Thursday, June 18, 2009

BARSCHERANO?

This transfer rumour has been going on for like forever now.

A few days ago, Liverpool manager, Rafael BENITEZ, said that "clubs should forget about signing Javier MASCHERANO. He's happy at Liverpool and he is not for sale".

It seemed to work for some time, but now Barcelona are coming back strong again in their quest to sign the captain of Argentina.

According to some reports in the media (in the UK, in Argentina and in Spain), Barcelona spoke to MASCHERANO's agent and there could be an agreement already in place to secure the services of the former River Plate midfielder.

Spanish newspaper, Marca, is even saying his move from Liverpool to Barcelona would cost the Catalan giants 52,8 million Euros.

It seems Barcelona have arranged the terms with the player's agent and what they need to do now is to agree a deal with Liverpool (which would be the toughest part of the deal, given Rafa's comments). Rafa said he wouldn't even sell MASCHERANO for 60 million Euros.

Other rumours involving Argentina players:

Gabriel HEINZE could be poised for a return to the English Premier League after his experience with Manchester United a few seasons ago. The Real Madrid player could be on his way out of the Casa Blanca, but if the deal comes through, he'll keep wearing white as he could become a Tottenham Hotspur player. His deal could be part of a three-player move from Madrid to Tottenham as HEINZE could be joined by Dutchmen Arjen ROBBEN and Klaas-Jan HUNTELAAR.

Olympique Lyonnais didn't win the French league this time around. Bordeaux interrupted an impressive series of seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles Lyon were boasting. In order to reclaim the title next season, they could pay 20 million Euros to secure the services of Argentine forward Lisandro LOPEZ. Such is the release fee for the player to leave Porto FC. Some sources in Spain indicate 'Licha' could also be on his way to Real Madrid. Here at Mundo Albiceleste we think it'd be better for him to move to Lyon and avoid having too much competition for places at Real Madrid, a club nobody knows whether they'll be an instant success with KAKA and Cristiano RONALDO or a complete and utter flop like the first 'Galácticos' era turned out to finish.

According to French newspaper L'Equipe, Licha's long-time team-mate, Lucho GONZALEZ, could also make the switch from Portugal to France. Only Lucho could be heading to a different Olympique, the one in Marseille. The popular French club would offer 14 million Euros, but Porto FC would only sell him for 20.
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46 comments:

Rune said...

Would be a great move for Licha. But Lucho......I wanna see him in Spain.

8:34 am
Anonymous said...

Both should stay at Porto imo. Going to Lyon for Licho is a downgrade.

9:13 am
Unknown said...

Your words to God's ears. Masch at my team!!

9:29 am
Mohd said...

Lisandro Lopez is not good enough for the NT so where he plays will never matter with respect to the national team.

mascherano at Barca would be great, but barca would never pay 50millions for mascherano. no body would. plus barca already have toure who is better.

till i see argentina against brazil, i do not actually care where players play their club football. if they are not good enough for the national team then why bother...

sorry guys, i am just too furious nowdays.

12:29 pm
Unknown said...

Toure is an excellent player, but I don't think that anyone is better at that position at the moment than Mascherano. He's positioning is second to none, and his technique is flawless. Toure might be a bit better going forward.

1:40 pm
Anonymous said...

Watched Brasil spank the United States today. They are oh so lethal on the counterattack, we maybe in trouble when they come and visit us.

1:41 pm
Forza_albicelestes said...

toure better than Monster Masch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never Thought I would see this anywhere....let alone an albiceleste blogspot..........that too from an argentina fan......

As for Lucho to marseille or Licha to Lyon....Both are bad moves.....

THey shud try to earn a move to the big 3 leagues of the world.....to stake a plae in the NT.....

As for Licha not being good for the NT...apparently you havent seen a lot of the player......
He is the best No 9 we have along with Higuain.....

