Maxi RODRIGUEZ: “When MESSI won’t be there, we will miss him a lot”

By
Roy Nemer
-
169

Maxi RODRIGUEZ gave an interview with TyC Sports, where he spoke about Lionel MESSI, Sergio AGÜERO and Gonzalo HIGUAIN.

A veteran of three FIFA World Cup’s, Maxi was part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup with MESSI, while the 2010 and 2014 editions included MESSI along with AGÜERO and HIGUAIN. Speaking about all three men, here’s what Maxi had to say:

“When Leo (MESSI) won’t be there, we will miss him a lot. What he has done to always be here is impressive,  we have to take advantage of him and surround him the best way possible.”

Regarding both AGÜERO and HIGUAIN, here’s what Maxi had to say:

“AGÜERO and HIGUAIN also did a lot for the Argentina national team. They couldn’t be crowned by lifting a cup but they left a lot (for the cup).”

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

169 Comments

  1. Godin 11
    my friend good morning.

    the fact that exist here one Colombian fan that share his thinking about Argentina is not bad.
    there is time to time and Brasil fans that coming. it is not bad too.
    everybody is welcome here to speak about football.
    it can be interesting sometimes to see the Colombian view about Argentina.

    i have share with you what disturb me about this guy. not his football ideas. it is not necessary to repeat myself and make tired the rest people here.
    so please because it is not fair for you to look the bad person in this forum because you are not bad
    do what i am doing. IGNORE HIM or anybody destroy your mood.

    have you see me to answer to him or make comment in his posts?
    i don t even read them when i see his name anymore.
    so please do the same my friend.
    IGNORE.

    friendly speaking.

  4. Armani
    Foyth—–Pezella—-Otamendi—-Tagliafico
    G.Rodriguez
    LoCelso—————Depaul
    Messi———Aguero——–L.Martinez

    This is the best lineup I could think of after the first two games.
    Lets see,

    1) Armani deserves to be in the lineup after the penalty save even though im not a big fan of Armani. Trying a new goalkeeper at this stage would be meaningless

    2) Defence
    Pezella, Otamendi and Tagliafico should all be there except for the right back position. Casco as well as Saravia have failed to impress. So instead Foyth should start as he can play both as a central defender and a right back. He has a good passing ability too.

    3) Midfield
    G.Rodriguez is a must start for midfield. He has the best defending capability among all our midfielders as we have seen in the first match. LoCelso is undisputable in his position, noone can replace him. The other position is a debatable one. We have the likes of Depaul, Paredes, Pereyra and Dimaria. I have chosen Depaul as he is the most creative among the four. Dimaria has not been his usual self and Paredes has only good shooting ability and lacks defensive qualities.

    4)Forward
    The best thing about the Argentina national team is its attacking quality. Yet Scaloni usually goes for just two strikers. We must play three strikers – Messi, L.Martinez and Aguero. We saw them link together well even for a brief period in the second half of previous game. But both Martinez and Aguero should take up defensive duties too. Messi as always will play like “Messi” which we are all relying on.

    • I agree that Guido Rodriguez should be there in the team. Not sure what wrong he did in the first match. Instead it was Scaloni’ mistake to substitute him with Pizzaro. I would prefer a 3man midfield with Guido R as a DM, Paredes as a deep lying playmaker and Lo Celso as an attacking box to box playmaker.
      In the later stage of the match bringing in Pereyra, Dybala and Di Maria would be instrumental

  5. Calling all the best players will not help..it is the strategy and influence of the coach that needs to be showcased on the pitch..calling Lanzini, Lamela, or any other players will not influence Argentina gameplay..

    I have a strong belief, even if the money is shown, none of the so called good younger Argentina coaches would ever come..the problem is deep rooted…

  7. @godin11 Dont attack someone personally whether its kidulthood or someone else kill them with logic. Whats your problem if they love messi or they support Argentina because of messi the wold loves him he is an argentine players like other 11. Its looks your hatred towards messi is somethimg else.

  8. Scaloni is trying this formation, that formation, Trying this Player, trying that player, its a huge mess. Goshh.

    Why the hell it always happens in between tournaments?? Our last WC was Mess, Now our Copa campaign is a Mess.

    Above all why on earth Dybala is selected, At least he should have selected Lamela or Lanzini players who could have added as an option in the Midfield. If he know that Dybala is not compatible with Messi, Why simply wasting a Spot??

    • I have been strongly raising this question. What the hell is Dybala’ role in this squad? If the coach doesn’t have any plan with a player then why take him to a tournament where only 23man squad is allowed.

