WCQ round-up: conclusions and ongoing concerns

I would like to see Denis given a chance to shine & if not another genuine number 9 in Cavenaghi given a chance. He used to be quite easily shaken off the ball but his experience in Europe has improved this facet of his game.

I would still like to see Milito removed. Against better quality opposition he will be found wanting esp.aerially & chasing one on one with any forward worth his salt those short legs wont carry him far.

Time for Garay to enter the fray or Gonzalo when he returns back to his old form.

Saviola works well with Messi.For the time being leave Aguero on the bench as a replacement for Saviola. Tevez can work down the left. And bring in Aimar who compliments Tevez & Messi perfectly. The need to examine more full backs is imperative considering Heinze & Zanettis ages.

5-3-2 is worth considering but with the nature of Argentinian football through the ages extremely unlikely.

Off topic a great result for Argentina last night. It was very sad to see the end of the careers of Pichot,Ostiglia, Longo several others & the coach Loffreda( tears were shed & understandably so).

And doubly sad that this form(the third try was in the vein of French genius) was not displayed against South Africa. To be honest Albo we would lose to the Pumas (the way they took apart France twice) & I am certain had Argentina not crumbled mentally last week they would have beaten South Africa.

They could have won this world cup without any doubt. But what memories. Perhaps in 2015 when the newer players just 18-20 now are ready.

Hopefully we will show up South Africa for the mediocre side that they really are.

>>I would still like to see Milito removed. Against better quality opposition >>he will be found wanting esp.aerially & chasing one on one with any forward >>worth his salt those short legs wont carry him far.

I disagree. Our defense was a lot better than the previous times with Ayala. What we need is to strengthen the mid field and place tevez on the bench. =)

Bielsa used the best formation ever for Argentina. It was 3-4-3. It was very well balanced, defence was strong, attack was at its best, midfield was just wow. All three lines connected very well. That formation was very flexible too as it could go to 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 or 4-3-3 when defending.

it was basically:

_________bonan or cav.______

_?????_____Ayala____Samuel__

__________Simeoni___________

__Zanetti_______________Sorin__

___________Veron__________

__Ortega______________Lopez__
___________Batistuta________

in case of defence, 3 defenders plus Zanetti and Sorin going to back defence, simeoni was there, veron helping, Ortega coming back to midfield. In that case it goes to 5-3-2 or 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 (4 in the back given that Sorin likes to stay up front and is out of position alot, 3 in the front in case Ortega doesnt come back to midfeild).

In case of attack, I dont want to bore with explaining how it was. You all saw how strong it was. We had so many different weapons and so many different ways to score. That formation got the best out of everybody and made the team so creative when it comes to scoring.

That formation fits the current team but with 4 in the back. Zanetti being the guy who could change the actual formation from 3 to 4 in the back and vice versa. Heinze shouldn’t pass the half line even if he is playing LB. Tevez Cambiasso will take of the left side with Roman getting in the mix there too sometimes.

My point was that Argentina did/could play with 3 or 5 in the back. But with Basile, it’s so unlikely.

Bore = bore you**

Tevez and Cambiasso will take care of**

Maradona,
thanks for the compliment but I do NOT have a Ph.D in any field. Please stick
to football. Will you? Thanks

Linda,
Best of luck in your upcoming exams. If you need some
pointers about increasing your output in studying, I can share some that really help me when I was undergrad and then in professional school.
Just ask and I will gladly share. You can take what works and forget
the rest.

Barcelona 2 Villareal 0 My prediction.

Todd,
Thanks for your comments in the previous
thread. I am glad that you can that
it is VINDICTIVENESS not to loan a player
and at the same time not to allow
the player to play by leaving in the stands.
I am surprised that other bloggers cannot see that.

I am hoping that Barcelona beat the hell of Villareal
and that Villareal does not make it to CL without JRR.
Thanks for your comments

Sorry for the omission in the above.

I predict a draw between Barca and Villareal. 1-1. Goals by Henry and Matigol.

list of number 9s.

German Denis (Independiente)

Gonzalo Higuain (Real Mardrid)

Fernando Cavenaghi (Bordeaux)

Diego Milito (Real Zaragoza)

Ernesto Farías (FC Porto)

Hernan Crespo (Inter Milan)

Diego Klimowicz (Borussia Dortmund)

Andrés Ríos (River plate)

What a goal by Lavezzi!

Riquelme the blogger,
If it is possible translate the song Man Ki lagaan from Paap for me. Thanks
Nepalese fellow.

I really want Barca to win. Like many others, Villareal has become my least favorite team after sidelining Riquelme. Btw, Messi and Ronaldinho are in doubt for this game so Barca has its work cut out for them.

Villareal have scored, bad time for Rijkaard to change formation to 4 2 3 1.

Do you guys have link for villareal and barcelona game??

Barcelona 2 down now, can’t find link for game don’t think it’s being shown outside of spain due to media war.

the barcelona – villareal game will not be shown because of stupid diffusion rights in spain……i am just following the commentaries on goal.com on the spanish page.

I think Barca scored.

it was bojan krkic

Barca 3-1 down now.

I heard tevez had a good game but didn’t score I heard he linked with rooney nicely.

i am worried for barcelona and also not worried…this is an unusual style of play for them 4-3-3…the defense is commiting to many fouls and the midfield is weak…..so let’s hope riijkard does fis magic for the second half.

Franco Di Santo next number 9#. We arent screw we have plenty of number 9s for 2010.

Further proof that Villarreal don’t need Riquelme. He truly needs to leave in January, for the sake of his career.

j-argie Rijkaard played 4 2 3 1 not 4 3 3, which is one of the reasons that they lost, 4 forwards bad idea when you don’t have two good defensive midfielders playing.

gol for espanyol

I hate that Villareal won. I only want them to rue their decision for not playing our wonderful Riquelme. But the result is not surprising – almost all of the players in barca were on international duty, and almost none of the villarreal players were (except for one that they didn’t play, of course). Barca should just hope that the espanyol/rm score holds.

A-man,
wit regards to Villareal you are reaching
the conclusion way too early. We just have to wait
until the end to see whether they can qualify
for Cl without JRR.

So why is it that Basile, or most other people, don’t seem interested with the idea of using Higuain as our #9?

Higuain declined an opportunity to play for the U-20 team in this summer’s World Cup because he wanted to stay & train with Real Madrid. It seems disrespectful to then ask for a call-up to the national side for WC qualifiers when he didn’t want to be bothered with the U-20 team just a few months ago. U-20 is a stepping stone. Messi did it, Agüero did it, yet Higuaín, at the time, seemed to think it was beneath him. I’m sure COCO took note of that.

Luckily, as Golazo points out, we aren’t short of other choices.

i watch the espanyol de barcelona game today….
and so far i can say that Pablo Zabaleta is not a bad player at all…
he is a little to agressive, but he can run with the ball and help create good opprtunities….he could be the replacement for Zanetti.
in the case of Higuain, he will never acheive his full potential untill schuster start playing him as a real striker or in raul or nistelroy’s position because this iswhere he can do his magic the best lik ehe did in river plate.
i think gago should definitely be given more playing time at real madrid because every time he steps on the field in any given game, he takes the game to a different level and brings more life in the midfield.
in the case of argentina’s attacking pair, i think we need to start being realists and not wishful thinkers. what i mean by that is, we cannot have two small sized strikers. Look at Luca Toni for italy, Klose for Germany, Titi Henry for France, jan Koller fro Poland, Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal, Van Nistelroy for nertherlands, Batistuta for the old argentina, Crespo fo rthe current argentina, etc… .it’s just that we need a true and real striker, someone who can jump higher than defenders and put a header in the nets with ease, someone who has long legs that can esily score in teh most unexpected moments and take nice and good shots on targets.
I love our forwards, they are great but we need to intergrae the type of striker that i am talking about before it’s too late so he could get playing time with the team.
I m not Coco Basile, i probably don’t know what players would fit this type, but i think either : Crespo, Cavenaghi, German Denis, Higuain could easily bring this spark in our offense.

( by the way guys, sorry if you detect any gramar errors in my english, i am not american, i am just a foreign exchange student in Ohio from the Carribean )

Peace..God Bles….

Tevez was amazing today. The only thing he didnt do was to score, he deserved at one goal. He looked frustrated when he was substituted, but I think it was because of the chance he missed moments before. He linked very well with Rooney. Sadly true, Tevez plays better for ManU than for Argentina. That’s because Sir Alex seems to know how to use him and Basile doesn’t. I think Tevez can create a strong partnership with Messi, but a true #9 or Aguero should be in front of them. Only them alone in the front won’t work. I hope Basile does realize that he is misusing Tevez and changes his mind about putting him in the box alone, which I highly doubt.

Messi and Tevez didn’t click yet, but it is VERY LIKELY that they will click in the VERY NEAR future. Why? Simple: they are great players and they both LOVE to play for Argentina. You can see that they try hard, they give their best to the team so it is just a MATTER of TIME! Basile, as usual, is 100% right to bet on these two guys together!

I don’r know about Demichelis, but Milito seems to be just an AVERAGE/ORDINARY player. I don’t trust him and I think he can create TROUBLES for Argentina. He doesn’t know how to touch/pass the ball. But he has an advantage that can WORK for his side: he is in Barcelona now and there are only two teams in the world that touch/pass the ball REALLY WELL today: Barcelona and… of course, ARGENTINA!

Riquelme IS A GENIUS. Right now he is the BEST PLAYER in the world. Forget about Kaka. Nobody can touch him on the field (actually MINEIRO CAN but only doing faults and using DESTRUCTIVE, ANTI-FOOTBALL tactics). Riquelme is playing on the same level that Zidane reached at his best. Messi can be faster and all, but Riquelme is a MAESTRO. You argentinians are SO LUCKY to have Riquelme. Luckily for us Brazilians, Ronaldinho is learning to play as a maestro too and I can’t waito to see Ronnie and Juan on these next qualifying games. They are gonna be the best players in the world in the next three years. I just hope Barcelona can hire Juan, because if a team has Ronnie, Juan and Messi, nobody can beat this team.

Riquelme is a master. Basile knows it. You argentinian are so lucky to have a coach that KNOWS HIS STUFF about football. We brazilians are not so lucky. Parreira RUINED our dreams in 1994 (that was a shameful title) and made it even WORSE on 2006. Now DUNGA has a good heart, he loves Brazil, but he doesn’t know what he is doing. Lucky you that have Basile, a MASTER, as a coach!

You guys have the best mid-filed players. Mascherano, Cambiasso, Roman, Don’t worry about losing being overdependent on him. Sure, if Roman is not on the field, Argentina loses a LOT. But the other guys are GREAT too!

Aguero is young. Give him some more years. He will find his place on the team naturally. Don’t need to push too hard for it. Saviola is a waste. He remembers me a lot of Denilson, a Brazilian player that could be great but never reached his full potential. Saviolla lost his way when he left Barcelona. He shouldn’t even be on Argentina national team.

Crespo is a killer striker but I am afraid he is too old and he will be even older in 2010. Anyway, I guess Basile will try him some more times to see what good he can bring to the team.

About the others: Abbondanzieri is not a great goalkeeper. Maybe you should look for someone else. Zanetti is a classy player. Heinze is good but could be replaced. Maxi is also good.

You guys have a great team!

Why do You say Riquelme is in form? Those two goals from free kick shows You that Rique is in form ? Lol, no. Argentina hadn’t possesion against Venesuela..That is big a big foult of Riquelme..He wasnt able to control the game.

Luciano,

thanks for your insightful comments. I agree with you on some issues regarding Brazil and Argentina.

I didn’t particularly like the way Brazil won Copa America but they won all the same. I also think Saviola may have made a mistake goin g to Real Madrid but perhaps with the entry of Henry, and people like Eto’o and Messi, he’d always start from the Bench. I like the River Plate goalkeeper. Maybe he should be given the honours of starting the next game.

Luciano from Brazil,
It appears that you use a different kind of common sense
that I use. You stated that Dunga does not know
what he is doing. Yet He won Copa 2007! Also
you stated that Basile knows what he is doing. Yet
he lost to Brazil twice in a row and keeps
playing Tevez out of position! Am I missing something?

guys who is that Hector Brakamonte, he is an argentine kid in russia …looks like we missed out on that transfer.

something weird in boca and estudiantes game. Both teams are wearing dark color uniforms. Referee shouldn’t have allowed it.

the riquelme saga continues. news from the italian press is there could be a possible switch between villareal and juventus for riquelme and tiago mendes. i would personally love to see this move as opposed to the ac milan move. the only problem i would have with this move is sergio almiron might be left out with such a move.

Luciano thanks for your perspective and I think that there are a lot of people in thw world that see it the same way .

Maxi scored two for Athletico as they beat Zaragoza 4-0. Looks like he’s getting back into form.

pablo piatti scored his first goal today for estudiantes….
river plate’s whizkid Diego Buenanotte also scored, keep an eye on him. he was recommended to inter milan by Julio Cruz, i guess he must be good.

Rio is writing some outrageous stuff
about Riquelme. I do not believe any
of it because its timing defeats logic.
Some of you might believe Rio though. Check
out his website. Cheers,
Ken

Ken, please refer this link to the owner of the blog you just advertised.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=baloney

Maradona,
For the last time I am referring to Rio’s website and his latest posting, not the one you are trying to mislead all of us into through your above posting. For your convenience here is Rio’s website. Check it out for yourself Maradona! I feel sorry for you to have gone to that extent to deceive. What a waste of life?
http://albicelestesforever.blogspot.com/

Cheer up
Ken

A-man,
I see you are upset with Rio for his response
to your legitimate question. A-man, people tend to be
defensive when they are asked to prove that whatever they
write are facts, not fiction. Rio still has a lot to offer though.
You should not be put off by his comments. But I understand where
you are coming from.
Cheers,
Ken

This guy Rio seems like a twat, no offense. First writing some completely unfounded rumor, and not citing any evidence, and then attacking anyone who questions him.

It makes no sense that Forlan and Riquelme were enemies. Forlan tried to get Riquelme to join AMadrid, for god’s sake. It’s a ridiculous rumor, and typical of the stupid things that get posted on blogs when someone has a vendetta. And the Crespo rumor wasn’t true! Both players deniied that there was a problem, and you could see that they both went out of their way to show , during the copa america, that they did get along. Riquelme even mentioned missing crespo when Basile didn’t call Crespo up.

Jesus Christ. What sort of professional would tell others to not pass a ball to a striker? And why, if Forlan was the good one in the tale, why was Forlan then shipped out? These are idiotic rumors. I have no doubt that Riquelme is a difficult personality, but he’s a professional. I would be my salary (as meager as it is) that the truth is the most boring thing in the world – he had a power play with the coach, he stopped talking to his teammates, he was depressed. Nothing more. Good grief.

Is it just me, or do you guys get a tad annoyed with Johan Cruyff’s little scolding sessions with Barcelona every week? (but what he said about messi was very true, have to admit)

Can someone please let me know what in the world happened to Sorin? Where is he? Why has he dropped of the planet with regards to the national team? Just curious.

i am not so quick to dismiss rio’s comments as just rumours. though i do find it hard to believe that riquelme would go as far as not pass the ball to crespo or forlan and tell other teamates to do the same. but they are a few things that really cross my mind. why were some of the arg players on that team released :figueroa, sorin and barbosa. and why didn’t the riquelme deal with atl mad fall through it was supposed to be a joint deal with him and forlan. there must be some sort of explanation to this. something real fishy is going on here hopefully in the next coming months every thing will explain itself.

The problems between Villareal and Riquelme started after the first few games Villareal played last season. Riquelme annonced his international retirement and then went to Argentina for the birth of his child, he was supposed to miss one game and comback for the Barcelona match, he never returned until two weeks later. Pellegrini was very pissed off with him, and that’s when all of this started. I very much doubt it has anything to do with Forlan. Although i did hear that they didn’t have a great relationship off the pitch but the games that i watched at the start of last season they were passing the ball to each other fine. Same goes for Crespo.

Day1star,

I heard you. But if Pellegrini starts allowing JRR to play
some games, things may improve and JRR may not have to leave
with a heavy heart. The best solution may be to let Bygones
be Bygones.

Ken, interesting how Basile managed to make Riquelme & Veron played together in Copa, even though some said they had problems. Same thing happen to Maradona with Bilardo, when some people didn’t believe he’s the man to lead NT for WC86. IMO, Pellegrini doesn’t have belief in Riquelme anymore, for whatever reason. Both Riquelme & Pellegrini can’t stand each other. Just wait for them to be separated officially.

tevez Played great . He was all over the place! is there anyway that the national team can have a place for both tevez and messi? neither one is the number nine but we need to find a way to get them on the pitch. i still have my fantasy idea of something like this /

Utsari
Zanetti Demichilli Milito heinze
Mscherano
Messi Riquleme Maxi

Tevez
(Higuain or Aguero or Dennis)

Ken, if Villareal were losing games then he might play Riquelme, but if they continue to win, then it is very unlikely. I don’t agree with Pellegrini’s decisions with regards to the Riquelme situation but i think he’s a good manager.

Spalletti: Lavezzi would be perfect for Roma
tribalfooball.com – October 22, 2007

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti admits he could easily find a place in his team for Napoli sensation Ezequiel Lavezzi.
The young Argentine was superb in Saturday night’s 4-4 draw at Roma and Spalletti said: “I’ve been impressed by him since the beginning of this season. Napoli has really pulled off a good transfer coup. He is a player that has quality, speed, inspiration.

“He has features that resemble those of the Roma team

Man Utd’s Tevez welcomes Basile backing
tribalfooball.com – October 21, 2007

Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez is delighted with the support he is receiving from Argentina boss Alfio Basile.

The 23-year-old forward started both of his side’s World Cup 2010 qualifying matches but, despite not scoring, Basile has assured the press that Tevez is an automatic choice.

Argentina started their campaign with back-to-back victories over Chile and Venezuela, and after the latter Basile said: “My main forward, at this moment, is Tevez. There are some style differences with other players, but I always field the players I like most.”

