Thursday, October 15, 2009

Uruguay 0-1 Argentina - Player ratings by Dave P

Apologies for the delay. I got a call one hour after the game and had to leave everything. Only to return at 4 AM!

Here are Dave P's player ratings.

We are in South Africa, baby!

Good victory tonight we pushed through it, here are my ratings...

Annnnndddd we are through. Great feeling right now after all the stress that Maradona and the NT has put us through for the past half year. What a game as well, it was a completely different feel and tactic then against Peru. It seemed as if we were a different team.

The 4 CB back defensive line ended up working well. What we needed was a tie to be guaranteed fifth place, and we got the goal and the 3 points to get the direct route with style, even though we had no style tonight. It was very much a bump and grind match, players were working and hustling hard only to be fouled every other minute. Possession was given back and forth for the first 30 minutes and then we eventually
settled down and held onto nice possession of the ball for last 15 minutes, which carried over into the second. We didn’t have much attack for the entire game; actually we had not attack, partially because Veron was playing deep in the midfield unlike Aimar who pushed up. But he did settle the game well. Anyway we got the win through gritty play by all our players. The defense was excellent tonight, amazing defensive display of tackling and marking from Demichelis and Mascherano both. 2 wins in a row?? Definitely not by the style of play that the media and Argentine fans like to see, but I don’t care if that’s the style of play that gets the victory that sounds good to me.

Ok here are the ratings…

ROMERO (7.5): Great game for our young super goalkeeper talent. Always quick to react to deflections and reads the game well. In the first 10 mins there was a counter attack by Uruguay and Shciavi was out of position, Romero was quick to pounce out of the box and distinguish the threat and safe us. On set pieces was very quick in the air and truly was confident in everything that he did. In the last 5 mins there was a corner kick, where Romero soared above 15 players to grab the ball out of the air in triumphant fashion. Great player.

OTAMENDI (5.5): Very slow to begin the game, was caught out of position and any attack Uruguay had in the first half was done on his side. As the game went on he became more confident in his tackles, but missed a header, which caused a little threat that was tamed by Demichelis.
Most of the time was out of position on set pieces and on the FK that Uruguay made bounce right in front of Romero, it was Otamendi’s man who got free. Overall, an ok game no really big mistakes but could have played better.

DEMICHELIS (9): Amazing display of what a true CB can do and how a CB can set up a stonewall. Demichelis was back in great form always bodying the Uruguayan attack around as well as tackling the ball away. A couple of time’s Veron passed sloppy balls back to Demichelis who was quick to clear out of our area. Every time Uruguay, and I mean every time they would attempt to slide a ball through or play someone
in our third Demichelis would deflect it out or stop the pass dead.
With Demichelis at CB and Romero in goal I am very confident in shutting down many teams. Great Great game from Demichelis our #1 CB at the moment.

SCHIAVI (6): Much like Otamendi, was sloppy, slow, and out of position in the first half, but didn’t really make to many glaring mistakes. Schiavi was never really tested to much because Demichelis was stopping everything. One point in the 2nd half he had a clumsy clearance right to Uruguay, but Romero was there to save the shot. For every small mistake he made he was solid enough to slow down the attack and allow for our players to come back and help defend. Good game for Schiavi, although I would not like to see him play on our NT anymore…he is not NT quality.

HEINZE (8): Moving from CB to LB for this game, Heinze played very well.
Him with Demichelis was a remarkable stopping force tonight. Heinze usually gets scared and makes sloppy passes, but tonight Heinze seemed to do everything right. He was great at pushing the ball forward and combining with Di Maria. Heinze’s work rate in tonight’s game can not be questioned, the entire 90 mins he was giving it his all. He knew what was on the line and did not seem to buckle under the pressure
like he usually does. Constantly slowing down the Uruguay attack and proved that he has a spot on the team just by the passion he shows on the pitch. Great play tonight