  9. Brazil did us a huge favour by beating Peru 5-0 who has 4 pts. Now Argentina just need to win to qualify for the quarterfinals with 4 pts as we will have better goal difference. If Paraguay wins, we will finish third and will have to face the toppers of group A or C (which is scary btw). But if Paraguay does not win, we will finish second and face Venezuela in QF (which is better for us).

    Ofcourse, for all of this to happen Argentina has to beat Qatar.

  10. This players will not participate in Panamerican Games:

    Javier Mascherano (Hebei Fortune – CHI)

    Nicolás Capaldo (Boca)

    Alexis Mac Allister (Boca)

    Matías Zaracho (Racing)

    Marcelo Herrera (San Lorenzo)

    Julián Álvarez (River)

    Agustín Urzi (Banfield)

    Claudio Bravo (Banfield)

  11. De Paul should start and I hear he will probably start instead of Acuna. Foyth with chances as well.

    • No doubt Foyth-Otamendi will be the best CB pair. But…both are in the same category. Any time in 90 minutes..you can expect a penalty or a free kick in a dangerous area. Hope Foyth improves in this case. Otamendi won’t change.

      • If you set a pair of Foyth-Otamendi i think its a good choice. Foyth is a tough-tackler type and Otamendi is a ball-playing defender. It is the most usable system in modern football. But since Foyth decision is still risky an need development, i think Mori ahead of him.
        Anyway whoever starts i support them.

  12. And we will be playing Brazil in quarter final lol gonna be a hell of a game for them Afa boys but hope Messi did what he did in the 4-3 friendly against Brazil a couple years ago

  13. I will not be surprised if we lose. The problem is that our players cannot become a team because they almost are not practice together.

  14. What is also missing is warrior like Max Rodriguez, Lavezzi, Sorin and Mascherano. Those players are not just fighter, they also understood well the tactics and knew well to stay in their zone and when to quit. When I use the term “warrior”, it means they are not just willing to but also know how to fight wars. The current players are all the same type: followers. Most of them are decent football players but not game changer. Just look at their roles in their club.

  15. What will be the worst for Argentina football is if the NT beats Qatar and then another team in quarter team by luck, we then qualify for the semi finals, which is kind of goals achieved. AFA will still believe that we made a decent copa and keep everything unchanged. We then realize that during the next WC qualification, we cannot even beat a team like Peru and Paraguay. We need now a defeat, a true humiliation, to wake people up. A radical change need to take place first in AFA. We need Pekerman back as president.

  16. What annoys me is that Scaloni clearly has no plan.
    People were praising him after we beat Mexico 2-0, LOL
    And now those people are all gone!

    We have World clas players like J. Correa, Banega, Alejandro Gomez, Lanzini, Garay, Romero, Ruli, etc that are not called up.

    Our only weakness I’d say is our RB position as everyone we have is bang average.

    But with a manager with no plan, much les the ability to develop players, and play them in their correct position, that team is screwed.
    This Argentina is screwed..
    There is no guarantee we’ll win against Qatar, and face an embarrassing early elimination.

    F*** Scaloni!!

    • Not calling Lanzini is a huge mistake because he can really be used as the link between defense and attack and he can drop deep and good on the left. Lo Celso is a great half 8 but can only play in the middle, Lanzini is a true alternative. Even at 50% of his capacity, I will still prefer him to Suarez.

      True that Banega is not consistent and always make mistake defensively. But I will still prefer him to Paredes, who was transparent with his club. And even a player like Banega, not really known for hardworking, can run more than Paredes at his age.

      J. Correa + Lautaro will be our future attack, with Messi slightly behind them(if he still wants to continue). We need dribbler who can play on both side and J Correa is the guy.

    • “What annoys me is that Scaloni clearly has no plan.
      People were praising him after we beat Mexico 2-0, LOL
      And now those people are all gone!”

      –Still here Don’t be that guy!

      “We have World clas players like J. Correa, Banega, Alejandro Gomez, Lanzini, Garay, Romero, Ruli, etc that are not called up.”
      —Lol!!! World Class!!!

      There’s no surprise Don’t be that guy. Still making rash and stupid comments. It wasn’t long ago, you were ranting on about a player as a one season wonder after just 4-5 games into the 2nd season. Same old story.