Tevez was quick to show his appreciation for the gesture, telling Clarin newspaper: “Considering that competition for the starting positions is big because there are a lot of great players in my position, I’m happy, because it’s a vote of confidence from the coach.

“To hear the coach say I will be the team’s number nine is a bonus for me. It motivates me a lot. It’s a very important sign of support to me.”

Despite his lack of goals, Tevez insists the team’s fortunes take priority over his own.

“To play at number nine you don’t have to be big,” he said. “You just have to work hard, play well and try to do your best for the team. You cannot think about just scoring. Goals will come. I don’t worry – I would worry if the team lose and I don’t score, but we’ve clinched two good results in the opening qualifiers.”

Like I said tevez needs to play but i agree that he is not a number 9.

Keep an eye on him he could be the answer upfront.

Argie superkid Di Maria: My dream to play for Man Utd
tribalfooball.com – October 20, 2007

Benfica starlet Angel di Maria is being tracked by Arsenal and Manchester United.
The News of the World says the midfielder, 19, was poised to join the Gunners in the summer but the move broke down and he signed for Benfica instead.

He is now keen on a January move to Old Trafford and said: “It has always been my dream to join United.”

Dayistar,
Pellegrini may be a good manager but he is not displaying greatness
at this time. It is TOTALLY unacceptable not to loan a player while simultaneously keeping him in the stands. This is just a NO_NO given
that JRR is 29 years old. Under these circumstances when there is
personality clash, greatness is shown by the one in power by being magnanimous and forgiving.

Asil,
Great to hear from you. I concur that we are only waiting
for the official word for the parting away between JRR
and Pellegrini. This will happen in January 2008 during
the transfer market. There is no guarantee that Villareal
will win Laligua by a huge margin or even qualify
for CL. So I think Pellegrini is not being wise here. A person
of the caliber of JRR can win a game by a simple freekick even if he has
not played for 3 months! As Basile said, a player of the caliber
of Riquelme who is in a league of his own, simply does NOT
forget how to play football just because he is forced
to watch from stands. Even Pellegrini concurs that JRR is among the top 5 in his position of play.

From my perspective, the human will can literally move mountain. That is why I always analyze football from a spiritual point of view of what has
happen in a footballer’s lives and what is happening right now.

JRR had to prove only three things if Basile gave him a chance against Chile.
1. He can win a game by himself despite not playing for 3 months
2. Prove to Bielsa that he made a series of mistakes by not playing JRR in 2002 WC; this was payback time!
3. The video that he sent to Basile that he is training in isolation can
be replicated in a live game.

Well JRR exceeded expectation and scored twice proving that
the first goal was not by chance but by precision learnt in isolation!

The same thing will happen to Tevez. Because of what he had endured
in the past he will be successful at Man. Utd. He is also being helped by
Ferguson because this fellow is NOT playing Tevez in an out of position.
Please mark my word. Before the end of the EPL league, Tevez will score
a maradona type goal of the caliber of the 1986, which the whole world is so fond of.

Cheers to everyone.

Sorry for the errors as I am thinking only of the
ideas as I write in haste.
Lives= life
Thanks

[...] It is all about the young guns (Mexico World Cup Blog) * Take aways from the World Cup qualifiers (Argentina World Cup Blog) * Captain Carlos (USA World Cup Blog) * It is a mess in Canada (Canada World Cup Blog) * Adios [...]

thanks Ken and i agree on tevez.

i don’t understand what is all the fuss about riquelme!!! talented…genuies….i agree…..replaceable YES….

every body is talking about him….and forgot very important point..

if pilligrini is able to replace him with perez or cani, Argentina can perform without him..the only question is basile capable of thinking out of the riquelme/enganche “box”?….

and KEN!

what is the issue of greatness got to do with pilligrini…he is the manager of the team…he is looking after his team intrests…if giving riquelme a special attention will harm the rest of the team , the hell with riquelme or any other player…regardless of the cause of the dispute!

for your info!!! boca didn’t offer the amount requested by villareal and riquelme doesn’t want to go to any team other than boca…it is a business after all…..the exception was atletico madrid….and something unknown at the moment happened.

also he is a player who performs well only when the system is built around him. Not many coaches will accept this, so this limits his chances of going to another teams. even the milan offer is a fishy one…remember that boca will face milan in the world cup final this year…this is to pressure boca to raise thier offer this january….not that milan wants him!

Bionic Messi,

Pellegrini is NOT looking after Villareal best interests. WERE he looking after Villareal’s best interests, he would have made a profit for Villareal by loaning JRR instead of keeping the latter in the stands. By keeping JRR in the stands, Villareal lost some money which has no rational basis. As you so rightly pointed out, this is a business. Yet, it is no good business when both the club and the player loses out!

History points to countless examples where there is fall out between players and managers. Yet the great managers have repeatedly shown us that the best way to do this is to allow the player to leave.One example that comes to mind is Van Nistroy who was allowed to go to Real after his fall out with Ferguson. Mourinho also acted the same way with Gallas and so did Arsene Wenger in the case of Pires and Cole. So looking out to greatness can point to a way out of this situation…

Now that the Board has seen that Pellegrini was not thinking in their
best interests in the preceding market transfer, they will step in and
sell Riquelme in January 2008.

In the preceding transfer market, Pellegrini gave the Board the wrong
signal not to sell or loan him because he had some kind of plan for JRR. The Board did NOT know that Pellegrini will COMPLETELY freeze out JRR for
now over 8 la ligua games. Does that make sense?

The remainder of your arguments focus on press speculation which is of no interests to me. They can publish as much they want to sell magazines. But as far as I am concerned they are not facts. We can separate facts from fictions when both sides have an equal opportunity to respond. That is why I stated earlier to read Rio’s latest posting with a grain of salt! His quoted article gives only one point of view.
Cheers and thanks for responding. I appreciate it.
Ken

cruyff has his opinions and the record to back them up. barcelona was a laughing stock playing villareal but hopefully they will bounce back. certainly he is right about messi and his lack of maturity in wanting to be the han solo in the team. true leadership comes not only from scoring and dazzling but for leading the team to victory like pele and maradona did before him so we’ll see if he grows up of falls prey to his own myth.
as for riquelme well a coach would be likely to build a team around the guy if the guy were not so unreliable and have this huge prima donna complex that leads him to do as he pleases!! he is like adriano and ronaldo and like those two he has to come down to earth or be doomed to oblivion. besides, is not like he is a young pup who can be used to build a team around he is a few years away from being history in major soccer.

There’s a shocker. Manolo has something bad to say about Riquelme.

A lot of people are talking about how Riquelme is replacable in Villarreal because the team is doing so well. I don’t really understand the argument. Of course teams can play well without Riquelme. I mean, duh. The point is that Riquelme can take his team to another level, always. He’s a master in his field – he’s an artist. Basile knows this. Basile is banking on Riquelme because JRR represents an ideal, a vision, i remember some reporter called it “the essence of footbal”. Whenever a team bets on him, he pays them back with excellent performances.

I’m not saying that he isn’t arrogant or a prima donna (although I really really doubt he is any more than any other player of his level)

Pellegrini might be a great coach, but as a manager of people, he erred. This is what has always bothered me — they knew when they signed Riquelme that he wasn’t a normal athlete. He has issues. None of this was a secret. Then why make him out to be a criminal when he has one of his seasonal break downs/wig outs? I know that Pellegrini wasn’t there when Riquelme was signed, but a coach who is a good manager of people wouldn’t have to ship off a whole team and alienate the star to fulfill his project.

In any case, Riquelme needs to just accept one of these offers, and get the hell out of there. Who knows what happened with the AMadrid issue, but its not the most stable of clubs, so to put the blaim on some completely bogus sounding rumor is stretching it, to say the very least.

As Argentina fans, may each of us have a special
prayer for the 250,000 people
of southern California whose home
is being ravaged by wild wires at this time. Thanks

Alexa, I like what you wrote. It is loaded
with common sense.

In the end JRR will
emerge as a winner. Assuming one
does not become bitter through adversity,
it has proven many times that those
emerged from it become stronger. This is
because as one chooses to be better rather than
being bitter, the creative mind constantly seeks
new solutions. In part JRR has already shown that
he has chosen this former path through his latest
two goals for the NT.

P.S What you wrote make sense. But I disagree with Cruff
that Messi is selfish. Right now Mess is the number one in the world.
Messi has shown maturity beyond his age. One example is when he recently
scored he sponataneously thought about Ronaoldihno and made Ronnie’s
trademark winning sign.This was in support for Ronnie who was having a hard
time with press for not playing according to their standard!

Mane, my P.S was addressed to you. Sorry.

ken,
the concern I have with messi is not his talent because he has it and he can go far with it if, he can stay humble and starts playing more with the team instead of his han solo stuff. that is the point cruyff makes about messi and if we read cruyff’s comments they are filled with advice from an expert and nowhere does he demean messi au-contraire, he clearly says that if messi steps up in this manner he has huge potential.so, instead of reacting in defense of an attack that doesn’t exist we should see this for what it is, advice from a soccer legend who knows what he is talking about.

alexa,
I have never denied riquelme’s abilitiy have I? I don’t make up stuff about the guy heck!, I could care less about the attitude of any soccer player around. I simply quote the news as I read them.

Riquelme can go as far as Zinedine Zidane.

udhsa, sure he can if he behaves like zidane instead of that other genious who trumped himself: cantona, an awesome player who turned himself into a pariah. it’s riquelme’s call, only he can decide his outcome.

Sorry Mane,
I misunderstood you. Thanks for correcting me.

Deep sympathy to the people of Southern California…

What really impresses me with Zidane
is that he used his energy effectively and conservatively.
This is one advice he gave to Franc Ribery. I wish
that Messi pays attention to that. I really think that
Messi is so gifted but the press, media can be very cruel
at times. Unless one is very aware one can trip any times.
That is another reason I believe Tevez will exceed expectations.
He gets his advice directly from Diego. That is really helpful
to Tevez. Just watch how Tevez had slowly but steadily gained the confidence of his mates and the fans at West Ham and then he did his thing toward the end. Samething at Man Utd, he started by working his butt off and providing a number of assists, the latest two to Rooney. Once he gains the confidence of most of them and the fans, he will just peak towards the end. Hopefully, he does not pick up serious injuries. If I am boring anybody please say so. I will just shut up. Thanks.

aimar10,
The ATM transfer failed at the last moment because the four members of the decision committee realized it was too late to risk building the team around Riquelme. Both the coach and Forlan expressed their disappointment after the loan deal failed. ATM has already committed a team and plan for the season so Riquelme will not go there. I think the only team he belongs to is Boca. I really wish he doesnt go to AC Milan – I dont think he fits into a midfield that already has Pirlo and Kaka.

Mane, do you have any proof that Riquelme has a “huge prima donna complex”?

We have not heard from Golazo for a while now.
I hope he has not deserted us for good!

Native Son,

I think Brazil victory on Copa America was a shame to Brazil, to Argentina and also to football. Brazil was playing like CRAP on ALL games in Copa America. Brazil couldn’t create a single “jogada” (pass the ball amongst players until the kick to the goal). Argentina, on the other way, was playing FINE, FINE, FINE football. It was a display of complete dominance against all the other teams. Argentina had amazing ball possession and the players seemed to manage to pass the ball to each other in an incredible way, and all of a sudden someone like Messi would penetrate vertically and someone like Riquelme would do a vertical pass and before you know Argentina had a goal. It was the finest display of football by a national team in the last 10 years!

You are right about Saviola, with Henry, Eto’o and Messi he wouldn’t have had a chance. I am gonna pay attention to the River Plate goalkeeper. I don’t know him, but I’ll try to watch some games.

Ken,
Winning is not everything. Hungary didn’t win in 1954. Holanda didn’t win in 1974 (and 1978). Brazil team of 1982 lost to that CRAP Italy team. Brazil HORRIBLE team of 1994 won the WC on the free kicks after 120 minutes of a 0×0 score! (Brazil had SO MANY GREAT PLAYERS in 1994 that weren’t on the Parreira’s 22 list… if Telê Santana had been Brazil’s coach in 1994, Brazil would have won EVERY game on that WC for like 6×0… and Argentina should have won that WC but FIFA took Maradona away). Brazil won Copa America out of pure luck and also because of coward tactics. Elano said it himself that the long pass he gave to Julio Baptista was the best he ever gave IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE. It means there was a lot of LUCK involved on that. After that pass, I couldn’t understand how BAD Ayala did, he could have blocked Julio. Not only Ayala did NOT block Julio but also Julio managed to shoot a fantastic kick and Brazil had 1 x 0. After that, Brazil went to his field like a coward team (as Italy, Bolivia and other CRAP teams do) and started playing coward anti-football. Brazil only concern was to destroy Argentina. They did like 3.967 faults on that game. They stopped Messi and Riquelme. The judge (referee) should have Mineiro a red card and many yellow cards to some Brazilians. If those kicks from Riquelme had turned to be goals, it would be different…

About Basile, I think you can’t judge him for two defeats to Brazil. I watched both games and when Brazil plays against Argentina ANYTHING can happen. I personally don’t care about that first game in Wembley because it was a friendly. And I think the Copa America final was an ANORMAL thing. If that CRAP Brazil team had played 100 times against that wonderful Argentina team, Argentina would have won like 90 times. I think you must judge a team for the way it plays and Argentina plays GREAT football. It may not win everytime (nobody wins everytime, last Sunday we even found that Lewis Hamilton is human after all…) but ARGENTINA will win eventually.

aimar10,

Riquelme in Juventus would be awesome. Juventus should become Italian champion EASILY and Riquelme should be chosen best player in Italy. Kaka would be forgotten. FAST.

-a,
It is amazing how the players in Real Madrid seem to become ASSHOLES. I think it is the Roberto Carlos BIG EGO disease. It happened to Ronaldo, to Cicinho, and now it iis also spreading to Argentinians… I didn’t know Higuain declined the opportunity to play for the U-20 team. Thanks for the info.

ole clarin reports that the fluminese and juventus riquelme deals are no starters because the club, in the first case, wants much more money than fluminese can offer, and, in the second, doesn’t want tiago from juve. So back to a whole big nothing going on for Romy.

Luciano — i agree with you about all those great teams.

maradona, do you have any proof riquelme doesn’t have a prima donna complex? this underlines the fact that all we can do is quote or refer back to the news reports because we are not in the lockers. all I know is that riquelme has shown disdain for specific instructions given to him such as returning late from argentina, being asked to trained at one specific hour and showing up two hours late and so on. have I witnessed this? no so I must rely upon the reporters who have inside sources about the news. are we to believe that the owners of the team are so stupid as to invest millions in a player only to have him being a tourist? kinda crazy ain’t it? is the press in a conspiracy against riquelme? kinda crazy ain’t it?

could it be a ploy by riquelme to force his release? perhaps and if this is the case then he should be able to shine elsewhere and time will tell us that.

luciano, in most sports the idea of competing as a goal in itself is long gone. when brazil played great soccer but failed to win they were criticized by the same people who are today complaining that brazil is winning by playing an ugly utilitarian style. when it comes to brazil the entire world expects wonders each time they touch the ball and if the idea is one of having the harlem globetrotters of soccer then so be it but when no wins come by are you going to stick by the team? the same situation is facing argentina, they keep on losing and people whine and complain about it but unfortunately to win nowadays requires playing ugly soccer because it is effective in stopping the messis, ronaldinhos of the world.

just some of the quotes about riquelme:

“Riquelme es un buen jugador pero es muy lento para el futbol de Europa y es muy temperamental, cuando no tiene ganas de jugar no aparece… si a mi me pagaran lo que le pagan a el, estaria jugando dos partidos por dia, en cambio el aparece cuando se le canta.”

“Riquelme is undoubtedly gifted but temperamentally flawed and prone to tantrums, for that reason I don’t think SGE will consider him despite press speculation. It is doubtful to me that Elano and Riquelme would gel in the same team. Elano is a sublime team player, Riquelme is an extremely talented individual playmaker who demands to be the focal-point of all things.”

“Yo no voy a negar que riquelme cuando está lucido juega barbaro y hace jugar, pero el tema es que es tan pecho frío que hay partidos en los que parece que juega mal a propósito y casualmente siempre pasa cuando juega en la selección en partidos importantes!”

when one speaks about ronaldo or adriano it can be said they lack discipline but what do we say about riquelme? he plays when he feels like it!! how many of you would keep your jobs if you acted that way? he is his own worse enemy. sad, because his clock is ticking and he has few chances left to mend his place in history.

That’s ridiculous. You can find just as many quotes that endorse Riquelme’s contribution to the game. Concerning Ronaldo and Adriano, Riquelme doesn’t gain weight and go partying before big games.He doesn’t drink all night and ask for 40 condoms and miss flights and not turn out for practices before big league games. The comparison is pointless. Riquelme didn’t bench himself. The coach benched him. He wasn’t partying — HE WAS GOING TO ATTEND HIS DAUGHTERS BIRTH. THat was his big offense with the team.

The thing about Riquelme haters is that they always seem to be on some sort of personal vendetta, and they also seem to have a very shallow understanding of the football scene. Riquelme’s “crimes” are –what? That sometimnes he’s inconsistent? (WHich i think is the dumbest complaint to have, because who isn’t inconsisent? I mean, has everyone seen Aimar this year? He’s great one game, nonexistent the next. I adore Aimar, and I think that the NT des needs him. I just point it out to alert a reality of the modern game.).That he’s a cancer in the locker room? No one has said this publicly or officially by the way, it’s just been rumored. But yet they cry in a rage about it!? But no one cries in rage when someone like Samuel Eto’o has a hissy fit with the press– right before a KNOCKOUT champions league game against a powerhouse like Liverpool – and calling out his own coach a “bad person” and Ronalidhno a problem? The difference with Sammy’s outburst was that he has a coach who can actually deal with players, and is empathetic.I don’t think that Sammy even got a fine for his actions, which, by the way, were probably what lead to Barcelona’s poor showing in that game.

The only thing that you can really say about the guy is that his brand of playing strikes emotions, whether positively or negatively.

