VAMOS ALBICELESTE VAMOS ARGENTINA

23 for SA

2010-06-01T15:18:00.002-04:00

the list of 23.

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon)

Defenders: Nicolas Burdisso (Roma), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Internazionale), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Vélez Sarsfield), Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes), Ariel Garce (Colon)

Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Javier Pastore (Palermo)

Strikers: Sergio Aguero (Atlético Madrid), Diego Milito (Internazionale), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuaín (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Captain who?

2008-11-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

So, there's all these talks about the captaincy. This had become the new craze among Argies, to guess the next captain.

Does it matter who wears the armband?
Does it matter when your DT is son of god?

In this case, the armband will mean nothing but that the player is allowed to have a word with the ref. When in doubt, I know who I'm going to be looking for, I'm sure you will too.

A captain is a person who is at the head of or in authority over others, the chief, leader, commander, head honcho...

RECENT NEWS

2007-12-10T16:44:00.000-05:00

I haven't been around lately, sorry for the lack of updates.
In the last 2 weeks, some important matters took place.

First, we have Roman back with Boca Junior. Villarreal allowed Riquelme to break his contract, and the CAM is already in Japan preparing for club world cup with his beloved team. It's a rare incident where a player is allowed to go free before end of his contract, and this action might have long term consequences for the club. We shall, however, be thankful that the situation had finally resolved.

Then we had Simeone leaving Estudiante to coach River. A promotion for the young DT obviously, a difficult assignment nevertheless. River had been in knee deep of financial troubles, let's hope el Cholo could turn that around.

FIFA club world cup is going on right now. Boca will play its first match on 12th december (early morning here) and AC Milan the day after. This is why Roman wanted Boca. Boca is paying big bucks for the enganche, better get what the money's worth.

2007-11-23T22:05:00.000-05:00

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...)

Columbia 2:1 Argentina

2007-11-21T23:24:00.000-05:00

Not only did we allow goals, we lost.
Red card for Tevez, 2nd Columbian goal also has some offside possibilities.

Torrent & review coming up.

3 : 0 Bolivia

2007-11-17T19:31:00.000-05:00

starting lineup:
Pato
Ibarra Demichelis Milito Zanetti
Mascherano Cambiasso
Messi Riquelme Tevez
Aguero

Don't think I'll have to say more. This is pretty much what I always wanted. 4-2-3-1 and it got us a 3-egg without an ideal #9.

International goal #1 for Aguero.
Roman got 2 again.
Gago went on about 70th minute replacing Cambiasso.
5 minutes later, after Roman scored our 3rd goal, Aguero was subbed by Maxi.
Tevez was switched out by Denis in the end.

torrent
Next stop, Columbia.

2007-11-15T17:34:00.000-05:00

According to Ole

Bottinelli in

Heinze out

Thank you Jesus!

Last chance for Carlito?

2007-11-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

I think not, but his position is definitely threatened.
It is likely that Argentina will continue not having a suitable #9, but it is necessary to deploy such player even if he isn't on par with Tevez in term of skills and speed. The physical attribute of height is by itself a very important quality after all.

Consider this:
Aguero is more used to the center forward role and he's on form. He's tied with Messi for 2nd place on the goalscorer list in Spain. So even if Crespo wasn't hurt, Denis isn't the only alternative.

Tevez could perhaps consider dropping into a more defensive role. I think he would do better than Cambiasso on the left. He has those attributes to become a great winger. He's strong, has good acceleration, shoots well from long distances, tackles well, aggressive and always fights for the ball, has great vision for passes... The best players can play different positions. Cruijff, Beckenbauer, Diego...

Due to Crespo's ankle injury, Tevez will probably start this weekend.

I do hope to see Aguero more than 20 minutes. Get him an international goal. I'm sure all the guys are more than happy to set him up. We need to give everybody pitch time so when we go to South Africa, it would be a well synchronized team instead of just brilliant individuals.

We are building a team to win both the olympics and world cup.

Rest of the list

2007-11-13T04:23:00.000-05:00

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe), Agustin Orion (San Lorenzo), Mariano Andujar (Estudiantes)

Defenders: Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Gabriel Milito (Barcelona), Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo Coruna), Hugo Ibarra (Boca Juniors)

Midfielders: Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan), Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Juan Roman Riquelme (Villarreal), Federico Insua (America-Mexico), Sebastian Battaglia (Boca Juniors)

Forwards: Hernan Crespo (Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United), German Denis (Independiente)

2007-11-04T17:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks Jack for reminding us of the list.

Goalkeeper: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe, ESP).

Defenders: Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid, ESP), Javier Zanetti y Nicolás Burdisso (Inter, ITA), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruña, ESP), Gabriel Milito (Barcelona, ESP) y Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich, GER).

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, ESP), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, GBR), Federico Insúa (América, MEX), Esteban Cambiasso (Inter, ITA), Maximiliano Rodríguez (Atlético Madrid, ESP) y Juan Román Riquelme (Villarreal, ESP).

Forwards: Hernán Crespo (Inter, ITA), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, ESP), Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid, ESP) y Carlos Tévez (Manchester United, GBR).

The biggest change is obviously the exclusion of Saviola and reenlistment of Crespo. This means Basile wants #9 and is willing to sacrifice a forward super sub for it. That's fine though, I warned you guys about this while ago. It's unfortunate for Saviola, but that's why it's a "sacrifice".
More importantly though, it means Tevez had moved back to the bench, because very few would agree to a rotation between Carlito and Messi.
Unless, of course, if Tevez could find a place on left wing. That's not likely because the European list already included 4 midfielders that could play wide. There's also Belluschi waiting for the call again.

Playing a #9 also means a target person sub. Our best bet would probably be Germán Denis again. His positioning was exquisite, if we're bringing back Crespo, then Denis definitely worth another try.

I'm quite happy not to see Cata Diaz and Gutiérrez. Diaz is too old for my liking, although he's very experienced... Gutiérrez on other hand, doesn't appear to be ready. In his previous appearance, he got to the ball quite a bit, but didn't seem to know what to do with it.

I liked Ustari more than Carrizo too. Perhaps the later is more an orthodox keeper, while Ustari is a rebel and more likable?
Unfortunately, since Ustari isn't getting enough pitch time (and experience), which he desperately needs, we have no choice but to go with Carrizo... And quite possibly Orion or someone else local for the mascot spot. I watched the Atletico - Villar match today, we can forget about Leo Franco.
IMO, Pato had fucked us on numerous occasions and he is going to keep fucking us with his retirement plan. He had completely fucked Ustari with this Getafe shit.

Basile kept calling up Coloccini, yet not playing him. I don't quite understand why not give Zabaleta a try though. Coloccini is a little taller and MAYBE tiny bit better in the air, but Zabaleta is a tremendous all around defender, and younger. Their positioning are very similar too, and Zabaleta seemed to be more reliable when playing RB.

There's only spot for 1 more defender. I hope we tryout a fullback this time. There are 3 good players for the CB positions, using the last spot to try out a left back doesn't hurt.

WC qualifiers November

2007-10-31T00:24:00.000-04:00

This Columbian team could be dangerous.

	17.11.2007	Argentina	vs	Bolivia
	20.11.2007	Columbia	vs	Argentina

News

2007-10-25T11:47:00.000-04:00

1. Argentina U-20 coach Hugo Tocalli had resigned. More details from Ole. This is confirmed. Many of us saw this coming. Check my article in August.

2. There's rumor that Basile will resigned from NT coaching position due to health problem. Further more, it's said that Grondona will bring up Simeone if Basile cannot continuous with the WC campaign. Read more on this.

WOW

2007-10-20T22:05:00.001-04:00

I cannot fucking believe this, but it made a whole lot of sense.

Today, Dragonlord posted the following on bigsoccer forum. (click on the title to go to the actual page).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pints

Even Forlan was quoted as saying Roman has no right to bash his team and coach. And they were friends. I think your allegiance to Roman is blinding other sides of this story for you.

Actually, that's not true! Today the narrators from Spain made clear what really happened with Riquelme. It seems that, besides the b*tching to the press, he did not like Forlan AT ALL.

He went as far as he telling the rest of the team to NOT PASS Forlan the ball!! Can you imagine that? Your playmaker telling the team to not give the ball to your top striker, just because you dont like him??????? That's absurd, and unfortunately, is vintage riquelme-style.

Eventually a player "ratted him" out to Pellegrini, and that was the begining of the end. Also, a lot of the argentines in the team that were conspiring in this affair were also shown the door.

This is the reason Forlan was sold. He was still a point of contention in the dressing room. This is also the reason why Atletico Madrid chose not to buy Riquelme. Apparently someone found out at the last minute about the 'history' behind these players, and Atletico duly stopped the transfer.

anyway, more money and talent wasted

I'm not convinced by Villar's win over Barza this past weekend. Many of the connections were shaky but luckily went through, and Barza showed nothing more than some individualities. Not to mention 2 of the Villar goals were PK. I'm not saying those shouldn't of been called, but they were calls could or could not had been made.

Torrent for Villarreal Vs. Barcelona match.

Dragonlord posted the following on BS last night:

I will get the name of the guys discussing the topic on spanish radio, but anyone that was listening to the first half between Villareal v Barcelona last weekend should have heard.

some thoughts

2007-10-17T14:52:00.000-04:00

Torrent for the Venezuela match.

Let's start from the back line.

Left back position is obviously the weakest link of the entire formation (lack of #9 sits right behind that). Heinze is not only not very good on the offensives, he has also been prone to injuries since his misfortune before 06'WC. So from both productivity and reliability stand points, Heinze is not an ideal left back for the NT.

Some people think Burdisso could play all defender positions. That's not true, and clearly demonstrated in Venezuela match. He doesn't position very well as fullback, and he's not natural to the left side. Several times our beautiful possessions ended on Burdisso. Not only that, he also allowed some dangerous openings. Nicolas Burdisso is a terrific center back or right back (for the left hammer right anvil way we play), but not the solution to our left back problem.
He's ok from the injury. He was unconscious for a few seconds though.

Milito has decent header and can defend in the box very well. His problem is the lack of speed, which means he couldn't cover a large zone. He's actually quite aggressive/offensive, but unfortunately too slow to be a good leftback. Not to mention, we need a wingback...

Daniel Diaz did not impress me. He's also 28 years old so not a real future possibility. He was not really tested since Venezuela didn't go right after Burdisso's injury, but like Burdisso, Diaz did not provide the necessary width on the left.

Now, right back. Zanetti is becoming irreplaceable. He's now also taking care of the right wing due to Maxi's problems. Zanetti is OLD AS SHIT! We cannot keep relying on him, let alone making him shoulder more responsibilities.

Ibarra was pretty good at right back. He's very experienced and he makes the correct decisions. His pass to Tevez was brilliant, and he made quite a few good defensive moves. The yellow card was a necessary foul too. It's too bad Ibarra is 33 years old.

Demichelis is a welcome addition to the CB lineup. He plays LCB for Bayern so we know he can do both sides. This guy is solid, and we still have Burdisso, Milito and soon Gonzalo Rodriguez in the lineup. The CB position is pretty filled up. Few others might deserve a try but it's not necessary.

If we could find 2 good fullbacks, this defense can win the world cup.

Venezuela took the initiatives on several occasions. They pulled out some high class offensives but were ineffective in top 1/3 of the field. On defense, Argentina went into a 4-3-3, alot of midfield disruptions ensured the ball was rarely carried by opponents to striking distances. However, this also has to do with the way Venezuela was setup. They played a 4-5-1 with just Maldonado up front. We had 2 solid CB marking him, making it impossible for Maldonado to open himself up.

Against Venezuela, Basile pulled out practically 3 defensive midfielders. Even when he switched Ibarra off and dropped Zanetti back, it was Gago that came on so there remained to be 3 defensive midfielders. It looked good on defense, but these weren't offensively minded players, and didn't provide enough support when attacking.

Gago is probably the most offensive of these DMs. He doesn't have the touch and control of Riquelme, but he's definitely a playmaker option.
We have other offensive wingers even if Maxi couldn't adjust himself to suit this team, D'Alessandro for example, is probably worth a try.
However, I do think Gago can provide a better balance on the right, especially if we use a more aggressive fullback than Zanetti. He has better distribution than either Mascherano or Cambiasso, and he's better than Cambiasso in defense. What Gago needs to do is to be a little more conservative, he makes some dangerous choices.

Riquelme is the best enganche we've got. It's simple as that. There's no one else can cope with Messi better. Some of the works between those 2 were from another world.

But Roman did not make the same kind of passes to Tevez.
Technically, Tevez and Messi are similar so one should hit them the same way too. AKA. low and tight. IMO the reason Tevez doesn't get the balls like Messi is because he plays on the left more. Our offense leans left, so left forward is more vertically aligned with Roman. This means there would be more defenders between Tevez and Roman, making direct ground passes more difficult to Calito than for Messi.

The solution to that is still width on the left. Provide indirect routes to reach Tevez.

Even if Tevez did get the right passes, he still wouldn't of been very effective from where he played. He didn't have a target to cross to.
We didn't have a target person, so the middle of the box was empty. Over and over, the ball reached Tevez high up on the wing, then he had no target to hit, ended up sending the ball back. That's frustrating to watch, and as much as I've supported the 2 shorties experiments, I believe we're still better off with a real target player.

It's not to say I'm losing faith in Tevez though. In fact, I think he made the right choices to turn the ball back from the left wing. When Messi switched position with him, he tried to cut into the middle and was unsuccessful. Tevez's choices at least allowed us to retain possession.

Denis offered that target person option to certain extends. Once he came on, there was clearly a person to hit in the middle. His positioning was also very nice so he got a few very good chances within the 10 minutes he played. Haven said that, Denis' finish was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING. Everybody is nervous the first time playing on NT, but a professional player like Denis should of known opportunities like that don't come very often. He had 2 beautiful breakaways, one of which there was no excuse for not hitting the goal and he managed to shoot it wide...

Speaking of which. I get more impressed by Messi every time. He went out of his way again and again to set his teammates up. It's true he didn't take the chances, but scoring at that point would do nothing more than humiliating the host. Instead, he choose to move on after reaching scoring position, and forced his way to set up both Tevez and Denis (did the same for Aguero against Chile too). That IMO is more difficult to do than shooting, and it shows the big heart and unbelievable unselfishness from Messi.

Another player satisfying to watch was Mascherano. Mascherano accomplishes his defensive duties like no other, but even more impressive was his ability to produce runs and draw fouls. He's done that many times for Liverpool, and now he's done that on the NT as well. He also scored a goal when playing for River from the same concept. That's one of his specialties, make no doubt.
Mascher was send down the wing late against Chile. It was a stupid move by Basile. Can't believe it takes trials and error for our NT coach to see that...

Last I want to mention Cambiasso. Cuchu has his qualities. He works hard, and knows when to push and when to defend. Problem is, he does neither very well. On teams like Inter, there are plenty garbageman to pick up trash he left off, but on our NT that's not the case. The ball must be processed precisely inside the box for us to score because we don't have a #9 right now (unless Crespo comes back but how long would that last). Cambiasso is a difficult to utilize element eventhough he had done ok at that position in the past.

There are plenty choices for outside midfielders. D'alessandro, Almiron, Zabelata, Ledesma, etc. We need to try them out, and focus on finding fullbacks and target players.

Messi is a GOD

2007-10-16T22:50:00.000-04:00

There's some serious problem with our left back Since Maxi's form isn't ideal, Zanetti becomes an option for right wing, so he's not there to take care the left back substitute job.

Burdisso didn't look good on the left. THe head injury he suffered looked very serious. He was unconscious when carried out, with a neck bracer. I hope he's ok because he's an important option for CB.

Milito can compete for the LCB position but he's also useless at left edge. Out of the 3 Heinze probably has the most experience playing fullback, but he's far from ideal. We really need a wingback, or 2.

Gago looked good. Tevez not at his best, Denis blew his chance. Demichelis very solid. Cambiasso is probably dispensable. Everybody else did well. Messi is a god!

Torrent in a bit
Review later

Reminder

2007-10-15T22:06:00.000-04:00

We play Venezuela tomorrow 8:40pm. That's UTC-4, so same as eastern time in US.

Unfortunately, GolTV will be airing other stupid qualifier, again. So use livefooty for shitty quality webcast. I'll have torrent posted here afterwards.

VAMOS!

quick words

2007-10-14T10:15:00.001-04:00

I'm Lazy.

I'll write a combined review of the 2 matches after we played Venezuela. There are just little too much shit going on in my pathetic life right now, I can't sit here and type out a whole paragraph without being bothered.

I do have couple words wanted to get out of my chest:

1. The Tevez-Messi combo still hasn't been functioning properly. Too much hesitation INSIDE the box, our forward players still don't have the necessary understanding between each other.

2. Heinze is not ideal. I know he looked good and got to the ball many times on the wing, but he lacked the ability to process the chances he received. Right side was more active even AFTER Maxi was switched off and Mascherano was playing winger. ( Didn't see that coming did you? IMO, Mascher did ok on the wing too, for a guy that doesn't know how to cross that is :D )

We also had both of our fullbacks playing non-ideal positions. Heinze was playing wingback while Zanetti playing almost purely defensively...

3. Second half was a big waste of time. They were obviously saving juice for Venezuela, but the timing of substitutions were horrid. If they wanted to save some gas that badly, should of put both Aguero and Saviola on earlier. Aguero went on too late, so he hurried on every chance he got, ended up having alot of good looking touches but got absolutely nothing out of them. Saviola... I didn't even get a good look at him.

4. Throwing Gago at DM and pushing Mascher into attack was such a weird choice, but seemed to be Basile's favorite move ATM.

I guess all coaches think alike. Rafael Benitez also did the samething with Mascherano, and had gotten some good results from it. A DM is generally unmarked. When he pushes, he creates disturbance in the opponent midfield. If only Mascher could distribute a little better... Drawing fouls is cool, but we can't afford the dude getting hurt.

There's nothing worth saving against Venezuela, so perhaps we'll see more of a 90min game on Wednesday.

Again, sorry for dodging the review, I'll make it up after the 2nd match.

Match torrent is here:
Argentina vs Chile English commentator Torrent

Twenty Years

2007-10-13T13:04:00.000-04:00

Step One

Quilmes 1998 - The funniest movie is here. Find it

Local players for qualifier

2007-10-08T00:44:00.000-04:00

5 names:

German Denis (Independenti) ST
Fernando Belluschi (River Plate) Winger
Juan Pablo Carrizo (River Plate) GK
Hugo Ibarra (Boca Juniors) FB
Daniel Montenegro (Independenti) Winger

The 25 players enlisted are for both qualifiers against Chile and Venezuela. First match on 13.October at 5:30pm, second one in Maracaibo on the 16th.

We got some wingers and forward backups with this local player list. I don't see how Denis will get to play with the current form Tevez and Messi are in though. And even if the 2 have problems, there are still Saviola and Aguero waiting for the call!

And other thing I just had to ask, WTF IS IBARRA DOING HERE? Is this Basile's great white hope for fullback? The dude is 33!

Saint Messi de Rosario

2007-09-30T18:21:00.000-04:00

Have you seen Messi playing lately?

From ESPN Soccernet:

Something highly significant occurred at the Camp Nou this week.

Barcelona, normally so reliant on Ronaldinho, put in one of their best performances for quite some time, without the former world footballer of the year. That Zaragoza were comprehensively destroyed in a 4-1 mauling, says much about the team's evolution, not to mention the rise and rise of Lionel Messi.

Don't get the wrong end of the stick. I'm not here to tell you Ronnie is finished, or for that matter, viewing plush property and tasting the nightlife near the Kings Road, as others might have you believe.

Ronaldinho remains one of the finest footballing talents of them all and we have been privileged to watch him sparkle during most of his career with the blaugrana. Frank Rijkaard will still get good value from the Brazilian on the park this season.

The fact is though, Messi is the man of the moment, and probably the future, at the Camp Nou. His performance on Wednesday night had everything and a bit more. At his best Messi gives us Cruyff's vision, Gascoigne's gallus genius and Zidane's touch all rolled into one. Of course, he can also finish like Van Basten and entertain in the manner of a modern-day Maradona.

The little 20-year old Argentinian, while reminding us of these all-time greats, still succeeds in offering us football lovers something that's uniquely his own.

The wonderful thing is the Lionel Messi era has only just begun. A few weeks ago, Kaka looked set to run away with the Golden Ball and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Who's to say Messi can't close the gap in the next few weeks and even pip the AC Milan star at the post?

Barcelona pride themselves on being 'mes que un club' (more than a club.) Maybe in Messi's case it should read 'mes que un jugador' (more than a player).

Messi is far more than just an illusion of Diego. Stop calling him Messidona, show him the respect a player of his statue deserved!

Player list

2007-09-27T20:22:00.000-04:00

For the 2010 WC qualifier against Chile:

Goalies:
Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe)
Oscar Ustari (Getafe)

Defenders:
Daniel Diaz (Getafe)
Gabriel Heinze (R. Madrid)
Javier Zanetti (Inter)
Nicholas Burdisso (Inter)
Martin Demichelis (Bayern)
Gabriel Milito (Barcelona)
Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo)

Midfielders:
Fernando Gago (R. Madrid)
Maxi Rodriguez (A. Madrid)
Jonás Gutiérrez (Majorca)
Esteban Cambiasso (Inter)
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool)
Federico Insúa (America)
Juan Roman Riquelme (Villarreal)

Forwards
Javier Saviola (R. Madrid)
Sergio Agüero (A. Madrid)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Carlos Tevez (Man. Utd)

This is for real, so let's hope our NT got their shit together.

I had to ask one question though: Why is Insua still on the team when Roman is enlisted?

Getting pwned by Bielsa's Chileans at our home would really go down well in history... At least, for this occasion, Basile was willing to pick up Riquleme even without the player seeing pitch time at Villar... Like I said though, we don't have a better choice atm, especially so if we continue with Basile's system. Who else would you trust more than Roman playing the enganche? I surely don't see another figure of that statue or charisma.

Crespo is not enlisted. I think it's a good thing. At least Basile is determined to use the short-short combo. We don't have a ideal #9. It's a fact whether we wanted to face it or not, so let's take the hit now, instead of later when we have no time to piece up a solution.
It is still necessary to hope...

