Friday, November 23, 2007

Without Tevez, there was only Messi up front.
Let's be honest, our defense is not that good to begin with. When pushing for width and adding help to the front, especially when one of the forwards is missing, it became even wearker... I mean, the best defenders we have playing are probably Zanetti and Demichelis, one is old, one had barely made a name for himself.

I'm not surprised we lost, just disappointed we couldn't even draw when Messi FUCKING SCORED FIRST!

Review when I'm not so emotional...

Download the match here. (Filefront rapid free download, italian commentators...)

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't blame you. What an unpleasant 6 months this will be. This may be saying the obvious but everytime I see some story about Diego being the NT coach I think about what a disaster that would ultimately be. The powers that be wouldn't seriously consider something that asinine would they? He's too unstable and you can't take risk like that on something this important to the nation.

Speaking of instabilty, or poor reporting, Roman recently was quoted as saying
1) that he will demain Villareal pay him every last cent that they need to contractually and then the next day said he's 'done more than Villareal and Boca' to make the transfer happen including not making Villa pay him what's owed.
2) after quitting the NT team last year due to concern about his mother (which i respect and accept) he now says that he's a simple man who just wants to play soccer every weekend and that the most important to him is to make the NT in south africa. His aged mother is older now than she was when he quit so either she has passed away or is on new heart medication. He'll get criticized again as he's bound to have some less than perfect performances. As good as he is it seems risky to build the offense around him when he might snap in the future -- safer to build it around the speed and impetuousness of messi, kun and carlos.

And as a side note, the NT defense really does scare me ... Why is that? So many great players come out of argentina but you don't see them flying off to europe to play? Wrong skill set? Size? Lack of brutality?

Anonymous said...

Sorry, meant to write: So many great midfield and offensive players come out of Argentina but you don't see any 'defensive' ones flying off to Europe to play. (or at least not that many)

Watching the argentine defense i alwasys get nervous and it seems like they're scrambling and playing catch-up. Not sure why i don't feel that way when i watch players like terry or ferdinand.

Anonymous said...

Mirasol,
stop your ranting please!

Rio said...

ranting is just part of the frustration. We rant because we love the team, love the country, it's not something to be ashamed of.

Anonymous said...

Ranting is not a constructive
emotion. It does not help
anyone. Starting a petition
to bring in a new coach might
be more constructive. Else starting
a movement to change AFA might be
more constructive.

Anonymous said...

Don't think i was ranting and it may be enlightening for you to have a chat with your therapist about why you interpreted my comments as such.

I didn't proof-read my comments and so they were quite ungrammatical but I was just making a few points on the risks of relying too heavily on either Diego or Roman. On the personal front they're both a bit unpredictable. (I mean do you want Castro invited to Eze training camp?)

And my questions about the lack of 'name' defendors is legitimate.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh my father once told me, "We are always destined for heart ache" You know if we won the COPA America I do not think none of us would be as worried as we are today. We know 2010 is the year that can be our year. You know what I worry about? In the group stages we blow through teams, 98,06, I will not talk about 02. Then when it comes to the KO rounds they play a more relaxed style and say ahnnn we will sleep walk until we get scored on first. I do not know what really goes on, I wish or I wish. It's not like the team is like Englands oh BTW Croatia is my new favorite european team(Chuckles but wants to get serious). When I went and watched CRO-England@ a bar last week a lot of ppl from England were there. I walked in and sat down to get lunch and start talking football. During HT one of the English fans was saying I am tired of these bunch of sorry saps. I told him the games not over still 45 min to go, and the guy said sure watch them tie it up and allow another goal. After the game sure they were pist but they were like we are use to it . We talked about the Argentine team, and said how much they respect watching them and always lose in dramatic fashion. It got me thinking, I was like Argenina team is not like England which they only care about the spot light. So what is the problem. I think it starts from the top Grondona NEEDS to go. I am happy with Basile some of you arent, but I have a feeling some people might be singing another tune if Copa America was on. But if they have to get rid of him so be it. Now we can put a team together on just talent, we need talent but can not put a duo that does not work nor will it work. As the days go by the less i enjoy Tevez. And none of this crap saying WO physical play like the EPL we do not stand a chance. I can not recall England winning too many WC's. Now as for a play maker, Riquelme will be great in 3 games in a row then will be in the stands, I mean taken away from the game. I understand WO Riquelme this team is not the same machine, but we rely too much on him. All the have to do is stick a couple players on him in the middle and that is that, unless he scores from a FK and the game reopens up. When and if we qualif for the next wc(which im sure they will), they need to go out and just score first and not change their plans. I hate it when a team scores and sits back. When ARG is hitting on all the notes they are UNBEATABLE, but when they fall asleep a team like Paraguay or COL or Mex can beat them which I hate seeing because the class arg has is almost unmatched, but class does not win you titles. I'v said my peace!