Man Utd boss Ferguson: Tevez silenced doubters
tribalfootball.com – October 22, 2007

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is delighted with the way Carlos Tevez has settled at Old Trafford since his summer arrival from West Ham.

Amid all the furore surrounding his move north from West Ham, it was largely overlooked that the Argentina player was placing himself in a far more testing environment that he had ever previously experienced at club level.

Yet, after a slow start, during which time he was asked to shoulder the attacking burden on his own as United tried to cope with Cristiano Ronaldo’s suspension and Rooney’s latest absence with a broken foot, the former Boca Juniors forward has been outstanding.

“There is a test for every player coming to United,” reflected Ferguson. “But with Carlos, there is only one way to answer and that is to look at his form, which has been very good.

“His attitude, both in matches and training, has been excellent and we are very lucky to get him.”

Look how simple Crespo scored. Anticipations, timing, patience, positioning are all needed for our next generations of no 9s. With great attackers that we have with Messi, Riquelme, Aguero & Tevez, we need to try them out.

Will you guys and gals be watching
both games?
Barcelona V Rangers and Man utd V ?

both

I’m still here. Ken

Riquelme is good but we do not need to rely on him too much like how were doing now.

We need to start finding replacements for some of our old veterans.

Zanetti…Zabelata
Crespo…Denis
Riquelme??? maybe caffra
Pato…Ustari

So far this campaign I have been impressed with tevez and D’ssalandro.
HE needs a another chance.

To Riquelme the blogger and Golazo, the latest about
Riquelme, advice from the Maestro:
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=456079

alexa you seem to be decided to see things in black or white. there is a huge shade of grey you are bent on ignoring. I have not quoted or claimed that riquelme is a bad player have I? I just cannot understand why it is so hard to see where there is a legitimate reason to criticize his attitude, not his skills, but his attitude. I have no hatred for riquelme, I have no love either. I don’t know the guy and I don’t care about anything else but his performance as a player. he is paid to deliver and he either delivers or he will be criticized just like anybody else.

monalo,
Riquelme is as inconsistent as any other player in the world. He is as inconsistent as Messi, Tevez, Aimar, Ronaldinho, Rooney or even Maradona.
So its wrong of anyone to ask a player to win a worldcup or Copa singlehandedly. Riquelme cant simply do that, neither can any other player.
In fact if you analyze Argentina’s performance in the last 2 years, Riquelme has been more consistent that any other player. He has won more matches for Argentina than Tevez and Messi combined together.

I don’t know if Riquelme has an attitude problem. I don’t know him as well as you know him. Riquelme isn’t a fren of mine. I just can read newspapers that consistently publish Riquelme’s attitude in the frontpage just to sell as many copies. I can’t rely on those news, nor can I say Pellegrini is a bad person. In my analysis, Pellegrini isn’t playing Riquelme because at this point he can afford not to play him. But when he didn’t let Riquelme leave Villareal in the transfer window, I am sure that Pellegrini was relying on Riquelme on the back of his mind. I am sure the coach isnt in a war with Riquelme. Its just badluck for Riquelme and for soccer as a whole.

PS: thanks Ken for the link above.

riquelme thought i agree of your support for Juan Roman, i dont agree with your comparison.

First Messi started playing regularly for argentina this year (during the basile era)

two i think it is extreemly hard to compare both tevez and messi with riquelme, because their importance to the team is completely different. To say Riquelme is as inconsistant as messi is tough for me to swallow.

Riquelme is a genuis, because of his vision and his accuracy, but riquelme when he is OFF, he is OFF.

I have always said this (i have only seen Messi have a bad game once. against liverpool, because he was recovering from injury)

Messi does alot more without the ball, Messi runs all the time, he cuts, he defends. Messi HUSTLES, i cant say that about riquelme. thats why i used to say, lets see if AIMAR could do better, lets let AIMAR run the team for 3 games and just check things out. As i remember the AIMAR, MESSI, TEVEZ combo has always produced great momemnts, (in the copa, and of course against mexico)

Messay,
Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to particularize Messay or Tevez. I just meant to say that Riquelme has won as many matches as any other deserving player in the team has. And to me, it doesn’t matter how much feet a player covers in a game unless he produces the end result.

manolo,
I guess you missed my point. Of course winning is the goal in all sports including football. But I don’t think you need to sell your soul in order to win. When I say ’sell your soul’ I mean doing ANTI-GAME and ANTI-SPORT tactics in order to win. I think any team must PLAY FOOTBALL in order to win. Brazil won the Copa America in a SHAMEFUL WAY because the biggest concern of that team was to destroy Argentina plays using faults. The judge/referee should NOT ALLOW that crap to happen and give yellow and red cards to Mineiro, Elano and the other ones who were abusing faults. That is ANTI-SPORT, there is no pride and no glory to win like that! When Brazil played great soccer and failed to win they were criticized, surely, but you are wrong: the majority of people that criticized Brazil back in 1982 is VERY HAPPY now with Brazil’s today UGLY utilitarian style. YES, there are many people in Brazil (including press people) that think you should win no matter what. I think that kinda of thinking may work in a war situation (you gotta win a war or you die) but it just does not work for sports and football.

It is not about being the harlem globetrotters of soccer, actually it is FAR FROM THAT. The idea is to have a team that plays GREAT football and that TRIES THE HARDEST TO WIN every game by PLAYING FOOTBALL. That is what Barcelona DOES and that is how Barcelona WON Europe in 2005-2006! Few teams have what it takes (players) to play like Barcelona. Brazil and Argentina certainly do have the GREAT players to acomplish that. No, it is NOT about being the harlem globetrotters of soccer, it is about reaching FULL POTENTIAL. Brazil and Argentina can REACH their full potential of playing GREAT football. Bolivia for example probably will never be able to do it. So when a coach like Parreira and Dunga DENY that POTENTIAL and choose to play SAFE AND COWARDLY, they are DENYING BRAZIL POTENTIAL in order to… win. I ask you: is it worth it?

Of course I am going to stick by the team if they don’t win, as long as they TRY THEIR HARDEST to win! I stick to Brazil 1982 team the same way I stick to Barcelona 2005-2006 team and Argentina 2007 team! They were all GREAT teams and only Barça won, but I love Brazil, Barça and Argentina! And more: I DESPISE Parreira team of 1994 and Dunga’s Copa America 2007 team! Because they are coward and dirty and they were AFRAID to take chances! Barcelona proves that you do NOT have to play ugly soccer in order to win! Brazil and Argentina certainly can prove that too if they choose to and WORK to PLAY GREAT FOOTBALL!

Luciano I agree!!! this is not war it is a sport and of course until the refrees and officials put a stop to the tactical foul it wil be difficult to win with the beautiful game. The more passes you make the more opportunities for the other team to stop the play by commiting a foul. Anyone with eyes could see that Brasil was gong to foul before Argentina got close enough. The same is being done to barcelona now. It is a shame!!!!! The defenders practically break Messi and Rohandinos legs from behind when the receive the ball far enough out that they are not fearful of a direct kick chance. How long can these players keep getting kicked in the back of there legs? What a shame.

Messi slams Rangers brand of ‘anti-football’

Lionel Messi has accused Rangers of playing ‘anti-football’ in the goalless Champions League clash at Ibrox and warned they will suffer at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona dominated for large spells in the Group E match but failed to break down a stubborn Rangers defence.

Walter Smith’s men held on for the point which keeps them joint top of the group ahead of the return leg in a fortnight’s time.

While Rangers were thrilled with the draw, Messi was less than impressed by the tactics employed by their hosts.

‘It’s incredible,’ the 20-year-old Argentina international told Spanish daily Sport. ‘Rangers didn’t want to play football.

‘They practised anti-football from the first minute and it’s a shame we couldn’t take victory because we created a good number of chances. We just didn’t put them away.

Argentina return to top of FIFA rankings

ZURICH, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Argentina have returned to the top of FIFA’s world rankings after winning their first two qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup.

The South Americans secured 2-0 victories away to Venezuela and at home to Chile earlier this month to climb above Brazil and Italy in the monthly standings./news/story?id=475247&cc=

Italy, who topped the rankings last month, fell to third despite two wins of their own.

The World Cup holders matched Argentina with two 2-0 wins in October, over South Africa and Georgia.

Italy gained less ranking points because of Georgia’s own low ranking and the fact that the game against South Africa was a friendly.

The Italians also dropped points under the rolling system used by FIFA to evaluate national teams, with a more heavily-weighted win over Ukraine in October 2006 being devalued.

England have dropped out of the top 10, slipping to 11th following a 2-1 defeat away to Russia in their penultimate qualifying match for next year’s European Championships.

Russia, who are now strongly placed to deny England a place at the Euro 2008 finals, have soared ten places to 16th thanks purely to their Oct. 7 win in Moscow.

Top 20 rankings (previous positions in brackets):

1. (2) Argentina
2. (3) Brazil
3. (1) Italy
4. (6) France
5. (4) Germany
6. (7) Spain
7. (5) Netherlands
8. (8) Portugal
9. (11) Czech Republic
10. (10) Croatia
11. (9) England
12. (12) Romania
13. (14) Scotland
14. (15) Greece
15. (13) Mexico
16. (26) Russia
17. (19) Uruguay
18. (18) U.S.
19. (23) Nigeria
20. (16) Poland

Rooney and Tevez is working out ok .

Despite missing several chances during the match England striker Rooney always looked dangerous up front for United and confirmed he is enjoying his new partnership with Argentina international Tevez.

“Carlos, I thought, was brilliant. His work-rate and his touches were great. We’re gelling really well, and I hope that can continue,” Rooney said

Messi rails against Rangers! I can’t even imagine how annoying it must be for young guys like Messi who go against teams that just park the bus in front of the gaol mouth. There were like 10 people in the penalty box each time barcelona tried to score in the second half. I know – realities of the game, Rangers only chance at getting anything out of the match, blah blah. But really annoying. And , yes, very anti-football.

Something about D’Allesando — Essentially says that the coach is separating him from the 1st team until whatever punishment comes down his having left practice in a huff this week. This guy seems to be a loose canon – he seemed to have a personal vendetta against Messi in that one game last year, got in a fist fight with Aimar last week! But he’s really good. There have been many games where he has outplayed Aimar last year and this year. Anyway>>>_______________________________________________

Víctor aparta a D’Alessandro de los entrenamientos
El jugador del Zaragoza Andrés D’Alessandro ha sido apartado de los entrenamientos por su entrenador, Víctor Fernández, a la espera de una sanción por parte del club después de que este martes fuera expulsado por el técnico aragonés de la sesión preparatoria.

El centrocampista se encaró con Víctor Fernández durante el entrenamiento del equipo y éste, después de que el jugador le dijera, entre otras cosas, que el técnico tenía la culpa de todo lo que estaba ocurriendo, le envió a la ducha. Este miércoles D’Alessandro se ha presentado en la sesión preparatoria pero se le ha comunicado que no podía entrenarse con la plantilla y que debería hacerlo por la tarde con uno de los preparadores físicos, además de que está a expensas de una posible sanción por parte del club.

El carácter irascible del jugador argentino no es ya una sorpresa en el club maño, ya que el centrocampista de Buenos Aires ha protagonizado entre la pasada temporada y ésta varios incidentes con rivales, compañeros y Víctor Fernández.

D’Alessandro Frozen Out After Outburst

Andrés D’Alessandro has been told that he will not train with the Real Zaragoza first team until he is punished for an outburst earlier this week.

zoom – galleria The Argentinian midfielder will be punished for an incident during a training session on Tuesday, which ended with him being sent to the changing rooms.

After turning up on Wednesday, D’Allesandro was told to come back in the afternoon when he would work alone with a member of the coaching staff.

Zaragoza are mulling over what kind of punishment to hand out to the former Wolfsburg star as the latest incident is part of a long line of problems they had with him.

The spat this week, that saw him accuse Fernández of being responsible for all the problems with the team, follows last week’s scuffle with Pablo Aimar and a row he had with César Sánchez last term.

My take on Rangers V Barca

When a team does not have individual players
and cannot compete, they rely on tactics and
stategy to snatch a point. Under these cicumstances
the coach with star studded players usually
come up with some surprise for his team to
prevail. Rijkaard could not come up
with any, so they could not win. The question
is: Has Barca become another “galacticos”?
By the end of La ligua we will know!

Simultaneously, I was Man Utd in action.
What a contrast and good attacking football?
I am very pleased with Tevez performance. He is
right now playing for the team, mates, manager and fans.
As soon he win them all, he take some risk
and pull a Maradona style goal. This is the only
the British press will concur that he is better
than Rooney.
Cheers to you all.

P.S Riquelme, the blogger keep writing.

Sorry for errors and omissions
in the above.

luciano, believe or not we are both idealists in terms of what you outline. I prefer style over lackluster wins so you are preaching to the choir here but, sports are more about money nowadays and sponsors and big money care little about the spirit of competition and they care a heck of a lot about wins. you should know that the brazilian team that just played at maracana is worth half a billion dollars!! that’s some serious dough! I wonder if kaka and ronaldinho would get the megabucks just by trying harder?

just look at the mercurial riquelme who we all agree is a great player but how much do you think he will trade for? a measly 10 million!? suazo went from cagliari to inter for 125% that amount! why the difference? wins my friend, wins and if you doubt that then refer back to that overpaid bum playing in america now, davie beckham.

so let me repeat, as far as I am concerned, bring back the magic of the brazil of 1970 I certainly prefer that but again, money prefers otherwise and btw, don’t tell me that brazilians stick to their team just because they tried because that may well reflect your attitude but not that of the fans at large. brazilians are very much unforgiving about their team, they expect brazil to enjoy a walk in the park each time they play and they turn viciously against the very same players who once brought glory but now have dared to failed and if you doubt this just read out the opinions of roberto carlos, cafu and others.

mane.

That’s not true — sponsors and owners are beginning to realize that the only way for their “brand” to appeal to a world wide market is to make that brand fun to watch and easy to like — aka attractive football. It’s no coincidence that Chelsea and Real Madrid both had major upheavals this year after relatively successful seasons.

No one cared when Chelsea and RM won their trophies other than their own city supporters. They don’t have many fans. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Manchster United are the biggest clubs in the world because they play a good attacking style. I see Chelsea’s Morninho as a case in point of what happens when a team bases itself on “anti-football”. They can achieve short term success, but they do so on an emptiness that rots itself from the inside. Those streaks can never last long, and that, to me, is why Mourinho has only stayed in a club for 2-4 years.

Chelsea had reached its ceiling under Mournihio’s tactics, and Real Madrid, even though they won the league, are hanging on to their position by a thread. They aren’t playing well. I think that the same thing will happen with Brazil, eventually, if they continue this path of unattractive tactics.

ken,u always said u quit this blog
why u come back here again?
u said u quit and never come back
but now u come back again
i think u’re really weird.

why kennyboy?u said u quit but now u come back here again
u are so weird

Hi there,
I am Nellyes. I am quiting this blog for good.
I am also weird like Ken.

Speaking of flowing attacking football – the Gunners are a step above the rest – and this is coming from someone who supports Man Utd.

Nellyes lets not attack each other . lets talk aboiut futbol !!

what an intersting point Alexa…..the comercial aspect of football is pushing football back to the beautiful game but that is on the club level…..however on the national team level….the business is still not developed yet..other than the russian contracts to sponsor brazil and argentina, it is still a national pride not more not less…..the only profiting body is FIFA….unless FIFA pushes the teams for attacking styles- i cannot think of a way other than refereeing- there is no way that coaches will change thier mentality to attacking!!!

Why is saviola at real madrid? He never even gets to play. Another bad choice by him.

Di Maria subed in for Benefica and was the difference. He looked good.

Luciano i agree with most of your points, but we are living in a materiaistic world where only money counts and the attainment of money. It is a sad thing that we have lost a great deal because of the materialistic tendencies of certain organizations and the people who are running them. In most places winning at all costs is the main priority, not winning the hearts of fans.
It is therefore so refreshing to see Argentina play the way they do, long may they continue to do so.

Apparently Arsenal and Man u are looking at Di Maria with a view to signing him. He’s said he wants to go to Man U.

It was idiotic & pointless for Saviola to sign for Real. Before his move to Madrid, Raul, van Nistelrooy, Robinho, Higuaín, and Soldado were already at the club– did he honestly expect to jump to the top of an already established pecking order?

If Soldado stays for the entire season, then he’ll continue to see little playing time.

Waste of talent.

Hey guys how did GAGO do, i saw that he started the game, but i didnt get to watch the game, did he play well?

A-man,
How are you doing?

Saviola’s past indicates that money comes first then playing time.
When he was at Barca, he was told that he is not wanted,
yet he staid until the end of his contract because his salary
was negotiated by the former management and he did not
want to budge an inch. Here again, he knew that based on his capability
he knew that he would not play day in or day out. Some teams
in EPL bid for him guaranteeing that he will be in the first team. He declined. He is still one of the luckiest football player because he scored
a number of goals for Barca toward the end. Unfortunately, his lack of
playing time has affected his tenure at the NT time. I do not see him displacing Aguero, Tevez or any member on the current team at the NT. He is a good person though and not a trouble maker.

lol. what’s wrong with that big head boy D’Allesandro, why is he keep picking up fights with his own country man.

News/Rumor about Tocali, Basile & Simeone:

http://albicelestesforever.blogspot.com/2007/10/pink-slips.html

So, I watched almost all of the Uefa games with Argentines in it. Here are some of my thoughts

1. Mascherano – Average. He had better games. Was subbed.
2. Tevez = Very good. Should have scored just before he was subbed.
3. Gago – I think he was good. Got a smashing through for Salgado. Tried a few long distance ones. Overall a decent game. But when your playing times are limited and you get a full game, you need to be better than just “decent”.
4. Luciano Galleti – I always liked him. When he was a Atletico and Maxi was injured he was good. He was superb yesterday. Tremendous work rate.
5. Lucho – Decent game. Typical Lucho type. Smashing penalty. he looks so confident for Porto, but not for Argentina.
6. Lisandro Lopez = We should try this guy. We do not have a # 9.
7. Walter Samuel = A must try.

