Argentina Squad for Norway Friendly

its obvious that messi is not ready to be enganche

after he went to forward and gago went on mid

things looked up and we scored

i guess basile wants to find out what the future formation should be

Posted from  Canada

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Aaaah! Whatever - it was a friendly, but all valid points above, the squad was pretty good, actually world class. I wonder what will come of this.

Posted from  United States

I watched most of the game, i cannot see how Gaby Milito is keeping his place in the side, he made 5 absolutely disgusting blunders, and Diego Milito missed three great chances in the first half. It’s only when Saviola and Gago came on that they started looking like a team. I think they really missed Riquelme. As well as that Messi was played in the wrong position. I’m not sure about Lavezzi, he has yet to prove himself, but someone who was in great form Basile didn’t take, and that’s Aguero. I’d really like Basile to play him in the next game, and g. milito has to go. Isn’t Gonzalo Rodriguez fit yet?

I watched most of the game, i cannot see how Gaby Milito is keeping his place in the side, he made 5 absolutely disgusting blunders, and Diego Milito missed three great chances in the first half. It’s only when Saviola and Gago came on that they started looking like a team. I think they really missed Riquelme. As well as that Messi was played in the wrong position. I’m not sure about Lavezzi, he has yet to prove himself, but someone who was in great form Basile didn’t take, and that’s Aguero. I’d really like Basile to play him in the next game, and g. milito has to go. Isn’t Gonzalo Rodriguez fit yet?

We have a world class players, but not yet a world class team.

This is going to be a loooong day…

Posted from  Malaysia

The Norway team has been playing together for quite a while, and we are still trying to find the right players to fit together, that may take a few games. But on the plus side we played much much better the last 20-25 minutes.

Its the not right players to “fit” together - its team chemistry and tactics. I didn’t watch the game but i can only assume when Gago entered the fray - he performed his duties defensively and his ball distribution probably had a lot do with it.

I don’t know. I’ll just sit back and see what transpires. Next is Australia and then the WC qualifiers begin. I agree that Gaby Milito has always looked shaky.

Posted from  United States

i think this coach is a disaster…sometimes you play your way…but nowadays you need to play on others mistakes.

individually, the defence and even ustari looked ok despite the mistakes. what is bothering is the way basile let norway play!!

norway play physically and you can’t beat carew one to one…so stop them from playing in thier half. put pressure on thier wingbacks…on thier midfield….playing mascherano alone won’t work here…this is not paraguay or mexico!

ustari….ok did a terible mistake…but for the first time is ok

garay is promising…i thought his positioning seemed to me very good…his marking was good ..i hope he develops to become the leader in defence….

zanetti played a good game but he is always pushing front and with one DM you are just inviting for counter attack!

lucho was played a right wing midfielder …and i don’t see the point of this!! can someone explain what basile was thinking?

the only good thing in the game was gago - in addition to the fact of carew replaced which reliefed the team- not because he played excellent but because it let messi push deep forward with the his markers so it allowed more useful possetion in norway’s half.

insua not bad….when he was introduced he forced the full back of norway to be pushed and made space for saviola…the sa,e goes for maxi when he was shifted to the right he became more efficient

lavessi and milito …can’t be blamed…it is basile fault..and not them….when the team started to function they were out……

mistakes happen…and the goals of norway were mistakes but it is not a big deal..the big deal is basile watching norway playing like they wish and he is sitting and waiting….

guys tell what you think…..and what do you think about playing gago and mascherano to gether…i think it is timefor them to play together…..

what do you think

I thought that they defo played better when Gago came on, he should have been brought on earlier, i can’t understand why Basile doesn’t play 2 number 5’s, the under 20’s did, and it allowed the attack to function but also took some pressure off the defence. And bionic messi G milito made some horrendous mistakes, he gave away possession in really bad areas.

Brazil won 2-0. That is the team that wins matches irrespective of what players are fielded. Individual skills does not make a difference in every game these days. Sometimes it can.

This is what I feel and I want -

1. I am tired of losing. We lose so much that I try not to let people know that I support Argentina.

2. I do not believe we have the team to win a tournament. We are not the best team (mind you, not individuals). We also do not have the best coach.

3. Get rid of basile. He is old, his thinking is old, his ideas are old, his methodologies are old. In short its time for someone new.

4. In todays world you need to play each game differently, balancing you play based on your opponent. You need good game reading skills and the ability to take take calculated risks. Someone like Jose Mourinho is what is needed or Rafa Benitez.

This is not going to happen. We will continue to lose, in between we will win some games, then we will be dreaming again. But you do not win anything based on “chance” factor. Its a task, you know about the challenges you are getting into and you prepare. If you are not capable enough you will never win. Let me give you an analogy - You are going to write an exam in college and your tutor is from your grand father’s time and he has not even heard of internet and knows only about handful books he had during his time. Do you think you will be well prepared? the answer is NO.

I REALLY HOPE WE LOSE ALL OUR GAMES BADLY. WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME. I REALLY WANT TERRIBLE RESULTS SOONER SO THAT IT CALLS FOR MAJOR OVERHAUL. PRAY FOR OUR DEFEATS AGAINST AUSTRALIA AND EVERYONE IF YOU ARE A TRUE ARGENTINA SUPPORTER AND WANT TO BE HOPEFUL IN 2010. ENOUGH SAID.

Posted from  United States

Arg players are incredible, but saying that Norway wins because they are bad and primitive just doesn´t add up! “The goals of Norway were mistakes?” What´s that supposed to mean? What kind of goals aren´t? Norway has about 4,5 million inhabitants. Beating Argentina is not bad, and I think we should get more cred for it. Some of our players were great, and the teamwork was really good. I think anyone who actually saw the game would agree.

