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ARGENTINA thread

Who should suceed Diego Maradona ?

  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .
It is harsh he has left Kun like that. If I wasn't wrong I remember him playing only once under Batista on the senior level(against Spain). How Can Batista claims he knows Kun well? In Beijing he was playing him as a central forward which wasn't so suitable for his abilities, and that was three years ago. Batista should give Kun a chance to prove himself as a second striker in the national team.
 
timneh said:
It is harsh he has left Kun like that. If I wasn't wrong I remember him playing only once under Batista on the senior level(against Spain). How Can Batista claims he knows Kun well? In Beijing he was playing him as a central forward which wasn't so suitable for his abilities, and that was three years ago. Batista should give Kun a chance to prove himself as a second striker in the national team.
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Kun will be back. He and Checho agreed that he would sit this one out as he was not 100 percent.

Tevez was told he could not play and correctly so after saying he was injured and could not play against Brazil , but then turned out for Manchester City the next week.

No can do sunshine. Argentina always takes every game seriously even yesterday. He turned his back on the great jersey and so he rightly is frozen out.

Plus he has a mouth that is big and brain that is small.
 
Sad stuff. :( Lots need to be changed there.

In other news Angeleri has hit out BIG time at Steve Bruce for being frozen out of the team at Sunderland.
 
Yes there is a huge amount of problems within Argentinian football in terms of structure, crowd violence, player ownership, even youth development alla allied to the fact the AFA is run by a bunch of incompetents headed by a mafioso.

On the footballing front he the u17 qualified for the u17 WC with several players shining forth notably from River Plate which is a promising sign the youth conveyor belt is returning back to form.

These include the striker Andrada and skilful attacking midfielders Lucas Pugh and Lucas Ocampos with some accomplished performances at the back by Ezequiel Báez.

On the domestic front Estudiantes are making the running with River Plate in second despite a paucity of goals. This is however not to decry the quality of the play at times a feature of which is of course the skills of Erik Lamela.

YouTube - (0-1) Quilmes 0 River 1 Clausura 2011 Golazo de River (Relato Atilio Costa Febre)

Of course there are an enormous number of clubs chasing him.

I hope he stays with River and tries to see how he does in the Libertadores.
YouTube - Erik Lamela || Rising Star ||
YouTube - Erik Lamela vs Newell's Old Boys 2011 By Zouzinho
YouTube - Erik Lamela vs Arsenal 2011 By Zouzinho

In Europe Pablo Piatti looks set to join Atletico and some players who have made bad career choices and wasted a season or so should be on the move.

Garay is linked to Benfica and Ansaldi is looking to leave Kazan after being shamefully neglected by Batista. Hopefully Gago moves on as well.

While the seleccion played superbly against the USA and should have walked the game in the first half when Bob Bradley made some choices in the second half he failed to respond adequately.

YouTube - USA vs Argentina 1-1 - All Goals & Full Match Highlights [27-03-2011]

I have enormous concerns over him as a coach particularly in his slavish obsession to try and emulate Barcelona and then not using the right players or system to do so.

He continues to use has beens in Milito in defence ignoring Musacchio for instance and not opting to use Pastore at all. His tactical awareness also appears to be conspiciously absent.

Furthermore he seems to be ignoring Aguero. I hope this is not because he is Diego's son in law and is taking some revenge because of Maradona's comments on him being appointed as coach.

If Batista fails this summer in the Copa he should be made to leave forthwith but as I've said the head honchos at the AFA seem less concerned with winning trophies than with sending the team around the globe to make money like a performing circus troupe headed by Messi.

As proof of this the mafioso wants Adidas to increase the amount of money paid for being the shirt manufacturers of the seleccion. Where does all the money go ? Who knows / Like all of FIFA's shady top dogs they all share one trait.

The Blue Samurai have confirmed they will participate in the Copa despite the terrible effects of the tsunami. However J-League clubs look unwilling to release their internationals so it will probably be u23 players with the European based stars.
 
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Argentinsas domestic squad which beat Venuzuela 4-1 has been announced. Carrizo has regained his form with River and is selected once more.