BTW, today’s Uefa cup is going on

1. Aguero scored 2 in a 3-3 draw.
2. Cavenaghi scored. Got it recorded in my DVR. Will watch him for the first time.
3. Ustari started for Getafe. Its 1-1.

Nicolás Frutos keep a eye on him

2 goals and an assist for Aguero today against Lokomotiv Moscow. The goals were superb.

Basile might resign due to health problems

guys could u please post the goals of the argies gor UEFA and champions league

Golazo,

Is it true he has cirrhosis? Thanks

“The team has not left me satisfied,” he said in a television interview.

“I’m tired and bored of watching them pass the ball backwards.”
“They gave it to Riquelme, he played it backwards, they gave it to (Javier) Mascherano, he played it backwards, it’s no good at all,” he said.

“If you’re beating Germany or Brazil 2-0 in a final, then that’s fine, but not here.”

He added: “I’m moderately satisfied with the six points but nothing more.”
– Diego Maradona

it was good to be true! the replacement part only!!
http://www.sportsya.com/english/news.php?id_estruc=283&id=161780
not that i wish a harm to any human being! but i still wish they hire a better coach

ramon diaz sounded really good!

Shouldn’t Argentina be chasing and dumping buckets of gold at the footsteps of Lippi to take over the managers position? To try and instill in the team what it takes to win!

If ARG. continues to look for a homegrown manager they will NEVER win anything of mild impoprtance again.

True Argie fans know I am right. even if it initially offends your nationalistic tendency.

stop the insanity and living in the past.

your welcome
elliot

Elliot,
I applaud you BUT it will never happen.

Ken, yes, it will not happen. Part of it is tradition, part of it is Grondona. Based on rumors – Hugo Tocalli has stepped down due to conflicts with AFA. Maybe Grondona has say in it. I’m also not in favor with the idea of hiring foreign managers. But whoever, I love to see manager follow Bilardo’s efforts to study opponents especially in Europe.

One of Bilardo’s skills is focusing on opponent’s strengths & weaknesses, and adjust accordingly. This is based on Bilardo’s mentor, Osvaldo Zubeldia – Estudiantes’s brilliant tactician (kind like Belichick, I think).

I think most of the managers are doing the same thing, but not to the extreme of what Bilardo’s done. Even WC86 players said he’s crazy. But that’s what he has achieved in the context of what football is today.

Cheers

Aguero, 2 goals & 1 assist:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1014715009604626508&q=Aguero+moscow&total=3&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

If Basile resigns then that’s the end of Riquelme.

Rijkaard might rest Messi for the next game. This is a good thing because Messi has been astonishing and I think he was feeling the strain on Tuesday when Barca played Rangers.

Also, Julio Grondona has dismissed all rumors about Basile. Coco is here to stay.

Last time they rested Messi it was o to o against osasuna. I think he will start but get pulled as soon as the lead is sufficient.

Hi everyone,

I have been very busy these days. Quick but many thoughts:

- In Italy, Lavezzi is THE phenomenon of “il calcio”. Ranked 3rd best player from abroad by the press, behind Ibrahimovitch. Samuel is doing well too.
- LINDA, Argentina is dependent on Riquelme because he’s very creative and organize the game. When he is not here, it is different. It was the same case for France. Completely dependent on Zidane. So Argentina is over-dependent on Roman? You guys know what is the solution? AIMAR!!!
- Cavegol scored in UEFA cup! Each game he plays, he scores.
- I don’t care if we beat Venezuela or Chili. It means sh#t.
- I read some stupid things on the blog. Really! Milito better than Ayala? Hahahahahah.
- I watched the Milan-Donetsk CL game. I carefully watched Kaka all the time. ONLY efficient on counter attacks. ONLY touches the ball on counter attacks. Even Ancelotti said it: “It is easy to counter attack with KK”. And everybody still think he’s the best in the world. Put a tuff defence in front of him and you won’t see him all the match.
- LUCIANO. Stop praising Basile. He is not an outstanding coach. You know him personally or what? : ) But I understand your frustration concerning futbol. You would have preferred to see Brazil playing like in the 70s. You are like us, we prefer to lose with poetry than win by killing our opponent in the back…
- Maxi Lopez is doing good in Russia. He scores from time to time (3). He has what he needs. Time to finally evolve far from the pressure.
- Amazing. Thousands posts for Riquelme. Shouldn’t we talk about Argentina poor tactics instead?
- Agree with Maradona. Italy is the perfect place for Riquelme to improve at his maximum. Zidane would have not evolved like he did without il calcio.
- My favourites for the CL are: Barca, Roma and Arsenal. I am saying this but I only saw Inter playing…
- Saviola went to Real Madrid because it is only one of the 5 or 6 clubs in the world who can afford him. Juventus are interested in him though.
- DEBASISH, Lucho is only confident when starting for Argentina. Strange. He is excellent though. Thanks for the post about the players in UEFA.
- Concerning other Maradona quotes concerning the passes to the back, he should know that it is our style. To possess the ball and be patient. And build build build. He would prefer Milito to give our balls to the opponents with stupid long passes or what? If he wants more creativity why doesn’t he praise Aimar?

Bye guys.

MaxiLopez
I think I said, Lucho looks confident only when playing for Porto. I watch a few of them. His strides are so commanding.

But when he plays for Argentina, he does not look the same.

I agree about Lucho. He is a consistent good performer for Porto. But he is the captain and his place is guaranteed. Playing well for the NT is a different thing all together. Based on Lucho’s performances for Porto, I think he, like Mascherano has the potential to become indispensible in any style of play. But unfortunately he seems to lose his edge while playing for the NT.

Aguero is all over the press again with 10 goals this year already he is on a wicked pace. As i predicted everyone is starting to compare him to Romario. Once again we have teh delema of trying to make the pieces fit to a system instead of taking the talents we have and makeing a system for them . tevez aguero and Messi should all three be playin gbut iin a positin that will work for us and them.

With Argentina, Lucho looks the same than at Porto, but when he STARTS (he was excellent against Germany). But when he his a sub, he slips around and doesn’t seem confident. He’s a key player for Argentina.

my 2 cents.

Aguero is a pure striker, no doubt about it. Everytime I watch him play, i am reminded of the YOUNG micheal Own. I remember when Own was 18, 19 and early 20s, he was just incredible. SHort, speedy, accurate, and powerful feet. Thats what Aguero is to me. the ROMARIO comparison is also fair.

As for Argentinas COach. WE still should support Basile, no matter what, its okay to criticiz him, because as fans thats what we are supposed to do. But you could could still disagree with his tactics, and selection of players and formations, and still suport the team to succeed.

However, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, I think Pekerman had this team playing so good. I mean I just remember the feeling that I got when I watched ARgentina play in the world Cup. Their discipline, their attitude, their focus, their team work, and above all their strategy to carefully study the opossing team. goodness. Remember the game against Ivory Coast. Drogba was shut down the whole game. against serbia (who had the number1 ranked defense supposedly) we played marvelous. Against Holland, we played reserved, but we should have scored at least 3. we played so beautiful. Against mexico, we got scored on early. We didnt chock, we came back and played wonderful. Pekerman subbed in the right players at the right time. Messi, Tevez, Aimar. and wala.

against Germany, we out played them in their own backyard. Germany had about 3 shots and sadly one went in. we question his substituion, but man I understood why he did it.

gosh i Miss this man.

Tevez seems like to play the ball 1st, looking for goal 2nd. There were number of times where he should score more. I hope this is mental thing. Aguero is quite natural as a striker. This is his 2nd season with At. Madrid compared to Tevez. But based on what he did this season, Aguero should be ahead of Tevez. Aguero is too young, so he just need experience.

Yes Messay, Pekerman knew where he was going. Basile needs time, but I will not forgive him of destructing the “Pekerman” system because it was brilliant. We were obviously the best team in 06. Why didn’t use his work???

We have few guys who will become brilliant defenders: Garay & Rodriguez are one of them. The only player Basile is building the future with is Riquelme. I respect it (I would have done the same). But he forgets the young defenders, Aguero or Gago. Young talents which have huge chances to be in Africa. We need to use them now, and not 15 days before the starting of the competition…

double from tevez so far.

wow….Lavezzi is playing a great game

Golazo,
Carlitos is on his way at club level.
I am impatiently waiting for
a Maradona style goal from him before
the end of the league. I would n’t expect
the same performance from him at the NT level
though. If you have Tevez’s first goal, can you
post it please? thanks and have a great weekend to you all.

http://www.ole.clarin.com/notas/2007/10/27/um/01527925.html

Lopez is doing well

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/Manchester++middlesbrough/video/x3bc3y_double-tevez-manchester-41-middlesb_sport

Maxi lopez had a hat trick. I think he now is the leading scorer in russia. See no shortage of number 9#s.

Golazo,
Thanks.
Greetings
Ken

Maxi, why are you so angry in your posts? lol, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Ayala was too old.

Man, Tevez and Rooney are now a scary pair. I give props to Sir Alex. It’s amazing how they developed into a scary pair in such short time. I am sure Messi, Tevez and Aguero will be as strong as, if not stronger, Tevez Rooney Ronaldo if they are used properly. Basile needs to work on it.

albo, where have you been man?! we miss you here.

Hey Batistuta. I am cooool.

I believe a central defender needs to be protected by his midfielders and the SW. A player who does everything in defence while the others play in front doesn’t exist anymore.

Ayala is an old dog but with great tactical skills. And I am sure that at 37 years old, he jumps higher than anybody else.

Why do you think, Cannavaro, ballon d’or, the monster of Italy’s defence is so weak when playing for Real Madrid?

Why do you think Paolo Maldini is still at AC Milan?

In 07, Argentina did the mistake to go upfront against Brazil, without being careful and giving the keys of the defence to the old legend, who has never been Superman by the way…

Was Ayala an old dog when he was dribbled by Bergkamp in 98 and eliminated with Argentina?

I believe the situation in 07 is Basile’s fault. He had 30 days to make understand our guys that Brazil played counter attacks and that we needed to be careful.

But now, Roberto, who has been the best defender of the world in 06, is being accused because he was alone behind…

Here i want to add some comment . Basile in my opinion actually is not a best coach for Argentina like we have such as Pasarella or Bilardo.Basile tactical is to low and very poor. For example he try to combind messi and tevez together. Messi and Tevez cannot play together. I say like that because Messi and Tevez do the same work and it is look like clash. So from there we don’t have a finisher like Hernan Crespo or Caniggia.I really want to see combination Messi and Aguero. I like Jose Pekerman tactic . He will not combind Messi and Tevez together until he really need. Pekerman tactic is he will combind 1 slow striker and 1 fast striker such as Crespo and Saviola and 1 playmaker know how both of this striker play and the man is Riquelme. But the Mistakes from Pekerman was do is in Wcup 2006 quarterfinal against Dutchland. Back to Basile again . Basile tactical is good for if we face team like chile,mexico,ecuador,venezuela and others team same level with them but not brazil. With Basile Argentina has lost 2times with brazil 3-0 at emirates and 3-0 at maracaibo.So i think from here it is time for Batistuta or simeone become a coach for Argentina. I know Basile will incharge for NT until 2010 but if Basile still coach for Argentina wcup 2002 memory will happen for Argentina. (I don’t know how to explain how i feel when you lose if you cry i also will cry.No illores para mi ARGENTINA porque yo siempre contigo) VAMOS ARGENTINA TODAVIA!!!!!!

Tevez gol is a bit like the one he scored against Serbia

VAMOSMESSI, Grondona has named Basile so we need to stick to him until next world cup. Things could have been easier but it’s like this and basta.

The only thing we can do is talk about all the problems, exchange tactical solutions concerning Basile’s 4-3-1-2 that he loves so much. Then lets pray that he has found them like us.

Sorry to say this, but we need to talk about solutions. Nothing else. We all know the problems that you mentioned above.

Of course, it is impossible to retain ourselves about our scare concerning counter attacking teams. Under Basile, we have ALWAYS lost like this. Romania, Brazil x2, quite frightening…

tq MAXILOPEZ………

Great game by Tevez, also a good game by Lavezzi. I guess Barca will trash Almeria today.

i also agree it was a good game by lavezzi. he was was also superb against roma last week. i think that napoli could be the suprise team of serie a this season just like real zaragoza was in la liga last year. lavezzi is great and deserves a permanent spot with the national team. therefore to make space for him i would love to see saviola dropped completely. this guy hardly plays for madrid and we need more consistansy for the national team. saviola is a player who thinks very highly of himself and seems to know the value of himself to a team. moving to madrid was clearly for the money and not for playing time. now his career will start to diminish because of this. i am so dissapointed in this guy, if he could have remained humble he could have acheived greatness. on a side note its time to call up maxi lopez, i heard he is the leading goal scorer in russia. if brazil starts vagner love who also plays in russia maybe argentina should do the same with maxi.

Lavezzi will be competing directly with Tevez for a spot.They are virtually identical in movement & role.

As for Maxi Lopez take into account the quality of the league. Outside of Zenit & the Moscow teams its not very taxing. Maxi was found out in La Liga. A no go for me.

The defensive side of things still needs clarification from Basile & the goalkeeping spot in preperation for the Olympics as a through run for 2010.

Maxi Lopez should go to the epl he is a physhical player and he can prove himself there

i cant beleive people r still saying that messi and tevez cant play together its a load of rubbish, look at tevez and rooney?

An Argentine player has nothing to do in England.

Maxi Lopez scores gols in Russia but it means nothing. This championship is a garbage.

Cavenaghi is a sub at Bordeaux. I am just waiting for an injury from 1 of the 2 starters which are Bellion & Chamakh.

Saviola is one of the rare player who is always good, even when he doesn’t play. His Real situation was very predictable. But it is very difficult for a human being to decrease its life conditions.

Lavezzi seem to be a monster, a mix of Tevez & Messi. We have so many talents upfront. And it’s not finished yet…

Aurelius, I always think the same as you. It seems that I have a twin in the US!

Bye bye.

Gago played a great game for real madrid today, he was all over the place..

J-Argie, you watched the game? How was Saviola?

Without Ayala, Valencia are dying and losing in all competitions…

Maxi Lopez, Saviola was not seen at all on the field, i don’t know why but i think he only no more than 10 thouches of the ball. just like Schuster said after the game, i don’t know why nisteroy and him can’t work together, but the counter attakcs changed when saviola was replaced by raul. Gonzalo higuain had an even worse game, i am disappointed in my argies…we wil see what the future holds.

aurelius why are you so pessimistic. i was simply just stating some options that the national team could try. we will never know what maxi can do unless we give him a try. even though tevez and lavezzi are the same they both could listed in the same squad. i would never want tevez to be dropped the guy i want dropped is saviola, only for bad decisions and lack of playing time. lastly i know the russian league is not the most competitive league in europe but the fact is vagner love who plays there is a starter for brazil who thrashed us in the copa america final.

Mascherano The Man of The Match for Liverpool Vs. Arsenal game. I love his style of playing.

Tim Vickery column on the end of the Pekerman-Tocalli era.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7066112.stm

Aimar10 I am not being pessimistic but pragmatic.ML lacks the touch/close control required of an international striker esp.for the Argentina NT.

Love is a better quality of player but even he will be superseded by the likes of Pato before long.

Maxi I’m actually in England but yes I share a lot of your views on the state of football. .

Disgrace regarding Tojo. I assume it was on the basis of the u17 performance & sadly while Grondona is in charge I cannot see Tocalli returning to the national setup in any capacity (aside from helping Basile). The talent factory will continue but it does require careful nurturing.

Masche was immense a star for Liverpool … again. Arsenal were superb & show that very fast high tempo passing can be maintained. Argentina can do the same with the likes of Messi, Tevez,Aimar,Palacio. Riquleme plays like a magician but at a slower tempo.

Its the dead accurate ball v-v stretching the defence using pace & fast passing & with defenders getting ever faster perhaps its time for the trio above to get their chance.

We dont need a classic 9 as shown by Manchester United. However the players require great strength to resist defenders if of short stature ie like Maradona. Tevez has that strength as does Rooney & they can play facing up or turning backing into defenders.

Aguero is maturing into the same huge strength to shake off defenders & it would be nice to see him get playing time soon in conjunction with Messi. He also needs to be rested .It was a long summer & some of our players are showing symptoms of fatigue.

I hope Masches injury is not the same has he suffered earlier in his career.

Chau for now amigos.

Aurelius, as I said before Arsenal are gonna do great in CL this season, like in 2005.

Messi, Tevez, Saviola, Palacio, Aguero are the kind of rabbits that can play amazing and quick futbol. But Arsenal’s style isn’t the same than Argentina. Their game is really fast, they aren’t afraid to lose the ball. They are also physically incredible.

I prefer the slow traditional way of playing with possession, calm and patience of our team. It is has been a bit difficult to adapt Messi to our style since 06 because he isn’t at all in the rythmn of the team. Aimar can do both unlike Messi & Riquelme.

Anyway, Basile doesn’t care about all this, he just put Messi & Tevez and ask them to enjoy. These two guys need to learn about Riquelme’s tempo. They will. But they are less efficient than Crespo & Saviola for this.

It is told that Ridjkaard demanded Messi & Ronaldinho to be more collective and it was done at last Barca game

True Maxi Arsenal are physically far stronger & posess immense stamina which allows them to maintain a high tempo game for the entirety of the game but takes its effect in the latter stages of a season.

I don’t think there is that much difference between us & them. They do move faster around the giver & offer at times more options to the ball carrier but it does help that generally their players carry more pace.

Nevertheless they are very enjoyable to watch even if they do not look after the ball as well as you point out.

Messi sticks out at times as at Barca .Not only in physical speed his footballig brain is thinking ahead of his teamates which can leave him & his teamates looking bemused at times. He’s an excellent option. No team likes to play against a team that can vary its speed of play.

We can at times get too predictable passing the same triangles & diagonal runs.

If roman fades and with the skilled players that we have the time might arrive for a 4 3 3 . Also grat job Zaragoza I want Villareal to lose everygame they play .

Yep,
Todd, Villareal must NOT qualify for CL without JRR. Great
loss against Zaragoza over the week end. Hope they keep it up!