Jonas GUTIERREZ (6): Can sum up his play tonight in one sentence; was expecting to
see more out of Jonas today but still always working hard. In tonight’s game Jonas was really not noticeable at all, every once and a while he would pop up out of nowhere to make a run or a defensive stop. He really shined though towards the end of the match when everyone was tired, his endurance is un real. He smoked past Caceres only to get dragged down for a red card. This set up our free kick where we got our goal. Describes Jonas perfectly, he does all the hard running and hustling but gets the reward for the team indirectly.
Quiet but solid game for Jonas

MASCHERANO (7): This is the Mascherano that we are used to seeing. Completely different game than against Peru, Masch was all over the field today. Working well to compliment Schiavi and Demichelis. He collapsed well when we needed defensive support and always was putting pressure on the midfield, which made Uruguay make sloppy passes. True hustle hard nose player, confidant tackling all game and was rarely out of position. Good defensive support, which is his role, good game.

VERON (7): He came in for Aimar to play the attacking link with the strikers. Did a poor job with this, he supplied no help to the attack and pretty much dropped in line to play another defensive mid role like Mascherano. In the first half all his passes were sloppy and sometimes he forced passes that were not on. In the second half he played more defensively, his role of just keeping possession helped us
settle the game down as Uruguay pushed forward more. But no help in the attack, except for the one FK that we score on his shot caused the deflection to go to Bolatti. All that being said every time he got the ball from a striker he was content with just keeping the ball in the midfield. He knew that if we held possession safely and did not push to far forward a counter attack could not screw us. A true veteran performance by Veron and was key to us maintaining the tie until our goal.

DI MARIA (6.5): Good game for Angel. Pretty much our only dangerous player on the night. Early in the first half he was always running at defenders even if he didn’t get anywhere. Made a few bad passes and held onto the ball a little too long. But still the youngster’s touch and quickness was ever dangerous. In a game that was more for the defense he played well but did not get as many touches as he did in
the Peru game. In the second half Di Maria was completely invisible did absolutely nothing and was subbed out for Monzon in the 75th min to go even more defensive.

HIGUAIN (5): In a game where we had no link between the midfield and the attack Higuain did the best that he could have done. He ran around and checked back to get the ball only to pass back to Veron who did not give it back. Other than this there was a few good combinations with Di Maria on the left but overall some miscommunication caused for no good efforts on goal. Higuain played well, would have liked to see more initiative to attack the net but either way an ok game.

MESSI (4): I don’t know if I can even rate Messi tonight. He was pretty much non-existent the entire game for except 2 or 3 runs that looked dangerous. Every time he touched the ball he was dangerous but had no support on the ball up top and eventually just passed back to Veron. Not his game at all tonight and some may question his ability to perform on the NT level. But the truth is he had no one to combine with and he can not beat 5 Uruguay players every time he touched the ball.

Subs

MONZON (6): Came on in the 75 min for Di Maria to give more defensive stability. Nothing else to say, dropped back and marked well for the 15 mins he was in for.

BOLATTI (7): In for 10 mins, but took the deflection off of Veron’s shot calmly and shot into the goal. Got us the 3 points, other than that nothing else.

Tevez N/A: On for Messi at 86min

So we are on our way to South Africa, our performance tonight was a solid defensive display, and what I liked the best was the consistency. Even though we had only 1 or 2 shots on goal, we were consistent in our play in possession. Unlike against Peru where we played well in the first half and were non-existent in the second half, tonight we put up with the intensity and everyone played with passion away from home. Veron added nothing to the attack but was solid in controlling the tempo of the game, in a game where we only needed a tie. Still thousands of questions for what we need to do when we need to actually score. In the Peru game we had Aimar help the attack and we were good in movement up top but had a bad defense. In
tonight’s game we had Veron not help the attack but were solid in defense. We need to find some way to have the midfield both help attack and still be solid defensively. But at the moment I am very excited and happy for us, even though I have criticized Maradona, I am very happy for him. Tonight Maradona’s passion and work rate was shown by all our players and we came away with the result that we needed. I kind of like writing these happy player ratings…

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Last time DEMICHELIS cried because he missed the team, no more. He is a part of our WC for this effort he put out. Hey I guess God did help out Argentina because Coloccini got hurt and it was his way to give us a helping hand.

