End of the road for Argentina ?

End of the road for Argentina ?

After all the barking from big mouths with pet talks. Argentina, is now well set and left with ample amount of time to work on 2014 world cup, at this stage. Although there are two more games left to seal their fate, it seems all over for them.


It's so heart breaking to see how Argentina played against Paraguay. I had to check and recheck the schedule to make sure that I wasn't watching a club match. A club who'd getting ready for next Champions League Tournament.

It's not that Paraguay played well but the sloppy midfield, poor formation and lack of "team play" cost Argentinians, the end result. Argentina don't deserve to be in the finals, if they continue to play like this. Which is par below the average. What they could take positive off this game is, they have improved on their defenses.


dieGO maradona

There's no doubt about Maradona being a great player. Yes, I would rate him beyond Pele. Of course, he was voted ahead of Pele in 2001, when FIFA picked the player of the century.

But the question is, is he a good coach ? This is the fourth world cup qualifying defeat under Diego. There had bee a number of bad decisions by Diego in this short period:

The formation, of 3,3,4. You truly have to follow this formation , when your strikers aren't performing well. He has no reason to go on with aging Veron, Sergio and Messi. Veron shouldn't have played this game as a striker. True, there had been a drought of goals for Argentina, but the strikers aren't at fault.

There's just little what your strikers could do, when they don't get much assistance from the midfield. The pressure would have eased very easily off Messi, if there had been 2,4,4 formation.

By substituting Sergio with 36 year old Martín Palermo, Diego proved that he's bit more than an average idiot, given the grounds as a coach. Palermo hasn't played an international game for 10 bloody years. I wouldn't be surprised if he recalls Batistuta.

Needless to say how bad and stupid Diego as a coach. Just like he won the cup single handedly in 1986. He's responsible for the downfall of Argentina and for getting kicked off from FIFA 2010. I can't accept the reality that Argentina having such a soccer pedigree not playing for the next years world cup. It's not impossible yet, but can't afford to have any hopes for the way they play right now.


Final words

Like it says, when it rains, not _just_ 'rain' but it 'pours'. When Argentine's are going, they are 'in', they are in for the big moment. Let's hold our breath until my birthday, 14th Oct. Hoping that Argentines would bring me a memorable birthday gift on 14th morning, as they play their final match on the qualifying round.

Can Argentina Do The Magic Tonight ?

Then and now.. bit of history

When everything was well set for Argentina , the "luck" had something else to say during their bitter 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The penalty shootout favoured the hosts, leaving Argentinians packing.

Since then and now, things have changed. .. young blood has pumped into the team. The class of Messi, fireworks from Tevez and Sergio have given a new hope for the Argentinians. There IS no argument over Messi being the best player in the world right now.

The magician's class act out performed Chritiano (Ga*) Ronaldo as well as Wayne Roony, during the Champions League finals representing Barça. Meanwhile Maradona took over as the Argentinian coach, when they slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Chile during the worldcup qualifying games.

More recent history...

Maradona started off as the coach for Argentina with couple of *soft* wins. Which led him/everyone to open big mouths before the mission is accomplished. Then the reality struck on them bit hard. Argentina faced a couple of major setbacks, which includes a 6-1 defeat against Bolivia. Again followed by a 2-0 defeat against Ecuador.

Do we have to bring back Riquelme ?

Apparently the lights of Messi, Tevez and Sergio couldn't restore their pride. Something is wrong! Everyone turned their eyes on the underrated Riquelme (Juan Román Riquelme), calling him back on. Can their woes come to an end by bringing Riquelme in ? I believe it's NOT.

Argentina lost their way looking down at the 4th slot in their group, for their bad play. They were not organised on the field. They lost those games, for it's not that the Argentinians are bad. But they failed to ignite their act together. They're still one of the best teams in the tournament. They are a great team. They are the best. But, they have to be bit more organised that what we've seen off them so far. Specially the midfield. They have to lift the game, specially in the midfield, if they have any hopes of making it to South Africa in 2010.

Importantly, they have to play as a team. I'm not saying Riquelme isn't needed. He's a great player, I respect him a lot. But bringing him on won't do any better unless they lift their game a bit with having the right kind of spirit, motivation and performance.

Argentina vs Brazil

Let's hope that the Argentinians could shut their mouths for a while and play genuine soccer, until the mission is accomplished. I'm writing this damn piece of blog for them, for I love to Argentina holding the trophy next year. Because, I'm a huge Argentinian fan.... Let's hope that they could get back to their best form to beat Brazil.

Today, it's a must win situation for them, to have any hope in the competition. Let's hope things could go in favor of them. Not the luck, but let's hope Argentinians going to play up to their full potential. :-)