Agüero Could Be Phenomenal – Zé Castro

Zé Castro believes that Sergio Agüero has everything that it takes to become one of world’s best players after another impressive performance at the weekend.

zoom – galleria The Portuguese defender has been impressed by his Atlético team-mate’s rise to prominence this term and has not doubts about what he could achieve in the game.

Agüero, 19, has already scored ten goals in all competitions this term and Castro, 24, is hoping that he can continue to improve even further..

“Agüero is spectacular and has everything he needs to become a phenomenon,” he said.

“He is very young and it is difficult at his age to maintain consistency, but he is doing that.

“If he wants to make it to the very top he has to continue what he is doing now and I think he has a strong mind.

“Little-by-little he is beginning to understand that because everyone knows how good he is and what he do in games.

“He has everything to become the best if he continues to work hard.

Atlético edged into fifth place at the weekend with victory at Levante as Agüero supplied the pass for Diego Forlán to score the winner.

I hope Villareal will qualify for the CL to make people shut up. It’s easier to support Riquelme and spit on Pellegrini. We know nothing. Roman is a multi millionaire, he could break his contract, whatever it costs. And I tell you this as a great Riquelme fan who supports River.

Yes Aurelius. It is just my personal opinion to prefer the traditional attacking old style. Playing without a playmaker (Gago instead) or using the Barca formation could be very efficient.

It’s frustrating concerning Basile because we don’t know yet where he’s going. Sometimes, he selects completely different players. One game it’s Lucho. The other is Insua. Then it’s Gutierrez. I don’t know why.

He also seems to name 11 players and let them alone on the field.

Sorry I say obvious things concerning Basile that has been said 10 times. It is hard to retain myself

Maxi I am still puzzled as to how you could actually cheer for Villareal after what they have done to Riquelme this year. Forget about last year none of us know the details of that. What we do know is that this year they refused to sell him to Boca and then did not make enough moves to ensure that he go to another team. I persoanlly thought this meant that they wanted to keep him just in case they were going to play him this year in a crunch. Instead they come out over and over again and say they will not play him . What a waste regardless of the circumstances or what he might have done last year!! Maxi expalin to me how you can not see this as vindictive ? Once again I state forget about what happened last year and whose fault it was we do not know . What we know is that this year Pelligrini is playing a game of revenge! That is plain for all to see!! What other explanation is ther for keeping a player of his talent and then just not letting him play? At the very least they could have loand him out to Boca again even if it were for fifty dollars!! Then my friend I would not be so hard on Pellegrini and Villareal. But no they keep him and get no moeny for the club! That is nothing but vindictive revenge on their part!!!!!

Todd,
Hurrah to you! Well said. Sooner or later Pellegrini
will get just what he deserves!

And let me reiterate that I hope
that Villareal does NOT make it
to CL. In that way they will
always remember that in the past
they made all the way to the semi final
of CL with the help
of JRR. Without the maestro, they
simply do not have the cutting edge!
Thanks Todd of Utah.
Greetings
Ken

Fernando Tissone is my nigga only argie thats a brotha

Pelligrini is out to destroy Riquelme’s career. I dont know why they hate each other but it is clear they do. Last season he made a big mistake by loaning Riquelme out to Boca. Riquelme had the last laugh and he made Pelligrini look like a fool. He didnt want that to happen this year. He probably counted on Riquelme not to be picked for the WC qualifiers but Basile had other plans.

I hope Villareal and Pelligrini disappear into oblivion. They have been very ungrateful to Riquelme and they have treated him like shit. Pelligrini could have at least let him go on professional courtesy. But he decided to make it personal and try to destroy Riquelme’s career. But I think Pelligrini miscalculated.

You guys think as fans, not as managers. You talk far too much about a situation that you don’t know.

Maradona, did you ever think a single second that Riquelme could have treatened Villareal like sh#t? Do you really think Roman is an angel?

Whatever, people talk about this far too much.

Toddutah,

2 hypotheses:

- Roman is trapped, hasn’t respected the Villareal team and it’s coach in the past and can’t been forgiven. Coach and president want a vengeance!

- Roman hasn’t respected Villareal in the past, and has sent his 2nd chance given by Pellegrini to the garbage. His behaviour hasn’t changed since the first conflict.

How can we accuse Pellegrini as a “terrorist” as we know nothing?

Ciao ciao.

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=PMUJmvIrBZY

Check Maxi’s hatrick. Calm down, there is nobody agaist him but the video is quite funny. The River chicken attitude…

His behaviour hasn’t changed since the first conflict.—

how do you know this????

For those of you who doubt about TEVEZ ability to partner with ROONEY up front, well need I have to say more after last weekend match against Middlesboro.

CRESPO is aging, Diego MILITO seems to have lost his midas touch while the rest of poachers out there are not having the best of time. Such as SAVIOLA who is not getting anough time play at Real Madrid.

At the moment the best partnership that Coco BASILE has to employ is between Kun AGUERO, Lionel MESSI and Carlos TEVEZ.

As for RIQUELME, he needs a new club and I do believe there are many out there who would die to have someone like him.

Please visit my blog @ http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/

Maxi nothing personal we clearly see this issue very different. Have a nice night .

Hey guys, i have a question. Do you guys think C. ronaldo has problem with Tevez?

i remember a few weeks ago, when tevez took a free kick. C ronaldo walked away shaking his head. and then after tevez blew away the opportunity, c ronaldo still walked way shaking his head acting really really disapointed.

and in games i dont really see c ronaldo being happy when tevez scores. yesterday when tevez took the shot to score his second goal. ronaldo was open but tevez took the shot(i would have as well, if i am that close to the goal and i just beat a defender), and C ronaldo had a no so happy face. am i just loooking into something too much?

Messay,
You raise a good point, but even if what you
said is true, Tevez will assist Ronaldo
to score when he must do so in
critical situation. Tevez’s approach is to
make friends first and win everyone on
his side before he starts pulling his
stuff. He is repeating what he did at
West Ham, here he is peaking faster because he is
surrounded by great players. Tevez is a footballer’s footballer.
So there is no reason why Cristiano should
not like him. It would not be in Cristiano’s
best interests to do so given that Rooney
and Tevez’s partnership has impressed the man who matters
most: Sir Alex. When one compares Tevez and Cristiano,
the former is more effective. Cristiano wastes a lot of
time with his fancy footwork but lately it has not led to
goals, which is the bottom line when you are at a club
of the caliber of Man Utd. Good observation on your part though!
Greetings from San diego.
Ken

Any word as to when Lippi is taking over the National Team?

John,
I doubt whether this would ever happen!

Messay, i was thinking exactly the same thing. Actually ronaldo went into the goal to get the ball or something after Tevez scored his second. I saw them talking to each other about who to take the penalty in the last CL game against Kiev. Hope Sir Alex notices this and fixes, if there is something.

Alexa, I know nothing. We know nothing.

And honestly, if I were Basile, I would have worked for a long time on the none-dependance of Argentina towards Riquelme, using Aimar & Lucho. By the way, I wonder if these 2 guys haven’t REFUSED to play in America because they knew they wouldn’t play. They feel a big lack of respect & confidence from Basile. And this is much more interesting for our team than an unknown personal conflict between 1 coach and 1 player. Sooner or later, some will say that Pellegrini has a sex relationship with Riquelme’s wife?! Lets talk about futbol!

I didn’t watch the 2 games from Argentina. I saw the FK so it’s seems OK. I hope he didn’t waste passes like he did sometimes against Perou. Otherwise you would have heard me screaming around!

I say this like a neutral person, but don’t get me wrong, I love Riquelme. I hope you guys understand what I am saying, otherwise…

http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=62575

Maybe Pellegrini wanted to put Riquelme in his bag to London?
Just kidding.

Of course Ronaldo is not happy with the appearance of another star to take away some of his limelight.Thats the way most players are. They are egoists.

Its the managers jobs to ensure such egos dont come into conflict or disrupt the team.

And to disparage Villareal is wrong. The fans by & large would love to see JRR back & they acknowledge what he has done for the side & know if he was playing they would improve. Its a clash of egos & usually in such cases the manager wins even it means it is detrimental to the team. Only if the team is in a plight will fans turn against the manager in favour of the player seeing him as a potential saviour.

And that will not happen at present.

I recommend Saviola up sticks & move to Arsenal. He would fit in nicely alongside Adebayor. Its very wrong to write him off. Hes alwasy been a useful player for the NT & offers much for the future still.

Completely agree with you and concerning Saviola. A tiny #9. He’s excellent. Efficient. Collective too.

Saviola is all those things and one might add to the list greedy?

Again,
You are dead on, Todd of Utah regarding
Saviola! You are probably a person
who was brought out to speak
straight from the heart. This
is simply meant to be a compliment
to your up bringing, nothing else.

Thanks ken i always say what i think as that is what I hope that blogs are for and of course i relalize that all my comments will not be correct but they will be my thoughts straight from the heart. Has anyone seen the new messi commercial with the boy with Down Syndrome ? I will tell you that Messi continues to impress me on and off the field. i am sure that he will make some mistakes in the future but so far his behavior has been nothing but exemplitary. In barecelona the big topic is how the team played completely different futbol once Messi stepped on the pitch the last 15 minutes. I think that Rikkard needs to not sub messi in for Rohanandino but instead another player as Rikarrd is creating a situation that does not need to exist.

MaxiLopez — I ‘m with you — i do think that Basile needs to bring Aimar back into the fold. Aimar’s omission is really troubling to me. No one has ever figured out how to use Lucho on thenational team.

Tevez is doing a fantastic job with Man united. I just hope that he can repeat this form in the national team, where, in the last qualifying game, he looked less interested (I know i’m going to be flamed–sorry!). Tevez might be getting all the English press right now, but Aguero is very quickly becoming the best striker in La Liga. The competition for that position is going to be very fierce. I do think that it will be invaluable to have an out and out striker for the team.

toddutah — i saw that ad! Unbelievably touching. Messi is incredibly mature for his age. It’s such a shame that Ronaldinho isn’t himself anymore, becuase those two would just blast everyone else out of the water in Europe…

“Messi’s behavior has been nothing but exemplitary”

I didn’t forget the hand gol and when he simulated on a head kick from D’Alessandro. Haha. If someone says I am pessimistic, i will not be afraid to say yes. I can also remind people that Messi always wears shoes with an interesting message written on them: “La mano de dios” which is really clever when referees on the pitch know this.

Alexa, Lucho was perfectly used in 06 by Pekerman. He injured himself early in the competition so everybody remembers Cambiasso.

Btw, why do Cambiasso & Lucho seem ordinary in the NT now? Because they are not used properly by Basile. One of these guys must be used in front of Mascherano. Not on the flanks.

What I also liked with Pekerman is that he changed the players. Saviola usually started games, but against a physical team (Germany), he started Tevez. Nobody except Riquelme, Ayala, Mascherano, Sorin & Crespo were sure to start. There was competition. He also wanted everyone to be involved. OK, the weak point was weird choices (Scaloni) which could have maken us lose.

Today, it’s always the same 11. All the time. Whatever is our opponent.

PS: I don’t know how Ronaldinho plays this season. All I know is that he played too much last years, completely carbonized with Etoo, the great forward that everybody seem to have forgotten…

Maxi,
I think Basile did not choose Aimar because though he has been match fit, he has been very inconsistent for Zaragoza so far this season. About Lucho – the Argie NT is a competitive place. Lucho was given a chance in the Copa America and he was terrible. So now Lucho will have to earn his way back.

Lucho didn’t really play in the Copa AMerica at all. DIdn’t he just play that one time against Paraguay? I don’t think that Pekerman played Cambiasso particularly well in the World Cup. I know that it’s hard to expect these guys to play to the level of their club teams, but Cambiasso can be Riquelme-esque with InterMilan, he’s superb with them sometimes. I don’t remember ever seeing Cambiasso reach that level with the NT.

I might be a complete lout, but I don;t see a big issue with Messi’s handball. Everybody cheats in the modern game. He was just caught out that time. Normally, he’s incredibly fair when he plays. He doesn’t dive too much, he stays on his feet when others wouldn’t, and he’s wonderfully generous to his teammates. He’s been unerringly gracious in the whole ROnaldinho fiasco this season. He’s the bestest!

Alexa,
You are NO lout.

Yep, the problem is that Messi cheated at the wrong moment.

Cambiasso was a monster at WC 06. I saw the games last august, believe me. So did Lucho.

hey you guys, To be honest, I have a hard time calling what Messi did as a cheat.

when you are in the heat of the game things happen. it is just a naturaly reaction. If any of you have played in competetive sports before, you know what i mean. when you are running full spead and you jump nearly 3 yars to head the ball in, and you couldnt reach it with your head (and your team is down, you are bound to do whatever to tap it in) it is just NATURAL REACTION. and he did it.

how many times have we seen defenders daving to grab the ball with their hands, when they see the goalie beat and they know the only option they have is, get a red card and get a penality and hope the person misses the PK. so they will take that chance and dive for the ball and hit it with their hands. IT IS PART OF THE GAME.

As for AIMAR. what can I say, before Messi He was my favorite player in the world, followed by the Cavenaghi of old. I am just in shock of why AIMAR isnt called when we have Freakin Insua being called regularly. the games Riquelme wasnt called, was the best chance to test AIMAR. and Basile knows that AIMAR would have taken it serious. Had AIMAR played so well and parntered with MESSI and tevez greatly. then The media and the fans would say PLAY AIMAR instead of RIQUELME. that was a risk Basile COULDNT TAKE. BECAUSE to him RIQUELME is the man for this team. thats the only reasonable explantion i came up with.

If a player is willingly
using his hand and/or dive and score, it is definitely cheating.
When that player is supposed to be world class the cheating
is accentuated because the player is willfully and intentionally
trying to gain an unfair advantage. Knowing the bad wrap the Argentina
NT has endured by referees/ Fifa because of Maradona’s actions in the past, a player of the caliber of Messi is expected to be very careful. Messi is
so talented/gifted that he does not need to resort to that to
score.

From a statistical point of view, it can be argued that Cristiano
Ronaldo made sure Man Utd edged Chelsea last year through a series of diving, the most obvious one against Tottenham.

Now that Brasil will host
the 2014 WC, we can wave the cup
good bye if we do not win in 2010
in SA.

lisandro lopez is doing pretty well right now having scored 8 goals in as many games. he said it would be a dream to play for his country. i would really like if this guy could get a chance. i only hope basile is taking note. if he could only be the answer to our lack of a number #9 it would be great.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HERO DIEGO MARADONA THE ONE AND ONLY ONE IN THE UNIVERSE.

One could call Saviola ambitious too Todd. It depends upon your point of view. In my own view I do agree with you ,he would be better off at a club like Villareal for instance where he would be guaranteed a starting spot.

He has proved his class when he was at last called up by Rijkaard due to the spate of injuries.

Brazil 2014 ? The stadia are shocking & FIFA has lowered the requirements needed in order for the tournament to go ahead. We can kiss 2014 goodbye ? Hardly. Last time Brazil held the tournament despite having probably the best team they fluffed their lines under intense pressure which they will have to endure again.

As for Messi cheating. It was disappointing to see but then when we saw the little man hacked down constantly & players not being penalised it goes both ways.

Until as has been said before , retrospective punishments are introduced the simulation will continue. Until then players will seek to gain the tiniest advantage. The Corinthian spirit is long gone.

Messi is Barcelona. Henri has lost his key asset pace & Ronaldinho has been angling for a move to Chelsea ever since the rumours surfaced. Is there no end to players avarice ?

Aimar must be recalled as soon as he regains his somewhat patchy form. Andres is not helping & is becoming a bit too disruptive at the club. Every time he came on in the Copa ,things sparked ,the pace stepped up a notch & he works very well with Messi in creating space & chances.

Garay has been impressing again for Santander. Surely its his time to replace G.Milito.

We should be considering players only from competitive leagues namely serie A , BL , La Liga, EPL & the Apertura. Forget Bracamonte & co. Its an wasy way out & sad to see Maxi Morales & Zarate wasting themselves at a crucial time in their development. Aguero has chosen wisely though there were disconcerting rumours that Aguirre may be replaced by Mourinho in the future. In all probability a very nasty rumour .I dont want anti-football.

Chau.

Nice post Aurelius.

It’s OK for Messi, everyone seem to have forgotten the hand gol.

Saviola has an amazing income. Only Barca, Real, MU, Chelsea, Milan & Inter can afford him (!). A club like Villareal can only get him on loan.

Grondona didn’t even try to get the WC organization with other South American countries. He probably didn’t want to bother Blatter the dictator, and maybe a secret deal between FIFA & Nike. I remember 1 year ago, Blatter was saying that Brazil would have no chances to organize the WC because of the stadiums conditions which are a disaster. Remember? And now look where we are. What a bastard…

Basile doesn’t seem to have a long term objective. He seem to always launch politically correct formations. He said he would drop Pato. He said he would not use Heinze as a SW anymore. And he is still doing the same Copa mistakes. He uses Milito in defence only because he plays at Barca.

HE FORGETS ABOUT THE FUTURE. Argentina has the most interesting and skilled young talent and we are not preparing the future. Basile is afraid to take risks. What is the problem to use 20 years old players to prepare 2010?

Pato is dead. We have Carrizzo!!! Let Ustari learn about his mistake against Norway.

Heinze is better in the center. Use a kid on the left against offensive teams.

I am a Zanetti fan, but we need to use him to coach Zabaleta or someone else.

We have plenty of good young central defenders that we don’t use.
Ayala is gone. It is time to start from zero.

Unlike Pekerman, Basile is not preparing the future.

(By the way, Henry has always been a counter attacking player. He needs a bit of time to adapt. He will, he’s good. I didn’t watch him this year though)

I think that with Argentina, the issue is that for them the “future” is now. I remember on the Guardian podcast, someone asked MArcela about any great young talent coming up, and she really couldn’t name anyone, because players like Messi and Aguero are ALREADY international stars, and they are barely out of theri teens. 23 years and under — Mashcerano, Gago, Higuain, Tevez, Aguero, Messi. That’s almost half your current team right now.