The outside midfielder lineup featured the reintroduction of Cambiasso. Cuchu is a difficult to replace element that had worked relatively well on this Argentine NT, but with both him and Zanetti playing outside mid, we will not have sufficient support for Roman... Especially without the width from fullback we so badly needed. So I believe Maxi and Cambiasso will start on the flanks, while Zanetti picking up his usual right back position. We didn't have Maxi in Copa, and he had worked with Riquelme very well in the 06' WC. That's the fundamental difference between this and the summer team. Maxi will add pace and we should become more productive on the floor. In the case Riquelme and the forwards were all contained, Maxi should be able to process the ball better than Veron did in Copa final.

Garay isn't called up, and Diaz is back on the list. Well, there are plenty CB so it's ok to have Garay sitting out for now. I'm not very happy to see that Diaz again became Basile's approach to the fullback/width problem. It's not like he'll play him... Everyone and their mother knows that Heinze will occupy the left rear.

The goalie. I thought he was hurt? Does this mean Ustari is going to get a real game?
Maybe I'm wishing for too much again?

Anyway. I wanted us to lose.
I think we can benefit more from a loss than a win, especially against these mediocre south american oppositions. Better hurt now than later.

World Cup Qualifiers

2007-09-24T01:35:00.000-04:00

The first two qualifier matches for 2010 World Cup are coming up.
Argentina faces Chile on 13th of October, and then Venezuela on the 16th.

The good news is, we have quite a few forwards ready to go.
Messi is obviously in the formation.
Saviola is getting goals for Real Madrid.
Aguero is on fire, with 3 goals in 4 matches.
Tevez is playing tandem with Rooney and scored his first for ManU this morning.

Bad news... well, Riquelme isn't getting pitch time. Will Basile still call him up? Aimar hasn't been doing too well in Zaragoza, with only 1 win so far this season.

Defense looked ok for now.
Mascherano doesn't appear to be 100% but he should get his job done in important matches.
For CB we have Burdisso, Demichelis, Garay and Milito. All 4 are quite good in the air, and 3 of them are fast enough to cover ground. Since Chile will probably lob a whole lot, we should worry more about aerial threats.
Zanetti and Heinze can TCB out wide for now. Hopefully we'll have legitimate replacement for both of them by 2010 though.
We have Gonzalo Rodriguez coming back from his injury. If all goes well, we should be able to play him next spring, which would free up Burdisso to take care one flank.

Attacking midfield is a mess, but nothing could be done till the CAM position is filled properly. Which probably means Roman. Maxi is still quite good IMO, he needs to be 100% physically before the 13th. The best combination of the 2 outside midfielders is one box-to-box fighter and one creative playmaker that could work with the CAM. I think Gago sort of fits the bill on both ends, but he isn't getting pitch time in Real Madrid. Perhaps it's time to look into the Argentine league.

We should have an idea of Basile's list by the end of this coming week. Please God Let Us Have A Real CAM!!! And if I may ask for more, can we try out a shorty forward combo instead of using the garbageman again?

0-1

2007-09-11T08:57:00.000-04:00

Torrent for the match recording is at the end of this post.

The chances Australia produced were mostly from outside the box. 3 dead balls from almost exactly the same spot. Bresciano has good freekick, but in term of ball distribution there were some problems with Aussie NT and they couldn't get the ball into Argentine box properly.

There were actually quite a few tries of through passes, but Kennedy just couldn't reach. He's very tall and possesses tremendous threat in the air, but in this friendly he didn't produce alot of chances, I think because the midfield could not deliver to him successfully. Australia could of focused more in the air. Playing ground game against Argentina IMO was a sluggish plan.

Luck was obviously on Argentinean side for the most part. The 2nd FK from Bresciano was saved by the back of Pato's head, that was freaky. However, Australia got away with a few fouls, 2 of them could of easily resulted in PK. The refs weren't doing too good a job, not just for the missed fouls, but also interrupting Argentine attacking sequences with stupid calls on Australia. Those calls should of only been blown if they were going to pull out cards, and by international standards, usually only when reds were shown.

Most Australian players played clean though, making the game pleasant to watch. With the exception of their left back area, but I guess it's necessary to stop Messi with technical fouls. Heinze plays dirty too, that's why he's reliable at fullback.

In the first half, before 30th minute, Messi and Tevez pulled some nice sprints, but they quickly tired after that and we saw less and less runs produced as the game went on. I think that's sign of fatigue. Those 2 aren't properly rested after all. Perhaps a little better with Messi...

We've tried quite a few winger/outside mids lately, this time with Gutierrez and Zanetti. Zanetti played obviously more defensively on the right, while Gutierrez was attacking. I actually liked Gutierrez's speed, and he has decent height, can fight a bit in the air. Haven said that, he didn't really do all that well on his touches, we could perhaps chill him off for a while then give him more chances.

The center of Argentine problems is still the lack of a proper CAM. Insua is nothing special, he barely touched the ball in the first half, and for a CAM that's horrible. I don't want to see his ass again, it's like Lucho, makes us play practically with man down. Bring back Roman, he can train in NT.

Defensively, we were ok. Mascherano was distributing more and perhaps better than he usually do, but wasn't 100% when making tackles. However, the backline did very well, and helped out Mascher disrupt Australian possession at higher positions. Australia did get a few freekicks from few yards beyond our box, but at least there weren't alot of chaotic situations inside. Burdisso and Demichelis gave pretty much no chance for Australia on our right, with the help of Zanetti of course. On the left, Milito and Heinze defended pretty well too, but weren't exactly effective support assaults. Milito tried some long distributions, all went to shit. Heinze was providing width, and was there when needed, but failed to process the chances he got, and didn't produce anything despite reaching the ball deep inside Australian box over and over.

We need a dedicated wingback for the left, and possibly have Garay rotating out Gaby Milito when necessary. Gonzalo Rodriguez will be back in action by the end of this year. Once we located a suitable left back, the defense could be considered world class.

Match Torrent

In other news, Bielsa's Chileans defeated Austria 2-0.

Next match will be the real thing. The 2 problems must be addressed immediately. On top of those, we still looked shaky against set plays and long lobs, hopefully there will be some tactical solutions. Bielsa will lob, that's what he does. We cannot just let him do what he wants. Losing to an Argentine exiles is unacceptable.

let's kick some kangaroo asses!

2007-09-10T13:33:00.000-04:00

Albicelestes will play the aussies in Melbourne tomorrow.
The Argentine starting list for this friendly was announced:

Pato

Burdisso Demichelis Milito Heinze

Zanetti Mascherano Gutierrez

Insua

Messi Tevez

so, Gago and Mascher will not start together, again!

Australian squad list

Chile international friendlies?

2007-09-07T19:26:00.000-04:00

Was it Switzerland?
And Chile is playing Austria on Monday?

I haven't seen any torrent for the match yesterday, still looking...

Can't we all get along?

2007-09-04T09:50:00.000-04:00

Riquelme insisted on rejecting 3rd party offers, and now the relationship between him and Villarreal's managements is worst than ever. Since the transfer window had closed, and because a deal could not complete between Villarreal and Boca, Roman will need to wait till at least winter transfer window to get another shot.

In the mean time, he is training with the team, but Roig & Co. are standing firmly behind Pellegrini and the situation is very unlikely to see turn around. The stubbornness from both parties had managed to hurt each other quite badly, and the fiasco will likely continue.

The optimism and sense of security at villar had disappeared after the 0-5 home loss to Real Madrid. The worst are yet to come. Other teams will learn from Real Madrid's success, amd the campaign will only become tougher for Villar.

For Roman, his NT career is in such serious jeopardy that he might not be seen in Albicelestes ever again...

Three down, eighteen to go

2007-09-03T21:40:00.000-04:00

Crespo, Cata Diaz and Maxi will miss the friendly against Australia on 11th, September.

The following enlisted will remain:

Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe – España)
Oscar Ustari (Getafe – Espana)
Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid – España)
Javier Saviola (Real Madrid – España)
Fernando Gago (Real Madrid – España)
Gabriel Milito (Barcelona – España)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona – España)
Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid – España)
Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruna – España)
Jonás Gutiérrez (Mallorca – España)
Javier Zanetti (Internazionale – Italia)
Nicolás Burdisso (Internazionale – Italia)
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool – Inglaterra)
Carlos Tevez (Manchester United - Inglaterra)
Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar -Holanda)
Cristian Ledesma (Olympiakos - Grecia)
Federico Insúa (América - México)
Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich – Alemania)

Players to face Australia

2007-08-28T18:35:00.000-04:00

The friendly is coming up in 2 weeks. Here's the confirmed list of players.

Pato
Ustari
Romero

Diaz
Heinze
Millito
Coloccini
Burdisso
Demichelis
Zanetti

Mascherano
Gago
Ledesma (Olympiakos)

Maxi Rod
Gutierrez
Insua

Messi
Aguero
Saviola
Tevez
Crespo

No more Garay? Garay just had a wonderful match against Barcelona past weekend. I want to see more Garay!

Demichelis, Gutierrez and Aguero are finally getting their chances. Now this is more like a player testing lineup.

However, we still won't see Fazio, D'Alessandro or Aimar either. Nor Ferrari, Bottinelli or Zabaleta.

Basile obviously wants to get a win. He's bringing the whole forward package including Crespo, Tevez and Aguero. The biggest disappointment here is that we still don't have a left back prospect. Basile gave Gaby Milito a try on the left in Norway friendly, it didn't work well so now we see Heinze's reenlistment.

What's with Ledesma and Insua? And shouldn't we be giving Aimar more tries at CAM?

I'll take a closer look later this week and see what strategy he's trying to play. Australia often plays 4-3-1-2. If the 2 sides ended up playing similar strategies, and if Basile loses... HOHOHO

The return of El Flaco

2007-08-23T18:16:00.000-04:00

2 weeks after Marcelo Bielsa came out of meditation, another legendary Argentine coach, César Luis Menotti, came out of retirement to coach Mexican club Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara.

In 2007 clausura of Primera División de México, Guadalajara obtained first place in group 1, but was knocked out by América in semi final of the playoff.

In 2006, Menotti briefly took charge of another Mexican powerhouse CF Pachuca, that was the last time he was seen near a dugout. In the early 90s, Menotti coached Mexico national team for around a year, when the team was at its low after being disqualified from 1990 World Cup for cheating in FIFA's youth tournament. He turned the team around, and helped establish the image of El Tri today.

news update

2007-08-23T13:19:00.000-04:00

just a quicky.

Heinze was finally released by ManU, but couldn't go to Liverpool. So now he had gone to Real Madrid, and had already passed the medical exam.

Real Madrid now has Saviola, Gago, Heinze and Higuain. Rumored they were trying to land Lucho, which I couldn't care less. The funny part is, in the immediate future, none of them will be considered starter by Bernd Schuster. Sad story...

In other news. Boca's first vice president Pedro Pompilio had assured he is going to bid for Roman. Roman had promised a season without pay if Boca could buy off his contract.

Remember this post by VIPNERD? HOHO, fingers crossed :D

2-1 lost to Norway

2007-08-22T15:09:00.000-04:00

Starting Lineup

Norway played a 4-3-3 focusing on rapid compression and expansion. When on defense, the formation quickly shrinked into 4-1-4-1 with just Carew staying high; on offense and counter attacks, they hold onto the ball for couple of seconds, allowing their attackers to push into positions, then move the ball through wing routes with 2 or 3 players flanking into our box from the other side.

Basile started with a strange 4-2-2-1-1 with Mascherano and Maxi both playing low to provide defensive screening and creative playmaking in lower midfield while Messi playing SS.

As expected, all the offensive supporters were too far from Diego Milito and weren't able to commute the ball to him properly. There were plenty crosses, but Norway pretty much owned the air. Our ground routes in first half all ended before getting into Norwegian box, there were some long shots but none of them could be considered threatening.

Lavezzi practically disappeared on the wings. One of the only moment for TV audiences to see him was when he pulled a bad and unnecessary tackle on the right wing before half time...

Carew is a large fella. For his statue, he's pretty technical and created disturbance in our back field all day. The other Norwegian offensive players generally stayed low and weren't supporting Carew effectively on several occasions. If they were, the score could of been even worse.

In fact, the only reason score remained 1-0 by half time was because the terrific performances of some the defenders. Zanetti and Burdisso made some life saving tackles. I liked what I saw from Burdisso, and am worrying about our future without Zanetti.

Another notable Norwegian today was Liverpool's Arne Riise. Riise is a gifted thrower, his deep throw-ins are almost like corners. Besides that, he can also hit a hard knuckleball from long range, making him quite deadly an surprise attacking element. Riise also created some dangerous moments today, and he drew Mascherano's foul which gave Norway the penalty opportunity. Carew converted that penalty, but Ustari, despite being a little shaky early on, was very close to saving it.

After the goal, Argentine attacks were chaotic and unproductive. For quite a while, Maxi was the conducting person but the ball going through him just seemed to be a step too much. On our possessions, after all the time spent in the back field, Norwegian defense became well organized and all the options were shut down. This happened again and again till eventually Mascher started looking for Messi directly, but the quality of Messi's processing were questionable at times.

Milito had several header opportunities right infront of Norwegian goal. He headed the ball high every single time. Is this the guy who we supposed to depend on after Crespo's retirement? I think this friendly could serve as a serious warning.

Lucho did nothing great either. He hit the ball couple of times from outside the box, it went nowhere near the goal every time. Lucho sucks. Can we not see his fucking face anymore, PLEASE?!

Second half, Basile made 2 initial adjustments. Saviola came on for Lavezzi who was basically doing nothing, and Insua replaced Lucho. The formation was unchanged for the majority of second half, and the team remained unproductive. The only real chance came early on, when our right wing and full back pushed the ball up front and created a mess inside Norwegian box. Insua was wide open in the center of the box, and he didn't take the shot lightly, but Norwegian goalie Jarstern pulled out a literally finger tip save and score remained 1-0.

However, Saviola looked much better than Lavezzi, and a clever move inside the box almost gave us the equalizer. He was too deep and only had a very small window to shoot, the shot missed the far post by inches, and the disappointment continued.

One other notable instance was when Messi's cross found Maxi 2 feet infront of Norwegian goal. Maxi jumped too early and didn't hit that one right...

Then the Norwegian dominance in the air paid off. Carew raised above Garay (marking him, inches infront of our goal) and headed a Norway freekick home...

Losing 2-0 and Basile was still hesitating to make any changes. Then Diego Milito had a cramp and finally Gago was switched on for him. What seemed to be a forced defensive change actually morphed the formation into exactly what I've been proposing. And guess what, the whole thing started to look different.

Backline 4 with 1 fullback actively pushing for width (in this case Zanetti);
Gago+Mascher DM, one focuses on tackles, the other on distributions;
Maxi and Insua out wide;
Messi CAM/SS;
Saviola forward.

At 80th minute, it was like a second wind had kicked into our players, and for the first time, we started to see composure on the pitch. Mascherano was freed to position himself wider and pulled some beautiful tackles, while Gago was able to distribute the ball directly to our front line. Within minutes after Gago came on, Saviola made a connection inside the box with Insua, and we almost got 1 back.

We did get 1 back, but it would take another few crucial minutes. Maxi received a short freekick and shot it at the far post from outside the box, this time Jarstern was too far to keep his cleansheet.

The defeat could be summed up into 3 points:
1. Lacked creative midfielders. Only in the last 10 minutes had this changed a little with Gago on the field.
2. Unproductive in the air, and Diego Milito was clearly NOT the answer. Even Burdisso's header was closer to the net.
3. Basile sucks.

Heinze lost in court

2007-08-21T21:04:00.000-04:00

21/08/2007 12:58, Report by Ben Hibbs

Reds pleased with Heinze outcome

Gabriel Heinze has lost his case to force through a move to Liverpool, after a Premier League arbitration panel ruled in United's favour on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old left-back claimed that he should be allowed to move to Anfield - a transfer that has not been made since Phil Chisnal left for Liverpool in 1964 - because of a letter his advisors received from United which enabled him to join another club if his asking price was met.

Heinze took legal advice after United rejected an offer from Liverpool for the Argentine international, but as the Premier League ruled on Tuesday, the letter was "unambiguous in that it envisages only an international transfer".

The Premier League announced on Tuesday afternoon: "The Premier League panel has heard submissions of evidence from both parties and has ruled to dismiss the player's case."

A United spokesman told ManUtd.com: "The Club is pleased that the panel has endorsed its case."

In a two-day hearing on Monday and Tuesday, the panel concluded that "the nature and intention of the disputed 13 June letter, especially when taken in context of verbal discussions and Manchester United's transfer policy, was unambiguous in that it envisages only an international transfer.

"Furthermore the hearing finds the letter constitutes an 'agreement to agree', and did not create an obligation or binding agreement for the club to transfer the player to any particular club.

"In other words the letter is evidence of an intention to negotiate, both between the parties and with potential buying clubs, and not evidence of any intention to create legal relations."

One mo day

2007-08-21T15:31:00.000-04:00

The Olé report yesterday seemed to be a mistake. I haven't seen any follow up on that, so expect Diego Milito there instead of Tevez.

Furthermore, Basile had confirmed the starting list for tomorrow's friendly.

Ustari will tend toal.
Burdisso, Garay, Gabriel Milito and Zanetti will start on the backline.
Mascherano will play holding midfielder.
Lucho and Maxi will be our left and right winger.
Messi will play a submerged striker role.
Lavezzi and Diego Milito up front.

We lost in Copa final because our playmaker (Riquelme) and secondary playmaker (Veron) couldn't function, but eliminating playmaker options is hardly the solution... I was disappointed at Basile's player selection for this friendly, now I'm even more disappointed by his game plan.

Maxi will have to act as a playmaker. I can see him cutting into the middle, because making Messi running laterally between the 2 wings would be retarded. Lucho will always stay wide if he could, so the formation will likely compact towards Lucho's side.

Being a SS, Messi should position himself higher up if possible, but then our vertical connection in the middle will be weakened. Mascherano isn't a natural distributor. Gago could of been more suited to this situation.

Ezequiel Lavezzi is eligible for Peking Olympic. I believe this is why he's on the NT. He doesn't have the record or charisma to compete against Messi, Tevez, Saviola and Kun Aguero for the short forward spot, so he has to be incredibly overachieving to have a realistic shot.

Unless Norway wants to sent a clear negative message to Greece, they will not sit back and turtle. So again, our objective is to keep the playing at higher up, not allowing Norwegians to cut through our holding midfield screen and create deadball opportunities near our box. If they managed to attack deep into our zone, not only will we have to worry about corners and freekicks from opponents that are taller than us, but also will find ourselves unable to move the ball forward on possessions. In this case, we'll either have to long lob (counter attacks) the ball to our forwards, or we'll have to hold onto the ball and wait for the offensive to build up. Neither is very suited to the Argentine mentality.

Of the ones starting on the bench, only Ledesma, Insua and Saviola are worthy of some testing. A mediocre DM, a soso CAM and an already proven Forward. This is FUCKING HORRIBLE.

We need to test defenders, test #9s, and try to discover young prospects for the offensive midfield positions.

Friendly Player List Update

2007-08-20T17:51:00.000-04:00

According to Olé, Cata Diaz is also injured and will miss the friendly. Getafe doctor reported this to Basile and the coach had agreed to Diaz's absence. Basile will not field replacements for the 3 players missing.

This should bump Gaby Milito up on the list (and drop Zanetti or Coloccini to defense if we play 3 defenders). Diaz could still get his chance in next friendly. Although Basile might concentrate on evaluating domestic players then.

Norwegian player list:

Rune Almenning Jarstein, Odd Grenland
Håkon Opdal, Brann
Martin Andresen, Brann
Daniel Braaten, Bolton
Simen Brenne, Lillestrøm
John Carew, Aston Villa
Brede Hangeland, FC København
Thorstein Helstad, Brann
Kristofer Hæstad, Start
Jon Inge Høiland, Malmø FF
Steffen Iversen, Rosenborg
Ronny Johnsen, Vålerenga
Frode Kippe, Lillestrøm
Morten Gamst Pedersen, Blackburn
Bjørn Helge Riise, Lillestrøm
John Arne Riise, Liverpool
Jan Gunnar Solli, Brann
Jarl André Storbæk, Vålerenga
Lars Iver Strand, Tromsø
Kjetil Wæhler, Vålerenga

Starting Lineups:

Norway

Opdal, Storbæk, Ronny Johnsen, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Bjørn Helge Riise, Andresen, Hæstad, Braaten, John Carew, and Pedersen. Manager: Aage Hareide

Argentina

Oscar Ustari, Javier Zanetti, Ezequiel Garay, Nicolas Burdisso, Gabriel Milito, Luis Gonzalez, Javier Mascherano, Maximiliano Rodriguez, Lionel Messi, Diego Milito, and Ezequiel Lavezzi. Manager: Alfio Basile

Here we go

2007-08-20T17:34:00.001-04:00

2 days till we see Albicelestes again.

Jose Sosa is injured. Carrizo hasn't practiced for a while and is, at the moment, excluded from the team for friendly against Norway.

According to Olé, Lavezzi, Garay, Coloccini, Cata Díaz, Ustari, Lucho González and Maxi Rodríguez had already arrived at camp, while Burdisso, Zanetti, Gaby Milito, Sergio Romero, Insúa, Gago, Saviola, Tevez, Mascherano, Cristian Ledesma and Lionel Messi are on their way and will arrive today.

Noticed Tevez and no Milito? I didn't know till this morning. Been busy past week... This is obviously a good news. :D

For those that didn't know, Ezequiel Lavezzi isn't very tall either. So now Basile has NO tall forward, or in other word, no one is an ideal target person. Due to Rooney's injury, the Tevez-Rooney duo hasn't been realized in ManU. Perhaps Basile got more experiment planned for the short-short combination? Well, if Alex Ferguson can't experiment for us, let's do it ourselves.