GKs: Juan Pablo Carrizo (River), Agustin Marchesin (Lanus)

DFs : Luciano Monzon (Boca), Ivan Pillud (Racing), Jonathan Maidana (River), Ismael Quilez (Colon), Julian Velazquez (Independiente), Federico Fernandez (Estudiantes), Lisandro Lopez (Arsenal)

MFs: Enzo Perez (Estudiantes), Luciano Aued ,Fabian Rinaudo (Gimnasia), Claudio Yacob (Racing), Christian Chavez (Boca), Diego Valeri (Lanus), Mauricio Sperdutti (Newells), Ariel Rojas (Godoy Cruz)

FWs: Pablo Mouche ,Lucas Viatri (Boca), Gabriel Hauche (Racing).

A bit disappointing not to see several of the youngsters thrown in such as Lamela and Pereyra for instance.

Mouche impressed last time out and Viatri has recovered his scoring touch which went missing for large parts of last season.

Interest for Napoli fans in the excellent young defender Federico Fernandez and Claudio Yacob who after a great 2007WC and 2008 struggled badly last season but has shown the talent that made him a prospect as reserve for Mascherano.

Wingbacks inc.Pillus who Batista mistakenly rates above Zanetti... but is an excellent attacking player and on the opposite flank it will be interesting to see if Lisandro Lopez not the Lyon forward gets his chance ahead of Monzon.
 
It has been a while since I posted here for the last time but I have always continued to read your savvy appointments on Argentinian football amigo. This is one of the most informative and interesting threads in this forum IMO.

I must say I'm surprised to see Carrizo backing into the squad. The last I watched an Argentinian League match, a River-Vélez, I checked the keeper was a kiddo, named Chichizola I think, and the commentator was saying he hadn't suffered a goal at that time. The guy really impressed me, despite the comical and unlucky goal he suffered, I don't know if you remember though.

Actually, River' squad is very interesting. Every year they have those young guns coming from the "cantera" and this year it seems they have a pretty good, let's say, harvest. Lamela, Pereyra, Mori and the Chichizola guy are all amazing players. By the way, how are doing Funes Mori and Buonanotte? Buonanotte signed for Malaga I guess but I never heard of Mori anymore.

Oh, when I saw Lisandro Lopez as defender my reaction was "wow WTF!" then I realised he was another LiLo. :LOL:

Just one last note: in the post above you wrote about Garay being linked with Benfica. In fact and apparently, there's a agreement with Ezequiel and Sporting's new President, Godinho Lopes. Now, it depends if Real wants him to stay or go.
 
Thank you amigo for your comments. :TU:

It is still undecided if Garay will join Sporting. My own personal preference would be for him to join Benfica as they along with Porto (I know this won't please you ;) ) are the two strongest sides in Portugual.

Otamendi surprisingly has done reasonably well for Porto.

Speaking of which it seems that Batista will be flying to Europe soon to speak to the 15 players he had decided to take from Europe for the Copa.

Included it seems will be Aguero but no Aimar or Saviola. Gaitan also looks to be dropped and unfortunately Salvio has broken his foot which not only means Benfica might put off signing him but his Copa spot is probably gone.

The River cantera was dying a death under Aguilar who is beign sued currently by the club for some of the multi millions in tranfer fees which unsurprisingly ended not with the club but with a few individuals. And selling kids like Musacchio for virtually nothing at all.

Players like Falcao only earned money for the club because Radmel who has done superbly for Porto loves the club and fans and signed a contract in order that Porto would have to pay a fee. It is shambolic. Boca and River have huge support across Latin America indeed globally yet they are poorly managed and poor in financial terms.

The good news for River is that the last few generations of players are looking excellent and comprise a significant part of the u20 and u17 age group sides.

Passarella is tough nosed a negotiator as he was player and will no longer sell players for peanuts witness the transfer saga with Benfica over Mori.

Infact I think Benfica had a lucky escape at least for the moment because Funes Mori has had a disappointing season. His confidence has gone.

He struggled at the u20 tourney being outshone by Facundo Ferreyra of Banfield and his limitations in link up play have been shown.

