Veron: That's not my position

In an Olé interview, Veron spoke out about his feelings.

- Why did we lose to Brazil in the end?
- Brazil played a very intelligent match, that I at least did not foresee. They contained us, we could not find Roman to support him from the back, and thus our forwards were isolated. Brazil scored in the fourth minutes… Other than Roman's shot and Cambiasso's chance, we did not find the answer.

- You returned immediately to training in Estudiante, is it from fear of losing the desire?
- Yes, it wasn't easy… Because the Copa had just finished. I went back training not to condition physically, rather to clear the head. Later I thought about the first game, and now it is easier. I know I did not make a shine but my performance in Copa was acceptable.

- Maradona praised you.
- His words are very important, because it is Maradona and because his exceptional vision in football. In fact I played in a position that was not mine, and I played with desire, made sacrifices for the team.

- You told Basile that was not your position?
- He asked me if I was comfortable with the position, and later decides that my service is needed by the Selection. I believe that I served the team according to his requirements, although they analyzed that my characteristics were unsuited, and the long route weren't successfully developed.


Nothing we haven't mentioned. The idea of using Veron as secondary playmaker from an outside midfielder position both reduces the effectiveness of his long lobs and the support on Riquelme. The secondary playmaker option came at high costs, and apparently exercising such option against opponents that controlled the air would be difficult, if not impossible.

In 4-3-1-2, the ideal secondary playmaking option should come from the holding midfielder. If Basile insists on playing this formation, he should either urge Mascherano to step up, or consider using Gago for his advantage in distribution.

Besides the more defensive 4-2-3-1, multiple playmakers could also be placed simultaneously in 3-4-1-2. In such strategy, we would want to use Maxi on the right wing because he can be both an attacking winger as well as an outside midfielder supporting Riquelme.

If Maxi plays right wing, for the entire formation to have sufficient capability in defense, the left winger should be a defensive choice, or wing back. We have 2 Europe based left wing backs, Sorin and Clemente Rodriguez. As long as neither is summoned, it's unlikely that Basile would use 3-4-1-2.