Diego: "I never doubted PALERMO"

If you listened to our latest podcast, we discussed him a little bit. We came to the conclusion that Martín PALERMO was absolutely going to be in the list of 30 and I said he will also be in the World Cup squad of 23. Well...a few hours after we recorded that pod, Diego made it clear in an interview with an Argentine radio station.

Here's the juiciest bits of that conversation:

"I certainly will not make every player happy, especially those I won't be taking to South Africa".

"When you see the list, you certainly won't agree with all the names I choose. But I'm the one who decides and I'm the one who will take 23 players. That's my responsibility"

"That's the nature of this. When you choose, you have to eliminate some players. I wish I had a list of 26 to bring to South Africa, but I can only take 23".

In that moment the host of the show (Mariano CLOSS) enumerated the forwards and went like this: "MILITO, TEVEZ, AGÜERO, PALERMO, HIGUAIN, MESSI, LAVEZZI...I don't think I've left anyone out. Out of this 8 players you know you'll disappoint one of them?"

Now this guy failed to see he only named 7, not 8.

MARADONA then said..."I will probably disappoint one or two from those names. We have to decide whether we bring less forwards. Even if they are having a great season, my limit is 23".

And all of a sudden...knowing that MARADONA confirmed PALERMO (saying: "I never doubted Martín"), I'm afraid one of those forwards he will disappoint could be Diego MILITO.

Call it a hunch. A bad feeling. The thing is, I don't see Diego MILITO clearly being in the squad and that makes me nervous.

Moving on to other areas and players, Diego said some other things:

QUOTE: "BRAÑA was one of my 30 players".

MY TAKE: This means he'll be out because of an injury he suffered that will keep him out of action for at least the entire month of May and probably further, so he is out of contention.

QUOTE: "I saw CAMBIASSO training, I talked to him...I decide for what the players tell me on the pitch and everybody has his own taste in football. In choosing 23 players, you have to eliminate some and that's the saddest part".

MY TAKE: That's CAMBIASSO eliminated by Diego then. Terrible news as far as I'm concerned.

QUOTE: "GABBARINI really impressed me. Is it him or POZO for the third goalkeeper spot? It will depend on the next two matches".

MY TAKE: Interesting thing here...I take it GABBARINI impressed Diego in training or playing for Independiente because he wasn't tested against Haiti. But the most important dilemma now...will Diego name 4 keepers in his list of 30? The list goes out on Monday or Tuesday -need to confirm that and I'll let you know-, which means there aren't 2 more matches for Diego to decide who's going to be the third keeper. There's a match for each of them this weekend and then the list of 30 has to be announced. I hope he doesn't name 4 goalkeepers in that list of 30 because it'd be like a waste of a spot that could go to another field player that could fight for a place in the World Cup squad and provide Diego with more options.

QUOTE: "ZANETTI is playing at a good level. I'm going to see what I do with him and Clemente RODRIGUEZ".

MY TAKE: Good news for Il Capitano? Will Diego decide on bringing some players that will enable him to use a Plan B (use FB)? If so...then Pupi has a chance.

QUOTE: "I'm not worried about MESSI's current form. Playing at the level Lio does is very difficult. Now they know him more, they surround him and it's tough. He has to play free."

MY TAKE: Nothing to add from me here.

QUOTE: "Nobody wants to play like MOURINHO's Inter. Except if the match leads you to that, nobody wants to play like that".

MY TAKE: In a clear reference to that Champions League semifinal second leg at the Camp Nou. Is Diego getting ready in case people criticize a possible cautious approach his team could have?

QUOTE: "Can INSAURRALDE be a surprise call up? We'll see...I liked him a lot. He is solid and he doesn't escape from contact. When he has to hit someone, he does. He's not afraid of doing it. He left me a very good impression".

MY TAKE: Now...INSAURRALDE is, in my opinion, one of the dirtiest players in the Primera División in Argentina. He is a tall central defender who plays for Newell's. He can adapt to a back line of three men and is good on set-pieces. He is a hot transfer rumour for....Boca Juniors! Surprise, surprise! As I said...he is a dirty player and he is not even close to the level of performances we see from other central defenders that will be left out by Diego (GARAY, FAZIO, PAREJA, to name just a few).

QUOTE: "It could be that Juan MERCIER will be in the list of 30".

MY TAKE: Defensive midfielder who plays for Argentinos Juniors. A good player, yes. But a definite downgrade to Javier MASCHERANO and waaaaay below players like Mario BOLATTI, Fernando GAGO and of course Ever BANEGA and the aforementioned Esteban CAMBIASSO. He is not a proven player and it could be a 'hit or miss' situation for Diego. A gamble that could be costly for the team if he doesn't step up at the international stage.


QUOTE: "We are following Ezequiel LAVEZZI and he is playing deeper for Napoli. It could be an option for us to use him starting a few metres behind. We will see. Of all the forwards maybe one of them will be left out. Or maybe two".

MY TAKE: How do we read that last quote? Will Diego sacrifice a spot that should go to a midfielder to bring LAVEZZI in order to accommodate PALERMO and the rest?

If we are thinking of playing 4-4-2 and you're taking 7 defenders, 7 midfielders and 6 forwards, wouldn't it be too much to give LAVEZZI a spot a midfielder would occupy? I mean...if you use four defenders and you bring seven, you have a replacement for three of the starters and then you can cover if one of those players can perform at different positions (HEINZE can play LB or CB, OTAMENDI RB or CB, same for BURDISSO, etc.)

But what about the midfielders? How many can play on the right the same style Jonas plays? And who could replace DI MARIA on the left if he goes down or gets suspended?

So you take your four starters in midfield: Jonas, MASCHERANO, VERON and DI MARIA (already confirmed by Diego) and then you bring only two more natural midfielders so you can make room for LAVEZZI? Who would you pick then? PASTORE? One from BOLATTI or GAGO (if you insist in leaving out CAMBIASSO -who could play in the middle or on the left- or BANEGA) and all of a sudden you are in deep troubles if MASCHERANO and VERON are unavailable, let alone of you have three casualties in that area.

That's because you'll bring 7 forwards to use only 2 in your preferred formation.

If he was planning on playing 4-3-3 then fine. No problems with bringing 7 forwards (or at least you could get away with it), but it would still sound a bit excessive.

That was something that struck me when I saw Ghana's preliminary squad. They have a thousand midfielders and just 4 forwards. Now it could be a case of them not having as much depth (I frankly don't know), but it seems to me that their manager has identified the midfield players are those who will be more likely to get injured or suspended and those who he will be using more.

Lots of questions still in the air and Diego was right in one thing he said. He will, like any other manager from any other country at any other World Cup, disappoint a few people with his list. I just hope the number is as low as it can be.