2:14 am
Mohd said...

being an argentina fan (a die hard one also) does not mean loosing objectivity. mascherano is an excellent def midfielder but yes i believe toure is better; one of the main reasons is that mascherano tends to commit too many fouls at times while toure never does with the same end product.Plus toure playes better with the ball in his feet. oh one more Toure is better physically..what else do you want?

as for Lisandro, trust me i have seen him. but with all my respect for the portuguese league, scoring freely there is not exactly a big achievment.

the main point is that in the NT we want strikers that can make the difference. the only two strikers that i can see doing that at the moment are - once again - Higuain and Zarate; but both aren't picked by the "coach" maradona. we are still stuck with overrated Aguero and the amazing yet non effective Tevez. by the way i have never attacked tevez before, but truly working hard alone is'nt gonna do it anymore. Higuain for example work as hard as Tevez for Madrid and yet he still finished with 20+ goals...

2:58 am
Sebastian said...

You can talk all you want about the Portuguese league not being as strong or competitive as other leagues in Spain, but what would you say when you see Lisandro LOPEZ finished 4th in the top-scoring chart in the last Champions League?

Here's the list of top-scorers:

MESSI - 9 (he played all the way to the final)

GERRARD and KLOSE - 7 goals each.

Lisandro - 6 goals.

With 5 you have: ADEBAYOR, DEL PIERO, DROGBA, VAN PERSIE, HENRY and BENZEMA.

How many would Licha score if he plays for a better team?

Even playing in a league that's not amongst the best in Europe, he still delivered big time (and I remember he had a goal disallowed which should have counted because he wasn't offside).

Regarding TOURE and MASCHERANO...I guess you're entitled to your opinion, Mohd. I see you came here with a lot of arguments and I agree that TOURE is a fantastic player.

I still prefer MASCHERANO in that position.

TEVEZ vs. HIGUAIN. I think it's unfair if you compare the two of them only on goals scored when TEVEZ was used by FERGUSON very far from the opposing penalty area. He's been asked to work more and sacrifice a lot for his team, while HIGUAIN was the target man at Madrid.

I've got to say, even though I still support him, that Carlitos is having a TERRIBLE WCQ campaign. Only one goal scored, two red cards, one crucial PK miss.

He is aware of this situation and he needs to improve his form with Argentina. Once he does that, we'll be absolutely happy to have him.

6:15 am
Forza_albicelestes said...

Again I disagree with Aguero being Overrated........
He is an excellent striker.....We just havent been able to find a suitable position for him in the NT.

As for Licha........I wholeheartedly agree with seba.
I think he showed what he is capable of in the Champions League.

Toure vs Mascherano......

The only place where Toure can beat Masch is in Ariel Ability...
Toure is a much better header.......

But as a Def Mid.....Masch is way better.

There is a reason he is called Monster Masch.......

7:35 am
Mohd said...

common guys, Lisandro scored 3 goals against Fenerbahce...anyway we can argue all day long about the goals he scored, but the point is what are his attributes? is he really the striker that you would feel safe having him as our number 9? i really doubt anyone of you will...

as for Aguero, let us all remember how he was easily outshined by Forlan this year. this is not to say he is not a good player, but for me is a substitute player for Argentina but should never by the main player.

8:09 am
Anonymous said...

Higuain has yet to score one goal in CL.

9:40 am
Sebastian said...

There, Anonymous, thank you very much.

I rest my case! haha! Nah...as I mentioned many times, this is not a war between one player and another. And I'll support HIGUAIN if he was picked, just as much as I support all the other players.

Also, Mohd, you've shown you know your football through your comments here. For that very same reason, I believe we can agree in that football is not an exact science. Mathematics are boring. Football is the opposite.

That's why you can never say: "Look, AGUERO was outshined by FORLAN" and measure your analysis only based on figures.

Would FORLAN have scored as many goals if opposing defenses were not worried about AGUERO also? How many of those FORLAN goals came after AGUERO's assists?

I mean...and I'm not a fan of Kun, you should never compare those two players only based on goals scored. AGUERO played as a second striker for Atletico Madrid.

TEVEZ couldn't have been considered a striker playing in the position Fergie used him most of the times. Same goes for him playing for Argentina. Only against Ecuador he was used as a striker (him and MESSI instead of a forward line of three men).

As for Lisandro...how can you say he's not the striker we need? How many minutes has he been given? Why would you write a player like him off without even watching him in action long enough with Argentina?

Lisandro has all the tools a modern striker needs. That is pretty obvious to me.

10:06 am
Andrea Cardinale said...

Bello e interessante questo blog. Complimenti!