He is young still so there is hope. El Kaiser will also make any club interested in the likes of Lamela or others such as Pereyra or others not even yet in the first team like excellent young centreback Pezzella pay top dollar.

I do hope they stick around though and help River in the Libertadores and swing the old giant round.

As for Carrizo he still likes to play around at the back....:P

However he has regained the form which saw Lazio splash out for him .The question is can he replicate it for the seleccion.

With Romero playing reserve football at present and Andujar being a bag of nerves in his appearance he can certainly make a claim for the seleccion spot at the Copa.

I remember that awful air kick too amigo for Chichizola. He played solidly though and has presence in the box, communicates well with his defence and is quite proficient and young too but he is numero duo to Carrizo so will have to wait his chance.

Enano has been doing well for the club with flashes of brilliance. He seems to be over certainly externally over that horrific tragedy but will he make the grade in Spain ?

I guess the new owners of Malaga will want to see them play with flair and he can certainly bring that but will he end up like Maxi Moralez ?

Piatti has done well considering his size and of course Leo. So we'll just wait and see if he can adapt.

As an aside I was looking at the Portuguese sides in the Europa League and it should be a concern for the Navigators that there are so few Portuguese players in these sides.

It is not good news for the national side TSO.
 
Argentina needs a world class keeper. Something they've been missing for a while now. Unfortunately, while they seem to continuously produce great players for just about every other position and many more down in the pipelines coming up through youth teams, the goalkeeping position doesn't exactly fill you with much hope, does it?

Their current goalkeepers are good and nothing special. Decent enough level. But Romero doesn't fill me with confidence or despite his youth make me believe, he'll turn into one of the world's finest. Carrizo and Andujar are decent and nothing special either.

Let's hope that other young guy you guys are talking about Chichizola whom I haven't seen, turns out to be the real deal for Argentina's sake.

Their talent pool is crazy especially in attacking positions and they continue to produce some good defenders and of course midfielders but goalkeeping coaching isn't all that well in Argentina I guess....
 
It is odd PLF.

Even Goyocochea was not that technically proficient.

Brazil cured the curse with a thorough review of goalkeeping preperation and talent identification and the number of top Brazilian keepers in Europe is proof of it.

I blame the system in Argentina and the lack of attention given to it not to mention the fact the AFA have done nothing to rectify it at all.

Also concerning has been the lack of fullbacks though there are signs that is changing and is being addressed at canteras.

The problem is kids see Messi and co or Masche so there is no shortage of attacking players or enganches or defensive midfielders but a lack of fullbacks and keepers.

Having said that Esteban Andrada of Lanus was excellent at the u20 tournament and Damian Martinez has made great progress at Arsenal even being near the first team at one stage as reserve.

However I would guess he needs to move because Szczęsny is likley to be holding the jersey for some time to come. Even Mannone has not had a chance.

In the friendly against Ecuador Michael Jackson managed to score for Ecuador in a 2-2 draw with domestic based players.
YouTube - Argentina vs Ecuador 2-2 (2011-04-21)

Yacob and Hauche scored for the Albiceleste in a useful runout adopting the 4-3-3.

Pillud had a poor game but Batista who knows best rates him above Zanetti and is likely to pick him regardless ahead of Zabaleta for the Copa....... :P :CONFUSE:
 
I wished FIFA gave the Argie league a chance. I like Estudiantes , anyhow I think the US will lose Michael Hoyos to the Argies since he featured in the U20. Another future talent missed :COAT:
 
beboq said:
I wished FIFA gave the Argie league a chance. I like Estudiantes , anyhow I think the US will lose Michael Hoyos to the Argies since he featured in the U20. Another future talent missed :COAT:
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I'm sure there is a patch out there somewhere beboq no as I do not play FIFA I would not be too sure.

Michael Hoyos played very well for the u20 and his younger brother Kevin is doing very well in the youth squad at Estudiantes.

USSF should have done better to keep them insofar as Kevin actually attended a US soccer training camp but had already set his sights with Estudiantes.

