Argentina - Paraguay: Facts and Figures

Both teams are through to the next round and that is why the managers, Alfio BASILE and Gerardo MARTINO opted to rest several key players for Tonight’s Group C show-down in Barquisimeto, in Copa America Venezuela 2007 last first round match.

Paraguay will be happy with a draw as that will mean they will win Group C. Argentina, on the other hand, will be looking to win, avoid Mexico in the quarter-finals and play Peru.

As we prepare for this match, in which a lot of Argentina fans will be happy to see AIMAR and TEVEZ from the start, let’s see some facts and figures about the rich history of head-to-head meetings between the Albiceleste and the Albirroja.

• This will be the 92nd match between both teams.



• Argentina won 49, scoring 189 goals and conceeding 95.



• Paraguay won 14.



• There were 28 draws.



• For Copa America, this will be their 22nd meeting.



• Paraguay NEVER defeated Argentina in the history of the Copa America.



• Argentina have won 17 of those 21 matches, scoring 67 and conceeding 19.



• Their first Copa America meeting was in Buenos Aires (16 October, 1921) and Argentina won 3-0 with goals from LIBONATTI, SARUPPO and ECHEVERRIA.



• The last time these two teams met in this continental cup, was in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 1997 (1st round). Goalkeeper José Luis CHILAVERT scored a penalty kick for Paraguay and Marcelo GALLARDO equalized for Argentina in the last minute (also from the spot, after missing a previous penalty kick in the 55th minute).



• The biggest score between these two was an 8-0 win by Argentina at Santiago de Chile in the Copa America 1926.



• The only competitive match (non-friendly) that Paraguay won against Argentina was a World Cup Qualifier for Germany 2006. 1-0 in Asunción, Paraguay (3 September, 2005). The scorer was non-other than Roque SANTA CRUZ.
  

A great retrospective for Argentina against Paraguay. BASILE’s men, with a lot of eager “reserve” players, will sure be looking to keep that favorable history going strong.

How Little Argentina won the "Malaysian War"...

......10 years ago

Yes we are talking about the year 1997. How much do you remember about that year? Lets take a glance look at what are the most important things that took place.

It was the year, which two of the world biggest icons, Mother Theresa and Princess Diana passed away.

In pop culture, there were plenty of boy/girl bands around that were polluting everywhere, P.Diddy was the most unwanted rapper around, ska became a new musical force lead by No Doubt.

While at the movies, Face Off, The Saint and James Bond’s Tomorrow Never Dies were some of my favourites for that year.

And what about politics? Well frankly speaking it was never clean regardless any year.

But for any Albiceleste supporter here in Malaysia, there could only be one. The 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, which was held here in Malaysia. To talk more about, I’ve decided to invite with a good friend of mine to have a chat about it (via-email) and also relive some of the good old memories we had back then. And whom am I talking about; well you all know through his countless of comments that he often posts in our blog.

So it is my pleasure to welcome our guest pundit at Mundo Albiceleste, Mr. Alwin Lourdes.

The followings are the conversation that took place from our respective workstation, even though we had a busy day at work.

John, 9.05 am - Hei Alwin!!!! Did you know that exactly 10 years ago today, was the final of the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship held here in Malaysia? Ten years must have been a long time already; after all it was also final year in high school.

Alwin, 9.15 am - Hei there buddie, yeah it seems like a long time ago..man was that a memorable year for us. We won the cup..haha..but what do you really remember about MALAYSIA 1997? Lets go down memory lane...

John, 9.24 am - Well lets start with our first group match, which was against Hungary. Can't really recall that much because at that point of time I had no idea they were broadcasting any matches live. But we do know Argentina won the game 3-0 with goals from Bernardo ROMEO, Lionel SCALONI and the JUAN and only RIQUELME.

Alwin, 9.34 am - Yes exactly. We did not catch it cause we had Mr. Balakrishnan tuition class at 5.30pm and it was nearing the dreaded SPM exams so was under tight security of the parent radar. Argentina was based on the north in Kangar, Perlis, far from sight but not from the heart. Yes, SCALONI seems to be a flanking wingback with a knack for goals.

John, 10.20 am - Next match was against Canada, now this one I remember well as I was watching the game at home with my Dad. By this time I also got to know that Mega TV (local cable TV network) were showing all the matches live.

As for me, this is first time I'm seeing the likes RIQUELME, CAMBIASSO & AIMAR. By the way, far from how he looks today, CAMBIASSO had long hair back then, looks like a teenage version of Kurt COBAIN.

