Game Two

4-2 was a good score, but it didn't come free.

Columbia scored first. It was a good wicked pass, then a clever backheel by Perea.
Our defense was trying to set up an offside trap (since freekicks can result in offsides, unlike corners), it didn't quite work out, but was excusable.

Then we saw our boys taken control of the game. That's the 2nd time in this copa they quickly took control of the match and equalized. They showed great patience and determination, belonged only to the teams of highest quality.

The down side of the equalizer was Crespo's injury. It was a lucky call that gave us the PK, but the cost ended up way too high. Now we have to rely on Diego Milito to play the #9 target person, who has neither the speed nor the experience of Crespo...

Our 2nd goal came off Roman's head. A while ago, I read a study that concluded: "football players who frequently head the ball are generally dumber than the ones that don't". If that theory was true, then Roman would of been one of the smartest football players on earth. I can't even recall the last time he scored with a header.

Argentina's 3rd goal itself wasn't all that special, especially considering how many freekicks Roman took today. Not all Columbian defenders played well either, Inter's Cordoba, for example, was at fault for at least 2 of the Argentine goals.
However, this 3rd goal was setup by a vertical run from Messi, who picked up the ball deep in the midfield off Mascherano's header. We saw both Messi and Veron channeling more today, it makes me happy to see our players improving.
Zanetti also played well today, pushing actively to provide width from the right. On other side of the field we saw Heinze staying home a lot more, and the defense at our left wing was clearly more coordinated. These are all improvements, indicating that players are effectively dealing with problems discovered previously.

Columbian really showed their teeth today, and committed lot more fouls than the 21 called. Best thing to do against a physical team is to stay away, that's exactly what Argentina did in the 2nd half.
Keeping possession through quick releases also conserves energy, and we threw the Columbian off their pace by doing so. On top of that, we did it with an offensive formation, Compared to negative football played by the Paraguayan, we didn't have to rely on counter attacking opportunities given by the opponent, because we reserved the option to change gear and actively pursue goals (Diego Milito almost scored on one of our sudden pushes).
It was a clever call from Basile, and it drew our players away from the Columbians for 15 minutes.

Then the Columbian woke up, and responded with 2 substitutions.
One of the substitution was to put a fresh forward in. The other one, right winger Castrillon for right midfield Viafara, was an offensive modification to their formation. By pushing up left back Arizala into left wing at the same time, Columbia modified their 4-3-1-2 into 3-4-1-2.
These two substitutions immediately increased pressure on our wings. First we saw Veron getting a yellow from preventing a breakaway. Then Columbia got a corner and scored their 2nd goal.

The game finally heated up into a midfield battle. But Columbia no longer wanted possession at this point. What they needed was opportunities. To do that, they swapped in a forward for their CAM (Macnelly Torres for Ferreira) which modified their formation into 3-4-3.
Basile's response was to put in fresh legs and strengthen our offensive pressure., again a good positive response. Unable to gain possession and create opportunities, Columbian turned to furstration. Finally, a red card left their right side wide open...

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Performance Scores:

Crespo 6
good efforts during the 20 minutes, but left the team with serious problem by injuring himself. Obviously not intentional, but damage done.

Milito 7
Milito didn't score today. His shot was deflected by Columbian defender into an unstoppable flip. A garbage goal by shear luck... When he really had a chance, he wasn't able to capitalize. He get a 7 because we'll have to rely on him for the rest of the tourney.

Messi 8.5
He's been channeling more and contributing more to our defense. Messi also drew alot of fouls today, two of which resulted in goals. One of the later chances wasn't processed correctly, and Messi really need some goals to get perfect scores.

Tevez +
Not enough play time, did not have the chance to really get involved, but Tevez's influence on the dynamics of the game was felt eventhough he was in for only couple of minutes.

Riquelme 8.5
Nearly perfect. If he had done better on 2 of the freekicks, he would have earned a 9 from me. Roman still leaned too much to the left for a perfect 10 though.

Cambiasso 8
Hard working and good defending as always expected from Cuchu. Still missing some creativity. Perhaps more offensive efforts?

Veron 7.5
Compared to his performance in the first match, Veron had definitely improved. But we are still not seeing what we expected of him. Long, accurate, creative passes! Veron had taken alot of hits today though, so instead of 7, he deserved 7.5.

Mascherano 9
In Mascher we trust!

Lucho 7.5
Disappear more and he'll get to start more for sure. But he didn't lose the ball, and he involved in setting up the 4th goal, so Lucho should probably get something over 7 for his short performance.

Heinze 8.5
Heinze got hurt early on. Not only did he not complain, he stayed focused and accomplished his duties. Another good showing from Heinze. A little better distributions would of earned him a 9+.

Zanetti 8.5
Much much better performance than game 1. Zanetti not only provided width when needed, he also dealt with the Columbian attacks on the right wing perfectly. The few real threats created by Columbians were all from our left or left center. Right side was safe through out the match.

Ayala 7.5
I know he's short, but Columbian corners almost looked unstoppable... Captain Ayala need to get his D line better coordinated for set plays. Other than that, Ayala played a good game.

G.Milito 6.5
A defender should really avoid being carded early on. For that and his mediocre overall performance, Milito should of gotten a 6. But he executed well to clear the ball bounced off Pato... Also, Burdisso should thank Milito for letting him get a shot at CB.

Pato 7.5
Pato had some good saves today. We need him be a little more aggressive punting out corners though. He's one of the few tall people on this team. Shoulder more responsibilities please.