The goalie issue needs to be dealt with, though. There are plenty of good goalies that can step into Pato’s shoes, and some of them might even be good with crosses! And not freak out in major games!

The best teams blend youth and experience. Look at France in the last world cup. They made it to the final on experience alone (that at Ribery). Experience is so important in big games.

In addition to youth and experience in players, a master tactician combined with a strategist is also required at the coach level. Lippi
epitomized that in WC2006.

When WC will be held in Brasil 2014,
for sure they will be under pressure.
BUT at the same time the referees will
be under tremendous pressure from
the Brasilian fans. Thus, this will
give an advantage to Brasil, not Argentina. This is just
plain common sense.

Guys I have made my goal i will be at the 2014 world cup along with my beauiful wife. i hope that some of you will be able to join us and that we will all be chatting on this blog at that time. i beleive that we will have a very strong club for at least the next two world cups and hopefully we can win one of them. I belive that we had a very strong club for the 2006 WC. That is all you can do is field a strong team and hope that the luck is with you. If we do that enough than we will win another one. Look at italy as an example of this . They have put good teams in the last 4 world cups and I could argue that the one that won in 2006 was the weakest of there last four. With Players like Messi and Aguero is there any doubt that we will be one of about five teams that can win in 2010 and 2014? Dale Argentina!! On another note congrats to Arsenal and River in making the Semis.

Todd,
Congrats to you for your decision regarding WC2014. I take
a slightly different approach. Because HDTV is now here and HDMI is
also here, I have invested in those two to watch games including
wc games. Thanks for sharing your plans for WC2014.

Getafe To Loan Ustari Out In January

Young Getafe goalkeeper Oscar Ustari could be farmed out on loan in January as the Azulones seek to give the Argentine more first-team experience…

zoom – galleria Getafe goalkeeping understudy Oscar Ustari may be loaned out in January to gain more first team experience.

The former Independiente man arrived at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez in summer to serve as second fiddle to veteran stopper Roberto ‘Pato’ Abbondanzieri and has already made a handful of appearances both domestically and in the UEFA Cup.

However, with Pato set to dominate the Getafe goalkeeping position once more this season, coach Michael Laudrup is eager to continue Utari’s first-team development, which could necessitate a loan switch, almost certainly to another Spanish club

I am a big fan of Aimar. I have him on my desktop. But sincerely, I do not see him do any miracle (like taking Argentina to a WC victory) now. He has been too inconsistent. I watch all his games, but if I am honest, I do not expect him to play great all the time, because it is so far and between.

I am lot more convinced when Riquelme steps up to take free kick or corner, but I am only barely “hopeful” when Aimar steps up to do the same for Zaragoza. He loses the ball lot easier as compared to Riquelme. He is brilliant but error prone. Riquelme is physically strong, he is so rarely injured (when he is playing every minute or not playing at all). Aimar is so injury prone.

I will always remain a great fan of Aimar, but he will always be the brilliant guy, who never achieved enough matching his standards.

All said, I want Aimar is the team, but only as a replacement or a fallback, when our main man is out of sorts. Also, he could be there when we are playing a different formation or trying a very aggressive approach. Like the Mexico game in WC. Like we have 20 mins to go, do or die situation, I would love to have an Aimar, because you never know what he will come up with, he is so brilliant.

But, I will never want to give my whole team, for a whole tournament to him, since for all the brilliance, he is so inconsistent. Riquelme, in my opinion quite easily plays 5-6 great games for 1 game when he is invisible. So, Riquelme will win most of the games for me in a tournament, but for that one day when he is down, I would love to have a Aimar.

I said all these since there is so much about Aimar going on in the thread. I also revisited the Paraguay game in copa where Aimar was given the “main” job by Basile, but I do not think he did great. And I asked myself, can he do better? Answer is a BIG YES! But how often, perhaps rarely.

In a 7 game tournament, I am sure Riquelme will play at least 5-6 super games. Aimar perhaps 2-3.

Out of 10 dead ball situations, Riquelme will provide 8-9 super delieveries, Aimar perhaps 4-5.

These are statistics and not a guess.

Friends, I think most will agree, if we are honest. Its difficult but it is true. We will perhaps sit in front of the TV every weekend thinking Aimar is going to rip apart the opponent, sometimes he will do, but most of the times he is not going to perhaps.

debsish well said i agree 100% on Aimar he should be called up for the games but seen as the super sub coming off the bench. This is my feeling on tevez as well as the starters should be
Utsari
Zanetti Milito Demichilli Heinze

Maxi Mascerano Lucho

Roman
Messi
Aguero

Cambiasso Tevez Aimar Gago and Denis are your subs depending on how the game is going. If it is a bad game for Roman then here is the subs at half.
Utsari
Zanetti Milito Heinze
Demichillis Mascerano
Messi Aimar Maxi
Tevez
Aguero

When Roman goes out you can get away from the enganche formation .

Debasich,
I appreciate your fancy statistics but the bottom
line is whether JRR and Aimar can work
together. The answer is a resounding YES.
The 2006 WC against Mexico proved that.
JRR has proved that even if one does NOT play
for club, one can still excel for COUNTRY. This
is particularly true for Argentina players because
wearing that Argentina jersey means much more to them
that simply cannot be described in simple words.

A united
house stands undivided. So for Argentina to win, somehow
their best 11 players must be fielded. If you look at their history
you will find that has not been always the case. With the current
coach the trend continues and tied up with that Grodona of the AFA who
has a say in the football decisions which would be unacceptable
to world class coaches such as Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson. Can the Board tell Wenger or Sir Alex who should be on the pitch? Absolutely NOT!

Yet, this is what happens to our NT. From my point of view this is the cancer that is robbing Argentina of its potential
despite its abundance in world class talents.

What country in the world can boast of a team of individual players of the caliber of Riquelme, Tevez, Messi, Mascherano, Aguero ? NONE! As Diego Maradona and 1986 WC coach winner and medical doctor Carlos Bilardos have pointed out on numerous occasion, the problem is the AFA. It is more interested in money rather than bringing back the glory. One example is that of AFA making arrangement with Russian companies to always field certain players. This is a NO-NO to world class coach such as Wenger or Sir Alex. But our current NT simply does not mind that because this is the contract that he signed.

So let me reiterate. We have world class players but not a world class team at this time. Unless AFA changes its philosophy, bringing that cup is light years away, which is very unfortunate for the players because a footballer’s career spans only a very limited time. We have seen it happen to Crespo who participated in 4 wc without any glory.

Greetings to you all,
Ken

One last comment before I shut up. We need ACTIVIST (argentinean) fans to change AFA. One example is that of Franc Ribery from France during the recent WC. The French fans kept shouting his name during games and eventually the coach had no choice but to field him. He was a success because he scored against Spain. So FANS know because their evaluations rest on fielding
the best, not based on preferential treatment..

I disagree with you Debasish. I shut up because I didn’t have the time to watch Spanish games this year. All I can say is that Aimar was better than Riquelme at last Copa. I really believe it. For me, a playmaker’s objective is to build and organize the game and not score gols.

Important: Aimar never had his chance with NT, NEVER, even when Riquelme had left Argentina. On the bench against Algeria (unbelievable). Forget about Paraguay. You cannot judge a player(maker!) on 1 game with new teamates. I remember he had lost some balls during the beginning of that game, but he was very correct.

I respect what you said but you can’t judge Aimar in the NT because he never really had a role in this team. It’s a pity. But i repeat, I didn’t watch him this year. All I know is that he was one of the best last summer.

MaxiLopez — you might need some new glasses!Just kidding. But I do think that if you want someone to organize a team, you can’t find a better person than Riquelme. And, really, if you have that person, and then that person can also score goals the way Riquelme did in the Copa, you really can’t beat that, no matter how well another person functions in the rolw. Becasue, honestly, the bottom line is that the team should score as many goals as it can!

Aimar is totally underused in the NT. But he has a great, fantastic opportunity at this moment to rip it up in La Liga and show Basile what he is missing, and he really isn’t doing it. Riquelme is completely MIA. This is Aimar’s shot to make his argument.

Valencia is getting right royally ass kicked by Real Madrid right now. They must still be realling from the Flores firing. Even though there are many Arg playing for Real, I really can’t stand them. Harumph.

Agree with you Ken, except, as you know, for the foreigner coach. Fans have no “power”, you need to understand it. The press has a little but not that much neither.

In France, it was a particular case. Domenech was beginning to be really ashamed. Last spring, Ribery was outstanding (far from his WC level). A monster, really, you haven’t seen the real Ribery yet! The fans and the press pushed him a little, it’s true. But the ones who really made the decision were the ones who brought France NT to the WC final, on their own. Zidane, Vieira, Makelele, Thuram. These leaders have decided the important decisions. Believe me, Domenech is nothing.

In 96, Jacquet was almost killed by everyone for not including Cantona & Ginola. No influence on his choices. He was building the future with pretty young Zidane… So, you see, it’s a matter of personnality. That’s why, after, French federation president chosed muppets such as Lemerre, Santini, coaches who would not be against a trip in Australia or Chile for business reasons. It’s exactly the same in Argentina today!

Fans are the same everywhere except in Argentina where they are the most passionated. Grondona is a pig but he’s not stupid. He named Basile because he knew he was an ex-Boca. 50% less of noise isn’t it? It wasn’t the case at all when Pekerman was here, when he excluded from the NT guys like Zanetti or Lux… Grondona had to shut up at that time. It’s not the case anymore, he decides now, who are the players, where we play for money. Which makes me conclude that your last post is nothing but the truth concerning AFA management. People in Argentinaare probably angry. But what can they do except support our boys?

Alexa, Roman did nothing except scoring gols at la Copa. Really strange. The Riquelme of 2006 was on another planet. You must remember

goal de cambiasso!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maxilopez,
Honestly, I want to know from you what could Riquelme have done in WC 2006 and Copa so as to deserve a place in the NT?

To me, Aimar is potentially the most talented player from Argentina after Messi. And may be he deserves a place in the NT too. Its upto the coach. But at the cost of Riquelme? LOL.

goal agueroooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well said ken i agree with both of your post. the bottom line is we must field our best 11 if we want to win anything meaning full. i hope during the qulifiers at least against some of the weaker nations basile could play aimar and riquelme together, with riquelme playing a deeper role.
todd utah i most comfortable with your starting line up. lucho plays better when he starts and its time cambiasso gets benched, not that he is doing any thing wrong but i would like to see someone else play instead of him. i honestly don’t remember the last time he didn’t play. the starting 11 prefer i will never see so i hoping your 11 will take the pitch next time argentina plays.

Maxilopez,
Alexa has reponded to your preference of Aimar over JRR. Since I concur
with her, it would be redundant for me to respond.

With regards to your comments about foreign coach,
the idea is Argentina to find its lost glory by any means including
using a foreign coach of the caliber of Arsene wenger. But
we will never know unless we try!

With regards to your comments about Domenech being a muppet and
that veterans like Zidane, Makelele, Viera making the important
decisions, there is no way for me to verify that. Unless, one of those
three come forward, we will never know.

Even at the risk of being an old rewinding tape, I
must say there is a way for Argentinean fans to MORE than supporting
our boys: become ACTIVIST fans! circulate petitions, vote Grondona OUT.

Aimar10 and Riqelme the blogger, the Nepalese fellow
good to hear from you both again.

To Maxilopez ,

In appreciation for your
contributions to this blog,
here is a footage about Zidane
that I will always cherish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYUtKKbBTkw&mode=related&search=

How about this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvZwirDVouI

Simple and truly effotless (as if playing with kids in the backyard!!)

It is good but it also
brings back nostalgia
because of the way
he ended his career. Thanks
anyway. Greetings
Ken

wow…did u guys see maxi’s goal for atletico today.
an assist by aguero over the head of fazio and on maxi’s right foot.
it was beautiful….
go argies!!!!!!!!

I know that I will
get a lot of sticks for
showing something that has
nothing to do
with Argentinean football. But
as we wait in joyful
hope for Argentina to win WC2010,
let me present you a piece
of poetry that I adore. It is
from Rumi, a poet for humanity.
He believes that DEF ( Desire, Fear and Ego)
are the enemies of mankind. So he
suggests through this poem that
we free ourself by using an axe
to escape from this prison wall and
understand the beauty that we all
represent, the true inner consciousness.

Again, to those that I offend, please
accept my apologies.

Here is the poem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2nYZSoIMY8&mode=related&search=

Maxi,
Riquelme was the Argentina’s best player in the copa. He was consistently ranked among the best performers in 5 games out of 6 (mostly along with Mascherano, Messi and Zanetti). He scored 5 goals and had 4 assists. He controlled the pace of the games beautifully and his unique enganche skills were on display in most games. So it is quite strange that you declare he didnt perform well in the copa. We all know you dont really like him a lot but saying that he was poor in the copa has got to be the joke of the day.

Btw, your pro Aimar argument dont carry much water because all you seem to be suggesting is that Basile (whom you frivolously accuse to be a Boca supporter) replace Riquelme-dependency with Aimar-dependency. Let me assure you that nobody in their right mind will do that. Lot of people agree that Aimar should come on as a super-sub to complement the attack in the last 25 minutes.

^ Well said. You can’t replace Riquelme on the field. In my honest opinion, I prefer Cambiasso to come out and have Aimar in there. RIQUELME + AIMAR + MAXI + AGUERO + MESSI = Strong attack. But this will never happen!

thanks, Ken. Great poem!

when is the riquelme vs. aimar discussion will end?! yes riquelme is far more valuable as an an enganche than aimar but then what? he is 29 …next WC will be 32….we know his flaws…i can see what will happen if he is around in 2010…2 out of three matches in the group stage he will do great in them!!! people will start to chant his name like what happen in copa america.. another 2 matches and he will start to fade away!! at last a good coch of a strong team will eliminate us in one of the knock outs killing the passing game because of our dependence on the enganche role!!!! of course assuming basile will be there….

now before riquelme lovers start to attack me thinking that i am a riquelme hater ..i am not!

dominich used zidane- who is an enganche who can step up when it counts- in an a different way…and almost won the WC again….

the difference is in the adabtabilty of the the french team …they can play with him or without him…..if zizo is on fire no one can stop them!!! he is off then the wingers ribery and malouda can do both defensive and offensive duties with good performance tagging with henry in the front. where is basile from all of that?!!….sticking to his wierd style of fielding riquelme and messi with no true center forward…and no support from both flanks because of the defensive midfielders on the sides!!!!

a major problem is basile….but you can’t dismiss riquelme’s responsibilty …i love riquelme….but he was given alot of oppurtunities and he blew them……don’t dream that he will deliver next time!!! he is good for boca…not more , not less……on the NT level….he already quit and i wished he continued that…..his return didn’t make a difference….2nd is none…the winner is the only remembered!!

RIQUELME you should take the time to read my post instead of concluding I am another Roman hater. I don’t write English or what?

- I NEVER said I would take off Riquelme from the starting 11
- I NEVER said he achieved nothing in 06, actually I said the contrary!

Some words for all who don’t understand my message: I love Riquelme more than you do!

KEN, I NEVER said I preferred Aimar over Riquelme, I said Aimar was better than him at la Copa. It is obvious. Come on, I am not going to do a video with the passes failed from Riquelme to prove that some of you guys are blind (being Boca fans?). Riquelme was collectively average at la Copa. And I am going more precise: he was a disaster against Perou! He failed all his passes.

But he scored gols and made assits so this is very important for the mass medias, elected best player of the tournament bla bla. Unfortunately, a lot of you think like them.

It’s important to score gols but a playmaker needs to organize. Riquelme organized badly in the first round and even after. He failed many passes. I don’t understand why. It’s really a paradox because he had an impact on the score. At la Copa he did assists and striked. For you it’s enough, not for me. I repeat at some games he failed 75% of his passes?!

Zidane was never shut down even when he had 3 Italians on his back. So did Riquelme in 06, he was marvellous. It wasn’t the case in 07 against the Brazilian terrorists (I already hear some of you typing on their keyboards…).

I am saying all this because I am a Riquelme fan and I want him to reach his full potential. I wanna see Roman 06 back. But you guys don’t understand at all. You are afraid to say he’s not perfect and does mistakes. You have forgotten Roman 06. I don’t know why.

Maradona, Riquelme is one of my best players. You try to transform what I say. The problem is that people can read what I posted before. You never understood the aim of this blog. You think I don’t have some memory or what? We are not against eachother. We are here to discuss. When someone disagree with many people, you are the first one who spits on him. You have always thought that is was a comptetition here: who knows better futbol.

IT’S FUNNY HOW THE QUICK DEBATE “WAS RIQUELME AT HIS MAXIMUM LEVEL AT LA COPA?” MOVED TO THE DRAMATIC “RIQUELME IN OR OUT OF THE TEAM?”.

Vamos Argentina.

Ciao ciao.

There is a bigger concern than the Riquelme – Aimar debate, or Basile’s coaching decisions. I’m not sure if anyone cares but I for one am concerned about Tocalli’s resignation. 5 World Youth Cups out of 7 says a lot about the Pekerman/Tocalli youth system. Please read and discuss this article by Tim Vickery:

You can read it directly here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7066112.stm

OR below:

A glorious era for football in Argentina came to an end last week when Hugo Tocalli resigned as co-ordinator of the country’s youth sides.

Lionel Messi, Hugo Tocalli and Juan Roman Riquelme
Tocalli (centre) has overseen the development of the likes of Lionel Messi (left) and Juan Roman Riquelme (right)

Tocalli had been involved in the process since 1994, first as assistant to Jose Pekerman, then stepping up after Pekerman took over the senior side.

In these 13 years Argentina won five out of seven World Youth Cups – tournaments for players of 20 and under.

It is a superb track record, made all the more remarkable by two facts.

Firstly winning titles was never the primary objective, and secondly all the silverware does not even come close to explaining the achievements of the Pekerman-Tocalli project.

The success story starts with an idea, as simple as it was brilliant. In 1994 Jose Pekerman was a surprise choice to take over Argentina’s youth sides.

But he was given the post because he had a clear vision of what the future would bring.

The globalisation of football meant that Argentina’s players were inevitably going to be moving abroad at an ever younger age.