Questi sono i miei nuovi blog creati da poco:

magiadelcalcio.blogspot.com
vogliadiciclismo.blogspot.com

Ti aspetto!!!

12:11 pm
Mohd said...

Sebastian, lets get to the point directly, do you really think we will qualify for the world cup? and if we did, do you honestly think we have a team good enough to even have a chance winning it?

since my own answers to both questions are no, i really lost faith in most of the current players. Aguero is great for atletico, Messi is great for Barca, and the list goes no. but our story is always the same, our players keep failing when it matters most: playing for the national team.

12:40 pm
johnny said...

The NT needs a decent enganche. Should Diego pull one out of his Porto Alegre hat, then all of our concerns will be relegated to the past. All the feuding about strikers, all the homicidal thinking about Heinze, etc. Keep Mascherano healthy and kidnap D'Alessandro. This is Dr. Johnny's prescription for a healthy NT.:)

1:11 pm
Sebastian said...

My sincere answers to those questions are: YES and YES.

Why not?

Yes, it's been a bumpy ride, but not only since MARADONA arrived. He only became our manager for the last four matches. Won 2. Lost 2 (albeit those where in the altitude, where we NEVER bring good results from. NEVER).

So Diego's been in charge in 4 of the 14 matches we've played in the WCQ.

Once we take this HUGE monkey off our backs and secure our ticket for South Africa 2010, Diego will have more time to find his ideal lineup and formation and hopefully it'll be a case of our players picking at the right time and not one year before (like what happened in 2001 and 2002).

Regarding your prescription, Dr. Johnny, is there a drugstore nearby where I can get what you're ordering? Because I like it!

3:20 pm
Soy_de_River said...

i think until we get rid of our desire to have the one guy pulling the strings: the enganche, we will not be the elite team we dream of being. The enganche is a old technique that will not work in the modern footballing world. What we need is multiple player capable of creating, which we do we just dont play them like that. Tevez and Messi are capable of creating for others. Also we need a legitimate number 9. At this point I dont care who it is, just pick one. With the state of the team right now, I would take Maxi Lopez over the three midgets.

I think until we try something different, radically different we will net the same results. Do you think the team is that much better with Maradona then with Coco? Nope. Same team, same results. Something needs to change or the same results will plague us.

Oh and please Diego, dont be such a River hater.

3:34 pm
johnny said...

No Iniesta. No Pirlo. No Sneijder. Those are the enganche "type" players that Argentina is lacking on the squad right now. Bring on Andy D'Alessandro. Without a player like Riquelme or D'Alessandro, we have no one worth a damn to pull the strings. Veron ain't gonna make it happen. Aimar is yesterday's news. Tevez.....no ! Messi....no ! I think we're cooked without somebody worthwhile stepping into that role.

4:27 pm
Anonymous said...

Need Riquelme back. Face it guys, he is the linchpin behind the masterclass of Argentina. Fine he quit, swallow your stinkin pride and welcome him beck with open arms. We can not just have a free flowing team, will not work. If Brazil beats us then we burn Maradona's get out of jail card and exile him out of the country. If Ecuador gave us problem at home, just wait and see what a Brazilian team does! We are in trouble, we put in our feet in quicksand.

6:13 pm
Sebastian said...

Now I simply don't get this part from Anonymous' message.

Read with me: "Fine he quit, swallow your stinkin pride and welcome him beck with open arms".

Whose pride are you talking about?

It's not like we have to do something for him to comeback. HE QUIT. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT!

HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT!

How many times do I have to write it?

It's not up to US or even MARADONA. So stop calling for RIQUELME to come back!

And by the way...

Argentina 0-3 Brazil -Copa America 2007 final- RIQUELME played the whole 90 minutes. Hit the post.

Argentina 1-1 Ecuador -WCQ- The match you mention in your comment. RIQUELME played the whole 90 minutes.

Where are your guarantees that we will win with him in the team?

7:26 pm
Unknown said...

Riquelme needs to swallow his pride -- he can ask to come back. I suspect that he doesn't becuase he worries about his own level of play. I say this as Riquelme's biggest fan. I also think that he's crucial for Arg. to do well. Doesn't arg have the highest percentage of psychiatrists in the world or something? Can't someone take Riquelme to a shrink? sheesh :)

But D'Allesandro can play that roll. This is the thing -- most of the top players at the world cup arrive dog-tired, because they have champions league games right up until the begnning of the tournament. But D'Allesandro would be theoretically playing in Brazil, and while in a difficult league, would be much more fresh and any other midfiedler of the top teams. And he's just as talented. He's truly talented. The only reason he's not still in europe is 'cause he's a nutjob.

