Argentina squad

I've now watched most of their first two games - both victories. They looked good during the first game, although the score was low. I didn't see as much of the second game, but they lit up South Korea.

The team overall seems to be playing decently - not well. They are doing well enough to get through the first stage (a relatively easy bracket for them - no group of death here) but I seriously question their ability to bring home the trophy. They are a little disorganized at times, but show flare up front. That seems typical of the modern game from South America.

The offense is the one part of the team that has been radiant, as expected with the firepower they have brought to the games. They are attacking well and penetrating the defense with a mixture of dribbling skills and good passing. They have been getting a decent number of looks on goal as a result. Messi has been deft on the ball, but has been unable to find the net thus far. He was denied by some wonderful saves against Nigeria. Tevez didn't seem very effective from what I've seen, but he may shine later with his stronger, less finesse, more powerful playing style. Higuaine looked impressive, and has put some balls in the net (a hat trick in the second game).

The mid-field is doing its job, but not standing out. There is no Riquelme to ignite that spark in mid-field. Half of the players have faded into the background. I liked Veron in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, but he is past his prime and never returned to form after his season with Manchester United. Imagine the difference Riquelme and Cambiasso alongside Mascherano and Rodríguez would make for the mid-field performance. Mascherano is a great mid-field player, but not the leader Riquelme was in the last World Cup. With Riquelme as marshal Cambiasso played phenomenally in mid-field and there was a clear leader. Gutiérrez is a good mid-field choice as well, but has been assigned an outside back position for the first two games.

Speaking of Gutiérrez, he had a terrible game as outside back. He did look good late in the game against Nigeria when moved into mid-field after a substitution. Samuel and Heinze both looked great in the back, but Demichelis was a little shaky. Nigeria was foolish to not take advantage of the weaker side (Gutiérrez & Demichelis) to attack and possibly equalize. Demichelis’ shakiness proved to be the opportunity South Korea needed to get on the board in a lost cause. His mistake gifted South Korea an opportunity that they were able to capitalize on nicely. Move Gutiérrez into mid-field and put a defender in that outside back role instead.

The keeper has played fine, but been somewhat untested. I really can't say if he's very good or not. It has been sometime since Argentina had a truly world-class keeper on the national squad. I’m sure he’s decent, but decent keepers haven’t been doing too well in this year’s tournament (maybe it’s the ball like everyone is claiming).

And finally, there is the coach, Diego Maradona. One of the greatest players ever to grace the pitch, no doubt, but I question his ability to coach. He used over 70 different players during qualifying, which I feel didn’t allow for any cohesion on the field. It also hindered their qualifying campaign – they barely made it in. His final roster excluded players that should have been no brainers – Riquelme, Cambiasso and Zanetti are the ones in my mind. To be fair, Riquelme said he wouldn’t play for the man and so he wasn’t a choice anyway, but the other two are world class players coming off of good years in their respective leagues. Zanetti would have helped solidify the back line and provide an older, experienced player to be captain (without Riquelme to fill that role) to lead the team in a way I don’t feel Mascherano will be able to do – despite his skills as a player. So far the starting line-up has included two mid-fielders as backs in both games – despite there being 6 defenders listed on the roster. He didn’t recognize and correct the awful defense on the right side in the first game despite it being present from minute one. This weakness was less pronounced against South Korea, but that could just have been that they weren’t able to expose it like the South Africans did. Ultimately, I think this is what will fail them – the defense – and Maradona will not recognize it in time. If he hasn’t identified it after two games, I fear he never will.

Overall, I don’t see Argentina making it past the Quarterfinals. I just don’t see the teamwork and cohesion needed to beat the other favorites in this tournament. I also don’t see the defense needed to keep other offenses at bay. It comes down to Argentina scoring more goals than their opponents and that might be easy in a light group stage, but they have their work cut out for them in the knock out phase. I’ll cheer for them all the same and hope for the best. If Messi rises to the occasion though…they…could…go…all…the…way.