5 defenders, Coloccini is also a defender. Can be used as outside mid but very defensive. Garay is almost guaranteed to get pitch time, my guess is that Cata (Daniel) Diaz will also see action as a CB. Gaby Milito is also a dedicated CB, leaving Zanetti, Burdisso and Coloccini as our fullback choices.

In the midfield, we have Mascherano, Gago and Ledesma all defensive midfielders. One of them, or 2, will occupy the holding midfielder position(s). Since Sosa is injured, Lucho, Maxi and Lavezzi are our 3 outside midfielder choices. Lavezzi's natural position is alien to Albicelestes. This guy isn't a typical outside support midfielder we generally deploy within the 4-3-1-2. He's more of an attacking winger or submerged striker type of players. In other words, he usually plays wider than even Lucho...

If Basile brings out his 4-3-1-2 again, the positions should be filled like:

GK: Ustari, Romero

CB: Garay, Diaz, Milito
FB: Burdisso, Zanetti, Coloccini

DM: Mascherano, Gago, Ledesma
OM: Maxi, Lavezzi, Lucho
CAM: Insua, Maxi

FW: Messi, Tevez, Saviola, Lavezzi

Without a target person, it's hard to say whether our forwards will be effective against the height of the Norwegians. Notable current Norwegian internationals include: Arne Riise, Martin Andresen, John Carew, Morten Pedersen, Daniel Braaten and Steffen Iversen.

Norwegian coach Åge Hareide had club success in all 3 scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark and Sweden). When he was coaching Rosenborg B.K, their CL matches were almost all played with 4-3-3. The attacking mentality is in their blood, remember Sweden 3 up against Denmark and kept on attacking till it became 3-3?

For Euro 2008 qualifiers, Norway plays away against Moldova on 8 September, and then home against Greece 4 days later.

The following came from Wiki:
Norway had a successful start to to the Euro 2008 qualifiers, breaking a run of eight games without victory. Norway won 4-1 in Hungary, their largest away win in a qualifier since October 2001 after a string of "amateurish mistakes" by the hosts, before beating Moldova 2-0 at home to top the group after two games. However on 7 October, Norway were beaten away 1-0 by Greece, making their group closer again, and with a 1-2 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team and a 2-2 tie with Turkey in the two first qualifying matches in 2007, Norway lost important points. The team improved with two home ground 4-0 wins in a row, against Malta and Hungary in early June, and is now on fourth place in its group, five points behind first place Greece and with the same number of points as second and third places Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey.

If we get shut down in the air (which probably will happen), we'll have to depend on ground touching football to break down the Norwegian defense. In 4-3-1-2, the CAM is the only playmaker. We saw how Brazil contained our forwards to shut down Roman, the same might happen again, except Insua is probably much easier to shut down. Keep in mind, they don't need to actually contain the CAM. They just need to contain the forwards and press on the CAM, then it becomes very difficult to move the ball.

Since there are 2 dedicated attacking wingers on the list, and 3 DM, I'm letting my hope rise again to see 4-2-3-1... we could go like this:

GK: Ustari, Romero

CB: Garay, Diaz, Milito
FB: Burdisso, Zanetti, Coloccini

DM: Mascherano, Gago, Ledesma
WM: Maxi, Lavezzi, Lucho
CAM: Insua, Maxi

FW: Messi, Tevez, Saviola, Lavezzi

Then of course, it could also be 3-4-1-2. In which case, the 3 defenders should all be able to play more central roles and the 2 wingers must retract to defensive positions when opponent has possession.

GK: Ustari, Romero

CB: Garay, Milito
FB: Burdisso, Diaz

CM: Mascherano, Gago, Ledesma
WM: Maxi, Zanetti, Lavezzi, Coloccini, Lucho
CAM: Insua, Maxi

FW: Messi, Tevez, Saviola, Lavezzi

Another possible strategy is 4-4-2. If Basile isn't sured of using the CAM-OM setup or the wingers setup, he might go to 4-4-2 so he could evaluate each player at their natural positions. 4-4-2 is pretty defensive, especially without clearly defining attacking elements.

Last, we should also consider the possibility of Messi being tested at a midfield position.

Changing Lane

2007-08-18T16:40:00.000-04:00

What seemed to be a terrific opportunity had completely turned into shit.

Juan Pablo Carrizo haven't been able to obtain his Italian passport due to insufficient paperworks, and he cannot play for Lazio unless the situation is resolved.

S.S.Lazio cannot incorporate Carrizo because they had already met their international player quota. According to Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Lazio had already started the search for replacement, and their targets include Leo Franco, Mariano Andujar and Marco Amelia.

Carrizo was purchased from River for 5 million GBP. He'll likely get loaned out if playing for Lazio isn't an immediate possibility. As mentioned in previous article, Carrizo was signed by Lazio to become their starting keeper. That would had given him plenty experience from serieA, and an advantage over Ustari when they compete for starting spot in the NT (the later is a backup for Pato in Gatefe ATM).

Now, if carrizo gets loaned out, the situation would had been reversed. Loaned players, especially loaned goalies, need some serious luck to start (Scott Carson). On other hand, Ustari is guaranteed pitch time since Getafe had planned him to become Pato's replacement. It's no surprise that Basile immediately took Carrizo off the friendly list. Not only that, we should also be seeing Ustari infront of the arc in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

AGUANTE USTARI!

Riquelme Watch

2007-08-17T12:14:00.001-04:00

Roman is out on the market.

First notable offer came from, well you probably have guessed it, Atletico... 3 year contract. Roman gets 4 million Euro per year, which is quite a bit higher than what Villarreal was paying him. Atletico starts from bottom of the table in UEFA Cup, they need some help to gain position in both UEFA Cup and La Liga this season.
There are three Argentine internationals on los Rojiblancos first team. Maxi, Aguero and Leo Franco.

Many Argentine coaches had their stints in Atletico, notably Helenio Herrera, Juan Carlos Lorenzo, Cesar Luis Menotti, Alfio Basile and Carlos Bianchi. Ironically, it was under Basile's short stint that Atletico last obtained the Spanish title (95-96 season), and they gained the Copa del Rey that year as well. Atletico's last major European trophy was 1962 European Cup Winners' Cup (competition no longer exist). They were relegated to Spanish Segunda Division for the 2001-02 season.

____________________________________________________________

According to Olé, Tottenham Hotspurs had put down a 15 million Euro bid for Riquelme.

The team from White Hart Lane started the season with some surprising struggles. After the promising signing of Gareth Bale and Darren Bent, Spurs managed a 1-0 lost at newly promoted Sunderland in their opening match, followed by a 1-3 defeat at home to Everton. For a team threatens to break into top 4 of premiership, that was unacceptable, even considering the fact some of their key players hadn't been fit.

Aaron Lennon's speed had been a key element in Martin Jol's attack. To utilize assets like that, he usually deploys 4-4-2, but had gone with 4-3-1-2 before. Tottenham has many versatile midfielders such as Zokora, Jenas and Tainio. If they managed to acquire Roman, these players will probably shoulder more supporting duties because Riquelme is a conductor type midfielder and natural to being supported. In the mean time, Spurs could certainly use Roman's help to overcome their injury crisis (Bale, Lennon, Berbatov...).

Just like Atletico, Lilywhites are in UEFA Cup first round. In term of opportunity in European competitions, the 2 sides are similar, and should be equally attractive to Roman. However, for Villarreal's sake, they wouldn't have to worry about Riquelme becoming a domestic competition if he went to White Hart Lane, although the sales price would also takes a dive.

10 days to go.

Ustari to man the arc against Norway

2007-08-17T05:03:00.001-04:00

Osky is getting his shot.

Carrizo continued to have passport problems and hasn't practiced with Lazio. Due to his lack of training and match condition, he will not start against Norway.

Personally, I prefer Ustari. He's a little younger, so more time to gain experience and better his positioning. He might of been a little shorter than Carrizo, but has incredible stretch and he's got the amazing ability to hold onto the ball. Carrizo is reliable enough to back up, but I want to see Ustari starting. Just feel safer with him under the arc, and I don't know why. Statistically, Carrizo has better consistency.

Brave New World

2007-08-13T21:58:00.000-04:00

According to the Lounsbury correlation, Mayan calendar started August 13th, 3114 BC.

Tomorrow 6:00pm local (noon EST), Villarreal president Fernando Roig will hold a press conference regarding Riquelme's future.

Will Roman sit on the bench for the remainder of his contract? Will he be auctioned? Will Boca loan or buy him back? Where do you want him to be? Atletico? Real Madrid? Milan? Or back in Boca finishing up Club World Cup?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The shattered relationship between Roman and Villarreal management might of been too much to repair, and it's sale or nothing now. The transfer deadline is last day of August, and Riquelme is out on the open market.

If Roman still wants to play for Boca, he'll have to be prepared to take a significant pay cut since the highest paid player in Argentina doesn't even make a quarter of what he had been getting in Villarreal. On top of that, will Boca be willing to shell out that much transfer fee?

Or Riquelme might have to start evaluating his European options seriously.
____________________________________________________________

Rooney broke his foot again. To my great disappointments, there won't be a short people striker duo for at least another 2 month. On other hand, Tevez will get his chance ahead of schedule.

ManU and Reading had a 0-0 draw past weekend. Next stop will be the 15th at Portsmouth (right next to Reading in standing last season), who also suffered a draw (2-2) in their opening match, against newly promoted Derby county. With Saha also injured, we should be seeing Carlito on the pitch Wednesday.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Tevez played yesterday, and ManU suffered another draw. One red card for each side when C.Ronaldo ended up getting send off for a head butt.

Tevez had an assist and almost a goal, David James' impressive stretch saved Portsmouth from a home lost. However, Tevez didn't seem very in sync with his teammates, and several missed chances indicated that he wasn't at the top of his form yet. Paul Scholes' goal

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Carlito's buddy Mascherano also played on Wednesday, with Liverpool in Champions League match against Toulouse. Rafael Benítez was yelling at Mascherano all day, telling him where to play and what to do.

Mascher followed the directions and played excellently. Throughout the 90 minutes, Javier was pulling out tackles and disrupting almost all the Toulouse attacks. He also drew 2 yellow cards by initiating attacks from the rear and producing explosive forward runs. I was quite upset to see Mascherano not on the pitch the past weekend, and Liverpool barely managed to win at Villa Park. In the match yesterday, Javier seemed rested and ready, I think we'll see him again this weekend against Chelsea.
____________________________________________________________

Also missing from ManU's squad in the 0-0 tie was Heinze. The court hearing about Heinze's future is set to take place on Monday, Aug 20th. Can Rafa Benitez's US$13.2million secure him an EPL title?

If the deal falls out, Liverpool will have to either look for another LB, or start integrating Emiliano Insua into their equation.

____________________________________________________________

In Barcelona's training match today, Messi was omitted from the starters' team, although he scored a goal and won the match with the substitutes.

Even though he hasn't really played all that much with Barça (50 games since '04), Messi' position there is quite secured. I would worry more about Gaby Milito. In order for Milito to have hope for a starting spot in FR's 4-3-3, he needs to at least move pass Rafael Marquez in the pack.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The flea hit a wonder volley and propelled Barcelona to a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Franz Beckenbauer cup friendly. Messi goal

Pekerman was crucified because he didn't play Messi. Hopefully FR isn't about to make the same mistake this season. God willing, let Messi play! The boy is healthy and in top form.

Milito was substituted in at 60th minute for Thuram, after Marquez had been subbed in for Zambrotta at the beginning of second half...
____________________________________________________________

With the Diego Forlan purchase, Aguero's starting spot in Atletico Madrid also appeared in doubt. However, Forlan's consistency can only ensure little over 10 goals per season. It's when he gets the fluke, he'll get a couple extras and make his record look nicer. And he just had a fluke before leaving Villarreal...

Without Torres, Atletico will have to rely on Forlan if they planned to keep Aguero on the bench. Even if Maxi stayed healthy, they'll need more than that to progress in both UEFA Cup and La Liga.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Despite Javier Aguirre's (Atletico Madrid coach) claim of not planning to start Aguero, he unleashed El Kun in UEFA Cup home match against Vojvodina Novi Sad yesterday.

At 37th minute, an Aguero cross found Maxi, and the Atletico captain touched it in. The Serbians lost Milutinovic to second yellow soon after the restart, and more chances were created by Atletico. At 60th minute, Forlan finally picked up a garbage goal and made it 2-0. Aguero then volleyed in Forlan's cross towards the end to finish the game 3-0.
____________________________________________________________

What else? These 2...

Riquelme Returns

2007-08-11T15:24:00.000-04:00

This article by APM was published on Goal.com before Copa America.
With Roman's return, perhaps the author's wishes will be granted?
We could only hope.

The final of the Copa Libertadores 2007 (Liberators Cup) has confirmed what many had expected, but many had also doubted, as the Argentine ace celebrated renewed success. Riquelme pulled off yet another classic commanding performance and led Boca Juniors to their sixth conquest of the most prestigious South American Cup – half of which have been hoisted with the Xeneize number 10 in a starring role.

The triumphant return of the player to centre stage in world football is the latest peak to be reached by a Román whose career has been a real rollercoaster ride. Now he’s ready to hog the limelight at national level again as he returns to Albiceleste duties for the upcoming Copa América. Can he keep it up or is the Román empire destined for another decline…?

While few doubt that Juan Román – the name he prefers to have on his shirt – Riquelme is a player of rare class, only the most diehard Boca Juniors fan isn’t aware that the number 10 has struggled through ups and downs. While in South America the midfielder has prowled pitches with almost clockwork class, his European experiences have been fraught with difficulties.

Riquelme has everything to be remembered as one of the greatest playmakers in any of the top European clubs, yet at the age of 29 (this Sunday) the facts don’t reflect such a standing. After all Riquelme was loaned out to Boca Juniors not by one of the Old World greats, but by Spanish minnows Villarreal. It all seems oddly illogical given his self-evident star status.

His path towards stardom had been blazed before by none other than Diego Armando Maradona, Riquelme attracting attention at Argentinos Juniors and being signed by a Boca Juniors where he would be worshipped in a number 10 jersey. Both coincided at Boca Juniors for a short time; the start of Maradona’s classy ceaseless support of Riquelme through thick and thin.

They played under Hector Bambino Veira and almost jointly celebrated the 1997 Apertura (Opening Tournament – half of the Argentine league), although the side faltered and the trophy ended up at cross-town arch-rivals River Plate. The same hated enemy (after doing a Guarana commercial in which he donned a Brazil shirt Maradona said that the only shirt he would never wear was a River one) also marked Maradona almost literally passing the baton on to Riquelme.

On the 25th of October 1997 River and Boca met at the formers Monumental stadium for a historic date – Diego Armando Maradona played his last match. Veira brought Riquelme on for Maradona to the chagrin of many, but Román spearheaded the comeback and carved an immediate place in Xeneize hearts as well as the front pages of sports papers everywhere.

Although the parallels are there, the differences between the two are crystal clear. One is that Riquelme spent a year being groomed in the youth ranks at Boca whereas Maradona arrived as an established crack player, although strangely enough the difference in transfer fees was just $200,000 (evidently not taking into account inflation). Other key differences can perhaps explain why Maradona succeeded in Europe while Riquelme has yet to taste glory abroad.

The first is speed – velocity, not the drug – and the second is personality. Maradona was able to pull off his trademark sprints and weave through tightly-knit defences with almost insulting ease while Riquelme has been labelled as a tortoise to Maradona’s hare. The second is that Maradona (even before the chemical boosts) oozed a never-say-die attitude and an ability to bulldoze through adversities, sometimes to his physical cost.

Riquelme’s speed has never been his strongpoint, although only those reading this in Braille aren’t aware that his strengths lie in other areas. This muddied him with a stain that is still tough to remove just as he crossed the pond for the first time to FC Barcelona. Part of the blame lies with Madrid-based daily AS (Ace), notorious for its muck-raking and rabble-rousing headlines and love of PhotoShop.

Originally the paper went head-over-heels about Riquelme after the number 10 led Boca Juniors to beat Vicente Del Bosque’s Real Madrid, hoisting the 2000 Intercontinental Cup (now FIFA CWC Japan) in Tokyo. Although both goals were scored by Martín Palermo (within three minutes) in the 2-1 win over the Galacticos, it was the Xeneize number 10 who starred in the conquest.

Although sadly demeaned in Europe the Intercontinental Cup is seen as highly prestigious in South America and no South American team had won the match since 1994, when Velez Sarsfield beat AC Milan 2-0, ironically enough under the command of a Carlos Bianchi who squeezed the best out of Riquelme at Boca over a decade later.

Riquelme's clinical eye for a perfect pass was evident in the second goal as he telegraphed a 70-metre pass for Palermo to bang past Casillas. He also stood out for his infuriatingly effective protection of possession as Real Madrid tried to come back (one goal scored, two disallowed) but were foiled as Riquelme led whipped the Merengues into peaks of exasperation with a slow tango.

The next day the AS front page blared "¡Florentino, Fíchalo!" (Florentino, Sign Him!) in a direct appeal for the-then President to bring Riquelme to Madrid as the next Galactico. When this didn’t happen and Barça brought him in to solve the incipient trophy drought at Camp Nou, the stance was fiercely hostile and spattered the Argentine with a clear insult.

"¡Timo Al Barça!" (Barça Have Been Conned!) screamed the headline at AS, claiming that the Catalans had been ripped off by Boca Juniors for paying 2,000 million Pesetas (12 million Euros) for a sluggish 24 year-old. This wasn’t helped by his landing in a tough time and with hardhead Coach Louis Van Gaal not wanting Riquelme - and saying so.

With the terse tactician sidelining him in a way that was repeated recently by fellow Dutch Coach Co Adriaanse at FC Porto with Diego (Werder Bremen), Riquelme was given few chances to shine, only glowing with brilliance in the Champions League against Anderlecht. Played out of position in an absurd way that minimised his strengths and maximised his weaknesses, Riquelme was soon unhappy bench fodder and then loaned to Villarreal.

His appearance didn’t exactly help, Riquelme seeming sad and slow in interviews and with a stooping posture and furrowed brow that many mistook for a slacker-like losing mentality. It was a deeply unfair damning judgement that was passed on the player, but he has shown a tendency towards melancholia both before and since that hasn’t served his cause well.

Rather than battle for his way of playing and convincing Coaches that he would be more useful if he played in X or Y way, Riquelme tended to appear to be moping and shrinking away from making his point on the pitch or even loudly complaining to the press. This apparent throwing-in of the towel when things were going wrong has seen the player bob up and down with club and country success.

There have been mitigating circumstances that explain the blues (the kidnapping of brother Cristian that ended up with Riquelme giving in and paying the thugs off, Boca President Macri seeing him as a commodity for sale rather than upping his wages, the Gaspart years at Barça that led him to be identified with failure, Pellegrini recently scapegoating him at Villarreal) but the fact is that many see him as too irregular and soft.

Announcing his premature (and now overturned) decision to quit the Albiceleste after being eliminated at the World Cup 2006 was also seen as weak by some, his claims that he was hanging up his international boots for the good of his mother labelled as a poor excuse in some quarters, although Maradona backed him up to the hilt and his mother was hospitalised twice.

Tellingly some see him as not able to handle pressure despite his myriad successes at Boca Juniors – great in South America or as the star of a small team (with a pronounced South American accent) like Villarreal but not up to scratch for the giants. Once again he was pigeonholed and labelled as great as a big fish in a small pool but unable to jostle with the big boys.

Nevertheless interest continued as he shone in Europe and in April 2006 the Daily Mirror claimed that Manchester United had made a 13 million Euro bid for the player but Villarreal wanted more and the deal stalled – starting his disenchanted phase at Villarreal along with that poor penalty kick against Arsenal in the last minute of the 2005-6 Champions League semi-final.

Back in Argentina with a more comforting blue-and-yellow shirt and number on his back, Riquelme has returned to greatness, also laying waste to certain rumours of his softness as he overcame initial re-adaptation difficulties to shine as brightly as ever at Boca. The five-month loan was crowned with global hat-trick across the two-leg Libertadores final.

Now he faces a crossroads yet again. He is back in the spotlight as arguably the best player in South America and has revived his fortunes after leaving through the Villarreal back door. He still has two years left on the contract he signed at the end of the 2004-5 season, but few can see him hugging and making up with President Roig and Coach Pellegrini.

If he can command Argentina to glory in Venezuela next week Riquelme could well be this summer’s star signing for one of the European giants. Some may still pooh-pooh the potential achievement as being in a prestige-free South American tournament, but that would be yet another unkind assessment.

Perhaps the following extract from a South American sports paper hits the nail on the head. "It’s not necessary to say how important and differentiated Riquelme as “Román” dug the Grêmio grave and nailed the lid shut. First he maintained possession and made Grêmio run all over the place,'' began the review.

"After that he lured the Gaúchos into attack and killed them with a counter-attack. He made every cent of his $ 500,000 monthly salary at Boca count. A better farewell would be impossible." Glowing praise indeed…especially coming from a Brazilian paper. Everything is in his favour, so perhaps we will see Román finally conquer Europe – it's about time.

APM

ROMAN!

2007-08-10T23:40:00.000-04:00

Más lejos que cerca
Aguante Villarreal

“In a few days I have to begin training with my club, which is Villarreal”

“I will immediately get myself ready for manager Manuel Pellegrini, who I plan to only have a player and manager relationship with, and only that”

“I’ve always been a Boca fan, and when I play for Villarreal and watch Boca on the television and see one of my teammates wearing the number ten jersey, I will feel like I am lending it to him, until the day when I put it on again”

“Perhaps I will put on the Boca jersey again in June, 2009, when my Villarreal contract expires”

WELCOME HOME, ROMAN, MY HERO!