Anyway -- I fear that there is every chance that Brazil is going to rip Argentina to shreds. They are playing a style that is very simple for them, and at this point they no longer show much pride to play "beautifully". They will just want to win. Arg -- their pride might be their undoing.

Could you see Arg. go out defensively, in front of the home fans? I can't. So they might just play right into Brazil's hands.

Anyone who saw the US Brazil game would have seen how dangerous Brazil is. I know -- it was just the US. But no team smells blood like Brazil. And if they sense just a bit of weakness, they are merciless.

7:31 pm
Mohd said...

i agree with Sebastian; please stop calling Riquelme because he does not want to play. personally i do not want a player that does not want to play no matter how brilliant he is.

i also agree that D'Allesandro should get the chance. but also we need to understand that it is not an absolute necessatiy to have a traditional playmaker, with the right tactics we can have a quick team that depends on many players to break other teams. it is just the right tactics are not comming lately. and for sure counting on veron again is the worst idea ever.

8:04 pm
Anonymous said...

Sebastian, did he quit or did Maradona push him out? You're going to believe what Maradona tells you how it went down? Maradona is not a coach. He tells reporters in a new conference that Batista is on his period? We are becoming a laughing stock in the world football. I think it went down like this, Maradona likely asked Riquelme to come off the bench and that hit his ego. Should they have waited and cooled down before make rational choice, yes but it did not happen. So we are suffering for it now. This team is falling apart in front of our eyes, ok lets say we do qualify, how far do you think this team is going to go? Yes Riquelme played vs Brazil in Copa America, he scores that goal early we are right back in it! and the game changes, so that is a horrible way to put it out there. Ok he played vs Ecuador and was not as his best. But so far who has been the best player for Argentina in the WCQ, that is right it has been Riquelme. Who was the best player in Copa America? That is right it was Riquelme! This team does not manage to hold the ball well by any means, and if Brazil goes on that counterattack we are in trouble. Who is going to stop them? Gago? Heinze? Demichelis? Oh I know Papa. We have to hold the ball vs this team and be patient. Can we beat Brazil 3-0 I believe we can but a perfect game is needed. We need to duplicate how we played vs them in Brazil last year, which we were clearly the better team. I just say we need Riquelme for FK's, set pieces, holding the ball when we are up, giving those perfectly passes to our attack. Can somebody else do is role? Not too many players I have seen can. Some say D'Alessandro? Far too small and not strong enough. Veron sure maybe the Veron from Parma Or Lazio. Aimar? Love the guy to death but I can not see him do it. So who is it going to be? Jose Sosa? Not talented enough. We can not just sit back and have this same team game in game out, we need to shake some things up. Riquelme has scored 4 goals for us, 3 from FK's! And one on the run of play. Who else has scored from a set piece from this team? Messi does not take FK's, Tevez as we saw is great at PK's... Aguero... Hmmmmm.. When we are playing at the biggest stage in the WC, we have to take all the goals we can get. Bring him back, why will it bother you so much if he comes back? So you would rather him sit out and us fail. That is not the only problem here.

We need HIGUAIN in this team! I can not stand it anymore! I believe we have a friendly this summer vs Russia, and he better get the call then Diego is officially brain dead. Enough with this Milito,Lisandro,Higuain debate, Higuain plays in a much higher level of competition in Spain then Milito and Lisandro. Milito has never shown me anything in his playing time for Argentina. Oh what, a deflected goal in Copa America? Lisandro is just getting called up to warm up the bench, if you call him then at least try to PLAY HIM! Diego takes out Aguero and brings in Tevez... Great job, sub a midget for a midget. We need a striker playing with Messi and Tevez, we can not just allow them alone.