However in view of the stiff competition for midfield places in the seleccion and the relaxed FIFA rules on qualification both are still available for the US.

Both have stated they want to play for Argentina though.

The Funes Mori twins also escaped US soccer Rogelio Funes making his way to River Plate via a talent show and while he has had a tough time recently (his passing skills and lack of linkup awareness reflect on his early coaching in the US) his kid brother is a very good defensive talent.
 
ALBICELESTE2010 said:
As an aside I was looking at the Portuguese sides in the Europa League and it should be a concern for the Navigators that there are so few Portuguese players in these sides.

It is not good news for the national side TSO.
Click to expand...

The whole situation is even worse than you presumably thought amigo. Yes, our teams are doing a magnificent job in Europa League but it's sad to see those rosters full of foreign players. At a first look I wouldn't mind that fact, the problem comes when you think about the National Team. It's becoming hard to find good national players to the NT. And you know amigo, Portugal isn't Brazil or Argentina where you have miles of guys playing football out there.

The thing goes deep (and even worse) when you take a look at our u21 teams. There are dozens and dozens of foreign kids, especially from Africa and South America in the Big Three Portuguese teams.
The clubs, trying to find the new Messi or the new Drogba, persuade the kids and their parents to left everything and come to a different country. When they come those kids are target as the new superstars of upcoming years. More than likely, they will end as flops.

However there is also another main problem in our football. Those few nationals players whom come from the u21 teams usually don't have any single chance to show their talents in the senior teams. I will give you an example. Tonight Benfica will play against Paços de Ferreira for the League Cup final. Paços has in the team two of the biggest Portuguese prospects, David Simão and Nelson Oliveira, both from Benfica. The kids are playing extremely well there, especially Oliveira, a centre forward, but it is uncertain if they will remain at Benfica next season or have another loan year. Our transfers politic is always the same: Sell the star and buy a few unknown players from South America and zero "cantera". Personally I would love to see Oliveira getting a spot in our team, you know, the CF position is THE weakness of Portuguese football. We had Pauleta, Nuno Gomes and so on although we are still missing an World Class striker like Fernando Gomes (remember him?). Many thought this kiddo can turn in a potential finest striker.

To sum up, I would love to see Benfica give a chance to the boys and sign Sálvio! (Yea, I know I didn't mention Toto before but I just LOVE this player! He is actually my favourite player by far.)

Sorry for the off-topic btw. Back on topic, shame on me! I have never seen this Hoyos guy, I just know him because of FM (and he is damn good there!). I barely see the Argentinian League and when I do (and I wished to watch more) I try to capt Vélez Sarsfield games, let's say that they are my favourite team. They have very good players such as Papa, "El Tanque" Silva (former Beira-Mar player, I remember him quite well) and "El Burrito" Martinez (I love this guy, he is a kind of second striker usually playing behind Silva). Shame Somoza didn't remain at the José Amalfitani.
 
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I think it is a great concern for all Portuguese fans that this gets rectified but it is replicating what has happened in some other leagues where the top clubs have decided to load their sides with imports without any regard to the future of the national side.

A case where club comes before country.

Scotland was one until financial pressures forced the Old Firm Celtic and Rangers to be more progressive in signing Scottish players and looking to their own youth development.

Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay indeed South America as a whole is fortunate in one sense their clubs are virtually always occupied by indigenous players so to speak.

On the other hand they are vulnerable to losing kids and these kids being lost moving too soon to Europe or choosing the wrong club.

I can see where clubs like Benfica are going in that if they do get it right they can make money aplenty but whether it helps them in the long run is a moot point unless the monies are invested in more youth development of Portuguese kids.

And there is a human side to this. Kids from South America Africa and no doubt Asia in future (although how rich Asian league in future will affect player movement will be interesting though that may be 2-3 decades away) are bing uprooted and many are not sucesses and are simply discarded.

There is a unscrupulous trade. These kids are seen merely as cash commodities.

It also affects clubs where these kids comes from. There has been a degree of concern say over Barca opening an academy near Buenos Aires Lujan though it looks set to close for now ,who knows what may happen in the future.