Alwin, 10.39 am - Lucky you had the MEGA TV. Our public channels only showed limited and selected games. I guess the TV director was not an Argentine fan, which I’m not surprised. Kept flooding in the games from the ENGLISH team and non other than BRAZIL. We did prevail against CANADA only just but still BERNADO ROMEO seems to be on the form of his life, makes me wonder why is he out of the radar these days.

John, 10.50 am - For the record, ROMEO had a fantastic career during his time at San Lorenzo and HSV Hamburg but thing didn't work out for him when he moved to Spain. But you’re right, he was on fire then. In fact he also scored in our third group game, which was against Australia, a match that I wont forget as it was one of the best during the whole tournament even if they surprisingly beat us.

Alwin, 11.23 am - Yes, how can i forget that game. 4-3 and we almost got the point after coming back from 3-1 down. In the end we succumbed to a late goal by that Aussie dude who netted 4 times in this game. An amazing effort but i wonder where is he now? As for Bernardo ROMEO thumbs up to him as he was our main striker for this tournament donning the Number 9

Anyway, thanks to this defeat we ended up in the tough part of the draw where all the big boys were. It was tough but then it gets even interesting. We will meet 2 nemesis back to back after this..boy i love this part now.....haha.. :) I can't stop singing..I'm so happy..you guys want to know WHY??

John, 11.41 am - His name is Kosta SALAPASIDIS. I have no clue either on what happened to him after this tournament. He scored a hat trick in almost 15 minutes, after ROMEO has put us in the lead. But we manage to pull back through PLACENTE (Can't really recall him back then) and ROMAN equalised courtesy of a penalty and in the dying minutes we conceded a penalty and Kosta scored his fourth in what could probably be the surprise of the tournament

Yes, this defeat put us in a much difficult path, as first Argentina had to face England that had the likes of Michael OWEN at Johor Bahru.

Alwin, 12.00 pm - From the NORTH to the SOUTH. Based in PERLIS in the north they flew above us and went to the south in JOHOR to meet ARCHRIVAL No.1 the ENGLISH. This was a huge game for both teams...tell which Argentina vs England wasn't. All the history and emotions. It was nail biting but we prevailed. We defeated KING GEORGE's troops at the LARKIN stadium. The great RIQUELME and PABLITO AIMAR did it for us. That time i was very young and did not know mush about tactics but now im wondering how did PEKERMAN lineup his formations with both RIQUELME and AIMAR starting? Do you know or anyone out there can shed some light? We beat ENGLAND, i love saying this out loud and i feel very happy, i get goose bumps and tears of joy flow knowing the fact that we beat the ENGLISH!!!

John, 12.20 pm - I must say I have to agree with you that this was a great result. Unfortunately for me I had to miss the game because I was not at home that day. But I remember watching the delayed telecast. As expected the majority of the fans were supporting England (England is often regarded as the adopted national team because almost 98% percent of the football fans here follow EPL).

Let me tell you this, it was a great feeling to go to school that day being one of few people who had the last laugh as most of my classmate were all supporting England. Hahahaha!!!!! At that time, I felt like I was a millionaire.

But the best has yet to come, as Argentina will be traveling to Kuching, Sarawak to play their quarterfinal match against non-other than………..

Alwin I'll leave this to you…

Alwin, 12.44 pm - Haha..you ready for this..ARE YOU READY??

Ok let me brief you abit about this opponent in MALAYSIA. There are like the second biggest thing in football after ENGLAND. They bashed a Thierry HENRY led FRANCE 3-0, they walloped S.Korea 10-3 and then bashed BELGIUM 10-0...ohhh...I’m scared, I’m really scared of this TEAM In YELLOW. So they had to come face to face with their nemesis, we are like the AUTOBOTS or shall i say ARGIEBOTS in this, BRAZIL are the DECEPTYCONS, they destroyed their opponents, left them with no respect whatsoever..but then they had to face us and what happened. We SENT THEM PACKING!!!..Let the people know what happened in detail dude..all yours buddy..

John, 1.22 pm - As you've mentioned Alwin, but before that I'm going to go back a few days just to let everyone know what was my classmates reaction towards me after the England defeat. Well they were like "YOU GOING DOWN THIS TIME!!!" or "ARGENTINA has no chance against BRAZIL"

Ok I just kept my cool and let the game do the talking. The match was played on a Sunday evening and I was lone ranger at home as my other entire family member were routing for Brazil.