In conclusion, the days when Roman played for Argentina we were a mile high. Was amazing in Copa America, was solid in the Olympics, were ranked # 1 in the world. Now we are just becoming bottom feeders. We can not even by a goal, and none of this we beat Venz 4-0, me and my friends can give Venz a butt kicking(Well maybe not but you know where I am getting at). Only positive I can recall from this team this year has a win vs France, but again Nigeria beat them a few weeks ago and Turkey gave them a run for their money. Last 3 games for Argentina equal 2 goals. A slump maybe but not the best of times to be in a slump.

P.S. So WHAT IF RIQUELME QUIT! :-), ever heard of the expression, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil! Let let bygones be bygones. Chau........

10:51 pm
Zudd said...

Hi, I'm Zudd from Malaysia.. I've been following this site for over a year but this is my first comments..

I remember D'Allessandro was used by Bielsa last time as his playmaker.. maybe he was too young last time, but I was not impressed with him..

The best playmaker that I could suggest now is Tevez.. I remember he was used on that position by Beilsa ocassionally during Copa 2004 as a sub-on and once for the full game when D'Allessandro was suspended.. and hell of a job he did..

11:08 pm
Forza_albicelestes said...

Well....I dont think using Riquelme or allesandro is the solution here...I blv ARG already plays with 3 upfront who doesnt contribute anything to defense...Using Roman/Allesandro who do not contribute to defense is suicide......
A pure enganche is obsolete these days..while a playmaker is needed we cannot afford the luxury of having 4 players who do not contribute to defense.

What we need is a xavi/fabregas type of player..someone who can pull the strings from MF and contribute to defense...A role I hope Lucho can play.......
To be Honest he along with Ledesma(Lazio) are the only 2 players capable of playing that role ATM.....To be honest we dont even have any true box-to-box MF in the mould of Gerrard/Lampard.
I think thats where our problem lies...where we have excellent DEF Mid and Off Mid...We dont have any world Class Central Midfielder......

SO I think our main problem lies inthe centre of the pitch.....If diego can sort that out...we should be home and free.....

Again I dont think we will lose against Brazilll.While ATM Brazil are in way better form than us........Diego had a grt record against Brazil as a player...I dont think thats going to chng......ARG vs Brazil at our Home...we will always be at an advantage....
And diego will hopefully sort out the team by then...



And as for qualifying for the world cupp...we willl definitely be there....

Also the last time a world cup was played outside Europe/S.America....
Brazil won....Hopefully this will be our turn this time...

3:00 am
Forza_albicelestes said...

Brazil

World cup

1970.......
Nxt world cup

1994
DIfference of 24 Years

ARgentina Last World cup

1986

Next World cup

Difference of 24 Years...

2010........


We are the champios....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIngers Crossed

3:03 am
Sebastian said...

Anonymous, I appreciate the time you're taking to give us your points of view.

I have to say, however, that I still don't agree with most of the things you say.

You say "Bring him (RIQUELME) back, why will it bother you so much if he comes back?"

And you are wrong. What bothers us so much is the fact that he quit (AGAIN). I'm not anti-RIQUELME. Long-time readers or Mundo Albiceleste can tell you how I've always spoke wonders about his game.

I'm basing my analysis on facts, not rumours or versions or speculations.

Exactly how did MARADONA pushed RIQUELME out of the national team? So MARADONA spoke and said a few things that were over the top and that's enough for RIQUELME to quit?

MARADONA said many times that if it was up to him, RIQUELME would still be playing for Argentina.

Those are the things that happened.

It's clear that you love RIQUELME and hate Diego, but I think this passion you show for Roman and this hate you show for MARADONA are somehow not letting you come here with a cool-headed analysis.

Then you said some like: Had RIQUELME put that chance away against Brazil in the Copa America -when he hit the post- and we were back in it and the game changes. Well...he didn't, did he? There's no point in talking about it.

There's also no denying how great RIQUELME is as a player. But it's time for HIM to swallow his pride if he REALLY loves playing for Argentina.

For what he's showing me, he doesn't. As, may I remind you, this is the second time he quits. And I don't think you can blame MARADONA for the first one, can you?

And poor Diego MILITO! He's being asked to score goals with no deflections when he never had the chance to play at least two consecutive full matches (nobody said anything when BATISTUTA scored against Australia in the playoffs to USA 94 and THAT was a deflection, my friend!)

Oh...and one more thing...why isn't nobody mentioning the fact that HIGUAIN REFUSED TO PLAY FOR ARGENTINA when he was called up for the Youth World Cup in 2007?