2010 World Cup CONMEBOL Qualifier Schedules

2007-08-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

day 1:
13/oct/07 Argentina-Chile
13/oct/07 Ecuador-Venezuela
13/oct/07 Perú-Paraguay
13/oct/07 Uruguay-Bolivia
13/oct/07 Colombia-Brasil

day 2:
17/oct/07 Venezuela-Argentina
17/oct/07 Chile-Perú
17/oct/07 Bolivia-Colombia
17/oct/07 Paraguay-Uruguay
17/oct/07 Brasil-Ecuador

day 3:
17/nov/07 Uruguay-Chile
17/nov/07 Colombia-Venezuela
17/nov/07 Paraguay-Ecuador
17/nov/07 Argentina-Bolivia
17/nov/07 Perú-Brasil

day 4:
21/nov/07 Venezuela-Bolivia
21/nov/07 Chile-Paraguay
21/nov/07 Ecuador-Perú
21/nov/07 Brasil-Uruguay
21/nov/07 Colombia-Argentina

day 5:
07/jun/08 Bolivia-Chile
07/jun/08 Argentina-Ecuador
07/jun/08 Paraguay-Brasil
07/jun/08 Perú-Colombia
07/jun/08 Uruguay-Venezuela

day 6:
29/jun/08 Bolivia-Paraguay
29/jun/08 Venezuela-Chile
29/jun/08 Uruguay-Perú
29/jun/08 Ecuador-Colombia
29/jun/08 Brasil-Argentina

day 7:
06/sep/08 Ecuador-Bolivia
06/sep/08 Argentina-Paraguay
06/sep/08 Perú-Venezuela
06/sep/08 Colombia-Uruguay
06/sep/08 Chile-Brasil

day 8:
10/sep/08 Perú-Argentina
10/sep/08 Uruguay-Ecuador
10/sep/08 Brasil-Bolivia
10/sep/08 Paraguay-Venezuela
10/sep/08 Chile-Colombia

day 9:
11/oct/08 Argentina-Uruguay
11/oct/08 Bolivia-Perú
11/oct/08 Colombia-Paraguay
11/oct/08 Venezuela-Brasil
11/oct/08 Ecuador-Chile

day 10:
15/oct/08 Bolivia-Uruguay
15/oct/08 Paraguay-Perú
15/oct/08 Chile-Argentina
15/oct/08 Brasil-Colombia
15/oct/08 Venezuela-Ecuador

day 11:
28/mar/09 Ecuador-Brasil
28/mar/09 Colombia-Bolivia
28/mar/09 Perú-Chile
28/mar/09 Uruguay-Paraguay
28/mar/09 Argentina-Venezuela

day 12:
01/apr/09 Bolivia-Argentina
01/apr/09 Venezuela-Colombia
01/apr/09 Chile-Uruguay
01/apr/09 Brasil-Perú
01/apr/09 Ecuador-Paraguay

day 13:
06/jun/09 Bolivia-Venezuela
06/jun/09 Paraguay-Chile
06/jun/09 Perú-Ecuador
06/jun/09 Argentina-Colombia
06/jun/09 Uruguay-Brasil

day 14:
10/jun/09 Colombia-Perú
10/jun/09 Ecuador-Argentina
10/jun/09 Venezuela-Uruguay
10/jun/09 Chile-Bolivia
10/jun/09 Brasil-Paraguay

day 15:
05/sep/09 Perú-Uruguay
05/sep/09 Colombia-Ecuador
05/sep/09 Chile-Venezuela
05/sep/09 Paraguay-Bolivia
05/sep/09 Argentina-Brasil

day 16:
09/sep/09 Bolivia-Ecuador
09/sep/09 Paraguay-Argentina
09/sep/09 Venezuela-Perú
09/sep/09 Brasil-Chile
09/sep/09 Uruguay-Colombia

day 17:
10/oct/09 Ecuador-Uruguay
10/oct/09 Colombia-Chile
10/oct/09 Venezuela-Paraguay
10/oct/09 Bolivia-Brasil
10/oct/09 Argentina-Perú

day 18:
14/oct/09 Perú-Bolivia
14/oct/09 Paraguay-Colombia
14/oct/09 Brasil-Venezuela
14/oct/09 Uruguay-Argentina
14/oct/09 Chile-Ecuador

The day Samba overcame Tango

2007-08-10T21:45:00.001-04:00

I want to put the Copa lost behind and start thinking about the big thing in 2010. After all, first qualifier match is just 2 month away.

First, let me finish up where I left off with an interview by Kaveh Mahjoob from Last Kick. The interviewee was Brazilian football manager Edson Araujo Tavares.
I picked this one because it's from a professional point of view, and it gives us insight instead of brochures.

The 2007 version of Copa-America was exiting, displayed fantastic attacking football and at the end predictive. Brazil and Argentina have been the top two teams of South America continent for many decades and not surprisingly, these two teams made it to the finals. Although Brazil football has been world number one for many years, in this tournament, we witnessed the great class of Argentina and looking through the entire tournament, Argentineans demonstrated the most exciting style of play that have been witnessed for many years. At the end though, it was Brazil that once again for the third time over the last eight years defeated Argentina and won the championship.

At the end, it was Brazil that was victorious once more although most fans were satisfied with how Argentina played all the way until the final match.

Brazilian Edson Tavarez has been coaching for a long time and Iranian football fans remember him from his days two years ago at Sepahan. I had an opportunity to ask Mr. Tavarez a few questions about Copa-America.

Kaveh – Once again we found the two South America powerhouses in Copa-America’s final. Your thoughts?

Edson - During the last few years Argentina and Brazil have been the dominant teams in South- America and especially in Copa America. This was the 4th time in five Copa America that Brazil and Argentina faced each other in the finalists. Once again we witnessed Brazil against Argentina and once again we saw the Tango dancers of Argentina came out short against the Samba dancers of Brazil and this time, the Venezuelans were the host for the final dance. Also note that no matter where these two countries face each other, the rivalry is alive on the field.

Kaveh – Fans love to watch Brazil and Argentina perform. This time around though, overall the playing style of Argentina seemed more in sync than Brazilians. What is the current state of football at these two countries and do you agree with this observation?

Edson - EL TANGO of Argentineans Zaneti, Cambiasso, Veron, Riquelme and MESSI is really a well orchestrated dance. Their coordination between the lines is just tactically perfect. Also the quality of the new generation’s TANGO is unbelievable.

In this group of players from Argentina we can see exiting players such as Lucho Gomzales (FC Porto), Gago (Real Madrid), C. Tevez, Palacio (Boca Juniors) and Aimar (Zaragoza). Think about it, they are all of reserve players…

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine such quality of human being on the bench?

This team was based on Argentina’s U 21 Champions and many of them moved to abroad for club play for better financial conditions.

The SAMBA of Brazil on the other hand actually has many problems. First the President of CBF ( Brazilian Federation ), Ricardo Teixeira, appointed `Dunga ` and Jorginho as coaches of the Brazilian team, despite all complains in Brazil Coaches Association, Union of Coaches, Ministry of Sports.

Even the President of Brazil LULA tried to interfere in CBF but since the football federation is a private organization, the decision was stood.

Kaveh – Dunga is another one of great Brazilian players turning quickly to a head coach. At least in this one example, it seems like Brazilians are following Klinseman and Germans.

Edson - DUNGA never worked as a coach before this tournament and has not even coached in U15 (Under 15 years of age).

Jorginho had only 3 months of experience as a coach.

In 1991, we made the very same mistake when in 1991 when FALCAO coached and led the Brazil National Team with a Titanic like experience.

Many of the current Brazilian players in the National Team have no qualification to dance our SAMBA with our yellow shirts. More than 9 players are not in this team for different reasons but we all know the true.

Ronaldo, Ricardo Oliveira, Julio Cesar (Inter-Milan), Ronaldinho, Edmilson (Barcelona), Lucio, Ze Roberto ( Bayern Munich ), Kaka ( Milan ), Lucar ( Liverpool and U21 Brazil), Cicinho (Real Madrid) and others should not have refused to play.

Kaveh – Why did these players refuse to play?

Edson – Ronaldo is from the south of Brazil and his former team Gremio is the enemy of Internacional club where Dunga played.

In the end of Dunga’s playing career, Ronaldinho played against him and humiliated Dunga in the front of more them 90,000 people. Dunga then went on to finish his playing career with Internacional.

This event is vital in the south of Brazil. When Dunga becomes coach of Brazil natioan team, he could not shake these memories. As a result, he has benched Ronaldinho many times. Dunga’s excuse is that "Ronaldinho has to earn his spot in the national team. It is therefore easy to undersant why Ronaldo doesn´t want play for the national team.

As far as Ka Ka is concerned, the problem is tactical. In Milan Ka Ka plays as a free player but in Brazil he can’t have that role. So he chose to get some rest and watch the matches and wait for the results.

As for other players who didn’t join the team, they had different reasons but the common thread was their differences with the coach.

Kaveh – How do you evaluate Brazilians’ performance?

Edson – In this tournament, Dunga’s team was lucky. They lost the first game against Mexico, and then defeated Ecuador with a penalty kick. Then Brazil faced Chile that was already qualified.

By Luck Brazil faced Chile once more. Based on the way Chileans played, I guess they got drunk before the match otherwise how do you justify a 6 – 1 result.

As you heard, several key players went drinking the night before the match. Check the Chilean Football Federation’s site. They banned 8 players including Valdivia who was one of their better players.

In the second round we played Uruguay and we won in the penalty stage after a 2-2 regulation result. The results are not as important. What’s important is how we played and what system we used.

Kaveh – In terms of style of play, how different are these two countries?

Edson - Brazil and Argentina play a similar system on the field and play a 4-4-2 game.

However, the TANGO’s team placement of players is different them SAMBA’s team.

Argentina’s midfielders, Mascherano, Veron and Cambiasso, have more quality to build-up from behind the offensive situation. Their passing quality is better and in fact is much better.

Brazil´s Gilberto Silva, Josue and Mineiro, are 3 permanent defenders. For Brazilians, the key of the strategy in Losango system approach is the one of the strikers… in the TANGOS team this job is for Riquelme and Brazil has not found yet player to do this job.

Kaveh – Please explain the Losango system.

Edson - Losango is the disposition of the players inside the field and the 4-4-2 is the system, but the 4 players in the Midfield are used in different ways or dispositions. For example, we may have two defensive midfielders and 2 offensive ones. Arsenal plays the same system. We call it QUADRADO or QUADRATE. If you remember in last World Cup, Brazil played with Magic Quadrado (quadrant).

Losango in its traditional way has 1 defensive midfielder, 1 midfielder on the right side, 1 on the left side and 1 as the offensive midfielder. That is Losango.

Kaveh – Thanks. Now let’s go back to your comparison of Argentina and Brazil.

Edson - Defensively, Argentina plays with libero in the diagonal of the ball position, like I did in Sepahan, sometimes with Ayala and sometimes with Milito. Brazil also plays with the line approach in defense.

Offensively, Argentina without Crespo (out due to injury), plays with Messi in the sides and also as MD offensive sometimes and Tevez or Palacio between the 2 opposite defenders… Brazil with Robinho moving in the sides and comes from behind is the only option for creative movements… W. LOVE is not ready to be the key striker for Brazil team.

TANGO’s team has more coordination meaning that when they have the ball they all attack and when they don’t have the ball they all defend.

In TANGO, Alfio Basile gave to Argentina the look of his mentor CARLOS GARDEL

Despite Brazil not playing well in several games, no tactical organization, Physically bad we all knows that when Brazil reaches the final it would become the same Brazil we have known … and Argentina trembles when they face Brazil as they did. We Brazilians prefer to play against Argentina in final … better then Mexico, in my opinion the surprise team in Copa- America.

Kaveh – Last thoughts on Copa-America?

Edson – I believe that the level of competition still remains good … just good … but tactically only Brazil and Argentina have shown improvement. The performance of Mexico was a big surprise, especially if we consider that Mexico played the Copa America without 6 or 7 key players. Castillo was the best scorer. He in only 21 years old and is a very talented player.

The final was especially good for the Venezuela organization. Can you imagine if Venezuela had played in the final?

In the last few finals, Brazil has never lost to Argentina and this time was no exception.

____________________________________________________________

In the interview, Edson mentioned Carlos Gardel, making it the 3rd time that name had appeared on this blog. There had been a request from last time I posted Gardel's music, so here's the most famous Gardel piece, Por Una Cabeza. This song is about losing a bet by a head (of the horse).

Losing by a head, of a noble horse,
who slackens just down the stretch.
And when it comes back, it seemed to say:
don't forget brother,
You know, you shouldn't have bet.

Losing by a head, instant violent love,
of that flirtatious and cheerful woman.
who, swearing with a smile,
a love she's lying about,
burns in a blaze, all my love.

Losing by a head,
there was all that madness;
her mouth in a kiss,
wipes out the sadness,
it soothes the bitterness.

Losing by a head,
if she forgets me,
no matter to lose,
my life a thousand times;
what to live for?

Many deceptions, loosing by a head...
I swore a thousand times not to insist again.
But if a look sways me on passing by,
her lips of fire, I want to kiss once more.

Enough of race tracks, no more gambling,
a photo-finish I'm not watching again.
But if a pony looks like a sure thing on Sunday,
I'll bet everything again, what can I do?

Smoke Grenade

2007-08-10T15:16:00.000-04:00

Some videos I saw on Youtube, teaches you how to make a smoke grenade.

The recipe basically ignites Potassium Nitrate (Legal to buy, but be cautious if you live in the US. Buying very small amount shouldn't of been a problem) to produce the heat, which burns the sugar and produces the smoke. Baking soda retards the burning process and allows the grenade to sustain smoke production for a period of time.
The smoke is harmless, but not colorless, so be aware of the dye choice since the end product is a mixture of colors.

Also, try not to cook the mixture indoor because the mixture could ignite inside the pan (ie. a spark jumped in). The cooking process is hazardous, although not dangerous if done properly.

Smoke Bomb

Pull Ring Igniter

Requiem for a Dream

2007-08-09T03:19:00.001-04:00

Argentina went into 2002 World Cup with a FIFA world rank of 3 (behind defending champion France and '98 runner up Brazil), and was hailed tournament favorite by media. With a lineup including Batistuta, Crespo, Aimar, Ortega, Veron, Ayala, Zanetti, Samuel, Simeone, Sorin and Caniggia, "stacked" was an understatement, and quite possibly no one had questioned the trouble-free qualifying journey.

Why should they? In the 18 qualifiers, Argentina won 13, drew 4 and obtained an average of 2.4 points per match. Besides the goal leader Hernan Crespo with 9, we also had Claudio Lopez, Batistuta and Veron in the top 10 scorer list of CONMEBOL qualifying stage. Marcelo Bielsa's European style 4-4-1-1 emphasizing on lobs and crosses practically steamrolled our South America opponents. Every Argentine had a smile on the face...

They wouldn't have been so confident if they had known the inflexibility and arrogance of Marcelo Bielsa.

In Japan, Bielsa started out with Batistuta as target person supported by Claudio Lopez (later replaced by Kily Gonzalez) and Ortega from the flanks, while veron playing pivot so the formation looked like a 3-3-1-3 on the pitch.

There were some personnel problems with Bielsa's schematic. To name a few:
1.Veron had been out of favor in ManU for 1/2 a year and had just came out of an achilles tendon injury.
2.Exclusion of Riquelme and Saviola from the team
3.Bielsa's reluctance to play Crespo and Batistuta together.
4.Simeone was not completely fit and occupied too important a position.
5.35 year old Claudio Cannigia did nothing more than getting a red card while sitting on the bench.
6.Ortega likes cutting through the center so he was playing out of position.
7.Kily Gonzalez was similar to Ortega and was forced to play too wide on the wing.
8.Veron wasn't able to cope with Sorin and Zanetti's pace and wasn't effectively supported by those 2.

However, all of these problems were side dishes compared to Bielsa's stubbornness in the general approach. Regardless who we played and where we played, he always wanted to take the initiative, always forcing the issue and always pressing. Opportunistic approach was not an option, the risks involved in pure attacking football with the same strategy over and over was happily accepted.

Was there no warning? There were. During the qualifiers, a 3-1 away defeat against Brazil was the first sign. Then we managed to win at home but Ayala also put in an international own goal. We also saw problem against Uruguay but Claudio Lopez's equalizer just before half time calmed us down again... The best warning was perhaps Bielsa's unsuccessful stint at Espanyol, but that was 3 years ago and largely forgotten after the qualifier triumphs.

In Japan, our first group match was against the 2nd place African qualifier Nigeria (sounds dangerous doesn't it?). With Kanu injured and substituted out soon after the half time break, Nigeria turned out to be nothing more than another team that was incapable of handling the European style long lob attacks (they eventually left Japan with just 1 point). Argentina dominated possession, and with 11 to 4 corner ratio and 19 to 9 shot ratio, Nigeria was lucky to walk out with just -1 goal differential. Even though the defense lacked confidence without Ayala, the win was convincing, and fans started thinking about knockout stages after the victory.

Then the lost against England.
England wasn't embarrassed to stick one man in the front and sit the rest behind the ball. As their manager Sven-Göran Eriksson put it, they were happy to "play on the break and hope to get one off a set piece". Why not? They were against a South American team trying to play their own style of attacking football. These guys knew exactly what to look for and all they needed was playing good defense till opportunity arises.
In this kind of crossing football, midfield dominance and extreme percentage of possession means nothing if the finisher(s) cannot convert in the box. Bielsa's decision to stick with 1 target person on the field reduced our chance to make that connection by 50%. In a match where Argentina had absolute dominance in possession, we only managed 12 shots and 5 on target. England sat 10 men in their box almost the entire match and ended up with 15 shots and 8 on target! Football is about creating opportunities. It doesn't matter how they were created, whether from composed assaults or counter attacks, whoever gets more total chances will likely become the victor.
Owens' counter attack earned (there's no point arguing over this anymore, the outcome is what mattered) England a PK just before half time, and Dave Beckham converted it. In second half, Bielsa subbed in Aimar for Veron (who was playing at his natural position but chose to cross the ball in more from the flanks), later Crespo for Batistuta and Claudio for Gonzalez. These substitutions increased movements on the field, but failed to break down the defensive umbrella England had put up around and over their box. The basic approach of Argentine attack was unchanged, and it remained ineffective against England for the rest of the match.

Whoever made this picture had obviously very limited understanding of the game

The lost hit hard. Argentina went from tournament favorite to a position where we didn't even know if second round appearance would be possible. Since England-Nigeria game would go on the same time as the confrontation between Sweden and Argentina, the final group match was a MUST WIN for us (Sweden and England had 4 points each, Argentina 3 and Nigeria 0).

Sweden had been undefeated for eleven matches before meeting Argentina, and they had come back from behind to tie England 1-1 in their opening match. Marcelo Bielsa chose to retained the same strategy with some personnel adjustments, namely Almeyda for Simeone, Aimar for Veron, and Chamot for Diego Placente in defense.
Again, Argentina totally dominated the midfield, but was unable to make that crucial connection between our midfielders and the striker. The first half went by without even one successful delivery to Batistuta, and our best chances came when Sorin, flanking on the left, saw crosses from the wings. Some long shots also missed the target, and we kept pressing looking for the go ahead goal.
The second half saw more fruitless pressing from Argentina and more narrow escapes from Swedish counter attacks. At this point, England was of course still tied 0-0 with Nigeria, as that turned out to be the final score. Towards 60th minute, Gabriel failed to reach what could of been a critical header, and Bielsa's nerves finally cracked. He took out Batistuta and put on Hernan Crespo. Bielsa had been criticized for 5 years for this substitution, many believed he should of used the two target players simultaneously. My question is, would that had changed our fate? IMHO, the fundamental problem in Bielsa's campaign was the willingness to take all the risks by employing attacking philosophy at all times.
Anyroad, at 59th minute (seconds after the substitution), Sweden made an explosive counter attack run with their midfielder Svensson who was wide open just pass the half way mark. Matias Almeyda was forced to foul him to prevent a breakaway, and Sweden was awarded a freekick from the perfect position (2 feet in front of the arc, off center, 3 feet to the left). Svensson took that freekick beautifully, bending over the wall into the top left corner. Cavallero had no chance.
If Bielsa had already cracked when he took out Batistuta, he completely lost it after this goal. It was 60 minute into the game, and we must win to move on. He took out 2 defensive players (sorin and Almeyda), and put on 2 more crossers (Gonzalez and Veron) to make a last ditch struggle with his strategy.
Bielsa's desperation did not pay off. Instead, we almost conceded another goal on couple occasions. A questionable call gave us a PK at 88th minute. Even though Crespo was able to rebound the ball in after the Swedish goalie had blocked Ortega's initial kick, and saved Argentina from another embarrassing 0-1 defeat. It was too little, and too late.

When we had absolute superiority over our opponents, Bielsa was able to not only win, but also win with electrifying performances and class. However, when against competent oppositions who were willing to sit back and patiently absorb our assaults, Bielsa failed to produce result even when we desperately needed the points. On top of that, he was severally punished by counter attacks.

That same statement could also be applied to many Argentine coaches and several generations of our National team, because it is a lesson that, to this day, we still have not learned.

Alfio Basile is the same type of DT as Marcelo Bielsa.
Unlike Bielsa, Basile would make tactical changes to utilize both air and ground routes. However, from a more fundamental point of view, these 2 take on their campaigns with the exact same approach. An approach that could produce fantastic results against overmatched opponents, but lacks the necessary flexibility and adaptability to win competitive tournaments.

What had recently happened, and what's happening before our eyes, are all parts of the requiem for a bad dream.

Fuck you Basile.

2007-08-08T05:50:00.000-04:00

Let's start with the excuses for the exclusion of Aimar, Crespo and Cambiasso. aka. Inter and Zaragoza don't want to lent out all their players.

Zaragoza will face R.Murcia (just got promoted) on 26th, and they will play Racing on the 2nd. After that they get a week of rest (Euro '08 qualifier week) then play Bilbao (last place before relegation) on the 16th of September.
SerieA starts on 26th of August also. Inter's first match will be against Udinese, then they play Empoli on the 1st. Don't tell me the Inter Bums can't beat Udinese at home without those 2! Empoli is tougher and away, but it would be 9 days after the friendly. After that, these players would get the by week too for Euro '08 qualifiers.

These excuses are FUCKING LAME! The real reason behind these exclusion is that Basile doesn't want to use them.

Not including Cambiasso is understandable because him playing one of the outside midfielders really limits our attacking options. In the Copa, he wasn't very effective in defense either, so eventhough he's very hard working, his NT future doesn't look all that good if we can find better options to that left outside mid position.