Posted from  Norway

I would completely agree. You won because you played well. Because you were prepared better.

Trust me, if you meet us again you will beat us again. The only time you will lose to us is when someone in our team will play a magic game and we have many players who can do that.

But as long as your team plays our “team” you will have a better chance of winning.

CONGRATS! Well done NORWAY!

Posted from  United States

Bionic Messi,

Great reading of the game in your review above.

The TREND continues with Basile. He is unable to respond tactically while the game is going on. As you stated above, Basile allowed Norway to play their game from start to finish.

Unfortunately, as it has been pointed above by many bloggers, Milito wasted numerous chances. He simply does does not have the poacher instinct.

If we cannot beat Norway, how can we be a CONTENDER?

Zanetti continues to show that age simply does not matter. Current form is what really matters.

I do not know about you guys. I think Argentina terribly missed the creative genius of Riquelme.

After this game, I am more worried about qualifying for WC 2010. I think our first game is against Chili. Forget about being a contender. We have to be concern about survival under Basile.

Cheers to you all.

Posted from  United States

who said norway players are bad and primitive? Most people have been very fair in their posts. I don’t understand your anger…

Posted from  United States

Ken
I completely agree with you. There is no point living in a dream land. I am trying to make myself believe that we are really not a contender. I hurts so much when we have such high hopes and then we lose. All these losses are no coincidences.

I really hope we lose the Australia game and couple of qualifiers right at the beginning. Then only we will have any chance of qualifying.

We could not beat Norway, England, Croatia, Germany, Brazil, Spain etc. Only team of any substance we beat was France.

Its so hard when we lose so much. Wish we could do something about it. But alas.

Individual players are good. But we need a manager who can think. Pekerman was better than Basile int this respect. Even, against Germany he had a plan, he did something, which backfired, but at least he was thinking. If we would have survived for 10 mins we would have hailed his strategy. Point is he applied this thought and it did not work one day. Much better than Basile, who just hopes it will be all fine.

Posted from  United States

I think that people are panicking.

Brazil doesn’t win all their friendlies - that’s just not true. They tied England and lost 2-0 to Portugal.

Arg’s side was pretty ragtag - and no matter how you look at it, if you best player is not on the field, your team will suffer.

The problem is that Basile (and any Arg coach worth his beans) is trying to play a style that requires a lot of time and practice. Defensive teams do better in quick slap dash friendlies because it’s easier to set up a defensive structure than an offensive game plan.

Arg has proved in the last world cup that they can get together quickly and produce amazing football, but it’s important to note that they did this with Riquelme. They did not look convincing, other than the game against France, without Riquelme. If they are going to play Basile style, they need Riquelme. If Riquelme isn’t going to be around, they HAVE to change their approach.

The smart people on this blog say this over and over, and it’s true — your game depends on the players you have.

Posted from  United States

i meant the last copa america, not the last world cup…

Posted from  United States

Debasish, before you kill yourself or something like that, you have a great way out.
Just find yourself a team that wins more often.
You don’t have to be stuck with Argentina.
Put on a yellow jersey and you’ll feel at the top of the world.
But try not to give up your good health in exchange for a football game.
Treat yourself a bit better. :-)Saludos

Shit! This is quite a disappointment…I don’t want to come up with any excuses. I don’t want to say that we didn’t have Riquelme or Crespo or Tevez or someone who wasn’t there…I don’t want to be condescending towards any other team, but I would like to think that Argentina can win regardless of whom it fields…apparently I am quite wrong.

In any case, congratulations to Norway. I did not see the game, so I cannot comment on any of it, but for those who hope this loss will jolt us out of complacency, I am unsure of what you actually expect. For Basile to resign (when he took us to the finals of the Copa)? For us to suddenly find young world-class defenders to replace the current lot?

Two losses in a row is obviously not very promising, but there can be no quick fixes either. For some problems, there may seem obvious solutions -improper positioning of players for instance. But others, like the absence of a point person in attack or more skilled defenders are long-term concerns which most professional coaches would well be aware of. Getting a Mourinho on board will not necessarily get immediate solutions either.

For any thing to work it takes time. And by the way Brazil lost to Norway as well, and anyone who thinks Norway are a crap team is wrong, they have played really well in their last few matches. We were playing with an experimental side, when you do that it’s just as easy to lose as it is to win. They were playing with a full strength set team, even so i think we did great in the last 20 minutes of the game, we came really close to equalising.

I think the bottom line is that to play a really great attacking game you need to have an equally great defense.
As i said b4, i’m curious to know why the under 20 team plays with two no.5’s but the senior team doesn’t, after all aren’t they supposed to be playing in the same style.

Debasich,
I want to thank you for your most 2 recents posts about our latest defeat; it is very insightful and realistic.

I am so glad you also got it right. Unless we put a THINKING coach in place of Basile, we are screwed! I have taken a lot of sticks for standing up to that point of view. Time and again, Basile has proven that he simply cannot think on his feet!

Does anybody know why Aimar was not picked? Is he injured or is Basile continuing with that preferential treatment trend, typical of Argentinean coaches?

I cannot wait to hear Maxi’s report about this game. He will say it just the way it is with no sugar coating.

Aimar10,
I would to hear what you have to say since you are always very analytical in your views.

Posted from  United States

ken - are you just trying to inflame now, or do you really have something new to say?

Posted from  United States

Alexa,
I have something new to say. It is in the new thread posted by Bob.

By the way, in response to your pointed question, there is nothing to “inflame”. If we cannot beat a team that cannot qualify for WC, how can we be a CONTENDER, less qualify for WC2010? Do you call that inflaming? This is just plain common sense.. Thanks for asking me a question? I appreciate it.

Posted from  United States