Yes. I know. It's in the past. But I'm pointing it out, just in case we forget about it.

5:17 am
johnny said...

Great debate !!! As FORZA points out Argentina is in dire need of more talented, offensive minded midfielders. For me, this is the glaring weakness. We are stuck between aging guys who are not the players they once were(Roman and Veron, and you can add in Aimar, though he is not so old)and there are few younger players with the necessary skills. For all the talk about how talented Argentina's squad is, I fear that the talent we have is way overloaded in the striker department. The strikers and Mascherano. For all the grief he caught for saying it, Maradona was dead on when he said the team was "Mascherano and 10 guys". Granted, Messi is not just a "guy", but I think Maradona was right nonetheless. So, I am of the opinion that now is the time to not panic, BUT to explore some options that have not yet been explored. For me that option is D'Alessandro. Who cares how small he is ! Hell, I would take MAXI MORALEZ over Roman or Veron.

As for the Roman question. Everybody who knows me knows I am a huge Boca fan and have been a huge fan of Riquelme. But (and how many times must this be said ?), Roman is a shell of the player he was just two short years ago. Maradona's criticism (that reportedly set off the firestorm), that Roman was not moving the ball far enough up the field was DEAD ON.(Of course the same criticism could be made of Veron). So, for me the Roman issue is a non issue. He ain't what he was and likely never will be again. And as for Paulina's take that Roman needs a shrink, I have been saying that for years ! Sheesh !

Bring on Andy D, or, hell, Maxi M.:)

6:40 am
Anonymous said...

Forza- Ledesma will be a good option but I think those stinkin Italians are after him as well. If we do not move fast and Diego does not call him up then we can kiss him goodbye. The 24 year theory I have used that as well in the past lol. I mean all the stars point to us to win it, WC not based in Europe. The European teams can not win a title outside of Europe. 24 year gap, it is fun to look at but I would just be patient and take it game by game.


Sebastian, I do not love Riquelme and hate Diego. I just hate how Maradona operates. Guy is a complete fool in my eyes. If a man never has had control of his personal life everything starts to fall apart from family to everything around you. And none of this Diego got his act together, I do not think so. I think Grondona is having a great laugh behind the scenes, and can not wait until the day comes when he fires him. He will make Maradona an outcast.

Personally the Boca fans have much much more love for Riquelme then Diego. Riquelme did so much more for the club then Maradona ever did. What is the deal with Diego going to those games anyways? He spent more time with Argentinos Juniors then Boca. Maradona likely had a role for Roman and what could it have been? It seemed clear that right away Diego did not want him. He came out in public and said "I will give the #10 to a player that deserves it" This was while Riquelme was still on the team. That is a slap to the face of Riquelme. So all of us heard rumblings before the action came.

Yes Riquelme quit after the WC, he was the scapegoat for it. I believe his mother was put in the hospital because of anxiety or something in that field. He cared much more about his mother and family then the game. I would to family comes before ANYTHING in my eyes.

So his 2nd retirement, again I will say it, Maradona vision was without him playing his same role. And Riquelme likely said I am done. I can not believe a single word coming out of Maradona's mouth.

Yes I would like Riquelme to come back and swallow his pride, but you know and I know Diego will have to give the call and they have to hold a private conference with each other. It is the coach that see's much of the trouble. Do you want Riquelme to be like Clark Kent and say like I see my team in trouble, let me step into this phone booth and turn into superman. Maradona gives him a call and say" We are in trouble and would like your assistance". You have to give one of your star players some elbow room. Maradona can't be puppet master with everybody.

Only reason I brought up Riquelme hitting the post in Copa America is because in your podcast you brought up, if Messi and Tevez put away their chances we would of been in a better place. I was just playing the "what if" game.

Milito just does not have the "IT" factor for the national team. Sure he plays well for teams like Zaragosa and Genoa, but lets see how well he does with talent around him. Lets really see if he can duplicate a 20+ goal season. You said Batistuta goal came off a deflection and ok, but I do not think we will be that lucky again. Do you really want to go to Azteca and play a Mexican side if we fall to 5th? We are not very liked in Mexico. This is just a worse case situation.