Crespo is necessary at this point, because Diego Milito isn't enough to fill his shoes. Towards the end of Copa, Basile was forced to use the Tevez-Messi duo due to Diego Milito's incompetence, and now he's using him as the last hope?
Higuain dropped out of the list since he injured himself. However, even if he wasn't, do we not have other choice but those 2? There are some names of good #9 players I've mentioned in previous posts and comments, and there are plenty coming up.
The issue here is, we do not need to depend on Higuain or Diego Milito for target person. Crespo is still in good form to fulfill that role in the mean time. Why excluding him from a match where our opponents are mostly tall and strong?

Aimar is the most disappointing exclusion. Roman is in a world of shit right now. Villarreal is set to decline the loan plan, and wants immediate payment if Boca decides to purchase him. That's a shit ton of money for Boca and they cannot afford even if they make up the majority from selling player rights. Riquelme's future is very uncertain.
Now, back to Aimar. Since Riquelme won't be able to play the CAM, Aimar is next in line. Even Maxi playing CAM would be better choice than F.Insua. Picking Insua and excluding Aimar is a clear message, Basile doesn't like Aimar playing enganche.
F.Insua is nothing more than a temporary sub for Riquelme. He's 28, so definitely not a successor. And he's far from a replacement to Roman's genius.

Also excluded was Heinze. This will bring us to the problems in defense exerted by Basile's list.

Our defense looked shaky in both the friendlies and some the Copa matches. Playing the 4-3-1-2 formation, defense must press up to stay within 10 yard or so from the midfield. This not only provides vertical support to the midfielders from behind them, it also provides lateral definition for the entire formation.

For this type of defense, Heinze and Gabriel Milito aren't exactly suited. The later is too slow to press and recover. Against Brazil, Milito's lack of speed was made very obvious as he wasn't able to cover any diagonal runs produced by Brazilian midfielders and forwards. His ability in the air was mediocre as well. On several occasions he was able to head the ball, but not able to control the direction... Heinze shares some characteristics with Milito, but the left back position isn't as popular as CB. We have many proven CB can replace Milito, but not many fullbacks more reliable than Heinze. So, eventhough Heinze's contract is a court matter at the moment, he's still very valuable to the team.

Now, here's the biggest problem of Basile's list. It contains only 1 younger defender. Garay is a very good CB choice because he's awesome in the air, but besides him, Basile's list offers no further opportunity to test defenders for the future. Especially fullbacks. Zanetti will be almost 37 (short by 1 month) by 2010 World Cup. The problem with bringing older players is that they recover much slower. Towards the end of tournaments, they aren't as reliable even if they hadn't sustained any injury. Ayala was a perfect example.

If no addition to the list, there's no testing subject for fullbacks at all. How can Basile do this?! He brings Coloccini! Of all the defenders played on Argentina NT in the past 7 years, Coloccini is probably the most hated. Is Basile on coke? We have tons of fullbacks desperate for a chance to shine in NT, and Coloccini is the best he could come up with? Bottinelli, Ferrari, Eluchans, Voboril, Clemente, Angelleri, Villagra, Alvarez, Insua, Grimi, Torren, Spolli... The list goes on. Since he's bringing F.Insua who plays in Mexico, "European based" is not a valid excuse.

Last but not least, I want to bitch about 2 midfielder choices of Basile.

Some people had argued that Lucho scored 12 goals for Porto last year. Did they realize how shitty the BwinLiga is? 5 of Lucho's goals were from games where Porto had opened the floodgate (won by 3 or more), 3 of his goals were from taking penalty, and he scored an own goal against one of the few formidable opponents in Portugal - Benfica. That match was tied 1-1 due to his autogoal.

In the Copa, Lucho was complete shit. Even when everyone else did well, like in the Paraguay match, he still managed to play like shit. Since the friendlies, the only game he did ok was against Algeria, a completely mismatched opponent.

I don't care what Real Madrid sees in Lucho, he's not a NT caliber player. Plain and simple.

The other shitty choice was C.Ledesma. This is a center and semi-defensive midfielder, a player at the position we're overloading. Mascherano is a beast while Gago offers better distribution, Even if one of these gets injured before a tournament, we still have Banega and Yacob ready to go. Why in the fuck do we need Ledesma? How many fucking holding midfielders does he want to play? In the Copa final, we were already fucked once by having 3 people playing holding midfielder (2 of which, Veron and Cambiasso, weren't dedicated DM), and now we want to find more players of that type?

In sum, Basile's list is total crap. It addressed none of the crucial issues of NT where we need immediate solutions. 2010 World Cup qualifiers start in little over 2 month. There are only 2 opportunities before that to fine tune the NT, and the September friendly will be tougher for players to participate due tot heir club duties.

Do it like Maradona: Give up Coke!

Friendly Player Pool

2007-08-07T20:29:00.002-04:00

Basile announced the list for friendly action on Aug. 22nd.
Since I've only seen the list, it's unknown if the Insua is the Liverpool youngster or Federico Insua. Federico Insua had recently signed with Club America of Mexico, so my guess is Coco about to use the U-20 LB.

edit: Turned out it was Federico Insua. Why are we calling one player from South America while not the others?

Carrizo GK
Ustari GK
Romero GK

Burdisso LB LCB RCB RB LM RM
Zanetti RB RWB LWB LB RM LM
Garay LCB RCB RB
Milito LCB
Diaz (Getafe) RWB RB RCB LCB

Coloccini RB RCB LCB RCM LCM CDM
Mascherano CDM
Gago CM CDM LCM RCM
Lucho RWM RM CDM CM
Ledesma (Cristian) CM CDM RCM LCM
Maxi RWM RM RCM CM CAM LCM LM LWM
Insua (Federico) CAM SS FW LM LCM
Sosa (Bayern Munich) LWM LM LCM RCM RM RWM CAM SS
Lavezzi RWM LWM SS FW

Saviola FW
Milito FW
Messi FW

Veron: That's not my position

2007-08-07T15:30:00.000-04:00

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.

Tonight

2007-08-07T14:28:00.000-04:00

Tonight at 6:00pm local, Basile will be announcing the player list for friendly against Norway.

Semi Confirmed:
Ezeqyuek Garay, Javier Pinola, Pablo Zabeleta, Maximiliano Rodriguez, Jose Ernesto Sosa (Napoli), Jonás Gutiérrez (Mallorca), Hugo Mariano Pavone (Real Betis), Javier Mascherano, Oscar Ustari, Javier Saviola, Fernando Rubén Gago.

Unconfirmed:
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), Lionel Messi, Gabriel Milito, Pablo Aimar, Diego Milito, Nicolás Burdisso, Esteban Cambiasso, Hernán Crespo, Javier Zanetti, Juan Pablo Carrizo (passport issue).

Mentioned:
Iván Gabriel Heinze, Fabricio Coloccini.

Excluded:
Carlos Tevez, Juan Román Riquelme.

Injured:
Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (4 weeks), Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez (9 month).

Friend or Foe

2007-08-05T03:20:00.000-04:00

The ex Argentine DT, Marcelo Bielsa, is very close to accepting coaching job for Chilean national team. If everything fall into place, he'll take 3 assistants with him, Eduardo Berizzo, Alfredo Berti and Ricardo Lunari. All of them were once Newell's players. (It's well known that Bielsa is tied to Newell)

Bielsa will recieve $2million per year from ANFP (Chilean football governing body), while his technicians will split another $1.5m. After 3 years of meditation behind closed doors, is the "Mad Man" ready to make some money again?

Coincidently, next match for Chilean NT will be against Argentina in first round of World Cup qualifiers on October 13th. (the entire qualification process will take little over 2 years. 4 teams will qualify and the 5th place would have to fight for a spot against 4th place of North American group).

Uruguayan Nelson Acosta was coaching Chile in Copa America. He resigned soon after the campaign due to the hotel room incident that resulted in 6 Chilean players being banned for 20 international matches each. The players suspended were captain Jorge Valdivia, defenders Álvaro Ormeño, Rodrigo Tello, Jorge Vargas, Pablo Contreras, and striker Reinaldo Navia.

Traditionally, Chilean NT liked to play some variations of 3-4-3. Bielsa is a well suited coach for that style. However, with 3 starters and 3 important substitutes missing, he'll certainly be shorthanded.

"My first true coach in Newell's was Marcelo Bielsa, who was truely obsessive when it came to training. At first it didn't go well, and for a reason. I was overweight and slow in my movements. I began playing in the Fourth Special, where Gamboa and Franco also played. Bielsa put me on a diet and when it ended, he brought to me in the room I had under the Newell's stadium, a box of alfajores (filled cookies). My first year in Newell's was difficult for me and not only because of the training. I was very far from my home. After the Saturday games or on Sunday morning, the other guys would go home, while Gustavo Masat, from a town near Reconquista, and I remained in Rosario. I was separated from my family and from Irina, who was already my girl friend. There happened a period when Newell's couldn't give me any money. They called me in and said: "Gabriel, you have to do something to earn some money because we don't have a peso." And I got some work cutting the lawn of the gardens around the club." -- Gabriel Batistuta

Coach Uruguay?

2007-08-03T16:56:00.000-04:00

In a press conference for the old people game between Argentina and Uruguay, Diego talked about the possibility for him to coach the Uruguayan national team. "I still haven't spoken with Paco (Uruguayan industrialist Francisco Casal). so I don't know for sure, we're going to see."

According to this Olé Article, Uruguayan press believed another Argentine, Alejandro Mancuso will be contracted. (What happened to Oscar Tabarez?) Alejandro Mancuso is a friend of Diego, and will be in the old people game on Sunday as well. BTW, they have a clip of the interview with Maradona in the linked webpage. He looked healthy and happy.

Diego also phoned Messi to play with him in the old people game (WHAT?!). It's unconfirmed whether the flea will make an appearance.

When asked about Messi, Maradona said: "He's the one that gives us hope to look ahead for senior side victories in the future. He is competent on the pitch, while playing amusing football. We're both left-handed people, we both won FIFA youth World Cup. We both scored goal with our hands... and they didn't see."

Earlier this year, in a press conference, Messi said: "It was a brilliant goal, Maradona would have been proud, as for my Professor in my 'How to Cheat at Football' Class, he came in his pants with excitment!"

Well, now we know there's a mutual understanding between those 2. Bad influence for kids man, coke head!

____________________________________________________________

According to Reuters, Jose Enrique just signed with New Castle for 6 million GBP. As explain in second part of this article, Villarreal's defense was in trouble even counting Jose Enrique. It's totally fucked now. Besides Fuentes and Josemi, we still have the 33 year old Cygan and 32 year old Venta. Other than that, 2 new faces, Joan Capdevila (29 yr old LB from Deportivo La Coruña) and Diego Godin (21 yr old Uruguayan CB). Gonzalo Rodriguez is likely to miss the whole year again.

Capdevila-Cygan-Fuentes-Venta with Josemi and Godin as substitutes. We are playing both UEFA Cup and Spanish season with 6 defenders?!

The boat is rated to 6 metres,
but of course we could go deeper

One more try at 4-3-1-2

2007-08-03T04:29:00.000-04:00

I really don't want to see anymore tries with this strategy. Basile is so fucking stubborn, in his eyes there's only 4-3-1-2. (ok, maybe a tiny little bit of 4-2-3-1, but definitely not enough).

This is why I want to see someone stepping up and replace Coco. In the mean time that isn't possible... But hey, at least we get to watch beautiful football. I'm a fan of Scandinavian football. Norway is probably the weakest Scandinavian country but never the less, it's a good team and very stylish. They'll have to finish the rest of their Euro 2008 qualifying journey after the friendly, so the better we play, the better they'll be prepared to gain a spot in next year's european championship.

Basile is preparing a revamp, of players, to play the same 4-3-1-2 "better" :-(

Riquelme, Messi, Crespo, Tevez and Diego Milito will remain in the picture.
Maxi Rodriguez will replace Veron.
Carrizo will replace Abbondanzieri at goal. Ustari will likely pick up the #12 jersey.
Heinze's status is not confirmed, Ayala is confirmed left the selection. Zanetti still on the team. Garay, Pinola, Bottinelli and Gonzalo Rodriguez (when he recovers) will get their shots. Another close to being on the list is Fazio.
"Ensuring continuity in the bond" with Aguero is one of Basile's priorities and the U-20 champ will be integrated into the senior side at some point.
And stated by Olé, Saviola and Higuain are also likely to appear in the friendly on August 22nd.

Enganche is a Dangerous Word

2007-08-02T19:58:00.000-04:00

Original article by the same title.
Explaination of Enganche.

When asked about his opinion on Enganche, Diego Simeone answered:
"Ufff, the word Enganche is dangerous. But, I like enganche, although with some variations. More like the playing style of Zidane, call it a prototype of enganche? That evolved into the enganche roles today of Kaká, Totti, Pirlo, Ronaldinho and Robinho. I believe enganche today must come from another sector, there must be wider variety of options. Like Wilchez, my (Estudiante) enganche that returned from Tiger."

He went on to say:
"(long lobs) are very important, although not pleasing to watch. Today, it's not possible to play without a long passer."

As expressed in this article, I believe Basile's experiement of a traditional enganche (Riquelme) with a secondary playmaker (Veron) was a failure. We need to look for other strategies so the playmaker role is shared by players who are natural to their positions and are able to initiate attacks from those places, whether winger or holding midfielder. The 4-3-1-2 system is obsolete and we CANNOT continue relying on this antique strategy.

Diego Simeone also expressed his feeling about the lack of discipline.
"I believe nothing is more important than discipline. Discipline is the way to live on the field, and is not negotiable because it powers individualities. If I haven't made myself clear, the synthesis is what Brazil against Argentina in the recent final of Copa America. Their trainer harnessed individualities wby imposing discipline, which ended up more powerful than the higher quality of Argentine players."

Gathered from Argentine bench

2007-08-02T16:29:00.000-04:00

According to Marca, Ream Madrid is going after Porto and Argentine international midfielder Luis Oscar Lucho González.

If the 25 million Euro deal goes through, Real Madrid will have 4 Argentine players including Fernando Rubén Gago, Javier Pedro Saviola and Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín. It would also mark as end to the associations between Riquelme and Real Madrid.

What is Bernd Schuster's plan? Four Argies and none of them is first choice starter for current NT. From a different perspective, will we see one/some of the four regaining starting position on national team? After all, 2 of them had already been confirmed for the friendly against Norway.

NT coaches in the new millennium

2007-08-01T23:59:00.000-04:00

When Daniel Passarella resigned after '98 World Cup, Jose Pekerman was offered the NT coaching position. Instead, he became the General Manager of the national team and hired Marcelo Bielsa to coach.

Bielsa failed in '02 World Cup. He then asked and was given a second chance. In 2004, he coached both the senior side in Copa America and U-23 in Athens Olympics. In the Copa America we were defeated by Brazil, but Bielsa managed to win the Olympic tourney. Despite the relative redemption, Bielsa resigned after the tournaments.

When Bielsa resigned, the number one candidate was Carlos Bianchi, who had 4 semesters of success in Boca Junior. But instead, Pekerman took the job himself.

Before and during the '06 World Cup campaign, Pekerman was under tremendous pressure from Grondona and AFA to play the players and the strategy they wanted to see. Pekerman insisted on his selections and settled at a player list that was mutually acceptable to himself and Grondona. The list included Sorin and Maxi but not some the players AFA wanted to play such as Zanetti, Walter Samuel and Veron. Pekerman went on to coach in '06 World Cup, but before the campaign finished, his resignation was already expected and the process for new NT coach selection had already began.

The list included Bianchi, Maradona, Miguel Angel Russo (coaching Boca now), Jorge Burruchaga (Independiente), Ramon Diaz (San Lorenzo) and Bilardo. Eventually, Basile was chosen probably due to his successful management of Boca Junior in the 2 years prior. Contract was signed till 2010.

Where are these candidates now?
Bianchi had an unsuccessful stint in Atletico Madrid and had since "disappeared". Bielsa is working on his deal to coach Chile NT for 3 million bucks. Bilardo is active in political circles and made himself heard when FIFA imposed the 2500m international match altitude limit. Pekerman is in Mexico coaching Toluca replacing another Argentine, Americo Gallego, while his tactician Hugo Tocalli just won us the U-20 WC.
____________________________________________________________

In other news. Basile handed Grondona his list of players for the friendly against Norway on 22.Aug. The names won't be publicized till next week, but it's known Javier Saviola, Gonzalo Higuaín and Javier Pinola are on the list.

The Power of $$$

2007-07-31T17:53:00.000-04:00

Manchester United had finally agreed to deal privately with Kia Joorabchian and West Ham United by putting out 45 million Euro, so Tevez could relieve himself of the contracts and choose his own club.

Alex Ferguson is expecting to have Carlito on the team as early as the Community Shield match this Sunday.

For obvious reasons, we recognize this as a very positive move and are very happy to see money worked to our benefit.
____________________________________________________________

Also, an EXTREMELY EXCITING news for Villarreal fans! It's official now that we've landed Giuseppe Rossi!

I'll write more about this £6.7million purchase from Manchester United. In the mean time, let's hope the defense gets filled in quickly, and we could start preparing for the season.

Vote for Diego!

2007-07-31T15:00:00.000-04:00

Vote on this Olé page.

Diego might not be the best option for NT coach. but Basile MUST GO!
Diego has the tactical vision few in the world could rival.
Franz Beckenbauer got his shot, Johan Cruijff had his chance. Isn't it only fair if we let Diego Maradona have what he deserved? Please, honor our hero. choose "Si".

This isn't about whether maradona is fit to coach the NT, it's about making changes. He's the only one able to gain certain tactical freedom from AFA.
Or Coco will just keep sitting there and keep taking orders from Grondona.

As explained by Diego, it's impossible to install a technical assistant position on Basile's Panel. He is the kind of person not to take advise from any tactician. If Diego can replace him, we'll have the Olympic to evaluate his ability to coach the NT. If he isn't fit enough there can still be further switches. The important issue here is, this move will kick Basile out of the office and initiate changes.
____________________________________________________________
The Words of Maradona

To be technician of the Selection: “My time is now. I do not want to push anybody and it is necessary to calmly work it out with Coco. Perhaps it'll never happen. I did well. I recovered, and I had 22 lions to go to the field with me, but it didn't happen”.

Reflection on Copa America: “To arrive at final stage and unable to achieve the goal is becoming common to us and it hurts us all”.

Final with Brazil: “In last World Cup, we had a restricted force. In this Copa America we played very well and in the end the system was broken down again. We took the best players. Pekereman didn't take Zanetti so he was chosen too… Brazil devastated us with perhaps a B squad, left us like cripples. We didn't have an answer to the Brazilian goals, only a shot from Riquelme that hit the wood. It was a total victory for Dunga”.

The Argentine players: “Players are with too much responsibilities. There's always contract issues with our players when we go into a competition. During the World Cup Riquelme ('s head) went here or there. Messi's mind was in Barcelona. Now in the Copa America it happened again. Tevez was thinking about West Ham, Liverpool, and Manchester. This is what the player have in their head during the campaign. The players have computer, have newspapers, and the media wants to request a press conference every 10 minutes”.

The concentration: “To have the concentration when playing a match is important. Everything else must be forgotten. Only to think about Brazil, only to think about Paraguay… Coco handled that well except the last match. He was too confident because he won all the games before that. Until one lifts the cup, he's nobody's champion”.

Jack, this is what we discussed:
The possibility of a Technical Secretary in the Selection: “With the personality of Coco, he won't listen to anybody. If Grondona wants to put a technical commissioner to improve small things that's seen on television… I do not know, instead of training Basile it trained Ribolzi… I believe that Basile is not going to want support. Unless we have the resignation of Coco, Grondona will continue sending him”.

The trainer vocation: “I say that I have many desire to direct. I said that he had many desire. Grondona said to me after Serbia and Montenegro match where we gave him 6 goals, 'if Pekerman wouldn't stay longer then the Selection was mine.' But I returned here and seems that he lost my telephone number. They did not call. They called every 5 minutes to speak with Claudia. Until I went to see Boca one day and Pompilio told me briefly that I could win the Argentina Selection. ****** to me, I said to him”.

The Argentine level: “I believe that we are good. We have the quality. We're best when we win. When the blood boil in us, when the heart beats faster than it could, there I believe that we are best. Long time we've been moral champions. But the moral champions do not gain Cups”.

The comparison with Brazil: “Brazil was always right there. We always had to fight them. And we always were so obstinate that we went there to fight Brazil. We always went to goad them, in the Amaracaná or anywhere, even when we kept failing on the pitch. To lose to Brazil has been like an anticipated end since the 90s. To win against them is something that would inflate our chests”.

The branching of the Argentine players: “Messi we did not see him play in any Argentine team. There are players who went away for a long time and today we see them like figures. We did not see the splendor of the Verón Witch in Argentina. We had Riquelme in a Copa Libertadores for Boca and they won, but because he had problems with Villarreal...”.

In defense of Ayala and Verón: “If they think that Ayala is guilty for the goal in the Brazil match, they are stupid. And Verón played very acceptable in Copa America. Always supporting Roman, always surely”.

Boca and the Apertura: “Boca is not candidate to the title… I'm not surprised. They did not play the last match well and I am worried. Hopefully the problems of Riquelme will be solved for good because the team needs him… I imagine if they get him and defend better then we will have a championship by few points”

Life is Hell

2007-07-30T11:26:00.000-04:00

Found the following from Liverpool's website (Title linked to actual webpage).

This appeared in Sunday Independent in Ireland.
An Article written by Dion Fanning, who normally tells it how it is, with no Bull.
***********************************************************************************
FERGUSON CONFUSING LOYALTY WITH OBEDIENCE
Sunday July 29 2007

ON his deathbed, Conrad Black's father gave his son the skinny on the world he was about to depart. "Life is hell," George Black told little Conrad, "most people are b******s and everything is bull****."

Black senior's observations might have coloured his son's view of the world somewhat, but they are as valid for sport, so often said to be a metaphor for life that one day it may turn out to be true. And then you come to the Premiership.

