Argentina vs. Venezuela Preview

THanks Mion. I have such a strong liking for Messi.

Alexa, I didn’t know that you are from Ecuador. Brazil is very unpredictable.

if the clarin report is right then i probably won’t get to see walter samuel again. but guys like heinze play every game this will always be a mistery to me. maradonna please mix it up and give some other guys a shot. smauel is not a nightmare waiting to happen like heinze is.

Thanks Mion!

m very filled of proud by argentina display, ok i was expecting that coz venezuela was not really to be a threat to argentina, given the gap in experience, in talent, etc… But what i loved most was the mood, everyone seems to be fighting for the same cause(players, coach, fans and country). the attitude of the players was extraordinary, every one was working very hard. i did not see sign of complacency which appear when you play a low profile team.

gago was not that impressive, i don’t understand why el diez is not calling cuchu who is amongst the top three best defensive midfielder with mascherano. he has got much more experience than gago, he is very, i can say very very good at building up move, when it comes to protect the back four he is also very good. in 4-4-2 configuration, i will go for cuchu and mascherano in the midfield. maxi,tevez,kun, messi. with the option to bring off either tevez or kun for an enganche (brujita,montenegro, lucho and may be aimar if he rediscovers top form). in a case riquelme reconsiders his position, i will start kun on the bench. Diego might not close the doors to a player like zarate who can be a valuable addition to his team.

for the centre back position, i will play samuel and demichelis
heinze on the left hand side and zanetti on the right hand side. this can give option to shift to a back three defense.

but my plea here is to have cambiasso back,

There are many players that Diego did not call up but
I am sure he is doing it right.
We don’t need Cambiasso now we will need him at WC10, and he is a very versatile player so keeping him out as of now is ok with me.
This way Gago is getting chance to get into the mix, if Gago do not improve further by WC10 Cambiasso is there.
Hienze is always playing better with NT compared to in Real, but still he will be shown the bench or the door when WC10 comes same goes for Zanetti (this guy can actually be in the playing 11 the way he maintains himself).

If we see for a long term perspective all the choices makes sense, and considering that Bilardo is always making notes in every game it cannot be a case of ‘not well thought plan’

To the world — Argentina is back and its back with vengeance under the man who has done it before

Posted from  Australia

watch10, i read carefully your comment, i just don’t agree with this : ‘This way Gago is getting chance to get into the mix, if Gago do not improve further by WC10 Cambiasso is there.’, gago is good but using cuchu as back up option for gago, this is simply unacceptable, how can use a player who has not recently been impressing both with club and national team in place of what many, many hail as the best DM with mascherano. i don’t deny the fact that gago is a young prospect, if he can adjust his passing he can be up there amongst the very best.

when it comes to game reading, cleverness and tactical awareness, i can tell you very few players on this earth can match ‘cuchu’. he is performing very well at club level. he is right now with pupi and ibrahimovic the best performer of inter this season.

there are many other way to make a player gel into a team, not playing the best player is not at all a way to make a player gel into a team. i would have rather used gago as a back up option for cuchu.

Altitude is a HUGE consideration in South American qualifying. I think it was Robinho that confessed after the game that the whole team was on oxygen tanks in the locker room during half-time. Its the great equalizer and a less-talented team that is more accustomed to altitude can physically dominate a much more talented side that isn’t. It happens often. Now, on Wednesday its Argentina’s turn.

According to the Argy newspapers, they will switch back to a 4-4-2 due to the altitude. It not necessarily physicality per se that you need but rather the players in the best aerobic shape. That’s why it surprised me to see such an out of shape player as Ronny playing and one of the most freakish (from a cardio standpoint) players in the world like Alves starting out on the bench.

Back to Argentina. Gutierrez is suspended due to the yellow he received against Venezuela. That spot is now open. Angel di Maria for that spot is a very intriguing choice for that spot. You probably don’t know who he is if you didn’t watch the Olympics or have a friend who is a rabid Rosario Central fan but he has LOADS of potential. A tall, lanky 21 year old true winger with blistering pace and good finishing. He is still rawer than sushi since he is yet to be a constant fixture in Benifica but being young and talented, his aerobic shape is through the roof so maybe that makes him a good choice for this match. Argentina will probably play the counter and his blistering pace down the left will be huge for that. The downside is that being raw, he might make dumb mistakes.