Pekerman and Tocalli consistently kept faith with the most positive aspects of Argentine football identity

In this context the only way to secure them for the future of Argentine football was through the youth sides.

Backed up by his friend Tocalli, Pekerman scoured the country for young talent, groomed it and gave it an intensive course in the identity of Argentine football.

The list of players who have come up through the ranks of the Pekerman-Tocalli process is quite remarkable.

It includes almost the entire current senior squad, with such top players and future hopes as Riquelme, Gago, Mascherano, Milito, Cambiasso, Messi, Tevez, Aguero and Saviola.

This is the proof of the success of the project – there would be not the slightest point in winning youth titles if the players did not subsequently prove their worth at senior level.

Youth work is much more about learning, improving and picking up experience than it is about accumulating titles.

And there are also the fundamental questions of how the youth titles were won, and of what type of player they have been grooming for the senior side.

It is here that football owes Argentina, and Pekerman and Tocalli in particular – a sizeable debt.

Hugo Tocalli and Jose Pekerman share a word in training
Tocalli and Pekerman changed the face of Argentine football

The rush towards ever greater athleticism threatens to transform football into a game for giants – bigger and stronger than ever before, running faster in order to crash into each other as soon as possible.

But Pekerman and Tocalli consistently kept faith with the most positive aspects of Argentine football identity – the idea that the game can be wonderfully interpreted by skilful little players, who use their talent and low centre of gravity to avoid the challenges and keep the ball moving.

In recent times Argentina have not won the senior titles to go with those World Youth Cup wins.

Even so, the artistic, thoughtful football they played in last year’s World Cup and this year’s Copa America has stood out and won the admiration of neutrals all around the planet.

This can be traced directly back to the work started by Pekerman and Tocalli in 1994.

And now their era comes to a close, appropriately enough, on a point of principle.

Tocalli was offered a new contract to continue in his post as head of Argentina’s youth sides. It was a position he very much wanted to retain.

But no new contract was offered to his assistant, Miguel Angel Tojo, so in solidarity Tocalli stepped down – a noble and fitting end to a project that was as inspirational as it was successful.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Got a question about South American football for Tim Vickery? Email him at vickerycolumn@hotmail.com

What do you think of Sergio Aguero and how important do you think he will be for Argentina and how will he develop in the future?
Zohaib Shaikh

A truly sensational little striker – the wonderful two goals he scored last week for Atletico Madrid in the Uefa Cup reinforced my view that he’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Romario – terrific lower body strength, pace and skill in tight spaces, cool finishing and can link the play too.

He obviously has a huge future with the senior Argentina side. He’s in the squad though he’s not yet first choice.

In the recent World Cup qualifiers the best things I saw from the Argentina attack was when he came on against Chile – I thought he linked up with Messi better than Tevez had been doing.

MaxiLopez — I really respect your ideas, and totally agree with a lot of them. But please don’t make make assumptions about our “fear” and blindess considering Riquelme.

I don’t understand the people who claim that Riquelme had a bad world cup. He was amazing there. It’s incredibely shortsided to label him a choker becuase of those games and the copa america final (i’m not saying that’s what you did, MaxiLopez) because he plays on a team, and he will never be the one who actually gives up goals!

But you can’t argue against Riquelme’s performance in the Copa. He was much much more energetic, more direct. He was playing in a looser system under Basile, which might be why you though him sloppy. But, for god’s sake, he scored 2 goals against Peru, and had one of the finest assists I’ve ever seen. You can’t argue against that sort of effectiveness.

A quick rant to no one in particular – if i hear one more pathetic gripe about Riquelme not doing it in the big game, I might run amok. There is no one out there like him. NO ONE.

I think Basile should try this guy D’Alesandro. I didn’t see him play for nt since basile incharge for NT.

Maxilopez,
You have to be very careful with
your language. Else, you will
get axe here, not by me but
by others who take this casual
forum too seriously. Keep writing though!

Asil,
I knew a person of your caliber
would appreciate that poem. thanks

AJ,
thanks for sharing the Tim Vickery column
regarding the recent Tocalli resignation.
My response to that is the same as before.
The ARGENTINA FANS need to become
ACTIVIST fans to change AFA and its leaders.

Maxilopez,
The way Pekerman used Riquelme in ‘06, and the way Basile used him in Copa was completely diffrent. In ‘06, Riquelme was the major of them team, and there were supporting players assigned to him, whose responsibility was to be available to Riquelme whenever he has the ball.

In Copa, Basile had used him as just another midfielder in the field, as Alexa said above. And he was more direct about his approach, and after so much of criticism about him being too slow, he was perhaps trying to be more normal.

As for Aimar, he is a great player. I wish he was physically as robust as Riquelme. If a coach has to choose one among Aimar and Riquelme, any coach anyway will choose Riquelme. About playing both of them together, it can be used strategically for about 15-20 minutes in some games just to break the deadlock some teams impose.Thats upto the coaches.

Friends. It is not Riquelme VS. Aimar. Those two does not even match. So we should not compare. Aimar to me more of a “running forward”. But Riqulme is lot more successful than Aimar. So lets not compare.

I guess we are all talking the same. Riquelme as the main man (till we find a replacement, and AIMAR is NOT!) and as a fall back option when Riquelme has a bad day we want Aimar (based on other options we have in hand).

Riquelme is not the future, but he is the best with dead ball in our team also. And in today’s football that is the most important thing when it comes to scoring goals. We cannot afford to have someone who will deliver only 2 out of 10 times. If we cannot find a replacement for Riquelme, we need to have an alternative strategy which does not involve a Riquelme type role.

BTW, I am seeing Messi developing some vision like Riquelme. Latest example – through ball for Henry in the last Barcelona game, not from the wing but from the middle of the field, near the center circle.

I absolutely agree with you guys, Riquelme & Debasish.

I just don’t understand why people get completely amazed about Riquelme’s performance at la Copa (very efficient but lots of balls lost) whereas he was really outstanding and better in 2006. Riquelme can be much better than in July 07.

With any coach or system, it doesn’t excuse the loss of many balls like he did this summer. But it’s the past and not a big deal. I just thought that people here had the same vision than me.

A lot of members here are Americans and love stats like in NBA. This is important for them. Not for me. I am a perfectionnist and after Riquelme’s good WC, I was expecting the same level from him. The fact that he retired and came back with the NT with 2 or 3 weeks to prepare didn’t help.

I am also not comparing him at all with Aimar and saying he sould get out of the NT. I even want him to have a big role in 2010. So it brings me nervous when people here accuse others for saying what they didn’t. I already said that Aimar’s place was taken by Messi, not by Riquelme.

You can read my previous posts. I said I was frustrated by all these coaches that never gave a chance to Aimar. That’s all.

Sad to see Tocalli leaving. Lots of problems for Argentina have appeared for 1 year. Quite worrying.

http://www.ole.clarin.com/notas/2007/11/01/01530879.html

Guy like Tevez, Lucho & Aimar must be completely lost…

hmm…now somebody needs to translate this into English

Ustari & Carrizzo too.

Basically the article is talking about how there are rumors that basile is going to call Crespo up for the qualifiers in November. This is sort of weird, because he made a big deal proclaiming that Tevez is “his number 9″, and now it looks like Crespo might take his place.

I have a sort of childlike adoration for Crespo, I feel like I’ve been following his career since I was a little kid, which is impossible because i think that we are about the same age. But I’m not sure how he can be around for the next world cup.

I heard that if he calls him it will be clear he is there as a back up in case we need a spark in the last 20 minutes of a game we are behind or tied in .

i also heard today that Aguero might not play this weekend ?

woooow …barca is in trouble!!!

Toddutah, I think Crespo will be called to start games.

From the outside, it’s impossible to know where Basile is going…

My crazy golkeeper is finally back!

http://www.ole.clarin.com/notas/2007/11/02/01531471.html

Hey guys — question…

This is the second time in two weeks that Messi has been neutralized by what I would consider poor but disciplined teams (Valladolid and Rangers). In both games he was sort of pounded off the ball, and stranded out their on the right side without being able to ceonnect to the other players.

I think that Messi still has a lot of improvement that he can do. He almost always takes the same route, coming up the right side, cutting into the center, passing off or scoring. He does this over and over. He’s succesfull because he’s so dazzlingly talented, but it’s a tactic that is easily sniffed out, and something that the better coaches have an answer for. In other words, the kid needs to expand his game. He will, because he’s extraordinary, but I’m just wondering about how and when.

I hate teams that put ten men behind the ball, etc. But it’s sort of troubling that these guys can take Messi out of the game. What is the answer to this sort of smart but chumpish tactics?

I believe the answer is the passing game – with 2 ball winners. For example against Brazil, Argentina were hounded off the ball. There was no tenacity in the Argentine side with Brazil playing with not one or two but three defensive midfielders. Plus Brazil were fouling constantly which clearly disrupted the continuous flow of the game. In this case its very clear what needs to be done – do the same but pass the ball more with a greater sense of urgency. Riquelme had no time on the ball at all and obviously Mascherano couldn’t cope up with the counter attacks on his own. Clear and obvious strategy against a team that played with flair but lacked time on the ball.

So in Barca’s case – the passing game was off according to Rijkard and there was no team play – just individual brilliance on the ball (Messi and Ronaldinho). Xavi did just enough to get the first goal – but then the team was in disarray due to lack of inter-play. If Messi was bundles off the ball over and over again then he should’ve had support but not possible in a 4 – 3 – 3. You can always play scrappy and hoof long balls. But play “anti-football”, add to it a touch of brilliance with passing and a team like that can be unlocked.

http://goal.com/es/articolo.aspx?contenutoid=467378

thanks aj– really interesting…rikyaard was plenty angry at the whole team, it’s true…

Basile to name team today, I think — from clarin, looks like Saviola might not get a call up becuase of his scant minutes at Real, but Crespo, and, very interestingly, Lavezzi will.

Pablo Zabaleta might get a callup as well. Is Basile finally thinking?

I would have also liked to see Walter Samuel in mix.

He is having a very good season so far. He also has the best
abilities from corners and free kicks, after Ayala.

Only issue with him he cannot play 3 consecutive games unless FIFA
changes rules about 2 yellow cards .

Yep Samuel is having an excellent season in Italy.

Milito is a strange player. Yesterday he was effective with Barca, but so horrible to watch. I think he’ll do mistakes against tuff teams when he’ll get exposed.

Did you guys noticed that Bielsa and Basile are annagrams? Quite funny.

Zabaleta named by Basile? Maybe our coach has learnt that Zanetti was 40 years old. Can someone tell him that it is the same for Ibarra please? lol

Basile should play Maxi in Cambiasso’s position and Lucho on the right. But with this stupid 4-3-2-1, no room for Gago. Basile will probably stick to his “Copa” team until 2010 right?

He has repeated again that Tevez was his #9. The bad joke.

i just got some information from another site it seems to be the same guys from the last two qualifiers with the addition of crespo. i would like every one to know this angers me so much. once again there is no aimar, samuel, or garay. how can basile field the exact same guys over and over no matter who the opponent is. as a fan this is very frustrating. there are so many other players out there that are having fantastic seasons in europe but keep getting ignored. i am always on soccer websites and time and time again i read how there so many players just begging to get a shot or being recalled to the national team. julio arca, lisandro lopez, gonzalo higuain just to name a few. but basile has this one track mind that he can only win with certain players. even with weeker nations play coming up shortly i thought this was the chance to experiment a little but i guest i was wrong. it will be painfull to see once again cambiasso out of position on the left, g milito making one mistake after another, no #9 aside from crespo and the aging pato unable to deal with crosses.

I will admit I would like to see Basile building to 2010 by starting to field players who will be integral to the campaign by then so thatthey will be ready for the intense pressure.

Garay has had a very good season for Santander again overlooked. Samuel has been quite impressive as mentionend. Aimar is still inconsistent but worthy of inclusion.

And still no Carizzo. It wont be any good throwing him in at the deep end without some experience at this level.

Alexa. I would like to see Messi use his right foot more. Maradona was predominantly a one footed (left) player but he also have a superb right. Messi needs to work on it. He is very young but with that in his armoury he’d be even more dangerous.

And the pipeline of talent won’t dry up either.Theres substantial talent coming through behind Messi & co. Sciorilli , Banega, Burzac, Meza , Buonnanotte & Laurito for example.

Completely with you Aimar10. You could’ve not said it better even if we used to do it at each Basile’s list now. You just forgot to mention Lucho, one of the best midfielder, whatever people say here.

I am beginning to believe that Aimar & Lucho’s absence in the NT could be because of the lack of respect and maybe communication from Basile. Our starting playmaker doesn’t even play during this season, and it would be difficult to understand why they can’t help and demonstrate what they can do. Lucho did a great job when Riquelme had retired some months ago when Basile started him. Maybe this is the reason, maybe not. Whatever, these guys have showed all Argentina how huge their patience were.

Aimar is appearing to be one of the biggest injustice in Argentina futbol. I’ll try to catch a Zaragoza game to see how he performs. The Spanish press is rating very well though.

I remember Basile talked about the lack of motivation of some of his players. That is one of the reason why he used competition between “Europeans” and “americans based” Argentines before la Copa. Maybe it is the truth for Lucho & Aimar. It’s quite unbelievable but how can we know?

The problem in South american qualifications is that even when you field a non-tactical and average formation, Argentina always succeed because of their great players. So the press will shut up until 2010.

Unfortunately, even in case of bad results against Uruguay & Brazil, nothing will change. I am still hoping for a miracle in Basile’s mind.

AURELIUS, the biggest issue from AFA, is to not think “Long term”. Even Basile is thinking this way, only playing with the stars and the today’s “best” players, not the ones he expect to be the biggest talent for 2010. The pipeline you are talking about could be used only in a long time…or not. Because even today, he isn’t preparing his defence. He’s not even using someone like Gago who’s football future is as important as Messi’s for Argentina.

You build a WC champion team in 3 years, not in 15 days.

I wonder what guys such as Saviola or Sorin think. They are fit but don’t play in their clubs. The difference is that Riquelme plays for the NT and not them. All this can bring some tension. Risky.

A rumor says that Lavezzi is actually not called from Basile. I think the list is today.

The stats of Cavenaghi this season: 3 gols & 1 assist in 4 games.

Arsenal-MU is gonna start. Lets watch the Arsenal beautiful & fast game!

Half time. Arsenal 0-1 MU. Tevez looks really average because of the Arsenal intense pressing. He lost so many balls in this first half.

Incredible finish from the Arsenal kids. Tevez (difficult for him) was replaced by Saha (excellent) and scored thanks to Evra with Ronaldo (as usual, many mistakes but still effective). Arsenal managed to equalize in the overtime with a spectacular finish. 2-2. Wow.

Cavenanghi is a bust face it.

Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe de España), Javier Zanetti, Nicolás Burdisso, Esteban Cambiasso y Hernán Crespo (Internazionale de Italia), Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich de Alemania), Gabriel Milito y Lionel Messi (Barcelona de España), Gabriel Heinze y Fernando Gago (Real Madrid de España), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruña de España), Maximiliano Rodríguez y Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid de España), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool de Inglaterra), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United de Inglaterra), Juan Román Riquelme (Villarreal de España) y Federico Insúa (América de México).

\he’ll say the rest after the week end.

why is collocini in the NT while that garay and zabaleta are not

He’ll say the rest so wait until its complete to discuss it.

Cavegol is going to finally come in for 15 minutes. Come on Ezequiel!

Impossible for Cavenaghi do to something it this team. Bordeaux is losing and still defending. They don’t even manage to keep the ball.

In these 15 last minutes, Cavenaghi pressed, played almost like a playmaker(!) and did a volley from outside the box. He didn’t lose a single ball.

If his coach doesn’t make him play more, it’s not his fault. When he plays, he’s good.

De Michelis is playing a good game for bayern..he is good

what i also dislike about this selection by basile, he has choosen players who are not playing regularly and leaving out so many in form players who play week in week out. look at pato he didn’t play in the eufa cup while leo franco did. gabriel heinze can’t beat out marcelo to a first team spot, i would have liked to see clemente rodriguez. nicholas burdisso has not played many games for inter plus he is coming back from an injusry scare. and as we all know riquelme has not played one single game for his club. while the inform players are constantly ignored. garay makes la liga team of the weak almost every week. i don’t what else to say but something real strange is going on here.

so far two argies have missed panalties today : garay and maxi
unbeleivable!!!!!!!

goal agueroooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aimar10, I prefer to not talk about it.

Juve-Inter. Cruz has scored. He’s excellent as always. Zanetti amazing. Cambiasso very clean. Samuel is very good, perfectly protected by Chivu, Javier & Esteban.

Inter are playing quite well, even with their limited 4-4-2 and their very slow Figo. Cruz is a permanent threat.

Juve 1-1 Inter. Inter are just like Argentina, they can’t handle a score. Camoranesi, another Argentine, scored. Inter should have won easily though. Buffon was one the best on the field.

I closely watched Samuel. He was very good. Not very class but so efficient. It’s a shame he’s never on Basile’s list.

> we all know riquelme has not played one single game for his club.

That was exactly what most Riquelme detractors said last time. Believe me, a second helping of crow soup tastes particularly bad

Maxilopez,

I concur with you. I also watched Inter vs Juventus on Sunday and Samuel played very well. Zanetti is amazing and fights like a worrior.

Perhaps Samuel should be tried for the NT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQStwhc2tSA

look at c.ronaldo he is jealous of tevez

Ronaldo didn’t even think about thanking Evra for his perfect assist. He must believing he’s the best of the whole world. Stupid player.

Maradona, you should really read people’s posts before criticizing. There are no Roman haters on this blog for at least 2 months. If you were a manager, you would probably understand why calling Riquelme can be risky in the locker room, between players.

Messi almost another Maradona goal!! What a great run I was off the couch ready to scream .

Maxi, I was just refering to the general criticism that Basile recieved when he chose Riquelme last time.

Messi is not of this world. He had four defenders on him and yet he found space to shoot.