As soon as the referee blew the kick off whistle, they were attacking from all angle as I remember some shot hit the bar, just pass the goal post and this was going on and on until kept biting my finger nail thinking how long are we going to last.

And the suddenly in the 79 minute, a beautiful one two move involving ROMAN and SCALONI resulting in the latter putting us in the lead. But they kept coming pushing for an equalizer until another beautiful strike in 90th minute secured our place in semi-finals. This player called Martin PEREZLINDO scored that goal. I wonder where he is now?

After this game, I knew that we are going all the way. No doubt at all

Alwin, 2.34 pm - Oh Yes, PEREZLINDO killed them off with the swift counter attack when they were desperately seeking an equalizer. There were toothless despite all the hype about their form and goals. So with BRAZIL out of the way, it surely made ARGENTINA the favourites to lift the trophy. We kept our base in KUCHING, which is on the EAST COAST of MALAYSIA to face the REPUBLIC of IRELAND. The crowd dropped by half knowing that BRAZIL was out. It didn’t matter to me and by all means in a rather scrappy match it was BERNADO ROMEO's strike, which made the difference. The IRISH was a very respectable and formidable opponent but we just had that edge to come through and finally i can say ARGENTINA is coming to town!! After this.

John, 3.00 pm - remember watching that game, the whole stadium looks as if it was empty. But it was no nonsense Irish team, which included up coming stars such as Robbie KEANE and Damien DUFF, and we had to beat them by the odd goal.

However when Argentina were coming to play the Final match at the Shah Alam Stadium (which is about less than half an hour drive from our place), everyone here in the Klang Valley were getting Uruguay fever. Why? Because there were consider the local team having played all their matches here.

But very unfortunate for me, I had to be at home to watch the final, which is why Alwin, you need to play a crucial role in this part as YOU WERE THERE THAT NIGHT

Alwin, 4.21 pm - Yes..it was indeed URUGUAY fever as the locals got fond with the team, they were mesmerized by the skills of Nicholas OLIVERA and Marcelo ZALAYETA. I remember walking into the stadium at 6.00 pm with my schoolmate Brandon and his brother Jason. The final ticket included the 3rd Place match so GHANA and IRELAND kicked off at 5.30pm, when we walked in i could feel some sort of aura, the smell of grass at the SHAH ALAM stadium felt fresh. The stadium was half filled at that time and i would say 80% of them were supporting GHANA for their amazing football. In the end IRELAND made away with a 2-1 victory. During this time also, there was the theme song for the 1997 tournament done by local group OAG, the song title was "NAME OF THE GAME” here is the video: -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYOMMPrf-lE

The time ticked away, the crowd began coming in more and more and more and by the 7.30pm I would say there was about 50000 - 60000 people in the stadium that time. My heart beats faster and faster and i really waited all this while to watch RIQUELME and AIMAR especially in action. I manage to get a seat having a good view of the pitch. Then they marched in DIEGO MARKIC led the team out. I would say it was more of a 50-50 crowd with many neutrals around.

KICKOFF..Prrrrtttt!!!!.....Uruguay started brighter..had the better openings and before i knew it they had a free-kick from about 35m if I'm not mistaken. I could see it, eh run-up by a bearded guy by the name of Pablo GARCIA...and next thing was it was in and the stadium erupted...URUGUAY 1-0 on 15 mins. Argentina needed to raise their game and indeed they did, we keep venturing forward and from a resulting corner, some melee in the box and GOALLLLL!!!!!! That’s all I shouted with a lot of people jumping off their seats. CAMBIASSO and its 1-1. Then only did I know that many neutrals were around here including my friend BRANDON and his bro, I was pretty up for the task ahead. Kept cheering and cheering, shouting at every opportunity and cursing every foul committed by the rough URUGUAYANS. 2 minutes before halftime and more Argentina pressure led to a certain character by the name of Diego QUINTANA, a guy with a unique hairstyle made it 2-1......GOALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! GOALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!! And that was it I lost my voice by halftime. Second half URUGUAY pressured more but we managed to keep the player of the tournament Nicholas OLIVERA at bay. It was nerve wrecking in the end but we made it. Final Score 2-1 and the title is ours.