Niall Quinn is not the first despairing chairman to wonder if agents are rotting football and, despite Harry Redknapp's anger at Quinn's comments, he is right to point out the distortion of the market. Last Friday in Malahide, Roy Keane remarked that, come next summer, he'd rather not waste his time trying to sign players, spending hours on the phone for deals that turn out to be nothing but negotiating ploys.

It is a brave man, you'd imagine, who wants to waste Keane's time, but new money has made many in football brazen and if they are prepared to see clubs waste their money, they are prepared to try Keane's patience.

Others handle it differently. Last week, Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benitez walked down the avenue of bull**** on which English football parades itself and provided some pre-season entertainment that gave an indication of the year we may be about to witness.

It has been a very long summer and it is ending in the same way it has for the past 20: with Alex Ferguson attempting to assert his superiority over all those who challenge him.

United, with good reason, are extremely confident that Carlos Tevez is their player, so confident that they talk openly about him, pre-judging any ruling in any court, pushing West Ham closer to a point where the various stories they have told since Tevez and Javier Mascherano arrived last summer seem less and less plausible.

Loyalty was the watchword when Ferguson was growing up on the streets of Govan - even if Ferguson seems to have often appeared to confuse it with obedience to a capricious master - but showing weakness was top of the list of Things Not to Do and United's manager has never forgotten it.

Liverpool's victory in the Champions' League in 2005 (Benitez was a little puzzled to receive a tactical breakdown of the events in Istanbul from Ferguson a few weeks later) and the general opinion that Liverpool have worked out European football far better than United has not provoked Ferguson.

But in trying to sign Gabriel Heinze, everything changed. As the dominant team in Britain for the past 15 years, United would appear to have most to gain from the opening of a transfer channel between the two clubs. Three years ago, Ferguson claimed that Steven Gerrard was the most influential player in England while lamenting the fact that he could never sign for United.

Ferguson is rarely unsure of his own righteousness

Gerrard nearly joined Chelsea that year instead but had Liverpool recently signed a player from United, Ferguson could have convincingly argued (or more convincingly argued than normal because Ferguson is rarely unsure of his own righteousness) that Gerrard was entitled to join United.

So Liverpool's interest in Heinze could be turned to United's advantage. Instead Ferguson assumes the position - there will be no deal, the agents are scoundrels, Liverpool are opportunists and Heinze is a United player and will be until Ferguson decides otherwise.

In acknowledging that Liverpool are rivals to be bracketed alongside Chelsea and Arsenal, Ferguson is elevating them to a standard their league record doesn't justify. Yet he is prepared to do it to hold on to Heinze and make a point, criticising Liverpool for speaking as if the player is already theirs.

As he criticises Liverpool, he won't tolerate the idea that Tevez is not his player and the list of signings who were sweet-talked while at other clubs is extensive.

But for Ferguson, sport is a metaphor, not for life, but for war. He is fighting the good fight trying to remind agents of their place, and, if there are casualties, well, in war, bad things happen.

He has tried this before, taking on player and agent power in specific cases, most recently when he decided that Cristiano Ronaldo would not be leaving United after last summer's World Cup. Despite the interest of Real Madrid, the determination of his agents to make a deal and the knowledge that Ronaldo was shaping up nicely as a scapegoat for the English media, looking for a reason beyond the facts for England's failure, Ferguson remained implacable.

Soon Ronaldo was a story of redemption, playing for the champions of England and Ferguson was right and righteous once again.

Rafael Benitez is a curious opponent. He has angered and ignored the media equally, refusing to acknowledge their importance, disarming the bully by treating him with indifference.

He is trying the same thing with Ferguson. Benitez has talked about signing Heinze as if he is buying from any club. There is no acknowledgment of Ferguson's exalted position, just a simple statement of the facts, an admission that he would like to buy the player and the revelation that things are now in the hands of their lawyers.

The lawyers don't need to be asked twice. They will be at the centre of more and more deals as football becomes the stage for men who think they can get richer and richer, quicker and quicker. "I should have kept playing," Keane said on Friday, when he joked about the wages players were on, before noting that we haven't peaked yet. There is plenty of bull**** still to be spread around.

1200 peso man

2007-07-29T03:48:00.000-04:00

The U-20 RB is on a 1200 Peso ($400) salary from Racing Club de Avellaneda. Before signing the contract last year, his representative was paying him 300 Pesos...

Mercado's parents work in Puerto Madryn (Patagonia Province). In order to practice with Racing (Buenos Aires Province), he has lived in Avellaneda for the past 10 years, with his grandparents, 2 uncles and four cousins. His parents would visit him occasionally.

Gabriel Mercado gets up at 6:30 every morning. He takes the train to Racing's facility. Sometimes he would dodge the train fair, but usually not. He takes an iPod with him and reads newspapers. He would sit on the floor if the train is packed. The worst is when it rains, since the train station is still 10 blocks away from the stadium.

He wants to buy a car in the future, but needs to learn how to drive first.

His brothers are jealous because their old man speaks of Gabriel all day. He had always brought them souvenirs. A diver watch obtained from the U-20 goalie Sergio Romero; a pair of boots given to him by Messi...

Gabriel Mercado is looking forward to obtain a position in Racing.

Diego Speaks

2007-07-28T02:16:00.001-04:00

In an Olé interview with Diego, the legend talked about the Copa Final lost to Brazil, talked about Ayala, Riquelme, Mascherano, Messi and Gago. Diego also praised the youngsters from U-20 World Cup and spoke on the future of NT.

"This time I did not cry. Brazil won so well that we did not have time for the weeping. Robinho, their best player, did not even touch the ball and they beat us 3 - 0…"
"It's necessary to look for the reasons besides 'the love for the t-shirt' or our players' concentration. I'm not throwing the fault at anybody. In fact, we're all guilty. The match gave me the impression that we did not have the physical or psychological answers to Brazil."

When asked whether he thinks Basile should leave the NT, Diego interrupted the interviewer. He didn't want to speak about Basile, which is understandable due to the entanglement over NT and Boca coaching spots last year. I'm with Diego though. Coco must be crucified!

To help readers further understand the matter, here's a translation of another Olé article. Keep in mind, I'm not suggesting that Maradona should coach the NT. I'm simply saying we should fire Basile.

Diego returned from the Germany World Cup, sitting next to Claudia, in first class. He passed the time listening to music, watching a film, taking some refreshments... the typical things to spend the hours in a long airplane trip. But when he was with the journalists of Olé who shared the flight, he ejected from his seat and spoke of soccer. He needed to do it.

He criticized the changes of Jose Pekerman, the exit of Pato Abbondanzieri and left with a wink: “Chau, boys, if they need something, the ex- captain of the Selection, and perhaps the future technician, is here”. It seemed only a desire, but Maradona could not hide his excitements.

- Is is true that Julio Grondona had offered the coaching job to you?

- Yes, it was in Berlin, after the elimination. I said in the program Mañanas Informales and I'll surely repeat it: Grondona said to me that the Selection was mine, but later gave it to Basile… Only that was not after the match against Serbia and Montenegro, as I said, but in the same night of the elimination against Germany. Before I entered to watch the match, Grondona called me by telephone and told me.

Diego thought that was his moment. He was confident, he had acceptance of the players, he thought more about soccer than at night of the Ten. “more enthusiasm than babies”. However, Pero Grondona, inclined to choose Basile, quickly erased Diego's name from the list of candidates, even though Coco was coaching Boca at the moment. Maradona now tells that he was approached to coach outside of Argentina, but he chose to stay.

Ambiguity of 4-3-3

2007-07-27T18:57:00.000-04:00

Briefly explained in this earlier article, the definition of 4-3-3 is somewhat ambiguous.

Traditionally, it's understood as an evolutionary product of 4-2-4, which roots all the way to WM. Problem is, this strategy is very flexible from the waist up, and for each of its offensive variations there's a different matching defensive concept.

In Rinus Michels' 4-3-3. The center of upper midfield is left opened. Once possession is obtained, the ball is moved up quickly through the wings, and only the DM at rear pivot is controlling the mid route spaces.

If the 2 outside midfielders move towards the middle, the formation is modified into 4-1-2-2-1 (4-5-1) and the wing spaces are left relatively unprotected. The defense is therefore required to press higher than in normal 4-3-3, basically a concept to restrict the space on the wings by reducing vertical distances between the D-line and midfield.

If more defensive measures are taken by having the wingers dropping back to tighten up the wing spaces even further, then the formation evolves into 4-1-4-1, like what Jose Mourinho's Chelsea played, this could still be considered 4-3-3 variant. In this form, the defense, in particular fullbacks, need to be more aggressive to initiate offensives and counter attacks from the rear so there will be enough attacking elements overall.

Last but not least, there's the offensive adjustment to 4-3-3 by dropping the DM to center defender and push both fullbacks to wing midfield positions. This modification results in 3-4-3, which is an ambiguity headache all by itself...

In other words, what Frank Rijkaard prepared for the upcoming season is quite different from what he had played in the past couple of years. It's Rinus Michels' 4-3-3. The defensive concept employed in such strategy is proved to be more reliable than that of 4-1-2-2-1.

Heinze's future to be decided in court.

2007-07-27T14:03:00.001-04:00

To be honest, just few days ago, I still thought that the liverpool defense looked solid.
From certain point of view, liverpool has one of the most successful defense in EPL. Kop's problem seemed concentrated up front. They created a lot of opportunities but failed to capitalize on most of them, in the end there simply wasn't enough products. However, even with such underperformed offense, Liverpool was 3rd in EPL and 2nd in CL. So judging from the results, Red's defense did quite well.

In the last couple of days, I read up on some different opinions.
After a closer look, to my surprise, I'm now inclined to agree with them on the Heinze issue. £6.8m would be money well spent.

Liverpool's defense is Riise-Agger-Carragher-Finnan backed by Hyypia, Arbeloa, Aurelio and the 2 Argentine, Paletta and Insua. The mainline is good, but Benitiz cannot expect them to play all 70 some games, especially not if he wanted to make a stand in both Premiership and Champion's League.

Hyypia and Arbeloa can rest starters, but if one of the starting 4 gets injured, Red's title hopes would be severely jeopardized if it had to rest in the hands of one of these substitutes. Aurelio and Paletta aren't adjusted to English style and had become reliability issues; Insua on other hand, is still far from starting in EPL.

If Rafael Benitiz could "persuade" ManU to release Heinze, not only will he benefit from having a solid backup in the center, Liverpool will gain a more defensive option on the left as well. Riise is more or less a wingback. It would be safer to have a left fullback on the team since sooner or later they'll encounter opponents that focus on exploiting wing routes. A stay at home type LB would relieve some pressure from Mascherano.

Heinze was doing well in Copa and hesitated to buy out his contract (undetermined to leave ManU? After all, they treated him alright there) . Now he has passed the deadline and Alex Ferguson had said no to Liverpool's £6.8m offer. For ManU, letting Heinze go will not only strengthen their opponent that wants to become a competition for Premiership title, it will severely weaken Red Devil's own defense. Heinze departuring meant Alex Ferguson would have to rely on the undependable Evra for LB while losing backup for Nemanja Vidić.

Bah, another Argentine international in the courtroom...
____________________________________________________________

Since this article is about defenses in general, it's probably somewhat appropriate a place for complains against the Villarreal backline.

last year our defense was:
starters: Enrique-Cygan-Fuentes-Venta
substututes: Arruabarrena-Alvarez-Josemi
Gonzalo Rod hurt.

Cygan is now 33. Venta 32 soon, Arruabarrena and Alvarez gone, Gonzalo looking forward to miss the whole year...

On paper, we are looking for a CB and a LB that could play CB. In reality we'll have at least 3 more (if the Sol Campbell deal goes through) defender positions need replacements within a year (or year and half). This is not what a UEFA Cup side's defense should look like. And even if we throw european competition away, the league season will turn into shit if one defender gets hurt.

we need at least 3 defenders right now. one can be old, but the other 2 must provide stability for at least 3 or 4 years... What a fucking disaster.

My question is, why we kept wasting money on old people! They might of been cheaper for the time being, but none of these contracts will be profitable in the long run. How much longer are we going to bottom feed like this? Haven't we saved enough money to setup some real investments?

I wanted to really ...
screw my brains out tonight, -
- but I'm not
in any condition to fuck.

Carlito must go to ManU

2007-07-26T02:26:00.000-04:00

From an Argentine point of view, I rather see Tevez transfered to manU. Not because manU is a stronger team (I like manU no more than WHU), rather that Alex Ferguson is offering Carlito an opportunity to be in his experimental forward system without a traditional #9.

One of the worries of Argentine fans is the lack of potential #9 players. Tevez and Messi are both short and play wide forwards. They'll be competing against each other to pair up with Crespo for some time, and once Crespo retires, there will likely be a "not so good but tall and physical enough" player to fill his role (Diego Milito and Julio Ricardo Cruz were the failed attempts).

Unless, of course, if there's a way to play without a #9. Then Argentina could start her best forwards regardless of their heights. If Alex Ferguson could find a way to make the Rooney-Tevez duo work, it could also set an example for future Argentine NT.

In Copa America, when Diego Milito turned out an unsatisfying replacement for Crespo, Basile tried to make the Tevez-Messi duo work. His tactics achieved limited success but didn't work out in the end. Even though the main offensive problem in the final was our playmaker (Roman) getting contained, Messi and Tevez unable to gain anything in the air contributed to us getting shutdown never the less.

If Tevez stay at WHU, he'll keep playing wide forward supporting a traditional target person (Zamora or whoever they're getting). Then in the NT, he'll likely stay behind Messi and deal with competition from Saviola and Aguero... If Alex Ferguson could find a efficient way to play only short forwards, then Argentina developing a similar system shouldn't be impossible, and we'll have a very sufficient supply of excellent forwards.

Frank Rijkaard's Last Stand

2007-07-25T00:39:00.000-04:00

Barça's success is Dutch 4-3-3's success.

For how gigantic a club Barça had been, its record really wasn't all that impressive. Before Frank Rijkaard, there had been only 1 Champion's League title from Johan Cruyff's stint, and the last domestic triumph was from the 90s when another Dutchman, Louis van Gaal, was manager.

Before Frank Rijkaard took over in 2003, Barça was 6th domestically and at the edge of dropping out from European competitions. Given there was Ronaldinho, Rijkaard's first year was still a remarkable success. Barça was in the relegation zone at one point during the 2003-04 season, yet by the end it was 2nd in LFP and secured itself a Champion's League spot. Frank Rijkaard showed tremendous tactical flexibility to ensure the turn around, something he hasn't displayed again in the past 3 seasons.

Because Frank Rijkaard came to play 4-3-3. By 2004-05 season he's already gotten rid of Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert and Michael Reiziger (Roman, Sorin and Overmars were already gone), and 4-3-3 had become his fundamental strategy. By the 2005-06 season, it's pretty much all he played.

Barcelona lost to Chelsea by a narrow margin in '04-05 Champion's League but won the Spanish league by 4 points. Frank Rijkaard continued strengthening his formation and by the end of the subsequent season, they not only won CL, but were also 12 points ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga. That wasn't just a successful year for Barça, it was one of the greatest success for offensive football and dutch 4-3-3.

The big additions to Barça's first squad in 2006 were Thuram and Zambrotta. Then there were Gio Dos Santos and Gudjohnsen each got a backup slot. Thuram just wanted out of Juventus to get some more high end games before retiring, so Zambrotta was really the only starter addition in 2006, and it was quite clear the llama wanted to keep his formation going.

It's really a 4-1-2-2-1, with 1 holding midfielder and 2 attacking midfielders that utilize both the inside and the wing spaces. The main difference from the traditional dutch 4-3-3 is that the attacking wingers and midfielders need to restrict space by maintaining the V-shape, much like in the 3-5-2 "V" midfield once played by Argentine NT. If too much freedom are given to these players, the two wings will become vulnerable to infiltrations since congestion will be inefficient.

In the Dutch 4-3-3, the offensive focal points are on the wings. The middle is less guarded upfield, but the vulnerability is also better dealt with by the holding midfielder who positions himself in the center.

What 2006-07 season proved was that Frank Rijkaard's 4-1-2-2-1 wasn't perfect. If the 0-2 away lost to Real Madrid was ignorable, the 1-3 against Espanyol should of definitely rang a bell. After that, they were tied by Real Betis and then lost to Valencia. At which point, it was obvious that the 4-1-2-2-1 had problems defending counter attacks and it wasn't very efficient breaking down some the tough defenses in the league.

As the season progressed, injury, fatigue and other stupid problems started compounding. By march, Frank Rijkaard's faith in 4-3-3 (4-1-2-2-1) seemed a little shaken. He went to 3-4-3 and still lost to Sevilla, then he readjusted the formation (into 3-4-3 with diamond midfield) and barely walked out alive from their at home meeting with Real Madrid.

The cause of Frank Rijkaard's headaches is Deco.
Iniesta and Xavi are both capable of playing dedicated wing roles as seen in Spanish National Team. Deco isn't. Deco is more of a center attacking character, and his best performances were on the Portuguese National Team where he played CAM. Frank Rijkaard adjusted the 4-3-3 into 4-1-2-2-1 to give Deco a more natural position to play at, but the formation has flaws and wasn't good enough. So he attempted 3-4-3 variations trying to find a more suitable strategy with Deco at CAM. When Barça lost by 1 goal to Real Zaragoza, it was clear this experiment had also failed.

Frank Rijkaard also tried 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1, but with less than 10 league games to go, he was forced to stop experimenting and stick to the 4-1-2-2-1. The problems with the strategy persisted and a 0-2 defeat against Villarreal really set them back. Barça went on to tie two more times and ended up 2nd behind Real Madrid.

With Zero trophy at the end of season, Frank Rijkaard had been under attack all summer long. If he continue like this for another season, Joan Laporta's own ass will be on the frying pan, let along protecting Franky and the way of the Dutchman. There's no more time for experiments. His only choice was to stick with what was known to work (the original 4-3-3), and readjust his team bearing necessary sacrifices.

Besides Deco, Frank Rijkaard had some other issues to deal with. Gudjohnsen couldn't fill Henrik Larsson's shoes; Thuram's age; Van Bronckhorst-Edmílson-Sylvinho dissatisfactions; Lack of dedicated holding midfielders. These were all problems he had to address with the summer signings, and apparently he did a good job.

He bought 2 defenders (Eric Abidal €15 million, Gabriel Milito €17 million) to build a new line. Abidal-Puyol-Milito-Zambrotta backed by Silvinho, Thuram, Oleguer and Belletti.

He then bought a DM (Yaya Touré €9 million) to fill the holding midfielder position with Rafael Márquez. Iniesta and Xavi can play their outside midfielder roles and shift the formation back into the Dutch original 4-3-3. The real loser in the midfield is of course Deco, since he had dropped to Crosas and Thiago Motta's level in the pack...

Up front Rijkaard bought Tierry Henry for €24 million. That's more than enough to duplicate Henrik Larsson's old role. In fact, Henry will put pressure on all the offensive players and force them to play 100%, this move showed Frank Rijkaard's determination to make a last stand with Dutch 4-3-3. However, in order to compete in both CL and Spain with the 4-3-3, he probably still need another dedicated winger to backup Iniesta, unless he's ready to play Crosas.

In unimportant matches, Frank Rijkaard could still be experimenting with 3-4-3, 4-4-2 or even 4-2-3-1, but for the majority of this upcoming season, expect Barça to field the traditional 4-3-3. There are other teams in Champion's League playing offensive strategies (OL, Ajax, etc), but none of them could be considered realistic contender for the title at this point. If Barça fail again, European theater can effectively be considered dominated by neutral formations.

U-20 2:1 Czech Republic

2007-07-22T17:35:00.000-04:00

Czech got to the final playing defensive counter-attacks, making this one of the most successful campaigns that took on the dark path in international football.
However, allegiance to the dark side has its costs. After two 120 minute battles (Against Japan and Spain during knock out stages, both times Czech prevailed in PSO), the team had been severely fatigued even though they had a somewhat lucky break against Austria in Semi.

Argentina made the changes mentioned in previous article. Sigali for Cahais, Matias Sanchez for Yacob and Zarate for Di Maria.

Game started the way everybody expected, with Argentine offensives and Czech counter attacks.

Just 40 secs into the match, Kubáň's brutal tackle on Sigali (who was pushing into Czech half) resulted in the first yellow. The Spanish ref was very good. Not only did he enforce fair play with his strict rulings on the field, he also prevented unbalancing the match with ejections or excessive foul calls. Only instance that I wasn't very satisfied was when he interrupted the Argentine offensive around 70th minute with a yellow on Czech defender. If he was going to interrupt such good offensive opportunity, I expected to see a red card. Never the less, that yellow ensured that every Czech defender carried a card and had to play more cautiously.

Czech counter attacks were direct and fast at the beginning. They were very determined to play crosses, and it was quite effective at the start. Just few minutes in, they've already created genuine scoring chances within Argentine box. However, when Romero was defeated by a close ranged shot, his good friend, the goal post, again stood in the way. Romero has a incredible relationship with his goal post. God bless, may this love fair last forever :D

Czech Republic clearly won the height match-ups all around the pitch. With Cahais and Yacob both suspended, Fazio became pretty much our only starter that could compete in the air. That's why Sigali played instead of Voboril eventhough the later is probably more reliable on defense.

However, apart from dominating in the air, superior height played to Czech's disadvantage. On offense, their height restricted their mobility and agility. They couldn't capitalize on several good chances because their forwards took too long to adjust for shooting. They also blocked one of their own shots inside the Argentine box, which was one of their best chances in first half.

On offense, Argentina focused on exploiting Czech defenders' lack of agility. Especially their center backs. Their height meant there's no way they could turn on a dime, and our forwards exploited that all day long by assaulting down the center.

At the tip of Argentine spearhead was Aguero. El Kun got hold of Cahais' captain's armband today, and suddenly grew into an adult. The selfishness we saw in previous matches had disappeared. What's left was an intelligent player with superb individual abilities.

Our best chance in first half came at 22nd minute. A clever 1-2 between Aguero and Moralez inside Czech box almost pushed us ahead. Piatti and Moralez started showing signs of fatigue towards half time while Zarate was having a rough day at left center. Some hesitation inside the box also gave Czech defenders the time to tackle, and they did well getting the ball away from our players at dangerous places.