Velez are a very well run club which is unusual for an Argentine club. The president is continually vocal in his opposition to the mafioso that runs the AFA but is unfortunately as a result not too involved.

Juan Martinez is a real Copa prospect and impressed in his short run out against Portugual winning the penalty converted by Messi.
 
Well ,looking forward to your views on Copa America in the summer, shame the US wasn`t invited, Japan are worthy opponents. Don`t expect too much from Mexico they`ll being playing the Copa de Oro in the states (June).
 
At this early stage one cannot be too sure who will eventually be there but it does promise to be a strong tournament indeed.

Argentina desperately need to win some silverware not having done so since 1993 which is criminal considering the talent that has been produced particularly in recent years.

It is a critical test of Batista as a coach who I think has many failings and is far from the best coach that could and should have been appointed.

Already he has a provisional list of players he wishes tospeak too as this week he comes to Europe.

If he fails to win at home he will come under considerable pressure for his job. But then who would replace him. None of the top coaches want anything to do with the mafioso in charge at the AFA.

Menezes of Brazil has already blooded many kids in preperation for his sole aim of 2014 and this will be another stage in their preperation.

The question for him is to include any of the older veterans like Cesar, Lucio and Kaka for instance who seem to be passing over the hill.

It would of course be very sweet for the selecao to win in Argentina but Menezes has his ideas right in preparing for the biggest test of all in 2014.

Uruguay under Tabarez will look to build on their sucess last summer and it is no fluke either. The former giants of the world game have invested heavily in youth coaching over the last two decades following the death of street football in Montevideo and it is paying dividends.

There are a number of top prospects coming through from Abel Hernandes to Gaston Ramirez and Seb Coates at the back.

Borghi has revitalized Chile following the departure of Bielsa yet another Argentine coach that should perhaps be coaching the country of his birth and they too have moderated the extreme pressing and rapid passing game to good effect.

Bolivia will make the also rans there is no sign of progression there at all. Peru will be boosted by the return of several players who were thrown out after the last debacle in 2007 in Venuzuela.

This team in itself is progressing nicely at youth level and showed the sort of progress they are making with a combative display against Mexico last month who they competed with on level terms.

Ecuador are in decline at present. No real gems emerging and some players like Montano who are not progressing.

The winners will come from the traditional big three for certain with Chile likely to make the other semi finalists.

Teams that come to South America to play as Spain did in Argentina and Portugual did in Brazil find it much harder than they do when playing in Europe.

So not much hope for the other sides outside of CONMEBOL esp. with the consideration that their sides under FIFA rules will be primarily composed of u23 players.
 
It certainly is considering the size of population.

It should not be a surprise though if you look at their results in age group football ie winning the u17 in 2005 and again in 2009.

No longer are they behind Argentina and Brazil but equals.

After a brutal dictatorship controlled the country in the seventies football with sport in general was not given much consideration which is very surprising considering how much the seleccion and selecao are considered as virtual ambassadors for their countries.

Many players and experience left the country. The selection policy was less for skilled players at a young age than for physique a lesson which should be learnt by all nations.

As a consquence the skill level declined though they were still pretty skilled like Prince Francescoli still an idolo at River.

However the system with a new democratic government has been overhauled the focus is once more on skill.

Uruguays initial sucess was allied to this and tactical discipline and supreme fitness in the twenties right through to the fifties.

They with their fierce rivalry and respect across the Mar del Plata led to a many tactical innovations the most notable being the maquina total football of River Plate.

It is a fact oft ignored in Eurocentric football histories.

Uruguay also benefits from being very stable, with low levels of corruption compared to its neighbours and the emphasis placed on kids in developing them physically and educationally.

There is also a very fierce pride partly because of the history they have to aspire to as twice WC winners and effectively twice other as the Olympics of 24/28 could be regarded as such.

It is also reflected in other sports.Los Teros the rugby union side for the number of players it has does remarkably well to hover around 16-20 in the IRB world rankings though they narrowly missed qualification to this RWC.

Expect Uruguay to return to its traditional spot alongside it's bigger neighbours if it has not returned already.