If I were to turn back time, I would wish this event happened sometime later where I had my own car and I could have gathered all my buddies and gone together, unfortunately at that time I didn't have my driving license and I had to depend of my friends dad to bring us there. If ever now the ALBICELESTE come down for any event for that matter, you can count on JOHN, BALA and Me being there with our Artillery.

So there you have it folks, a brief picture on what the Crazy Albi-Malaysian Gang is all about. Looking back for the past 10 years, plenty of things have happened and lot of changes has taken place. Except for one thing….

VAMOS ARGENTINA!!!

Special thanks goes to our guest of the day

Alwin Lourdes – An hardcore Albiceleste supporters. He does IT support and Internet marketing and also runs an Event Management company. You may contact him at alwinlourdes@gmail.com at anytime. An extension of invitation to all followers of MUNDO ALBICELESTE, when you come down to Malaysia we will take good care of you.

SHOCKING LINEUP BY COCO!

When everything looked set for a handful of changes from the starting lineup we saw in our first two games, COCO surprises with a lineup few of us expected.

He changes our defense dramatically. He also modifies our midfield, giving rest to a few players and he comes up with an unexpected striking partnership.

So...the lineup will look like this...

ABBONDANZIERI; IBARRA, BURDISSO, Cata DIAZ and ZANETTI; GAGO, Lucho GONZALEZ, CAMBIASSO, AIMAR; TEVEZ and PALACIO.

Well...COCO, as much as I love you, I don't agree with this lineup at all.

We are changing our defense entirely, because even if ZANETTI stays, he is being moved to the other side of the field (where he is not as comfortable as on the right).

We agreed, COCO, with our midfielders choices and with Carlitos replacing MESSI.

But why on Earch you pick PALACIO over MILITO?

Where is that sentence of yours, from earlier Today, saying that Diego MILITO is the natural replacement for CRESPO?

Or are you saving MILITO because he will be your main striker in the remainder of the Copa?

I don't think that is a very wise thing to do as he clearly needs more minutes to grow in confidence, and he didn't play that much in order for him to need some rest.

PALACIO is not a big man or a proper reference to use inside the opposing box. So I don't really understand this decision.

A good team, though, but I have a bad taste in my mouth after reading this.

Even though I see AIMAR and TEVEZ from the start, I can't be completely happy as I wanted to see Diego MILITO having his first chance from kick-off in a competitive game.

Will it come in the quarter-finals? Will it be too little, too late?

Breath in, breath out...and make a wish now!

I will only say this...

...after Mexico and Chile played to another very very very predictable 0-0 draw (which qualified Chile and secured Mexico's top spot in Group B), there is a slight possibility (a possibility in the end!), that a mighty team from South America (that play in yellow shirts most of the time), will be knocked out of the Copa America by finishing last in their group.

How?

If Ecuador get a win by a margin of 2 goals...then the Group B final table will look like this:

México 7 points
Chile 4 points
Ecuador 3 points (with a goal difference of 0)
The Mighty Team in Yellow 3 points (goal difference of -1)

If only life was perfect...

Oh...by the way...I leave it to your imagination to guess which "teaminho" I'm talking about here...

I would love to see our "B-Team" (is it a B-Team?)

With CRESPO out of contention (injury) and Gabriel MILITO being suspended, Coco BASILE is forced to make at least two changes from last Monday's lineup.

But...will he make only those two substitutions?

What is the strategy that COCO should adopt now?

To go the distance with the core team?

To try and rotate them and keep them fresh for the following rounds?

Let's analyze this situation:

I think we need to improve our defense and probably the best thing to do is give them more minutes to gel (impossible with MILITO as he is suspended, but the other three should start tomorrow).

As for PATO, we know how fragile the mind of a goalkeeper can be. To replace him for this game against Paraguay could be dangerous to his morale and it could affect him if he returns for the quarter-finals. So I don't think he should be replaced. He can have a good game and win in confidence.

But from MASCHERANO to MILITO, I think there is no harm in trying other options and use some rotation. They are all GREAT players and I don't think our starters need to play every minute in this Copa America in order to fine-tune.

The official word is that COCO is still to decide on tomorrow's lineup. He'll "talk it out" with his players! That's the way I like it!

What he did say today at a Press Conference is: "Diego MILITO is CRESPO's natural replacement".

I'll be surprised if we change our formation (Rio might shed some light on this through his comments). I don't think that would send a good message to our players. They need to get used to one formation and improve it until it is clear it doesn't work and needs to be changed. So far, so good! So I'd keep the play like this, just changing a few actors.

My picks?