About Lio, I do not know how much more I can defend this kid. I love Lio and want him to help us out but I just do not know. But again he did bad but does well vs European based players. The South America crowd him and give him trouble, but vs European he destroys them. I been listening to music ALL DAY and been so happy. Have not been this happy in sometime when it comes down to our team. Seeing some of my friends tonight to catch up at our local Argentine rest, we all took a sigh of relief and talked to the waiters and waitress about the game. We need to always STAY POSITIVE. We can never get down, it hurts but we do not have 2 stars on our jerseys in the last 30 years for no reason. Now it is time for a 3rd. 24 Years is far too long, and lets hope we can get it going.

Argentina vs Spain November 14th
Argentina vs Nigeria November 18th

Lets show the Spaniards that they are standing next to a Argentina and say we are not a Euro team.

And beat Nigeria to have somewhat of a good African team vs us.

Jack!

salvio supporter said...

My feeling is that Demichelis was not that good, actually. I see everybody congratulating him, but he didn't gave me any security, and it may be just me, but fortunately, the system "misteriously" worked "fine" today. Just fine.

John said...

Truth to be told, we were never attractive tonight. I guess Diego’s was going for the unconventional game plan (if you would call there was a game plan) by playing four center backs right from the start. Is this clear indication that we might go for a defensive approach from now onwards? Only time will tell.

Without a doubt Sergio ROMERO deserves a some high praises for the way he handled every Uruguayans shot. That last corner kick was just marvelous to see how he jumped over every single player on the field to catch the ball.

DEMICHELIS played like a wall that never looked like going to crack. Monster MASCHERANO did his part in breaking every from Uruguay coming forward. And VERON, what can I say? He perhaps played his best ever game in an Argentina’s jersey for a long time.

Lionel MESSI was nowhere to be seen on most occasion. I guess its due to the fact that Uruguay had a game plan to stop him at all cost. Gonzalo HIGUAIN had an average game.

For now, lets just celebrate this victory for just making it to South Africa. I’ve been getting plenty of text message saying congratulation on this wonderful result.

As for the future, I doubt that Diego will ever resigned considering he did what he had to do which is to booked us ticket to the World Cup. I certainly hope that at least we will some changes in the coaching staff as clearly this is where Diego lacked the most; people who can provide and advice him tactical solution, game plan and team strategy.

Also not to forget, I would like to say a million THANKS to all Mundo Albiceleste reader’s for your wonderful support throughout this terrifying qualifying campaign.

Anonymous said...

As I said before, we are "mere mortals that could not comprehend the genius of Maradona"..

I want Maradona to stay, I don't care about the stupid tactics and formation. He could bring Argentina to the final via ugly football, just like Bilardo in 1990.

I am tired of empty promises like in 2002 when Argentina under Bielsa qualify to the WC in flying colours.

I am tired again of the joga bonito, floating football, made-in-heaven 3-5-2 formation in 2006 when Argentina still could not deliver.

So Maradona, just bring your (lack of) tactic to the field and bring Argentina to the semifinal and final of South Africa 2010.

As for Messi, he is just a kid who will be 23 next year. He will peak at 27 in WC 2014 just like Maradona of 26 in 1986. Please be patient.

AZIZ

Rune said...