Did anyone also notice the very short Aguero going up and scoring a nice head goal? Thats two head goals this week from a very very very short player? I think tha tmost of you get my point. Aguero and Messi should be playing together on the National level. How are teams going ot mark out of the game three players like Messi, Aguero , and Riquelme? That is why it is essential that the other supporting midfielders have some offensive skills because there will be openings. Once again my starting 11.

Utsari
Zanetti Dimichillis Milito Heinze
Mascerano
Lucho Riquelme Maxi
Messi
Aguero

this line up gives Roman many options for his passes. I feel that however great Messi and Roman are if you dont have enough offensive weopons with them the other team can just squeeze them out. ie Cambiasso Ibarra Veron ? Roman does not speed but the gift of vision and touch and therefore at the highest level there has to be players around him that can do something with those passes when they get them . The position that now concerns me the most is the left defender as I dont see a long term solution there? I am starting to think that yes Zanetti might just be around longer then I thought at right defender.

I’m really curious to see how a Tevez – Aguero partnership will work, with Messi and Riquelme in a free role behind them. What does everyone think? I for one would love to see that formation.

Todd I like your team, few some changes/options. As I have said before, I would like to see Walter Samuel back in the mix. He did superb this weekend against Juve. He was a great defender, was out of form and now he seems to be back. So why not try him sometime instead of Milito. He is also a better in the air than Milito. Most importantly, he can come back for defense quicker than Milito does.

I am thrilled with Aguero. He should get in as #9, I agree too. Cambiasso is very good following up rebounds, because he is a smart player. We should stop using him as a left winger. Though him as left winger and Mascherano as right winger topic is perhaps beaten to death.

Do we have any good goal keepers at all in the country? Amazes me. I have not seen much of Ustari, but what ever little I have seen, well he is perhaps just average to me. Any goal keeper has to do the basics right, he made quite a few blunders. Another team is Atletico Madrid. Can’t they get anything better than Leo Franco. If Betis can get Ricardo from Portugal, why not Atletico. His defense is also bad. But he is pathetic too. I liked Barbosa from Villareal, though again, haven’t seen much. We should get a goal keeper coach. Goal keeping is horrible. Our defenders does not have a margin of error, because the last line is so bad. I cannot remember last time an Argentine goal keeper saved anything great.

Guys! another query…
If I am not wrong, Fuentes from Villareal is an Argentine, right? The guy is actually not doing very bad. Was up against Aguero most of the time.

Carrizzo is our Buffon.

I only saw Barbosa with Villareal in 2006. He was good.

Toddutah, I prefer your formation than Basile’s one. Cambiasso replaced by Maxi on the left is better offensively. Lucho on the right is good too. The problem is that Basile decides and he will stick with this one for a looong time.

——–Pato———–
Zanetti-DiMi-Milito-Hze
——-Mascherano——
Maxi———–Cambiasso
——–Riquelme——-
Messi——————
——-Tevez———–

We all know what is wrong with this team. I am not going to remind you all, you already know.

Cambiasso and Gago are excellent and aren’t used properly in this team. At least Maxi is back since la Copa so we won’t see 2 defensive mids playing on the flanks but only one: poor ChuChu.

Aguero MUST play, no doubt about that, he’s performing very well.
For the rest, nothing will change, even if a few start NT games but don’t play in their respective clubs (Heinze, Riquelme) while others perform well each week-end and get ignored for mysterious reasons (Lucho, Aimar).

Your all know how much I love 3-5-2 formation. So many combinations. It fits so well with our players. It worked so well in 2006

Anyway, lets wait and see if our predictable team finally succeeds against Brazil in the WC qualifications. Lets hope our players will re-positionate themselves perfectly after losing balls.

Now I am gong to sound really crazy but i am going to say my thoughts anyway though many of you will find them way out there. I believe that Messi has a fuutre as a Playmaker and scorer. his vision is growing better and better and his skill level is so great that it is ashame to just ahve him upfront chasing balls tht might come his way. I am now going to compare him to maradona in that when we won in 1986 Maradona was used often behind to very fast forwards that the defense would have to respect. If roman is still arouind and playing well then i think you stick with the current strategy for 2010 but if messi continues to develope his vision the time might come to play it this way .

Utsari
ZaNetti Milito Dimichillis Heinze
Mascerano
Lucho Messi Maxi

Aguero
German Denis

The tall striker is just for you short people haters i would actually be fine with saviola and Aguero upfront.

At least 6 of Aguero’s 12 goals so far this season were headers, a lot of poachers goals, his positioning is getting better with each match. I just hope that Basile gives him a proper chance to play this time.

MaxiLopez,
This is for you.

http://goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=459761

Please Keep writing.

Riquelme, I thougt it was gonna be an article of BAsile saying that he would variates his formations

I’ll be convinced about Aimar’s performances when I’ll watch him play

I don’t like the fact that he is not fit or in a bad mood. It’s not an excuse. With his amazing income, he should always be perfect. Whatever, there is nothing worst than a wasted talent. So I hope he’s only saying this to get away the pressure on the team.

Aimar is playing well regarding to the press and the fans. I need to catch a Zaragoza game to get fixed

Toddutah, Messi will not be a playmaker until he is tested many years at this position at Barca. Btw, being an enganche is not something that you learn. You need to have it in yourself.

Of course Aguero can be used as a #9 but not against every team. Against Germany or England he would get physically destroyed (even if you notice that he has bull’s legs!).

Even in attack, Basile should use different combo regarding to the team we face. Use Tevez against England/Germany, Saviola/Aguero/Palacio against less physical teams, …

After Manchester City, here comes even worst: Real Socieded from Secunda division for Roman.

http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=63735

have you guys heard of the talk, that Banega might be heading to MILAN in January? After banega was sent off in the superclassico, banega and the boca coach had a bust, and that banega is really mad.

Yes, and Milan would probably bench him like all their young talents: Gourcuff, Pato,…

Milan has also plenty of defensive mids, I wonder where they would put him.

FLuminese and Real Sociedad? Has it really come to this? Are there no big teams with the cojones to take the “risk” of signing Riquelme. For Chrissakes…

Riquelme back to Boca please!

Maxi I think that Messi was born with it

I hope so.

If Atletico Madrid could sign Riquelme, I would be their fan…

Don’t worry Alexa, Riquelme doesn’t hesitate to refuse to go in such clubs. He did it many times at last mercato.

by the way, dont you guys think Lisandro Lopez deserves a call up? i mean 8 goals in 8 games??? i was so sad when he went to porto after his years in argentina, because he was just deadly when he was at home, but he kind of had a bad first year, and had an ok year last year, but this year, he is just lighting it up. here is a short clip

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gLDt_tURe64

Messay, I was just gonna talk about him! I am watching Porto-Marseille. Lisandro Lopez is good. He defends, he’s quite fast, good deviations.

Porto are a bit lost without Lucho.

Lisandro has just hit the post with a header.

What a gooool from Lisandro. A magnificent header under the barr. No more spider. Wow.

Wow maybe they should give him a chance

I have seen Lisandro Lopez before, as I try to get the Porto games. I see lot of us actually agree. How many strikers do we have who can head from 12-18 yards with that pace? We should play German and Lopez when they are in form.

Also, there is one more guy who always looked good to me. Luciano Galleti. He was good at Atletico also. His work rate is tremendous. He also has the skill and can deliver crosses.

ok what are the picks for the games today . I say barcelona 2 to 0 and mancherster and Arsenal both win as well. It looks like tevez wont start today but instead saha.

Europe’s brightest talent knows the scoreJon Carter
Archive

A quick scan down the statistics from the major European leagues reveals one thing: Experienced campaigners are no longer ruling the goalscoring charts.

GettyImages
Sergio Aguero is La Liga’s top scorer with Lionel Messi.

With a host of the games younger stars now topping the lists in the various competitions across the continent, gone are the days when relying on experience means the key to a successful season.

With that in mind, here’s a list, in no particular order, of some of Europe’s finest (and youngest) players, based on their early season form:

Spanish La Liga:
Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)
So far this season, La Liga boasts two of the most impressive performers in Europe, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Atletico’s Aguero. While many will know Messi inside out, fellow countryman Aguero is more of a mystery. Yet the 19-year-old has been a standout performer for Argentina’s Under-20 side and now has five senior caps to his name as well.

As a 15-year-old, Aguero was the youngest player since Diego Maradona to play in the Argentinean top flight and his big move to Europe came in May 2006 for around 20million euros. With the loss of Fernando Torres in the summer, Aguero – after an inconsistent first season at the club – has been allowed to flourish in the Atletico attack with new boy Diego Forlan. While Messi may be making the headlines in Spain, Aguero is beginning to attract some attention. His form so far this year suggests that he’ll be in the public eye for many years to come.

ESPN
Portuguese Super Liga:
Lisandro Lopez (FC Porto)
Lopez cost around 2.5million euros when he made the switch from Argentinean side Racing Club and he has more than paid back the investment in goals. With eight goals from nine starts already this season, the 24-year-old Argentine striker has proved himself to be a vital part of the Porto side.

Portugal’s home-grown talent like Ricardo Quaresma may get the headlines, but by consistently scoring goals, Lopez is making himself known to those in Europe. He claims his goal is to be the top scorer in Portugal by May 2008, and he’s certainly going the right way about achieving it.

http://goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=472816

Debasish,

Players such as Galletti, D’Alessandro or Santana will never play under Basile because of his 4-3-1-2. We have good players who can play on the wings but not good enough defensively for el Coco’s system (like Maxi). So bye bye to these players. And hello to Cambiasso and defensive mids on the flanks.

Toddutah,

I believe Tevez is gonna warm the bench more than before. As many of you expected, he might compete with Rooney for a starting place because of Saha’s comeback as a #9.

Tevez should also be a sub for Argentina. He’s not a pure striker and isn’t good enough for this role.

Lavezzi deserved so much a call. He’s putting fire nel calcio. He could have perfectly replaced Messi at half time. Aguero should start the next NT game (instead of whom?).

Barcelona 2 to 0 scroll back and see what I predicted

Tevez started and scored a goal for Utd. Cambiasso scored 2 goals for Inter. Messi scored for Barcelona. Not bad day for Argentinians.
Aguero to start in next NT game i hope, but i wouldn’t put money on it.

Very interesting interview from Alex Ferguson on Canal+ French channel.

He was comparing the Tevez/Rooney tandem with the Cantona/Hugues & Cole/Yorke ones.

He was explaining that Tevez was a very important player for MU because he could move a lot and could be used in very different ways regarding MU opponents.

So lots of us were wrong, me included. Tevez is not competing with Rooney or Saha for a starting role. He is already a starter for important games for Alex.

Ferguson finally concluded with the way MU has always played, using wingers, enlarging the opponent’s defence and so creating more space for forwards.

I watched the Barca highlights. Messi was a monster as usual but seemed very individual, as probably demanded by Ridjkaard. He will never learn to be a playmaker like this.

Argentina national team need to play a more offensive formation like the current Barca system.

Here is my take:

Pato
Zanetti G.Milito, Samuel Henize

Gago Mascherano

Riquelme
Messi
Tevez
Aguero

in this formation, Messi and Tevez would both play their comfort positions where they play well in their clubs. Also Gago and Mascherano could play alone in middle field to format a strong defensive force and make transistions from defense to offense smooth, Riquelme play behind the 3 strikers to control the offense rythme. Aimar, Maxi or lucho could be his replacement if needed, but at this time, Riquelme is still the best choice. I have my faith on Aguero that he would become the next No.9 for our team.

When we need defensive switch, bring on Cambiasso from bench and take off Tevez or Messi, switch formation to 442.

I believe if everything goes right, this would bring us the World Cup in 2010, how you guys think.

Lots of people think like you John. It is the same formation that use Barca or Olympique Lyon. The problem as I said thousands of times before is that Basile will always use 4-3-1-2 formations so it is hopeless to talk about it.

Cambiasso scored 2 gols, with assists of the 2 best Argentine foxes since Batigol: Cruz and Crespo!

Ibrahimovich scored an amazing gol too.

Tevez goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev3PnLAVH-E

Newcastle for Riquelme? I think not so bad for the situation
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=473650

Bringing Riquelme in England would be catastrophic.

Message frome Arsene Wenger to KEN! He was asked to be the England NT coach by the federation and answered: “No, the England NT needs an English coach not a coach from abroad. What hymn would I sing if I face France?”

Arsenal, Man Utd chasing Benfica’s Di Maria
tribalfooball.com – November 08, 2007

Arsenal and Manchester United are maintaining their interest in Benfica striker Angel di Maria.

The Argentina U20 star almost joined the Gunners in August, only for his club, Rosario Central, to sell him to Benfica before the summer transfer window closed.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger remains keen on Di Maria, but the youngster has admitted ambitions this season of playing for Manchester United.

Cambiasso and Maxi are special players. The few ones who can play real defense and real offense according to the needs of the team.
They are both back to top level. It so tempting, imo, to try an aggressive 4-3-3 against Bolivia.

———————Ustari———————
Zanetti—Demichelis—Milito—Heinze
——Maxi—Mascherano—Cambiasso
——Messi——Crespo——Tevez/Aguero

I know it’s not going to happen, but it is to me quite a balanced formation.

Barca were almost playing 2 – 5 – 3 against Rangers. It was spectacular. Albo you’ve left no room for Roman in your formation above. Considering Basile the lineup will probably be:

Pato

Zanetti — Demichelis — G. Milito — G.Heinze

Mascherano

Maxi — Riquelme — Cambiasso

Messi — Crespo/Tevez.

For once I would like to see a Tevez, Agueuro parnership with Messi and Riquelme in a free role behind them. I know I’m only dreaming.

basile will use the same formation as always…how exciting…why bother bringing subs

anyways i think its time for a new topic

Albo,

Don’t you think Cambiasso is out of position with Basile? I think ChuChu has always been in form, he’s just used incorrectly by Coco.

Mancini NEVER uses him as a left midfielder. He perfectly knows where Cambiasso is the best.

ajNHC,

In a team, no one should be above the rules. So does Riquelme, who doesn’t play in a his club right now.

Cavenaghi isn’t even playing with Bordeaux tonight. On the bench, once more. He must be very frustrated because he has good stats. When he plays, he scores. Unfortunately, it’s never the case…

One of the Best articles I HAVE READ on MESSI. such a powerful article. WOW

http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines/display.var.1817373.0.0.php

>>>Don’t you think Cambiasso is out of position with Basile?>>>

MaxiLopez, Inter play a 4-4-2, where Cesar takes the left wing.
We simply don’t have a real left winger at NT level.
Remember Kily?

did gonzalo rodregiuez played and scored for villareal?

I know Albo, that’s why Basile should use the system which fits the best to his players. My 3-4-2-1 for example

———Carrizzo——
—Garay-Dimi–Heinze–
Lucho-Masche-Cambi-Maxi
——-Riquelme——–
Messi——————
——–Striker——–

This would be good.

I also remind that this formation doesn’t include the old Crespo, Zanetti, Pato, Ibarra. Built to be efficient in 2010.

Vamos.

we had a wonderful left winger in sorin but since basile he was never once selected. plus i prefer to see a true left winger play his natural position than to see cambiasso there. even if it means fielding players with less skill than cambiasso then so be it. if i had my wish maxi and lucho would be my wingers and i would swicth them consantly throughout the game. remember the friendly against france lucho played well as a left winger. we also have a good lefr winger in julio arca who prehaps derserves a chance.

I believe that against France, Lucho was only playing on the left while defending. The rest of the time, he was a playmaker so everywhere, but always re-positionning perfectly on the left.

We don’t have the equivalent of Maxi on the left. The 2 positions are vital for a 4-3-1-2. We need someone who is a creative midfielder, who defends perfectly and runs during 2 hours! Sorin was that kind of player. Excellent. Cambiasso is not. He’s a monster playing in the center with Mascherano, but not a left midfielder.

At least, it would be correct if Cambiasso wasn’t asked by Basile to go upfront with Heinze, balancing the attacks from the right (but who would attack on the left??). It’s not the case.

Anyway, lots of problems that we would have NEVER expected last year.

The blog is dead or what?

Cavenaghi is in the starting line-up with Bordeaux. I am watching this horrible game ONLY for Cavegol. I am crazy. Vamos!

Cavenaghi played well in this horrible team. He didn’t lose a single ball during 70 minutes. He defended a lot and almost scored on a free kick. He should have got a penalty too.

Can’t wait till next Saturday anyone know what time the match is? I hope Basile makes some changes, these next 2 games are a good time for him to try out the subs he always takes but never gives a chance to.

Leo Franco had a hell of a game today.

Basile will not make changes.

D’Alessandro scored but Betis won thanks to Pavone (x2)!
Lux had a difficult game with Mallorca and got 4 gols in the net (Gago and Heinze played, no Saviola)

We have many many strikers coming back or evolving. Not good enough yet for the NT but it is still very positive: Pavone, Lisandro, Maxi, Cavenaghi, Denis, Figueroa, Larrivey,…

who is that Guillermo Franco argie guy who scored a brace for villareal today?
I didn’t see the real madrid game, how was Higuain’s comeback ad how did Gago handled himself?

These are the local players Basile called up for the Bolivia and Colombia matches:

Mariano Andújar (Estudiantes de La Plata),
Agustín Orión (San Lorenzo de Almagro),
Hugo Ibarra (Boca Juniors),
Sebastián Battaglia (Boca Juniors),
Germán Denis (Independiente).

very sad news today coming out of italy a lazio fan was accidently shot and killed bya police officer. it is alleged that there was an altercation between fans of lazio and juventus at a gas station where a police officer accidently opened fire and killed someone. as a result roma vs cagliari was postponed a long with inter vs lazio, milan vs atalanta was abandoned after 8 minutes. fans actually caused damaged to the barriers as they tried to storm the pitch. this is once again another dark day in italy. and leaves some burning questions in everyone’s mind.

I really do think that cambiasso is being used as a sort of left midfielder. which doesn’t benefit argentina. Maybe it would be better if argentina were to try a 4-2-2-2 formation.

Pato
zanetti-demichellis-milito-heinze
cambiasso-mascherano
messi-riquelme
tevez/aguero/saviola-crespo/cruz