Argentine defense played well too, surrendering only 2 corners in first half. On top of that, the free kicks Czech had gotten were generally further out.

At the center of our rear was Ever Banega. There weren't any long shot from him today, but he did an exceptional job organizing our DM screen. Banega was absolutely magnificent at disrupting Czech possessions and redistributions. People thought Gago was good in Boca, wait till this man goes to europe.

Both teams kicked into high gear in second half.

Pitch dried up from the sprinkling before match. The ball started slowing down unexpectedly and surprised defenders on both sides. Attackers quickly took advantage of the condition. Moralez fired at 10 yards straight into the hands of Radek Petr. Two minutes later, Romero went through an almost identical heart attack moment after Banega letting the ball slip through.

Towards 55', Czech started attacking actively. 8 Czech players appeared together in Argentine half for the first time. At 60th minute, Martin Fenin did what no other Czechmen had done all day. He TURNED ON A DIME and took a volley from an off center spot within our box. The shot was flat and slow, but it arched just out of Romero's reach... When finally it was obvious that the end of its trajectory would be within the post, I admit, I almost cried. Fenin goal

I didn't, but not because I was strong.
The equalizer came so quickly I hardly had the time to properly react to the 0-1.

Instead of dropping into testudo. Czech kept on attacking after their goal.
Every hero needs his chance, and the chance had come for one Sergio Leonel Agüero.
It was you Aguero! You took our arms, and led us out from the valley of shadows!

Ever Banega's brilliant through ball went straight into a space left opened by the 2 Czech CB who had pushed up. Aguero got to the ball and created a breakaway right on top of Czech box.
Then it was magic...

After the equalizer, Argentina took control of the pace. Moralez suffered a cut on his forehead but got an adrenalin rush out of it. He was running all over the field and started taking shots from outside the box. These shots didn't hit their target, but they put pressure on the Czech defense, and effectively took the initiatives out of opponents' hands.

At the same time, Czech's other problems started compounding. Their attacking players started to show severer fatigue, and their defenders had each gotten a yellow by 81st minute.

Unable to find a goal, both sides began taking measurements for extra periods. Hugo Tocalli put on Acosta for tired Piatti. Czech coach Miroslav Soukup also switched on 2 fresh legs for their 2 attackers that had cramped up on the field.

Argentina had taken 10 corner kicks thus far. At 86th minute we got our 11th chance.
It was a short corner to Zarate who was standing just outside the right edge of the Czech box. He dribbled the ball into the penalty area, then lasered it at the right goal post.
Radek Petr was right there. But the strangest thing had happened. He let the ball slip pass his fingers and it went a millimeter inside the post....

Even Zarate himself couldn't believe how easily Radek Petr had let that one through. Fate has its own twists. Who would of believed that the Czech goalie could fail at such an easy stop. Who would of thought that the game winning goal could come off Zarate's?
What a farewell present from Zarate!

Zarate is a good player, and his departure from future NT is only due to his career choice and the financial needs of his family. Good luck Zarate, we won't forget you.

Czech came back twice against Japan to take their 1/8 final match into PSO. That miracle was not to be repeated today. The Triumph belonged to Argentina.

Match Highlights

Six Time FIFA U-20 Champions

2007-07-22T17:14:00.000-04:00

Argentina reinforced her DOMINATION in U-20 World Cup with a beautiful come back win against Czech Republic.

VAMOS ALBICELESTES!

U-20 Final Preview by Bobby Mcmahon

2007-07-20T18:12:00.001-04:00

Instead of writing a preview for the U-20 final match, I've found a good one written by Fox Soccer Channel commentator and analyst Bobby Mcmahon.

I don't quite agree with Mr. Mcmahon's result prediction though.
Our defense won't feature all regular starters. Before the semi, I almost expected Cahais to draw a yellow and get himself suspended, but totally didn't see Yacob's yellow coming. Like I said in earlier writeup, the tactical foul by Yacob was probably necessary, but it turned out very costly. Escudero is injured, so we'll have to play a third string DM, which will likely be Matias Sanchez. We also need a CB to fill in for Cahais. That is Leonardo Sigali's duty.
These players are substitutes for a reason. Never the less, they're capable of fulfilling their responsibilities. But I think a conservative estimation should credit Czech with at least 1 goal.
Also, if Di Maria couldn't play, Mauro Matias Zarate will likely start in his place. Zarate is a good player and his NT career is coming to an end, so this unexpected swap will also give him a chance to say farewell to his fans.

Here's Mr. Bobby Mcmahon's preview.

Sunday's FIFA U-20 World Cup final between Argentina and the Czech Republic will be a clash of the two continents that have dominated the fifteen editions of the youth tournament.

But although Europe (6 wins) and South America (9 wins) have shut out the other federations, it will only be the fifth time that the two powerhouse continents will have actually met in the final game.

Three times South America has come out on top ('79 Argentina beat USSR; '85 Brazil beat Spain and again in '03) while Europe's lone win was in 1991 when Portugal beat Brazil.

The 1991 win by Portugal proved to be a watershed. Up to that point Europe had won five tournaments to South America's three. Since then only a single Spanish win in 1997 has interrupted six South American wins — four by Argentina and two by Brazil.

Now Argentina is poised to make it six wins overall and their fifth under-20 championship in the last seven tournaments. Not unexpectedly Argentina is an overwhelming favourite to lift the trophy given that they have dominated the tournament to date.

FIFA Under-20 World Cup Final, Czech Republic vs. Argentina
Sunday, July 22 at the National Soccer Stadium (BMO Field) in Toronto at 3:15 p.m. ET

The Statistics

Argentina leads in almost all the positive categories — most goals scored (14), the least number conceded (1), most shots on goal (54) and most attempts on goal (98). In six games so far Argentina has won five games and drawn one while winning all three games in the knockout rounds in regulation time.

Compared to Argentina's statistics you wonder how the Czech Republic has even reached the final. In the six games so far they have only won two games in regulation time while drawing the other four. Two of the four draws have taken place in the knockout rounds and in both games the Czechs needed a penalty kick decider to beat Japan and Spain.

The Czechs have scored nine goals in their six games while conceding six. They have only managed 29 shots on the opposition goal and fans have had to wait an average of over twenty minutes between Czech attempts on goal.

A tournament leading 19 yellow cards and a fouls committed tally of 136 (also a competition high) is a clear indication that this Czech Republic team takes no prisoners. The run by the Czechs to the final has been termed a fairytale — if it is then the fairies are wearing Doc Martens.

The Tactics, the Coaches & the Players

Just a few years ago a match between these two teams would have had most neutral fans drooling with expectation. But somewhere along the line Czech coach Miroslav Soukup has moved away from the traditional Czech game and instead he has produced a side built on size, strength, organization and opportunism.

In the sixties Josef Masopust won the European Player of the Year and drove Czechoslovakia to a World Cup runners-up spot. In the seventies there was Antonin Panenka, he of the cheeky European Championship final penalty kick. In the last decade we have thrilled to the play of the likes of Patrik Berger, Pavel Nedved and Karel Poborsky. That legacy is not part of this Czech team.

Perhaps it was losing to the much less talented Greece in the semifinal of Euro 2004 that influenced the Czechs with Miroslav Soukop opting for a more dire strain of football over anything that a neutral fan may find appealing. Or it might have been losing to Belgium and Scotland in the European age-group qualifiers last summer.

But no matter the reason, the Czechs are not going to change what has got them to the final of this tournament. Expect them to play a 4-5-1 with Marek Strestik the lone striker. Martin Fenin (2 goals) and Lubos Kalouda (3 goals) move forward in support and Marek Suchy also pops up from a deeper position now and again. Ondrej Kudela is another midfielder who has got his name on the score sheet and is one of four players to play every minute so far.

Goalkeeper Radek Petr is another ever-present and he may have to reprise his role in the Czechs opening game of the tournament when he almost singlehandedly held off Argentina to record a 0-0 draw. Petr Janda has appeared in all six games but will miss the final match after picking up a second yellow card of the knockout stage.

For Hugo Tocalli it will be his first world final after falling at the semifinal stage in three other tournaments. Tocalli has kept faith with a core of players throughout the six games so far. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero has been an ever present as has central defender Federico Fazio and full back Emiliano Insua. However, captain Matias Cahais will miss the final due to suspension. German Voboril is the most likely replacement.

With a traditional back four Argentina plays with four in midfield and two up front. But just as Cahais is missing in defense Argentina will also be missing a key midfielder and more than likely a forward as well.

Claudio Yacob the defensive midfielder has also run afoul of the officials and will miss the final through suspension. Matias Sanchez is the player that will probably slip into the position in support of Ever Banega. Up front it looks as if Angel Di Maria may miss the game after picking up a suspected hamstring injury in the second half against Chile.

Di Maria did not start a game until the round of sixteen match against Poland but he has been a real spark plug since replacing the disappointing Mauro Zarate.

Di Maria, Maximiliano Moralez and Sergio Aguero have been the main attacking threat for Argentina. Twelve of the fourteen goals have come from this trio and they have also chipped in with eight helpers between them. If he is unavailable Di Maria will be sorely missed.

The Prediction

Unfortunately I hold out no hope whatsoever that this game will be a classic in any way. The Czechs will look to grind out a result and be quite happy to take the game to penalty kicks. Argentina I fear will be looking to exaggerate the Czech propensity to give away free kicks.

Prediction — Argentina to win 2-0.

Roman staying with Boca?

2007-07-20T05:50:00.000-04:00

An Olé article in today's paper expressed a very similar (call it 100%?) view to what VIPNERD had expressed and I have supported. Roman will most likely join Boca in their Club World Cup campaign, and possibly remain in Boca. So like always, I happily bring you this non-transfering rumor. :D

U-20 to Final

2007-07-19T21:57:00.001-04:00

Great battles had always been fought on rainy days.

Argentina U-20 deployed in 4-3-3 against Chile today.

The beginning of the game was marked by vicious Argentine attacks initiated by Banega that went down Chilean right wing. First one wasn't processed correctly, then second try... What a tremendous hit from young Di Maria that penetrated the little space left out near Chilean right post from Toselli's beautiful positioning. The first goal conceded by this 1.80m goalie in 490 minutes was an absolute screamer, and Toselli should bear no shame for letting that one go.

The next event was the straight red card for Chilean center midfielder Medel at 15th minute. The ref was the same German that officiated the remarkable clash between Valencia and Inter Milan. Wolfgang Stark is one of FIFA's primary referee prospects in Europe for a reason. His reaction after Medel's retaliation was quick, correct and just.

With goal down and man down, instead of giving up, Chileans started playing disciplined attacking football. The game started showing similarity to the group D opening match, where Poland stunned Brazil with a 1-0 win after receiving a red card in 27th minute. At the other end of the pitch, Mini Argentino started showing signs of relaxation again and committed several defensive errors. A Chilean 50 yard long lob was barely dodged by Romero's good friend - the goal post, and Chile continued pressing forward thereafter. An opening kept appearing between Fazio and Insua near our left wing. By continuously assaulting that space with wing plays, Chile was gaining control over the game.

Argentina dropped into 4-2-3-1, leaving only Aguero up front. As mentioned earlier, Moralez had started showing signs of fatigue, and wasn't very active during the first half, which reduced Argentina's offensive capability even further. With the formation dropping into 4-5-1, for a while it seemed we weren't able to fight back, just kept on absorbing Chilean punches and the game was looking increasingly more dangerous.

There are basically 2 different ways of playing 4-3-3. Either play like the dutch team or Barça, utilize individual talents of the players to sustain offensive pressure, or play like Chelski, drop into 4-1-4-1 and rely on hardcore defense + counter attacks. Mini Argentino seemed unable to find a suitable place in this formation. Too much lingering in between and they weren't very successful from either point of view.

There were some chances from both sides during the remainder of first half. Piatti and Di Maria both missed to keep the score 1-0. The missed chances also indicated that these players aren't world class yet, they still need further development to become NT material.

Most Chilean players stayed very calm during the first half, and shown remarkable discipline for a bunch of teenagers. The referee's red card forced them into a position they aren't used to, much like what happened in the Mexico-Paraguay game of Copa America.

The second half saw more attacking from Argentina, and more Chilean hard tackles, fouls and yellows. Then the next important event took place, and that was Yacob getting a yellow card. Yacob had been tackling pretty rough before that, but the yellow without a warning might of been a little harsh. This created a pretty big problem for our final game as Yacob will be suspended for that match due to accumulated yellows. Yacob is already subbing in for our injured DM Escudero! It was a technical foul that was probably necessary, but who are we going to use in the final now? A defender? Matias Cahais also got a yellow at 10th minute and will miss the final match! We will have to start 2 substitute defender... bahhh

Aguero and Moralez also made themselves more visible in the second half. Yacob knew he fucked up and started playing with 110% efforts. Finally Yacob scored at 65th minute to put the game away, eventhough the match saw another Chilean red card and Moralez's stoppage goal before going into garbage time.

Oh I almost forgot. Di Maria was substituted off and carried out of the pitch on stretcher. Hopefully it wasn't anything serious. For a game where we aimed at avoiding suspension and injuries, this wasn't exactly a satisfying result.

What lies ahead is a difficult match. I'll write some analysis on it before Sunday. But tomorrow, gotta go see Transformers :D

Argentina Vs. Chile

2007-07-19T14:13:00.000-04:00

19:45 EDT

Once again. those without live TV broadcast could watch the match via LiveFooty, or Shanghai Sports channel with SopCast.

Chile U-20 had generally been playing a 3-4-2-1 christmas tree formation. But against Nigeria in quarter final, due to the vertical through ball threat of African style, Chile pulled out a 1-3-3-2-1 with center back Martínez playing Sweeper!
Sweeper is generally considered obsolete compared to the more advanced holding midfielder setup. But against Nigeria, Chile's retro choice proved to be effective and they successfully shut down Nigerian forwards, forced the match into Extra Periods.

I expect Chile going back to 3-4-2-1 against Mini Argentino. If this is the case, our defense and defensive midfield should be enough to prevent them from scoring. But we've been heavily relying on wing routes to move the ball, and it's unknown how much gas Moralez has left after over 400 minutes of running.

It's possible for Chile to switch onto strategies that could better protect their wing spaces. We must utilize our other weapons, such as Aguero, Di Maria and Piatti. Also it's important for our boys to maintain discipline and coherence. This is Semi-Final. After today's match, it's a team we've had experience with. If we can defeat Chile today, we'll have a good shot breaking down Czech defense in our second meeting with the European dark horse.

The English Patient

2007-07-18T21:24:00.000-04:00

The original article published by Olé
Here's a rough translation:

Carlitos is in England hoping to sign with Manchester United and join Alex Ferguson's new team to their pre-season debut in Seoul, South Korea. The English champions will let FIFA handle the conflicts related to the forward's previous club, West Ham United.
David Gill, the executive director of Manchester United announced that his club will resort to FIFA's mediation because West Ham had set forward as a road block in the transfer operation of the 23 year old Argentine.

Tevez returned to England from Copa America to pass the medical before officially joining the English champions. However, West Ham had denied him the permission to participate in the medicals. Gill told the british press that Manchester United is presenting the case to the courts of FIFA and stressed that both ManU and the player are safe in this situation since the decision will be favoring them. "It could take up to two weeks for the court to be formed. All the paper work must be put into order before the case could be evaluated." added by the head of Old Trafford.

Manchester United purchased the player for $60 million via the company Media Sports Investments, who owns the rights to the Argentine forward. MSI, headed by Iranian Kia Joorabchian was the company that bought Tevez from Boca and later took him to Corintians. This operation is currently under investigation by Brazilian justice department on the suspicion of money laundering.

Wayne Rooney was pleased to hear that Tevez will join him and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo in Red Devil's offense. He said: "Playing with Carlos Tevez would be great. Hopefully things will get sorted soon. He did brilliantly for West Ham last season and I think he'll be a great signing for us."

____________________________________________________________

Managers sometimes make signings based on recommendations of their players, like in Critiano Ronaldo's case. But when a deal worth $60m goes down, there's usually a carefully planned strategy behind it.

How is Alex Ferguson going to incorporate the Tevez element into his team? He will have 2 wide forwards each worth a shit ton of money. Benching either of them or even a rotation system between the two would be ridiculous if not ludicrous.

In a league like EPL, size matters. Without a traditional target person, what will ManU's offensive look like?

If Alex Ferguson could develop a system to successfully compete with only short, wide forwards, perhaps future Argentine NT could use it as a model to build our offensive setup.
____________________________________________________________

In other news. Gabriel Milito arrived in Barcelona.
Is Milito really qualified for the Catalan giant? For a team like Barça that plays offensive football, defender's zone capability is extremely important. Milito is a good inside the box tackler, but his lack of speed meant the Argentine defender might not meet the needs of Frank Rijkaard.

I suspect that the Milito signing had been heavily based on Messi's personal endorsements. Of course, with Puyol injured, there's the necessity of a CB to fill in shoes of the Spaniard temporarily, but for Barça, resorting to Milito isn't very logical at the very least. After all, playing for them is the dream of most world-class defenders.

Inquisition

2007-07-18T17:34:00.000-04:00

There are two outside midfielders in 4-3-1-2. Their job is to support the enganche (also playmaker) on offense and help the holding midfielder on defense.

Enlisting Veron was to establish an alternative playmaker solution by sacrificing a dedicated outside midfielder. So in the case the playmaker (Roman) is shut down, this alternative playmaker could possibly open up new options.
But by doing so, Veron was distanced from the rest of the offensive group, and he failed to get involved in the first 2 matches.
So Veron wasn't working out as a hybrid between outside midfielder and secondary playmaker.

Veron is more of an CM than an outside midfielder. His alternative has to be a player used to be playing wide. Maxi would of been the best choice but Basile picked Lucho due to Maxi's previous injury.
Then he probably realized lucho sucked ass.
When Veron's invented secondary playmaker role failed to work out, it was too late to get another outside midfielder in (tourney had already began).
So the choices Basile was left with:
1. play Lucho
2. play Veron out to position as outside midfielder and forget the secondary playmaker plan.

Some might ask, why wasn't Aimar put in then?
Because Aimar isn't an ideal outside midfielder either. And Veron has better defensive attributes, is therefore more reliable to play out of position in this case.
On top of that, Aimar, besides acting as supersub for Riquelme, also served as sub for the left outside midfielder position occupied by Cambiasso.

Cambiasso playing the other outside midfielder was necessary. He could play a holding midfielder role and he can still run up to join attack from defensive positions.
What didn't work out for Cuchu was the fact NT moved the ball very fast. 4-3-1-2 maintains possession via speed. So for Cambiasso, it wasn't the same as playing in Inter. There's too much ground for him to cover in NT and he couldn't get to good offensive positions on time when playing with the Albicelestes. Cuchu's offensive contribution in this copa had been generally limited.

Why didn't we have ideal outside midfielders in the lineup?
Argentina does not have a shortage of football talents.

Because Basile took the wrong approach when structuring this team.
He picked out (or other people picked for him) the doctrine and a set general strategy (offensive, 4-3-1-2) to follow. The strategy was obsolete and flawed. So he made adjustments (Veron's hybrid role, Center backs pushing up to strengthen holding midfield, etc) to deal with the shortcomings of the design. But that was like forcing the formula to fit the solution by alternating variables.

The right way is to find out the variables (players) first, then derive a formula (strategy) that would lead to the solution (winning) by utilizing these variables.

In other words. The proper way of structuring a team is to find the best and most talented players first, then build a strategy based on their attributes. So the formation could take advantage of the strength and compensate the weakness of these players.

Alfio Basile took the wrong approach to this campaign and had committed heresy! That's why he lost with such an extraordinary group of players. BASILE MUST BE CRUCIFIED!

Mi Buenos Aires Querido

2007-07-18T01:03:00.001-04:00

Carlos Gardel is one of the most influential Tango musician.
His work included Mi Buenos Aires querido, Soledad, and of course Por Una Cabeza.
My Buenos Aires, dear city,
When I see you once again,
There’s no more forgetting or pity.

The little street lamp, standing on my native street,
Was there to witness my first promises of love.
Its quiet light was shining when I went to meet
My lovely sweetheart, glowing like the sun above.
Now that my fortune has me seeing you once more,
The only city that I’ve ever hankered for,
Hearing the plaintive bandoneon,
My heart inside me wants to break out on its own.

My Buenos Aires, Land full of flowers,
My final hours, will be spent here.
No disappointments, under your sky, and
The years go by and we forget the pain.
Memories chasing one after another,
Sweetness of feelings left along the way.
I’ll have you know that just thinking of you
Makes all my heartaches scatter away.

The little window facing my suburban street,
Framing the image of a smiling girl so sweet,
I want once more to walk beside it and to see
Those eyes caressing even as they look at me.
And even in the meanest alley there’s a song
Of pluck and passion, and its echo rings along.
It’s like a promise, and like a sigh.
A tear of sorrow, but that singing wiped it dry.

My Buenos Aires, dear city,
When I see you once again,
There’s no more forgetting or pity.

I didn't want to put Por Una Cabeza on here because the content.
I would have to really drown my sorrow in alcohol or drugs then... For a head of a horse, how ironic. Too much to handle right now.

2 days after the match, the devastation of the loss finally hit home. It's a loss by players who had demonstrated they are of so much higher quality than the rest of the participants of the tournament. In the footballing world, it's a loss at the magnitude of the Spartan loss in Battle of Leuctra.

There are really alot of similarities between the Albicelestes and the Spartan culture. Equally stubborn in their ways of approaching problems; Rely on individual talents acquired through years of developments and training; Employ disciplinary offensive strategies in battles; Neo-conservatively protecting antiquated tradition that's obsolete...

Spartans slowly died off after Leuctra. Will the Spartans of modern football suffer the same fate? After all, the history of heros is a collection of tragedies.

Carrizo to S.S.Lazio

2007-07-17T21:59:00.000-04:00

With Angelo Peruzzi and Marco Ballotta both aged beyond control (37 and 43), Italian side Lazio had been actively searching for a new #1. At the beginning of this summer, their eyes finally set down on the two youngsters of Albicelestes, Oscar Alfredo Ustari and Juan Pablo Carrizo.