Well, let me just first say that I am extremely happy that this terrible qualification campaign is over. We are in the world cup and that makes me very happy but most of all, and I guess that goes for all the regulars in here, I am RELIEVED!
I was so happy when Chile scored their goal, that kinda eased my nerves a bit. And when Bolatti scored……I felt incredibly relieved. I was one of those who said before the game that Uruguay would destroy us and that Chile would save our asses. Ok, I was terribly wrong in my predictions when it comes to the result, and I just love to be wrong. It’s not at all hard to admit being wrong. BUT me and the others in here who were negative before the game were still right in a way. Ok, we won and go to the WC and Urugay didn’t destroy us. But the game was bad. This team is a terrible team. When it comes to Diego’s choice of players(Schiavi, Veron, Jonas, Otamendi) and the team’s style of play we were and are still 100% right in what we say. This is not Argentina. The game yesterday was a war, not a game of football. I understand that this can happen in a derby match and the only thing that mattered was getting a result. BUT we looked like Scotland out there. I feel a bit ashamed of this team, even if I am very happy and relieved that we won and now go to the world cup. Diego will now see this as a personal victory and will not by any means resign. That means that in the world cup our team will under-achieve. And against Brazil and the top teams of europe, we’ll get eaten alive. Those of you who think we can go to a world cup and play at the highest level against the toughest oponents(Brazil and the best 7-8 teams from Europe) with THIS team and THIS coach….well you should go see a doctor.
Still praying for a miracle to happen, that Diego resigns. That’s our only hope. I know it’s not gonna happen, but it’s my only hope and if you take away hope from me, I’ll die.

My player ratings: (Roy's ratings are as always to high :-))
Romero: 7
Otamendi: 4
Demichelis: 7
Schiavi: 4
Heinze: 7
Jonas: 5
Masch: 7
Veron: 4.5
Di Maria: 6
Messi: 3.5
Higuain: 5.5
Monzon: 5
Bolatti: played to few minutes but I’ll give him a 10
Tevez: played to few minutes
corner

andaman said...

Don't matter how we won. We won and booked our tickets. We did what need to be done. The back line was solid it's unbelievable because of previous games witnessed. I love Sergio Romero since the YWC in Canada and happy to see him stand up to the big boys. Finally the number 1 that Argentina needed.

South Africa here we come!!!

Rune said...

I have to say this, and I said it before: Even the lack of tactics and a real game plan and having an idiot as our coach does NOT(!!!!!!)take away all the resposibility Lio Messi has to deliver the goods and show that he can do something in our NT. He is failing in our NT and he should NOT play this bad no matter who the coach is. Even if Britney Spears was our NT coach, Lionel Messi should do better!! I am so fuckin sick of reading that EITHER Messi is a flop when playing for our NT and that Maradona and Palermo and those guys have what it takes, OR Messi is just a victim who can not do anything when it really matters playing for our NT because nobody is telling the poor boy how to play. Both things are right. COME ON! There is still s football out there, he can still use his legs and run, drible, pass and shoot a bit even if no one tells him how to. Diego is an idiot when it comes to coaching, BUT Lio should still do better. Is that so hard to see? Messi did not play fantastic for our NT under Peker and Basile either. I am NOT saying this to have a go at Messi like the public in Argentina are doing at the moment, but I just find it so stupid when people ALWAYS forgive players because the coach is an idiot.

Rune said...

Dave's ratings I meant, not Roy's. Sorry about that.

Anonymous said...

Remember our record with the teams from Europe is 3 - 0 maybe we play better agains them and thats were messi wll shine mark my words...

Lucas
For now just be happy were in the WC guys

Joe said...

I really can not understand your critic of Messi. Are you really watching the games as i am? Every time Messi has the ball you got three -four players at him. And he hs no support what sow ever. We have no attacking play sow you can not blame it all on messi.

First of all:

- He is playing out of position
- He has no guideline on how to play.
- There is no one supporting him in the offense.
- There is always three-four players at him.

You can only judge Messi when you beleive that we have an attacking play that is functional. Then judge him.

But Argentina is the team that has been among those who has scored least goals in the qualification.
For God sake our top scorer is Riquelme.

I can only remind some of you who critize him (RUNE), that when Argentina played Brazi away Messi had such a great game that the brazilian gave him a standing ovation. And that was under the mediocre coach Basile.

Please give him some support and true tactics and you will see magic. These is a team game not a one man show.

I am completly behind Messi, and i completly blame Maradona.

Rune said...