There is love hate relationship between Argentina and Uruguay with many players having close links to both sides such as Forlan at Independiente who was helped a great deal in his early career by Maradona.
 
Batista has announced the u25 B squad as it were who may be potential replacements for the Copa squad itself:

Sub-25 list

GK: Ustari (Getafe) ,Marchesin (Lanús).

DF: Musacchio (Villarreal), Otamendi (Porto), Garay (Real Madrid), Zabaleta (Manchester City), Angeleri (Sunderland), Fazio (Sevilla) , E.Insúa (Fenerbahce).

MF: T.Costa (Valencia), Bertolo (Zaragoza), Bolatti (Internacional), Belluschi (Porto), Cabral (Legia Varsovia), Perotti (Sevilla), Formica (Blackburn).

FW: Piatti (Almería), Ruben (Villarreal), Cristaldo (Metalist), Gaitán (Benfica), Boselli (Genoa) , Jara (Benfica).

The selection alone gives one great concern as to his abilities.

Players like Angeleri, Formica have barely played and add to that Cristaldo (be thankful for small mercies he has not picked Bertoglio) while others have been fringe players like Jara or had appalling seasons like Bolatti and Boselli.

And as for inc.Cabral. :LMAO: And E.Insua not even the best left back at Fenerbahce. :LMAO: If one thought Maradona did not have a clue add Batista to the list.

Players deserving of a call up like Ansaldi, Federico Fernandez , Juan Martinez even Erik Lamela or Silvestre of Catania are overlooked. Osvaldo was not even consulted.

Pillud is apparently better than Zanetti and so Zabaleta does not get in because the fool wants him Pillud in at all costs.The same mad dogmatism that Maradona indulged in.

Shame on the clueless Batista. He has one idea and one alone. Shoe horning whoever he can into a 4-3-3 with no plan B or C.

Guaranteed to fail. He cannot adapt tactically as shown emphatically against the USA. A gem like Pastore is overlooked in this 4-3-3.

Batista has no idea so he copies what he think's is sucessful ie Barca with no idea of the mechanics involved.

It is not as if Argentina is bereft of decent coaches but they are either coaching other countries or clubs abroad or dare not soil themselves by speaking to the mafioso Grondona.

With all this talent it's a disgrace...... Is it too much to ask to have a proper coach.
 
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How could Bautista forget Oswaldo!? The guy is beasting at Espanyol, he is followed by numerous big European sharks but it seems that someone in Buenos Aires is sleeping, even though you have amazing strikers.

What is Bolatti doing there? The man has been heavy criticized in Brazil, awful exhibitions at Internacional.

Definitely the 4 'Portuguese' deserve to be there, they are all doing great.
 
Yeah this is not looking good... disappointing selections ALWAYS by Argentina. They got rid of one idiot in Maradonna and now it doesn't look like much of an improvement with Batista though I'll still give him a fair chance and give him benefit of doubt for now.... and judge him more extensively later but so far not impressed either.

Nice to see Alberto Costa get a rare chance though. He's worked SO hard over the last 2-3 years to end up playing at this level and though ultimately not good enough imo for Argentina's main squad, he's a player who's earned this call-up even if to B-team.

And Zabaleta like Zanetti in the old days is the one being really screwed up here! He should be Argentina's #1 RB and what an asset he would be!

What are the chances of Italy snapping up Osvaldo and giving him a cap?

Angeleri has like 2 appearances this season and he's in the team! Albeit a B-team but still!

What about Lucas Biglia? Is he not even in b-team or in A-team?
 
Couldn't agree more TSO. I fear if we do not pick him Prandelli may well do so at some stage in the future.

We lost Barrios this way last summer when I thought he should be picked for the spring friendlies in 2010.

I am still not sold on Otamendi. He is great at making interceptions and tackles when he is not required to think but his positioning is still suspect at times.

PLF Biglia is nursing a dislocated shoulder that needs to be pinned but he is holding out for the Copa.

What worries me is that Batista sticks to who he knows hence the inclusion of Cabral.