Ustari signing with Getafe (possibly replacing Pato) forced Lazio to go into intensive negotiations with River in order to lock down this other target. Apparently the $10m (7m into River's pocket) was attractive enough for a club in financial troubles, and the trade was agreed eventhough River Plate doesn't yet have a replacement goalie.
Carrizo will follow the footsteps of fellow country men such as Claudio López, José Chamot, Juan Sebastián Verón and Diego Simeone.

S.S.Lazio's decision was carefully made after lengthened evaluation of possible targets. There's no doubt Carrizo will become their starting keeper in the near future. Compared to Ustari, Carrizo is set to gain massive experience in the Italian top flight and therefore possibly looking better to become the future Argentine #1.

____________________________________________________________

In other news. Girls with sticks scare me...

NT Player Pool

2007-07-17T18:56:00.000-04:00

Goalie
Carrizo
Ustari
Orión
~~Abbondanzieri~~
Leo Franco

Romero

Defense
Burdisso
Diaz
Garay
Gonzalo Rodriguez
Heinze
Milito
Pinola
Ferrari
Zanetti
Paletta
Bottinelli
Ibarra
Clemente Rodriguez
~~Ayala~~
~~Sorin~~
~~Cufre~~
~~Coloccini~~

Fazio
Mercado

Midfield
Mascherano
Maxi
Riquelme
Cambiasso
Gago
Aimar
Pablo Martín Ledesma
~~Veron~~
Demichelis
D'Alessandro
Zebaleta
Lucho
Scaloni

Banega
Moralez
Di Maria
Yacob
Escudero

Offense
Messi
Tevez
Saviola
Crespo
Aguero
Milito
Palacio
~~Cruz~~

How much blame should Roman shoulder?

2007-07-17T15:14:00.001-04:00

Definition of a 'good playmaker' from Wiki:

Perhaps the most important quality of a playmaker is the ability to read the game, and get into good positions making for effective receipt and distribution of the ball. Intuition is another key element of a playmakers' game, as they need to know where different players are at different times, without taking too long to dwell on the ball. A good playmaker will often hold possession, allowing other team members to make attacking runs. The ostensible role of the playmaker is to then provide or facilitate the final pass which leads to a goal. In football terminology this is often known as a killer ball or the final ball and is officially recorded as an assist.

These are all qualities Roman possesses and had frequently displayed. But on Sunday, he wasn't able to meet any of these criterias, and that's why we lost.

Brazil shut Roman down from the start. For a team build around the enganche system, this meant our entire offense was shut down. Seeking support, Roman ordered our defense to add offensive pressure by pushing fullbacks, which opened our rear up for Brazilian counter.

For a person at such critical position, Roman is too easy to shut down because he isn't very fast. Other similar players had faced similar problem, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane, Glenn Hoddle, Rui Costa... Sometimes their teams were able to adjust, sometimes not. We cannot blame Riquelme for getting shut down, but why weren't we able to make adjustments? Because our inflexible system was build around Roman, and we did not have the freedom to significantly alter our strategy.

People who understood the Argentine NT knew Riquelme was coming back before his official reenlistment, eventhough he had declared retirement from NT months ago. Because there isn't an Argentine player that suits the role better than Roman.

Which brings up the following:
How did we know the formation and strategy
Before the tournament had started?
Before the selection was called up?
Before Basile had even been given his job?

The key to defeating Argentina is shutting down Roman. Brazil made lengthened and careful preparation to realize that. Argentina on other hand, made zero adjustment to encounter this slowly approaching threat. On the day we met, they knew exactly how to beat us, we had no clue.

Los Albicelestes is an Idol of offensive, creative and attractive football. Its success encourages the playing of this beautiful style not only within Argentina, but also at much broader international levels. Vise versa, its failure also discourages other teams from playing offensive football.

Ironically, the direct reflections of such influence are the careers of Argentine playmakers. In the present case, Juan Román Riquelme.

We saw many transfer rumors linked to Roman before Copa America. The 'fight for Roman' involving giant clubs such as Atletico, Real Madrid and Manchester City continued to heat up during the tournament. Then suddently Argentina lost, and european club managers immediately started distancing themselves from such associations.

Is it moral to make Roman shoulder these turmoil? Is it fair to blame him for our losses?

Watching Boca people rubbing their hands with evil smiles on their faces, I'm completely speechless...

Video highlights of the match.

May the Purge Begin

2007-07-17T13:30:00.000-04:00

Juan Sebastián Verón
Veron muscled his way back into the NT, only to gave his people another disappointment. Perhaps he's got some professional career left, and maybe even a political career to pursuit in the future, but his days with the Albicelestes had come to an end.
Said so himself, it's time to make way for the younger people.

Roberto Fabián Ayala
The captain had also said goodbye. 13 years of service and only an Olympic gold to show for. El Ratón's story represented his entire generation of players. He led them onto the world stage, now he will lead them off.
Ayala's not only took off the number 2 Jersey, more importantly, he took off the captain's armband. Burdisso knew his moment had arrived, but will he become a starter, or a leader?

Argentina had produced some extraordinary individuals in the past 15 years, but never a team. This exceptional generation of world class talents brought back nothing but sorrow to their people.

Since the 93' Copa America, we have exited the tournaments by losing to: Romania 94', Brazil 95', Peru 97', Holland 98', Brazil 99', England 02', Brazil 04', Germany 06', Brazil 07'.

The only pause was when Argentina refused to go to Columbia.
We were defeated by strong opponents. These weren't choking, rather genuine smack-downs. The teams that defeated us were stronger, not in the physical or quality sense referring to individual players, they were better as units. More organized and more coherent, better morale and stronger will to win.

U-20 to Semi Final

2007-07-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

1
Mexico played an extraordinary campaign in this U-20 World Cup. 3-0 Gambia, 2-1 Portugal, 2-1 New Zealand and 3-0 Congo in 1/4 Final.
But the game today proved to be their most difficult battle in the tournament, and the one that they would not walk out as winners.

The match started out like everybody thought it would: a match up between Aguero and Dos Santos. Both teams went through the first 30 minutes looking for their target man, and neither succeeded.

Argentina started the match with a series of attacks, only to find the Mexican gate reliably guarded by their keeper Alfonso Blanco. After the sprint races at the very beginning, both teams quickly settled down into their fighting positions and started sniping for their super stars.

Mexico went right, and kept going down their right wing. They had some success early on, and at one point started getting crossed in and creating threats from around our box. Romero and the woodwork held their line, then our defense warmed up, and the game started falling into our hands.

The defense kept pressure on Mexican attackers. They successfully disrupted Mexico's attempts to organize in the midfield, and kept us a little higher in total possession through out the first half.

With Aguero tightly marked, Moralez became the connection piece. He put alot of pressure on Mexico midfield by moving the ball forward through quick and rapid combos with Di Maria and Piatti. But some unideal field conditions prevented us from scoring early.

Mexico was willing to keep possession and press into our half. And at one point they started to look dangerous. Vela's stop-turn-shot marked the high point of Mexican offense during the first half, but Romero kept the score at zero.

The continuous offensive pressure from Mini Argentino finally paid off. Seconds before half time, an error in Mexican defense allowed Moralez to take a crack at their goal from just beyond the 12 yard mark. The left directed shot deflected by Mexican defender went towards the right post, and Blanco had no chance...

The third quarter of the game was marked by Mexican's pressing and assaults. The Argentine defense turned out to be too tightly arranged to get through. By the 65th minute, Mexico had used 2 subs in attempt to provide alternative routes to transport the ball. Then by 70th minute it's obvious they had failed, and the game was again getting controlled by Argentina.

With 20 minutes to go, the tired Mexican formation, unable to find an effective assault plan, started to push in the middle. Argentina then substituted in Matias Sanchez to provide more cushioning and counter attacking options.

Unable to break through, Mexican players started turning to frustrations. For precautionary measurement, Hugo put in Zarate for Aguero. Which probably marked Zarate's last NT appearance. With his future set in Qatar, it's unlikely he'll be able to compete against other youngsters in future Seleccions.

In the other 1/4 Final today, Chile and Nigeria went into Extra Time with 0-0 tie. Then Chile scored at 96th minute and send Nigerians into a rampage. It ended with a Nigerian send off and 3 more Chilean goals.

Now there are 2 South American teams and 2 European teams in the Semi Final stage.

Pain

2007-07-15T18:57:00.000-04:00

So much to say...
So depressed to speak...

We thought this team, from DT to players, represented the peak of Argentine Football.
We were wrong!

Our mistake was stubbornly insisting on offensive and attractive football.
The world has changed. There are too many talented teams playing neutral or defensive games that offensive formations like 4-3-1-2 and 3-4-3 had long been rendered obsolete.

It's pretty obvious that formations such as 4-2-3-1 and 3-5-2 are more advanced and more reliable defensively. And Argentina has always had the players to play these more practical strategies. Instead, we wanted to play offensive football, even if it meant we get knocked the fuck out over and over...

Argentina went ahead with 4-3-1-2 today. The 1 man DM screen of Mascherano was clearly not enough against Brazil's center field concentration. Our CB had to push up to strengthen the midfield screen. Then when through balls happened, they had to rush all the way back... These were issues even a fan like me had thought about before the match, how could such brilliant tactician such as Basile have completely ignored them?

Then in panic, both Veron and Cambiasso dropped to defensive midfield screen. Leaving only 3 players attacking. Were we supposed to believe this 3:7 lineup could find 2 equalizers?

On top of that, 2 of the 3 holding midfield positions weren't even staffed by dedicated holding midfielders. How could Basile just let this condition continued...

Finally he tossed in Lucho, who tried to pretend to be the savior for about 2 minutes. I don't even know if I should of cried, or laughed... We knew so much of Brazil, yet our stubbornness had left us with so little choices.

The only real senior level success we had in the past two decades was 1990 worldcup. the 93 copa was not even close in term of prestige. If wasn't for the garbage mexican ref, that 90' worldcup was rightfully ours. Because we played practical and defensive in that tournament.

A successful national team picks its talents first, then build strategies around those players. Argentine senior NT does things the other way around. They choose the stupid doctrine first, then look for best suited players...

Even our youth team had shown more flexibilities and adaptabilities.
Perhaps that's why we could win youth WC, but not even copa.

Albicelestes must see dramatic changes. It cannot be just an influx of young blood. Argentina has to make fundemental adjustments to our strategies and doctrines. We have time to revamp and restructure before 2010 World Cup, and we MUST DO IT!

This blog will follow the NT future step by step. That's why I made it, that's the reason of its existence. Only by sharing the tears can one earn the rights to enjoy the triumph...

Aguante Albicelestes!

Double Header. Only One Matters?

2007-07-15T01:18:00.000-04:00

Argentina Vs. Brazil
Starting Lineups

This day is called the feast of Crispian:

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'

Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day:
then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
William Shakespeare
Wiki article about the Argentina - Brazil rivalry.

On such a glorious day, we shall let go of our prejudice; put aside our hate; allow ourselves fall victim to propagandas; and open our arms to welcome the Brazilians onto the pitch. Then we

KICK THEIR ASSES!
Vamos Argentina, Tenemos Que Ganar!

____________________________________________________________

U-20 Argentina Vs. Mexico

After the Copa America final tomorrow. Argentina U-20 will take on Mexico led by Giovanni dos Santos at 19:45 EDT.

Two unsurprising results today (Austria came back from the 15th minute Altidore goal to win against USA 2-1, and Spain losing to Czech Republic in PSO following 0-0 regulation periods and a 1-1 draw at the end of ET) meant the winner of tomorrow's battle between El Tri and Albicelestes will become the favorite to win this youth World Cup.

Why unsurprising?

USA ran out of gas and couldn't keep up with Austria. For teams lacking depth, tournament becomes increasingly difficult as it progresses due to fatigue and injuries. Honestly, this is probably as far as USA could go...

The other game, Czech was CLEARLY UNDERATED by media! Their defense is physical and solid, and their goalie Radek Petr is just unbelievable.

Mini Argentino couldn't get a break in our group meeting, it really didn't surprise me that spain couldn't pound one in after such intensive bombardment today. They were really lucky to get the equalizer at the beginning of second extra period, and Czech deserved the PSO win.

Those that aren't fortunate enough to have TV broadcast of today's U-20 matches could catch them via online stream from LiveFooty.

To watch the games this way, one must use MSIE and download the necessary program(s).

____________________________________________________________

More thoughts on U-20 Czech Republic vs. Spain

Negative football is simply too effective to be discarded by 'weaker' teams in international competitions

However, the worst isn't these weaker teams determined to play defensively football from the get go (Such as Czech in this U-20, or paraguay NT in WC06 and current Copa),

The worse are the strong teams that choose to play negatively against competitive opponents, that really disgusts me. Teams like England and Italy had clearly demonstrated how dangerous the style is and how willing they are to excise the option. They are the real reason why negative football is a force to be reckoned with today. Remember, it was Helenio Herrera's Inter that brought fame to Catenaccio, not the rest of Italian trenches.

FSC analyst Bobby Mcmahon noted that Spainish fullbacks in the U-20 match didn't push for width. In Argentina's past 3 copa america matches, our fullbacks didn't actively push for width either (especially after we scored). The holding midfielders were going up to add strength to the attack instead (Mascherano).
This is probably a precautionary measure to minimize damage from counter attacks. It from another perspective showed us how dangerous the negative styles are.

Due to the elimination of wildcards, the 24 to 32 team change in World Cup had reduced the number of teams that built their entire strategy around negative doctrines. Defensive football teams got hit hard in 98'WC (the first 32 team tournament). And in 2002 we saw more balanced formations. Finally in 2006, Paraguay almost looked like an odd bird... Perhaps U-20 WC can go to 32 team format as well?

The strong teams will continue excerising negative options unless some fundemental rule change had taken place. It's the yingyang of things. Where there's a villain, there's a hero...

Can we still hate Madrid if Roman play for them?

2007-07-13T20:27:00.001-04:00

Just when we were getting ready for the Copa final, VIPNERD from Bigsoccer brought us this disturbing news.

I have insisted in the past weeks/months that Riquelme wouldn't leave Boca and that he would put pressure til the end to see a renew of his loan at Boca.

In the past few weeks, interests from Atletico Maddrid and also an offer to Valencia had been rested aside. But ...

The only club I always considered that could tempt Roman to move was Real Madrid. It could be a personal "revenge' of some sort after his fiasco at Barza. I recall the respect he received from Zidane at a RM v Villa, in Zidane's last game at the Bernabeu. It showed the mutual admiration between both ... and something that would tempt Roman to emulate, to be Real's conductor.

Radio Marca has just confirmed Real's approach. Roman won't answer until after the final of the Copa America. Villarreal would get around 13 million Euros and the player would get a good increase to his salary. what is more important, Schuster admires Argentine footie and has always wanted to coach there. To the addition of Gago and Higuain, Saviola is close to signing. And now that Getafe has bought Ustari, there are strong rumours that Schuster would bring Abbondanzieri as the sub goalie.

More soon.

News article about the match between Villarreal y Real Madrid.

My 2 cents.

If Roman wants titles, Real Madrid can give him that. It's not too late for him to become a legend there. And from Real Madrid's point of view, they have everybody except an enganche. If Bernd Schuster really wants a copy of the Argentine 4-3-1-2, then Roman is the ideal choice, and a definite possibility...

The other issue is Roman's contract with Villarreal. Many are saying Roman doesn't care about Villar anymore, I beg to be different. Villar couldn't afford him, and Roman understood that. Him going back to Boca was a move that temporarily satisfied both Riquelme and Villar's immediate needs.
If Roman stay with Boca, Boca can afford his salary but will not want to pay the transfer fee to buy him off. Nor do they want to keep paying Villar the loan money. Villarreal on the other hand isn't exactly happy with the £10m+ potential transfer fee tied up with Roman, but at least satisfied with the loan payment.

Roman said he wouldn't play for anyone but Boca or Villar. That means he still cares about the submarino. If he sees a fitting transfer that will relieve both clubs from the peculiar financial entanglement, I think he will do it.

I have quoted VIPNERD in an earlier post, also about Roman's club career.

More thoughts on Brazil

2007-07-13T02:45:00.000-04:00

This Brazilian team looked really dangerous. It's filled with creative players, who will take all the chances they get. On top of that, they're in sync.

Their first goal against Uruguay for example, was classic. Wingback Maicon and right midfielder Julio Baptista switched place, with Robinho dropping back to provide lateral support. Maicon went down the middle while Robinho sending the ball down to Baptista on the right wing. Baptista then crossed it into the box with 3 other brazilian inside and Robinho rushing towards it...

One of Dunga's primary weapon seemed to be the set plays. He had carefully designed this rushing tactic. There are alot of HUGE people on the Brazilian team. Maicon, Alex, Alex Silva, Gilberto Silva, Gilberto, Naldo, Afonso.... And Dunga's set piece tactic extremely effectively utilized all these size and height advantages. They lineup shoulder to shoulder, and rush into a tight line in front of the goal after the service. It's like a huge pingpong pedal with one end touching the far post. Without big defenders it looked almost impossible to stop them from scoring... We'll need luck, but more importantly we need to NOT GIVE OUT SET PLAYS.

Doni is a terrific keeper. He will stop any shot that's not taken carefully. We need to get good position before striking, so possession will be the key to winning this battle.

Brazil's weak link is its defense. Especially defending balls played on the ground. Their defenders are all tall, so not very agile at the same time. And their big movements on defensive plays could draw themselves fouls and cards. Dunga used 2 holding midfielders and a winger that's good with tackles to assist their defense and still allowed 2 goals from Uruguay. This Brazilian backline looked really shaky.

So, our opponent is a team with an offense that focuses on producing runs and long through balls. It also finishes very well on set pieces. Their defense on the other hand is less effective, and 3 of their midfielders need to help them out.

Like in this earlier analysis, I think 4-2-3-1 would be the ideal option against Brazil. 2 Midfielders would increase the depth of our defense, allow better restriction over their forwards. It'll also free up our fullbacks from shouldering too much center defensive duties. Allowing them to concentrate on shutting down the wings. Also, Veron played mostly at a defensive position. Why don't we just use another DM? Or even dropping Veron permanently to parallel with Mascherano... But ref will watch Veron if he plays DM, and Gago is probably more reliable.

4-3-1-2 would obviously add more offense to the team, but I don't see why it would be necessary. We played hard for 25 minutes (20'-45') against Mexico, created 4 chances and scored a goal. The Brazilian defense isn't nearly as proficient as the Mexican one. 3 offensive players and Riquelme should be able to open them up from the get go. Our priority should be minimizing losses instead of opening the floodgate. They have the big Jesus in Rio De Janeiro, we have to maintain control of our own fate.

U-20 into 1/4 Final

2007-07-12T18:50:00.000-04:00

U-20 Albicelestes defeated Poland 3-1 today with a 4-2-3-1.

Poland started a 4-4-2 which was really a 4-5-1 with #11 Janczyk being the target person. And their offensive focus had been on the wings ever since the start of the match. By 5th minute it was very clear Poland wanted to get the ball to Janczyk with through passes, and use his physical statue and mobility to get their goal.

Mini Argentino warmed up slowly, allowed a dangerous chance on the first Poland counter attack. Our CBs (I liked how Fazio performed later on though) continued making coordination errors. Shortly after 30th minute, a brilliant diagonal cross from Malecki (forward playing CAM) reached Janczyk. Our offside trap failed, left Janczyk 1 on 1 with Romero and the pollard put it away. Argentina down 0-1.

That was the first goal we conceded in this tournament. And it was a questionable non-offside. I don't think Argentina fans were really worried. Our boys had dominated the midfield through out the first half. Yacob and Banega shutting down the mid route, while the combination plays between Moralez, Di Maria, Piatti and Aguero were unstoppable up front. It was only a matter of time before Bialkowski would let one in.

Polish players, as expected, played a very physical game. I wouldn't call them dirty, but they certainly deserved more cards in first half than the single yellow given to Marciniak at 26th minute. Danch for example, displayed poor tackling techniques on several occasions. Starosta only received a caution for pulling down Moralez in their box?! If the El Salvador ref wasn't biased, then he clearly had a soft hand.

Polish midfielders also lacked composure. Perhaps the absence of their captain Fojut (Bolton?) had a significant negative effect. Poland didn't seemed to know how to initiate attack once they gained possession in center midfield, and ended up often losing possession at dangerous places. The center played a very disciplined game in first half, but lacked creativity and looked slow.

Finally, at 40th minute, Moralez gained possession in our rear. He dribbled it all the way into the left wing getting through 3 Polish players, played a one-two with Aguero, then low crossed it to Di Maria for the equalizer.

If Aguero didn't make himself visible in first half, he certainly chose a different face after the break. He got to the ball inside Poland box on our first possession after the restart, lifted it above his head and went around the Polish defender, then knocked it far post and send it home. He finished the chance so elegantly with such maturity, that IMO had secured the starting position in Atletico. Then he did it again! At 86th minute, he got to the ball again on the left of the Polish goal. This time Aguero was ahead of his marker, so he simply dashed a bit, went around the keeper, and tipped the ball into back of the net...

YouTube Match Highlights

The 2nd half wasn't nearly as coordinated as the first. The Poles really should of received more cards. Few of their players including Cywka and Janczyk clearly turned to frustration after our second goal and Janczyk was finally thrown out at 90th minute... He should of been red carded long before that! If I was Hugo Tocalli I would of been throwing all kinds of shit at the ref. Part of the ref's job was to protect our players! I know the Poles played a successful 9 men defense to preserve their lead against Brazil. But it certainly wasn't the case today. They were down a goal and unable to comeback, then they just wanted to hurt our players!

Also, our players were again showing signs of over relaxation in the second half. Selfish plays and long shots... I hope the mini Argentinos realized that their real journey had just began. They'll face Mexico (2-0 Congo) next, and then possibly the African king Nigeria in Semi-Final. On top of that, the teams on the other side of the bracket are looking increasingly dangerous.

Courtesy of xtratime.org