Would like to give MASCHE some rest. He runs A LOT and there is no relief as we played Monday and will play Thursday and Sunday!

Will be great to see GAGO getting a chance. Of course, it will only be possible if RIQUELME is replaced too, so we can have a midfield full of players who actually RUN! haha!

In this case, I see AIMAR taking on ROMAN's place. LUCHO in for VERON. TEVEZ and MILITO up front (replacing MESSI and CRESPO).

CAMBIASSO might just stay in the starting eleven. GAGO won't have MASCHE's ball-recovery skills, but LUCHO and CAMBIASSO will be asked to help him more than what VERON and CAMBIASSO help MASCHERANO.

So...to recap, my lineup for tomorrow would be:

ABBONDANZIERI; ZANETTI, AYALA, CATA DIAZ (PATO's new team-mate as he was signed by Getafe today!), HEINZE; GAGO, LUCHO, CAMBIASSO, AIMAR; TEVEZ and Diego MILITO.

No MESSI, RIQUELME, CRESPO, VERON or MASCHE and we still look like a very good side!

Hola, soy Diego MILITO

Translation: "Hello, I'm Diego MILITO"

What does this subject means?

I think it would represent something he really needs to do: Introduce himself to international football.

The irony puts him in a very ankward position. After all those years in which Hernán CRESPO suffered for being in Gabriel BATISTUTA's shadow, now MILITO sees himself in a similar scenario.

And as CRESPO is slowly but surely becoming the favourite striker for the vast majority of the Albicelestes supporters, Diego is in a position in which he will enjoy very little credit from the demanding fans and critics.

Even more so, when the people's player, Carlitos TEVEZ, is out there fighting for a place as the emerging starting striker after CRESPO's injury.

Diego MILITO played 70 minutes against Colombia and scored a goal. He also missed a couple (one of them being his responsibility. In the other one, all credit should go to CALERO as he made a fantastic save), but I don't recall anybody keeping track of how many BATISTUTA or CRESPO have failed through the years.

Coco BASILE needs a big target man. Without CRESPO, everything suggests that Diego MILITO will now become that reference our team needs inside the box. COCO sees Carlitos as a replacement for MESSI or even to try and change a game by using both, him and Lionel on the wings and keeping a striker in the middle.

Carlitos fans (remember, I'm one of them), should have to bite the bullet and keep waiting.

The time for Diego MILITO to play a few consecutive games as a starter has finally arrived.

It is not an easy task for any striker to score 23 goals in La Liga (only two goals behind Pichichi winner Ruud VAN NISTELROY), ahead of players of the like of RONALDINHO, KANOUTÉ, FORLÁN, Fernando TORRES, David VILLA, RAUL and many others.

The way I see it?

Diego may not have all the speed in the world, but his brain is faster than most defenders' and he has a full arsenal. The most important assets any striker should have: powerful, accurate shot, excellent heading skills, very good ball control and great positioning.

I'm confident Diego will convince those who doubt (or simply don't know him) and I hope he can start doing it on Thursday against Paraguay.

Argentina 4-2 Colombia: Players' ratings

It's never too late!

Wanted to do this straight after the match, but I have to sleep from time to time!

ABBONDANZIERI: Another shaky performance by him. Granted, our defense is not playing their best football and he suffers from that. But PATO is not giving us guarantees. 4/10

ZANETTI: A great assist to RIQUELME for Argentina to turn the game around. A top display in every aspect of the game. Still wonder why he was left out of Germany 2006. 7/10

AYALA: Showed his class in more than one ocassion when he stopped Edison PEREA one on one on his back foot. I will miss him very much once he retires. 6/10

Gabriel MILITO: Was slow to react, leaving PEREA on-side in the first goal. Saw a yellow card and will miss the next match. But he recovered and played a decent second half. Still, not enough. 5/10

Gabriel HEINZE: Not much work to do defensively. Did not gravitate on offense. 6/10

MASCHERANO: Another fine display by MASCHE. He is EVERYWHERE. Always on time. Very clever and with the ability to recover the ball and pass it to a team-mate with only one touch. He suffered the match's most blatant foul by ARIZALA but kept playing like nothing happened. 8/10

VERON: A great first half, in my opinion. Suffered a lot of fouls too and tried to connect with MESSI (did it well at some stages). Faded in the second half. 6/10

CAMBIASSO: Played a better game than with the USA. Not very confident with the ball, but ran a lot and helped MASCHE recover some balls. 6/10.