Some say Diego sctually had a game plan in the game yesterday, and that it worked. We played better than we expected and so on…….but what abot the game in Quito against Equador, then??????? Same gameplan! We lost and it was at the end of the game that Equador scored their two goals in a game where they were not superior to us. Was it Diego’s fault that Messi missed an open goal at 0-0??? Was it Diego’s fault that Tevez missed a penalty at 0-0????? I think it is stupid to put the game against Equador in the same category as the game in La Paz or the game in Paraguay. Coincidents decided the game in Quito….just like the game yesterday. The game yesterday could easily have beem a loss for us, and the game in Quito could easily have been a victory for us. Coincidents play a major part in modern football.

johnny said...

Crazy Johnny's Player ratings:

Romero-8. Another stand out performance. What a relief that after awful Carrizo, and only slightly better Andujar, it appears we have found a keeper to depend on. Great in the air, doesn't appear to be nervous at all.

Otamendi-5. I don't think he is NT quality in any way. He makes some heads up plays at times, but often looks unsure of himself and prone to disaster.

Demichelis-8. Welcome back ! By far our best CB. He was all over the place, covering up mistakes by others, and leading by example. Now, if Maradona can see his way to putting Samuel next to him-that would be a big step forward for the NT.

Schiavi-6. Not a disaster tonight, but he could have been with that sloppy pass across the middle of the pitch that was intercepted and turned into a shot on goal. Not NT quality.

Heinze-7. Better than usual but I am always waiting for the expected/unexpected nutty play. When he is good he is very good, when he is bad he is a big liability.

Gutierrez-6. I thought he struggled a little, and not up to his usual standard of play. Too many lost balls as he got bottled up on the right side alot. In his defense, he didn't have many teammates coming over to help out. Kudos for the run downfield that led to the second yellow on Caceres and soon after our goal.

Mascherano-8. Great effort from Masche as he looked like his old self. Bunches of take aways at just the right time and worked well getting the ball up to Veron. A game plan tonight well suited for him.

Veron-6.5. I'm betting he did exactly what Maradona called for. Maintained possession fairly well, particularly in the second period and didn't make too many mistakes. That said, as usual failed to hook up with Messi or Higuain. Some decent crosses on set pieces.

Di Maria-5. Looked dangerous at times but too much one on one, and didn't link up well with Messi or Higuain at all. He played much better against Peru.

Higuain-5. Unable to get clear and pose a problem, but not really his fault(ditto for Messi). But what can you expect ? In the game plan, any offense would come from counters (not happening with Veron), or set pieces. Not much for him to do and zero support from midfield.

Messi-5. See Higuain. The forwards had nothing to do tonight and nothing to do it with. Messi can't be faulted for that. He can't be expected to manufacture scoring opportunities out of thin air.

Subs

Monzon-5.5. No obvious screw ups.

Bolatti-7. Scored the goal with a composed effort.

Tevez-no rating. A cameo appearence from Carlitos so that he knows Diego hasn't forgotten him.

I am happy and relieved that the Qualifiers are done and Argentina is on their way to South Africa. Tons of work to be done however and I suspect the arguments about lack of organization, player choices, etc. will continue. Maradona to stay or go ? Seems to me it would be a huge surprise if he doesn't take the team to the WC. A shame. He doesn't have the credentials to be the coach of the NT. I could go on and on about his many negatives, but to what end. They are so obvious. To give credit where credit is due, the game plan set up for Uruguay worked, but we are going to be faced with much bigger challenges down the road, that will require a roster of qualified players led by a sensible, experienced coach.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone notice how much of our attack was going through Heinze yesterday? He started more movement then anyone else, especially in the first half. All I'm saying is if that is the game plan, or if the the lack of game plan is leading to him beign our attacking initiator, we are in trouble.

I'm glad we wil have a chance at S Africa, but if something doesn't change, we are going to be made fools of on front of the world. Now the real worrying begins.

Anonymous said...

lets hope tis will be our starting 11 for the world cup.


romero

zabaleta/zaneti,micho,samuel,monzon/insua

mascherano,bolati,dimaria/jonas


veron/aimar/(may be RIQUELME as well if possiable,for freekicks and set pice taking he is second to none,in last WC we had 3 goals from his trademark crosses on set pieces.thats very important in WC)


licha lopez/messi,MILITO(We must have MILITO please,he will score some crucial goals for us i can promise u that)


but idont think that will happen wid MARDONA,i gess am just dreaming.