Batista has no real experience of management. He was the easy choice for the mafioso someone who will do as he says. I feel sorry for Messi , Kun , Pastore and co. If they had a decent coach who knows...
 
I see. Biglia is a good player. I've always liked him.

Barrios was a loss! Very good forward! Paraguay's gain!

I've heard Aguero and Messi are good friends. Can you confirm?
 
Biglia is an accomplished player and passer who gets the game moving and forward as opposed to side to side and always takes up good positions to receive and give the ball.

Played well in the u20 alongside Messi and has done very well at Anderlecht but will probably move to La Liga this season.

Kun and Messi are good friends and they are empathetic on the pitch.

I could see Kun placed out wide with Messi in a free role and either di Maria or Lavezzi used on alternate flanks.

But I would prefer Kun off a classic nine as this is when he thrives most in the holes created around the nine and channels.

Barrios was a loss but at least we picked up Iturbe who was born in BA lets not forget in return.

Tremendous ability and dribbling control albeit not in the same class as a Messi but similar acceleration, body strength and finishing skills.

Let's hope he continues to progress at Porto as he could be the replacement for Messi when as is inevitable Messi retires. There is a seven year age gap between them.

YouTube - Juan Iturbe - The New Argentinian Star - Goals and Skills HD
 
Looks good. Didn't know about him. Can't wait till the next Messi tags are all over the media world-wide lol. Poor guy.
 
I for one am glad. I just find it ridiculous that a country not only not from South America but out of Americas altogether like Japan is playing in COPA AMERICA! Just stupid in my opinion. Why don't we put Germany in African Cup then and Paraguay in Asian Cup... never liked this whole invitation thing but at least it's not that bad when it's a team like Mexico or Costa Rica participating...
 
I feel a bit for the Blue Samurai considering what they have been through but I guess the clubs refused to acede to the JFA.

Costa Rica will only be allowed to field u23 players I think.

Ernestito well spotted. ;)

PLF he already has that tag 'the Guarani Messi' because of his parentage and childhood in Paraguay he can speak Guarani.


The domestic squad selected to face Paraguay next Wednesday is as follows:

GKs: Juan Pablo Carrizo (River Plate), Adrian Gabbarini (Independiente)

DFs: Luciano Monzon (Boca Juniors), Ivan Pillud (Racing Club), Jonathan Maidana (River Plate), Federico Fernandez (Estudiantes de La Plata), Lisandro Lopez (Arsenal), Ismael Quilez (Colon de Santa Fe), Ariel Rojas (Godoy Cruz de Mendoza), Julian Velazquez (Independiente).

MFs: Cristian Chavez (Boca Juniors), Fabian Rinaudo, Luciano Aued (Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata), Enzo Perez (Estudiantes), Diego Valeri (Lanus), Diego Morales (Tigre)Erik Lamela (River Plate) Claudio Yacob (Racing de Avelleneda)

FWs: Lucas Viatri, Pablo Mouche (Boca Juniors), Gabriel Hauche (Racing de Avelleneda), Mauricio Sperdutti (Newell's Old Boys)

Solid enough selection with the likes of Carrizo, Pillud, Mouche likely to feature in the Copa squad and an interesting look at another talented fullback Ismael Quilez of Colon.

Also noticeable is the selection of Coco Lamela for his senior debut though he will miss the Copa to focus on the u20 WC.

Other players on their way to Europe over the summer unfortunately in most cases inc. Yacob, Perez and Federico Fernandez.

YouTube - JP Carrizo own goal [Superclasico][HD] Amazing !

Incredibly bad defending for a setpiece.

And two tall elegant stylish playmakers a rarity in the modern game:

YouTube - Erik Lamela vs Racing Club 2011 By Zouzinho

Pastore playing against his future employers ?

YouTube - Javier Pastore vs AS Roma 2011 By Zouzinho

The former master Roman trying to make a late bid for the Copa side. Batista is a known admirer unlike Tevez and because of his limited knowledge of players likes to stick to the tried and tested.

YouTube - Riquelme vs Argentinos Juniors 2011 By Zouzinho
 
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