JACK!

Anonymous said...

Jack,
well said. We have world class players, but not a world class team at least not yet. Unless Grodona is voted out, the directions of Argentinean football will continue to be dictated by money, not by talents. Carlos Bilardo, the medical doctor and 1986 WC coach winner and Diego Maradona have also spoken about that to no avail.

Mirasol,
I do not need a therapist because I do not take this as seriously as you do. If only you understand like Jack as above, you would realize that it is waste of your energy to have your emotions go up and down aimlessly. Please make a serious
attempt to understand the game rather than judging someone else whom you absolutely know nothing about. Be wiser.

Rio said...

I don't remember ever hearing the names Grondona and Bilardo mentioned in the same sentence that way you did, anonymous.

If you actually cared as much as others had, then you should of probably known that Bilardo is Grondona's heir apparent.

It's a good practice to do some research before giving out opinions, especially if you're going on an offense...

Anonymous said...

Bilardo recently commented that it is
virtually impossible to oust Grondona because the latter controls the delegate votes at club level. It is up to you to find that article if you have still NOT come across it.

No one is going on offense. It is simply an approach to deal with years of patiently waiting for Argentina to lift up that cup again as in 1986!

I am a fervent fan of Argentina but sadden by the fact that players like Crespo will soon retire from the NT after failing in at least 3/4 wc without knowing the glory that he should have tasted. All this hurt is simply because of bad policy of AFA, Grondona, etc.

Rio said...

Grondona also send Bilardo on the european FIFA tour earlier this year and build him up like the AFA superman. The fact Grondona doesn't let Bilardo touch the NT meant he's got other plans for him.

further more:

AFA is a money oriented organization, but which football federation isn't? Grondona might have done this and that, it doesn't change the fact he knows the argentine football world more than anyone else on earth. Don't forget it was also during his reign we enjoyed our 2 and half world cup successes. Was he wrong when telling Pekerman to use Messi? Did he not successfully building AFA to the biggest football fedderation in south america?

Bottom line, who could guarantee us world cup victory if Grondona was driven out of the office? If there's such person, by all means, get rid of grondona.

Anonymous said...

TO Mirasol read this article
so that you can UNDERSTAND more:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/11/30/bocas_10_brings_the_poetry_bac.html

Money corrupts. AFA is hurting the players, the passionate fans. Only CHANGE can bring a glimmer of hope.

World class coaches cannot be told by the BOARD what players to pick? Just look no further to Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex. Can the BOARD tell either of them how to do their job? Absolutely NOT!

I wish the Argentinean nation were ACTIVIST fans. They could have started a petition...

Rio and Mirasol,
I have nothing against you. I am just tired of waiting and wanted a CHANGE NOW>

Anonymous said...

Rio,
you are the GENIOUS. No comment!

Anonymous said...

When is the next match for NT?

bionic messi said...

well, Gorondona picked basile....all of us are not that fond of basile.....now unless he makes the miracle and wins the world cup again....attacks against him and who hired him will continue....

also the fact that no decent coach was offered the job is confirming the rumor of gorndona interferences in the selection....

did bianchi reject the offer or was it even offered in the first place?!

Anonymous said...

Next NT game is sometime in June.

Excuse me but about Crespo. He'll be 33 in June and 35 at the next Mundial. I think the arguments that Zanetti and some others will be too old by then apply to Crespo as well.

They've got to make a go of working it out with the shorties or nationalizing Peter Crouch.

Anonymous said...

Mirasol,
please stop posting. thanks

Rio said...

There would only be 3 over aged players allowed in Olympics. The 4th guy is a special case that only becomes really enlisted if one of the players on the team goes down during the tourney.

Crespo probably won't be important enough to get one of the spots. Against other olympic teams, our young strikers are more than enough.

Anonymous said...

Rio,
I forgot that the NT team will be competing this summer - hence your disappointment that they lost against columbia ... It would have been nice if they had entered the Olympics with a perfect record ... good intimidation value.

Also, This is your blog so I want to partipate as per your guidelines. Am I out of line as Anonymous suggests ... if you want me to stop posting let me know.
Hopefully not as I like following the argentine players and am trying to understand the team.

And just in case you do agree with this last anonymous post, let me say that nobody should be a regular 'anonymous' poster. Posters need to use names so that we can understand where they're coming from ...

Rio said...

Not at all mirasol.
I don't understand why people post anonymously. Sign of insecurity at best...

Only people I don't like are "I see therefor I am" idiots.

Say whatever you want. That's the whole point of debating.