Ok Higuain did not go play with the Youth team, so what? Enough with the nationalistic points of view. He is what we need and it took him sometime to decide to play for France and Argentina and he made the correct choice. He plays with world class talent around himself, is playing along side Raul and CLEARLY outplayed him this season. Can score with both feet, can head the ball, has great pace, can dribble. There is not another striker in our team that can do what he does.

Believe me my analysis is with a cool head. I have said my peace.

11:58 am
messidona19 said...

Anonymous said: "Diego came out in public and said "I will give the #10 to a player that deserves it" This was while Riquelme was still on the team. That is a slap to the face of Riquelme. So all of us heard rumblings before the action came."
Ok That's what you said, and the verdict showed that Riquelme was not Man enough to let it pass and just continue with the team.
Ever ring a bell on who's the captain right now? Zanetti was stripped of his captain's armband and is not even ahead of HEINZE when it comes to captaining the team! and the verdict? Well he was MAN enough to let it pass!

3:42 pm
Anonymous said...

Maradona is not a coach! That is like asking Mozart to do Michaelangelo's sistine chapel, or it is asking van Gogh to compose a symphony. Some thing do not go hand in hand.

8:10 pm
Forza_albicelestes said...

Give the man some time to get things together.....I think what he is trying to do is shake up the NT......Try some things..........

Try seeing things sensibly guys b4 we continue Diego Bashing.......

We were playing very poorly with Basile as well.....

Give Diego some time...

12:12 am
Anonymous said...

Im with you Forza we will beat brazil mark me words people..... then we will see you your comments change in a sec

Lucas

12:59 am
Anonymous said...

messidona19> The only thing Diego has done by giving the 10 to supposedly the on who deserved it (Messi) is driving the hate and sarcasm and pressure towards Leo. Really, if the worst case happens (meaning a non-qualification in South Africa), he will be hold responsible to that fiasco.

3:45 am
messidona19 said...

to anonymous: There's absolutely no hate nor sarcasm pointed at Messi for accepting the number 10 shirt!
As much as I miss Riquelme and want him back in our team, I still remember the fact that he left our team TWICE. Not once, but twice! and both had nothing to do with him being exhausted.
If we don't qualify for the world cup, we will hold Diego responsible for that but it's not only his fault, Alfio Basile gave Diego a team in shatters with no confidence and has been playing really bad football, Diego did not do anything to make things better and his team decisions have made it a case worse for us, so yea... Diego will be at fault for failing to qualify but not at fault for Riquelme's retirement.

4:44 am
messidona19 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
4:44 am
Mohd said...

guys, Riquelme is a brilliant player. more he is a genius. but honestly i want the team to make it without him. he has left the team when it needed him the most and most important the team must learn to play collective football without relying on one player to drive them.

do you remember what happened in the final of copa america? brazil marked riqueleme out and we were toasted. i have the full confidence that with the correct players choice we can have a great team. i wish someone hit maradona in the head so that he can wake up and get our best players to take us into the world cup.

6:54 am
Anonymous said...

Watching Brazil rip apart Italy 3-0 in the first half of the Confederations Cup I am getting a bit scared. Pretty much all of Brazil's goal came from counterattacks. Italy put one in their own net on a counterattack, reminds me of Copa America 07 when Ayala did that. If this Brazil team faces our lousy defense team we are all but done. Scary scary scary guys.

12:20 pm
Anonymous said...

I just watched Brasil put the smackdown on Italy. They outclassed Italy with ease and could have scored more if they wished.At least Italy have 12 months to get their act together so that they can defend their title with honour. Argentina on the other hand have 3 months to get their act together so that they do not face World Cup elimination. Maradona needs to put together a team that will get a result. Therefore he should sort out any personal differences and select players based on form. The current team has not delivered and there should be changes in personnel. I doubt if the team that failed against Bolivia and Ecuador is capable of getting a result. Historically Argentina have always done well against Brasil but those teams were as good if not better than Brasil. The Brasilians will not be doing Argentina any favours. If they smell blood they will go for the kill. They would like nothing better than to eliminate Argentina.

Dunga is successful because his selections are based on form. He discarded Ronaldinho even though he is most skilful, ignored Adriano and dropped Alves, and Elano after the Egyptian game. The point i am trying to make is that those selected must deliver. The Brasilian players deliver because if they do not they will be replaced by those who will. In Argentina's case the same underachieving players are retained when there are those around who can make the difference.