We’ll see if the Argies adapt better to the altitude than the Brazilians later this week. Bolivia may be bottom dwellers but they are giant killers at home due to the altitude advantage. Messi and Tevez (I think he deserves the start more than el Kun) or Aguero need to conserve their energy and try to hit the Bolivians on the counter. If they play up and down EPL style like in France, the whole team will get worn down. A lot of discipline and energy conservation will be required. The 3 subs will also be vital for the same reason. This will be a heck of a test for the DT version of Maradona (or Bilardo depending on who you believe really calls the tactical shots).

Posted from  United States

I still have not seen the game bot looking ahead to the next game I agree with much of what Hector said. the reason taht teams like Bolivia win at home is cardio. You must have a good plan fo rthat and for the subs youi are going to make aheado of time to account for this. If Basile were coaching he wouild not consider this at all and would start all old defenders along with three defensinve mids and might even have Zanetti in the midfield. I dont beleive that Maradona will be like this. The starting 11 projected by Ole is perfect for the game. I beleive that tevez should start over Aguero but I also think that tevez could be the perfect sub at about 60 minutes for Aguero to re energize the team. I also would like to see Lavezzi get a chance late in the game in place of Di maria. The other sub I wouild ahve in mind is Lucho for either gago or maxi depending on who is tired.

As far as the comments on gago I will reply later but I do think he had played very well against france and scotland. maradona is trying to build a partnership with gago and Mascerano that means that he will try starting them together every chance he gets.

Posted from  United States

This comment for Maradona made me laugh :

If Messi plays like that every time, it will be excellent,” said Maradona. “If that last chance had gone in, we would all have had to leave the stadium, pay for another ticket and come back in again.”

Posted from  United States

Diego Milito to Inter confirmed.

The Argentinian Football Association have announced that Ezequiel Lavezzi and Diego Milito will miss the World Cup qualifier against Bolivia due to injuries, as will Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez who is banned.

Posted from  United States

Also time to put up another thread about the upcoming game. I know that Bolivia left four of their starters in Bolivia for the Columbia game so they could be well rested for Argentina. I also know that one of their starters received a red card and wont play against Argentina.

Posted from  United States

Also i love cambiasso as well and think he should be called up in place of Battaglia. To me cambiasso is much better.

Posted from  United States

I think I am mis-interpreted related to Cambiasso, he is not a back up of Gago, he is a sure playing 11 in WC10 , but Diego is sure (even I am sure ) that Argentina will Qualify without Cambiasso. But in WC he is required, so why to make him injured or any other issues with club when Cambiasso is a true professional he is perfect in ball distribution, positioning, and taking care of his fitness , he can play as a defensive wing position, holding midfielder, centre back and if needed can also be a box to box mid fielder(rarely does that but can). We are not in crisis to bring him to the qualifying or the friendly games.
With Gago we are building a talent so that we can have a 100% strong squad. the bench will be as strong as the playing 11 in all areas.
During 2009-10 season we will see even Garay/Pareja/Monzon all will be getting a chance in the team yet Gonzalo or Samuel will rarely feature in playing 11, I think there a long term plan goingon there and as Diego says we are going one match at a time.

Posted from  Australia

About the 3 man defense candidates it was a clever choice a left back + centre back as Heinze.
Sweeper + centre back + right back as Angeleri
A right back + left back + mid fielder as Zanetti
With support of Mache, Gago, Maxi and Guttirez it was a perfect art of combination play in defense, lots of position swapping and relying on each others suport. Since most of the time we watch the attacks, the interchange of positions by these 3 man defense was very good, there were few mistakes but it would happen even in a 5 man defense.
If Gago and Aguero would have had a better day we would have had double the score that we saw.