RIQUELME: Man of the match for me. Scored with a header (not very usual of him). Took a great free-kick, showed some good communication with MESSI and had the best pass of the game before Diego MILITO saw his chance saved by CALERO. 9/10 (if only he celebrated with joy, he would have taken a 10/10!)

MESSI: A very good game by Lionel. Despite not being in the score-sheet, he created a penalty and a free-kick that allowed Roman to score our third. The importance of Lionel is that he is not afraid of running at people, and that creates problems to the opposing defenses. He is even learning how to get rid of the ball and give it to a team-mate. 7/10

CRESPO: Unlucky to get injured. Played 20 minutes, had a header that hit the bar and then scored our first goal. I think he is finally starting to get some credit. And I'm happy for him. 7/10

Diego MILITO: The same old story. How do you judge a striker's performance? Obviously they are there to score. Diego played 70 minutes and scored once. Should have score a couple more, but the keeper denied him. Not easy to jump to the field and adapt to the game flow. 6/10

Lucho GONZALEZ: Replaced VERON and provided the team with some fresh air, chasing Colombians as they tried to equalize. Didn't play too much. 6/10

TEVEZ: I saw that killer eye. He is obviously frustrated by not starting or having enough playing time. But that doesn't interfere. He assisted Diego MILITO and looked good on the ball. Couldn't do much because time didn't allow 6/10

Argentina to face Peru if we beat Paraguay

With a late Claudio PIZARRO's goal, Peru made it to the Quarter-finals and they will face Group C winner on Sunday.

That means Argentina will need a win (by any margin) against Paraguay on Thursday if we want to stay in Barquisimeto and avoid Mexico (or maybe Brazil, if results go really wrong!).

Venezuela, not only did they placed themselves in the weakest possible group (the 6 teams that played in Germany 2006 and are also taking part of this Copa America, are spread around Groups B and C!). Their match against Uruguay was a fiasco with almost no shots on goals, as both teams were already qualified -Uruguay being quite happy to be placed third and avoid either Argentina or Paraguay-.

Now the hosts are keeping their plan alive. They will face the second-best third-placed team (it'll be probably Chile) and they won't face the likes of Mexico/Brazil (the one who finish first in Group B), Argentina and Paraguay until the final match.

Colombia and the USA will be automatically out of contention barring a sensational goal fest from one of them and a big loss by Chile against Mexico or Brazil against Ecuador.

What about Brazil?

Well, in order to win their group, they will have to beat Ecuador and wait for Chile to do the same with Mexico.

But will they try very hard?

If they qualified as the second team from Group B, they will avoid Argentina, Paraguay and Mexico until the final match. They will go to the top of the draw to face Uruguay in the Quarter-finals, the winner of Venezuela (against most likely Chile) and voilá...they will be again in the final match!

My opinion?

We have to beat Paraguay by all means!

By doing that, we will send them to face Mexico (or Brazil...depending on Tomorrow's results) and play against a considerably weaker Peru.

Hope I'm not confusing you!

Anyway...if you are confused, just ask!

Time for the boys to become men!

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the tremendous response during our game against Colombia!

It was really entertaining and I enjoy the game much much more when we are a lot discussing here through comments! A big thank you for the great support! (A special mention to Alwin, in Malaysia, who was able to watch the game live -online- thanks to our tactics-wizard Rio and the softwares he recommended. That was the highlight of the night for me!).

And Alwin, by the way, you may want to stay tunned as tonight (early morning for you), Argentina will take on Panama in our boys' second match at the Youth World Cup in Canada.

A very busy day for me today (and they will only get worse!) and no time to write a proper match report and a one-by-one ranking for Argentina 4-2 Colombia.

But I wanted to kick the ball now and start a thread about our U20 team and tonight's match against Panama.

The keys?

PASS THE BALL AROUND! Don't try and do it all yourself, Mauro ZARATE and Kun AGÜERO! Did you hear me?

And Mr. Hugo TOCALLI, please, for the love of God, I'm fed up with your excuses, what is that non-sense about the field of play? (he publicly complained about the artificial turf).

My patience with you is non-existant. So don't push your luck further. You know you are in a situation in which you have the best possible tool, and if you don't -at least- get to the final, it'll be like crashing a brand new Ferrari going backwards.

See Johnny? Seba is unleashing the beast (for the first time outside the comments's box!)

Argentina 4-2 Colombia: Match highlights