Anonymous said...

diego is absolutely wasting messi playing him up front like he has been. that is the difference between messi's form in europe vs. the nt. messi should be playing just behind two forwards with aimar (riquelme)by his side. then you would see plenty of goals, but diego can't even dress himself let alone manage a team full of amazing talent, hell he can't even pick a team, when most other countries have a set team and formula, diego is calling up has beens, i wouldn't be surprised if he tries to sub himself in!!!! don't get me wrong, i love diego, greatest player to grace the pitch, but he is wasting messi, and poor leo looked dejected last night, i still can't get over it, he is who we should be building our team around. i really hope diego steps down on this high note. if not, PLEASE PLEASE bring back RIQUELME, if we are to have any shot next year, we need that man.

Mohd said...

i cannot deny how happy i am for qualifying. BUT, and this is a big BUT:

i am very worried. what Maradona said after the game clearly indicates that he thinks he had done so well and that his tactics (if any) actually work.

so, it seems we can kiss the hope of seeing Samuel, Cambiasso, Banega, Zarate, and others...goodbye.

even more important, i lost any hope of making any use of the best player in the world: Messi. he is completely lost and will coninue to be under maradona.

I REALLY HOPE SOMETHING CHANGE..BUT I DOUBT IT.

Anonymous said...

Amazing video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEVngjSLWsM&feature=player_embedded#

Sebastian said...

People...I'm sorry. I've been (luckily for me) overwhelmed with work ever since the match was over.

Slept only 3 hours and been typing since I woke up.

I'm dying to post here my thoughts after the game, my views on Diego's comments, the latest news...etc.

Please...stay with us and keep posting here.

As soon as I've got a minute, I'll punch keys just for you.

VAMOS ARGENTINA!

Anonymous said...

joe,i agree with you on messi 100% theirs nothing else to say about him as diego is wasteing his talent.
im very happy we are their but reality is we are just not creating chances for the front to score, at times i wonder if this is my beloved argentina i am watching.
diago has got lucky as of late but sadly he wont chance his style as he fails to learn and is just to pig headed to change and learn.

Sebastian said...

VERY FUNNY!

http://colunas.globoesporte.com/bolanascostas

johnny said...

Hilarious ! Thanks Seba !

Mike (Canada) said...

that video of the locker room after the game is amazing.. i love that chant. anyone have any idea what its called?

johnny said...

There are now T-shirts on sale with Maradona's insults to the journalists prominently displayed on front and back. Ain't capitalism a pretty thing. Uh, that is a tongue in cheek comment.:)

Anonymous said...

can someone translate the locker room song, PLEASE!!!!!! Or at least direct me to the words somewhere. it's killing me, i can't stop watching it, i'm thinking it has something to do with diego, they all seem to have a shit eating grin on their faces.....best video on you tube!!!

Anonymous said...

answered my own question, the translation is from google, so whatever!!! but i did find this for anyone who's interested:

La cancion se llama los secretos de mi almohada y dice asi:

"Te sigo de pendejo siempre voy a todos lados yo te vengo a ver descontrolado y mas te aliento si vas perdiendo un sentimiento no traten de entenderlo no se compara con otra hinchada soy argentino en las buenas y en las malas"


The song is called the secrets of my pillow and reads:

"I'm coming from I will always fool me everywhere I come to see more sprawl and encourage you if you are losing a sense do not try to understand it does not compare with other Argentine am swollen in the good times and bad"

johnny said...

There has been more talk in Buenos Aires about Maradona's comments to the press than there has about the victory over Uruguay or WC qualification ! I have the literal and figurative translation of his nasty comments, but they are too obscene to post here. At least I think they are. Let's just say that Maradona told a journalist that he(the journalist), was on the receiving end of a Maradona volley.

Anonymous said...

fifa is to investigate maradona's comments after the match, thats what blatter says, a dicpenlery case is going to be opened today.

Anonymous said...

thank joe you're quite right