Posted from  Australia

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2009/03/30/1182413/world-cup-comment-were-not-england-were-argentina

I am sure a lot of you will have strong opinions on this article

Posted from  United States

What is La Puna?
La Puna de Atacama is a huge mesa that lies on top of the Andes Mountains taking a part of the north of Chile, northwest of Argentina, almost all of Bolivia and the south of Perú.
La Paz, capital city of Bolivia is right in the middle of this high mesa.
The city of La Paz stands at around 3,800 meters above sea level. That’s about 11,400 feet up.
El “Alto de La Paz” that surrounds the city is at 4,100 meters (12,300 feet above sea level).

“Apunado” is the spanish name used to described a person who’s suffering the effects of that altitude when coming from a place that is at sea level.
I know that well. I was “apunado” many years ago when I visited La Paz.
For those who never experienced something like that, it’s pretty simple to describe and pretty uncomfortable to go through.
Basically you feel a tremendous headache, a feeling that your head is about to explode, your energy is almost nonexistent and breathing becomes quite a task given the reduced level of oxygen in the thin air of La Puna.

It has been established by doctors that you need at least 7 to 10 days to go through it and start to feel well again.
The other way to get around it for football players is to get to La Paz just in time for the game.
And that’s what La Albiceleste is going to do.
They are flying to Santa Cruz de la Sierra which is at a much lower altitude and then arrive in La Paz just an hour or two before the game and before the Puna effect goes to work.
Saludos

Posted from  United States

cant believe that guy was trying to compare england to argentina

HAHAHHAHAHAHAH

what was he thinking gerrard is no where near messi

Posted from  Canada

I have to make a point about altitude– this is pet peeve of mine. Almost every single Ecuadorian player on the national team 1) plays abroad and/or 2) not even from Quito.

Our good players are from Chota or the coast, both areas at sea level. When they live in Ecuador, they do have to play in Quito as visitors, but most never live there (it’s only pretty recently that Quito teams have been good). Believe me — as soon as you leave the country, you feel as lousy as anybody else when it comes to the altitude. Those guys playing in Europe will probably feel just like me and my family returning — the headaches, the shortness of breath, the whole thing.

Brazil did not prepare for the altitude, and Ecuador has no finisher who could punish them for that. We don’t have strikers. That’s why we didn’t win.

I’m sick of the altitude argument. It’s bogus.

i didn’t mean your argument about puna, Albo. Just the discussion about Brazil /Ecuador….

Ecuador totally deserved to win that game, Alexa.

Posted from  United States

Hey there everybody,

Just inform the rest of you that our podcast second episode is already upload on our blog. Please feel free to have a listen to it.

http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/2009/03/mundo-albiceleste-podcast-02.html

Posted from  Malaysia

I watched the Brazil/Ecuador game and yes Ecuador totally deserved to win the game. I think that was the first time I saw Brazil play that bad! I don’t think they put two passes together the whole game…… The goal by Baptista was luck! The goalie for Ecuador isn’t that good…….. Julio Cesar is a beast…….. I’m afraid that Brazil could win the world cup with a Julio Cesar alone, just like Buffon and italy last WC. hopefully Carrizo is good for us….. i hope Andujar starts, I want to see how this kid performs at this level!
peace all!

Amazing article trying to compare England with Argentina , if you are determined to compare Oranges with Carrots then surely you can for the sake of comparison… but the fact remains Carrots cannot be Oranges.
I am so much amazed with it that I am seriously planning to learn this art from the writer.

What time is our next match ?

Posted from  Australia

There will be changes in Argentina lineup to meet Bolivia in La Paz at the South American Qualifiers, according to what was seen during Monday practice at Ezeiza premises.

Argentina held a mock game with Tristan Suarez players, and those who didn’t enter the pitch during the game against Venezuela were there.

The game finished 2-0 with goals from Daniel Montenegro and Lisandro Lopez; then, Diego Maradona chose a 4-4-2 lineup including Mariano Andujar; Daniel Diaz, Martin Demichelis, Walter Samuel, Emiliano Papa; Lucho Gonzalez, Juan Sebastian Veron, Sebastian Battaglia, Angel Di Maria; Montenegro, Lopez.

Among these names, the ones having more chances to be in the lineup to face Bolivia are Demichelis, Papa and Di Maria, who might replace Marcos Angeleri, Carlos Tevez or Sergio Aguero and suspended Jonas Gutierrez respectively.

Posted from  United States