Nico). Tagliafico is very solid, experienced, and valuable against top teams. Don't forget he started the WC Final and did well! Tagliafico is a true professional, and a very good one, just not offensive enough sometimes.

I agree with you about Scaloni. At half time in the Costa Rica game, I was sure we would come out with 2 or 3 changes. I was surprised to see NO changes, but the team playing better. That says A LOT about the coaching (and players). It also boosts the player's confidence.

What I love about Scaloni is he is not afraid to change tactics, change formation, etc based on the opponent or how the game is going. It seems previous managers were so rigid in their style, we have one way to play, the Argentina way. Scaloni is not like this, he is very adaptable. As Scaloni gains experience, he will become even better. He is still a relatively inexperienced manager! Honestly, sometimes I feel that Scaloni plays FIFA to experiment with lineups haha. I love it. He is the first NT manager in my life that I have not seen make completely boneheaded decisions (except for a few of the callups). Let's not forget that we have Aimar and Samuel in Scaloni's ear. Loved watching those 2 play back in the day! Brilliant minds and way more modern than previous mangers...

 

Interesting. We are back to a 23 man list. I believe the Euros are going to push for a 26. Looks like Dybala might miss out again. He has said he really wants to go and probably deserves so on merit alone. But if he doesn't to make the list for Scaloni, tell him to go to the Olympics and give him the 10. Let him be one of the over 23 players.

 

How much money would you pay to play FIFA against Scaloni? He gets to chose whatever formation for the NT - would be amazing.