Mexico or Peru this might be an important game after all..

Mex - Arg rematch! Except this time Messi will start, you know Aimar will appear, and Riquelme is putting the beautiful in the beautiful game.

Remember how woeful Scaloni was against mexico? Well now Zanetti is back to his rightful position. He makes such a difference. His technique is impeccable and he doesn’t ever seem to get tired.

Mexico will be very very difficult. But Arg seems to be in a really good place right now. Hopefully Tevez will play for a long time.

Mex - Arg rematch! Except this time Messi will start, you know Aimar will appear, and Riquelme is putting the beautiful in the beautiful game.

Remember how woeful Scaloni was against mexico? Well now Zanetti is back to his rightful position. He makes such a difference. His technique is impeccable and he doesn’t ever seem to get tired.

Mexico will be very very difficult. But Arg seems to be in a really good place right now. Hopefully Tevez will play for a long time.

Albo,
I want to hear your opinion on Veron’s performance today.

He did have a couple of bad passes. But I think he game a lot of support to Messi. And he was rightly available whenever Riquelme wanted to change direction of the game. And I think overall he had a very good game.

What do you think? I wasn’t much optimistic about him before, but I think he is having a unnoticeably good game.

People, tell me honestly:
How good this team could be?

Posted from  United States

I love this team but I think that against another attacking team I worry a lot about the back four team speed. Any thoughts on starting Diaz in place of Milito?

Posted from  United States

Riquelme, in my opinion Veron is great where he is, even if it’s for the first half.
When you look at all our games you see how our opponents play great pressure defence on us, but not for more than 60 to70 minutes.
And then “here we come”.
This bunch plus Tevez and Aimar are the only players who can play consistently “one touch” football.
Veron has the experience to make Riquelme feel safe as a play-maker.
just my opinion.

Posted from  United States

Also I love that Mexico won big maybe they will have the balls to play us straight up and attack and watch us tally the goals!!! Mexico might have gotten to comfortable playing a ten man counter attacking team. I love it :).

Posted from  United States

what tevez does is allow for the strikers to bridge the gap between the strikers and MF. He runs and finds the gaps and hence why he’s so lethal with Roman b/c Tevez opens up space; and with that extra yard, Roman can eat up Ds.

Also, Tevez by moving around creates space for Messi and as someone pointed out above, Ds have to be more honest about Messi and cannot overload his side as Tevez can break them down as well.

Tevez has just got to start now…

Also, I think Veron and Cucho did really well. They plugged the gaps, played the team game. not everyone can score nor can we have 7 attackers as much as it would seem everyone up here would like that to be the case.

And what is going on with Masher-dona.. what the hell. he’s got more goals than Tevez and Messi. insane…

Wow ARGENTINA will face mexico . What ever i hope ARGENTINA can win for this semifinal . I also hope RIQUELME can increase their goal .VAMOS ARGENTINA . NO ILLORE PARA MI ARGENTINA porque yo siempre contigo . I don’t know how to explain how i feel when you lose . If you cry i also will cry . ARGENTINA PARA SIEMPRE ! ! ! !

Posted from  Malaysia

Toddutah, let me remind you that on the second half of Argentina-Mexico match at WC06, the mexicans played 3 in the back line.
And they came attacking on us and gave us quite a hard time.

Posted from  United States

The biggest difference between this team and the one at WC06: Veron and Gago, who bring relief and back up for Riquelme and Mascherano.
I love what Basile is doing with the team

Posted from  United States

I think Arg-Mex game will be a very even one. We will have to score on our changes.

*Changes=chances

Albo,
What I like about your analysis, is thaat you dont miss to appreciate what Gago, Veron, Cambiasso, do to our team. They are the backbone of our short-passing game.

HI folks,

What can I sayyy, what can I sayyyyy, what can I sayyyyy?????????

Watching Argentina play might now be better than going out on a date. Ha ha ha!

I said that with tongue in cheek.

Yes Riquelme, you can tell those great players when you see them moving around without the ball. Making themselves open, and ever adjusting to help the play-maker.

Posted from  United States

Hi Native Son, I hope you enjoyed the game…

Posted from  United States

Today I’ve had a great day. It started at Wimbledon, then ended with Requelme’s opener and fourth goal.

Albo, I have to agree with you on one thing you said. It is not that that is the only correct thing you said, but I observed it as well and especially after Mexico/Paraguay’s game today.

Whenever we play, the opponent brings out their best defence, their ‘A’ game.

Just look at Paraguay. We couldn’t crack them until late in the game. Now, I know the red card messed them up but Mexico easily broke through them.

Just look at the U.S. They did likewise for almost 70 minutes.

Today, Peru did likewise.

OUr only saving grace is that we have so much arsenal, so much firepower that no one can sustain it for a whole 90 minutes.

Up till the last minute, folks like Masch, Zanetti, Messi were running up and down just the way they begun. We are on fire.

I strongly believe, without any doubt or equivocation that we’ll trounce Mexico 3-1 or 4-1.

I have no doubt in my mind.

I will also say this;

Tevez should start. This will be an important game. In my view, it’ll be the final.

Tevez, Messi, Requelme and Masch. will crack open the Mexican defence. That is what we need.

If we could a fast first goal, probably within the first 15 minutes, we’ll be able to calm our nerves and play our usual game.

i hope they won’t be as physical as the other teams have been. I also didn’t like today’s officiating. The Brazilian guy let so many of our guys be hammered but to be fair to him, he also let us get away with a few rough tackles.

I’ve noticed one thing with regard to Messi be it with the NT or Barcelona. Everytime he loses the ball, he hussles to recorver it and 50% or so of hte times, he wins it back. I loved his clean tackle after he had lost hte ball.

Requelme is the beast. THis guy has some moves that only rival those of Michael Jackson on stage.

Ray Hudson of GolTV told his buddy Phil Schoen that ‘I keep telling you about this great team ARgentina and you keep doubting…..”

I love Ray Hudson and the way he describes our team. To him, Requelme is the genius, the Maestro, the poet all rolled into one.

I am loving it!!!!!!!!!!

Albo,

I had the moment of my life. The second half of the first half was a bit unnerving but all’s well that end’s well.

We had a terrific second half.

In my view, we should have scored 8-0. We missed four clean goals. 3 or 4 in the first half and Tevez’s wild header in the early minutes of the second half.

Mexico and Brazil know we are coming. I can’t wait for Wednesday.

Three wise men.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/apphoto/photo?sportId=780&photoId=1618880

Been waiting for Riquelme-Tevez-Messi to play together for quite sometime now. And it’s lethal. But how about Riquelme-Milito-Tevez-Messi? Sacrifice Veron or Cambiasso? Or Gago for Veron?

Vamos, Vamos Argentina!

Posted from  Malaysia

lets not forget that this is the second shut out in a row. if i not mistaken peru didn’t have one single shot on target. i am sort of glad teams aren’t striaght up attacking us. but i do worry if we can cope with a all out attacking team. regardless we do have the fire power to out score any one

Aimar,

I missed the beginning of the fourth goal. I was in the Kitchen. I only saw Riquelme kick the ball to the goal but from the replay, it seems like Pato saved a shot which went to the right corner, then beat a striker to it and kicked it to Tevez who passed it to requelme.

It might be the only shot at goal.

Posted from  United States

Did you guys read this

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/07/09/bc.soccer.copa.argentina/

Posted from  United States