2:21 pm
Sebastian said...

Let me remind Anonymous that one of MARADONA's first statements when he took over as Argentina boss was: "The number 10 shirt belongs to Roman". Check the archives. It was also posted here on Mundo Albiceleste (no time for me to find it for you now, but I'm sure other readers will remember that as well).

As for Brazil...I think DUNGA is being successful for his bravery. Why?

Because he is playing a style that no Brazilian fan likes. He is absolutely despised by the majority of fans in Brazil.

Believe me...they are waiting for a bad result to come so they can jump to DUNGA's throat and attack him.

His bravery is making Brazil play as a very effective team and yes, the highlights will show you all those counter-attacks and fast, well-taken goals and suddenly you think they are unbeatable. They're not. Of course they're not.

In my opinion, they are one bad result away from a big crisis.

DUNGA kept his job after the Copa America because he won it. He was one PK away from losing in the semis vs. Uruguay and then they faced a team (ARG) that play exactly the way they wanted us to play.

The key to play against Brazil? Score first and stay in control (Paraguay did the first part, failed to do the second).

If you fall behind in the score...you're done.

I know those Diego detractors will start talking up Brazil and will start making nasty comparisons. If you want to do that, go ahead. But don't fool yourselves when the majority of Brazilians are still disgusted with the way his manager is making them play.

Football is not all about results. At least not for me.

5:38 pm
Sebastian said...

By all means...I don't mean Argentina are playing good football. Please, don't get me wrong there.

5:39 pm
Anonymous said...

I do agree with you Sebastian that Dunga's Brasil do not play 'jogo bonito' but considering the mess he inherited he has done quite well. Prior to his appointment Brasil selected players like Ronaldo, Adriano, Cafu and Roberto Carlos based on reputations. These players either lacked desire, were past their sell by date or out of form.

The first thing he did was stop the rot. All the big name players who were underachieving were dropped and there were opportunities for everyone who was in form. He even selected players like Elano and Wagner Love who plied their trade in unglamorous leagues.Every team has to play to their strength, Spain won the Euros playing a system that suited their players. Brasil do not dominate teams but they are ruthless and more complete. Their defence is not brilliant but it is competent and unlike Argentina they can compete physically.They also exploit set pieces which they rarely did prior to his appointment. There is also fierce competition for places. The players selected know that if they underperform their places are up for grabs.

Now compare this with Argentina where players appear to be selected irrespective of their form and their failure to deliver. The truth is that Argentina have players who are as good as anything Brasil has to offer. Messi is better than Robinho, Hinguain is as good as Fabiano,Mascherrano is better than Elano, and Samuel or Gonzalo are on the same level as Lucio or Juan.

Brasil are not unbeatable but they are the team to beat. They have beaten Italy twice within a six month period and have also beaten the USA who are a much improved side. You were correct in stating that they were a penalty kick away from elimination in the Copa America. However since that game they have beaten Uruguay 2-1 at home and 4-0 away. In the first game Uruguay scored first and gave them a fright. They may not win the Confederations Cup as Spain is in good form but that is not the point. No team can win every competiton but the minimum standard expected from a superpower is that they give a good account of themselves. In Dunga's case reaching the finals of 2 international competitions are good returns.

Argentina meanwhile stare into the abyss with World Cup elimination a real possibility.The players who have been selected for Argentina are not the best available, neither are they the most in form players. There is a lack of balance,creativity and confidence. If the team was performing and getting results it would be excusable. Unfortunately it is not so why not change it up a bit. After losing to Ecuador and Bolivia the option of doing nothing is not an option. If Argentina select their best players and fail to deliver you can understand it. There is nothing more frustrating than watching such a gifted team look so bereft of ideas against average teams like Ecuador and Bolivia.It is so annoying because Argentina have players who would put these teams to the sword if they were selected.

As you said Brasil is not unbeatable i just hope that Argentina is the team that proves this fact.

3:01 pm
Anonymous said...

Historically, we have never fared well against Ecuador (at Quito).

msi2.

I agree about one point though. Dunga is selecting players based on form which is the case at all for Diego.

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5:27 am

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