  17. WE ARE IN THIS SITUATION BECAUSE OF AFA AND SCALONI. THERE ARE SO MANY PLAYERS WHO DONT DESERVE TO BE IN THIS TEAM. MARCHESIN, CASCO, MORI, ACUNA, SUAREZ, DI MARIA ETC. SOME OF OUR MUNDO FRIENDS ARE TELLING OUR DEFENCE IS NOT THAT MUCH BAD. WE HAVE ALREADY CONCEDED SO MANY GOALS. I KNOW SCALONI IS OF NO USE TO THIS TEAM. BUT OTAMENDI AND PEZELLA SHOULD STEP IN AND INSTRUCT OUR MIDFIELDERS TO TAKE NECESSARY STEPS TO PROTECT OUR DEFENCE.NO BODY IS WILLING TO TAKE EXTRA RESPONSIBILITY EXCEPT SOME PLAYERS LIKE MESSI, DE PAUL, LAUTARO. THIS IS HIGH TIME WE NEED TO GET RID OF MENNOTTI. HE IS RUINING HIS REPUTATION. BUT HOW SCALONI IS LETTING HIM INTERFERE ABOUT CRUCIAL THINGS LIKE TEAM SELECTION. HOW ON EARTH SUAREZ GETS SELECTED AHEAD OF ICARDI. WE ARE NOT RUNNING SHORT OF TALLENT. BUT OUR COACHING STAFFS ARE NOT CAPABLE OF LEADING THESE TALENTED PLAYERS. I HAVE DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT IF MESSI RETIRES WE MAY NOT QUALIFY FOR WORLD CUP JUST BECAUSE OF THIS MENTALLY WEAK COACHES AT OUR DISPOSAL.

  18. I don’t want to hear no sh!t, no critisim…nothiny!!!!!!!
    This is my proposed starting lineup.

    Messi ——-messi——- Messi
    Messi—–messi—-messi–messi
    Messi—–messi—-messi–messi
    ————-abodonzieri—————

    Subs
    Messi
    Messi
    Messi

  19. Golazo argentina reported that foyth might start at CB instead of pezzella.. i guess his speed could help when we get countered. What are everyone’s thoughts

    • Now we are more relaxed. Till yesterday goal difference was very important. After Peru’s big lose…we just want to win. So some changes expected as we don’t want to more bothered about defense against Qatar. Just try to outscore them.

      • I think we should just stick to the same squad & stop experimenting . maybe saravia instead of casco at the max . While he played bad , I would want Pererya also to continue.
        Aguero / Rodriguez / Dybala or Acuna can be our subs based on match position
        Pls don’t let Suarez come to the stadium only . Else 1 sub position wasted.

    • He is not very good on the corners. That may cost us if we cannot score and Qatar put all their chance on corners and free kicks. I also believe that if we play with Paredes as the only DM, we will be fucked. Qatar players are very athletic and our midfield will be unbalanced and unorganized because of that.

  20. YouTube Comment from an anonymous user: ”argentina sucks like brazil because your football mentality is lost in the year 1986. time to move on and hired an european manager to put argentina into modernity. your way of playing football is outdated and obsolete. forget maradona for now, time to play with tactics, wise defending and cynical attacking. the ways of the soul and dribbling is old days not now, long gone. now football is about brains, tactic and efficiency. argentina is too lame, too many players that do not go back to defend. strikers are always sleeping and everyone is waiting for messi. remove messi from the squad and learn to play better without him, or learn to play with him. welcome to the XXI century.”

    • You don’t support Argentina
      What the fuck is your problem
      Please stop coming in thi forum
      Your messi generation is done
      So get the fuck our here

    • @Godin11, if you don’t like the comment, you can skip it, so much of fighting recently in this forum. Nobody not interested in Argentina, and goes to look for some information relevant to the team.

      I don’t like Brazil, I just want them to loose, but have no time to read a lot about them.

      • I wonder if he likes the chicken-head as well?!

        Anyway, Brazil was as lost as we are until they hired their current coach and STILL managed to fail miserably with all the talent on both sides of the ball including at least 3 very capable GKs.
        Colombia was nothing until they hired Pekerman right after their loss to ARG on their own pitch when Kun scored to secure the 2-1 win in a MUST WIN game in the 2014 WC qualifiers (Messi jumping on Kun’s back….etc. celebration), and all of a sudden became contenders and never looked back.

        But the team that one has to admire is Uruguay, this tiny nation squeezed between 2 Giants, won the WC twice, nm beating Mighty Brazil in Brazil for the final. You can always count on them giving you a fight no matter what the competition is, thanks to having the same coach forever, I was really looking forward to seeing him retire since it was mentioned that he was going to after the WC but unfortunately has not .

        • What you fail to mention is the fact that Uruguay won 2 WC before Brazil & Argentina even won their first WC.

          Now Brazil has surpassed them while Argentina has equalled them. So its not Uruguay who’s catching up, its the other way around. Uruguay has never reach WC final apart from tjose 2 finals that they won. Argentina has reached another 2 finals since winning their second WC. So stop pretending as if Uruguay has been morr succesfull in WC than Brazil & Argentina, cause they’re not. Their last WC title was in 1958, more than 60 years ago!

          We lost to France 3-4 , Uruguay lost to them 0-2. They bettered Argentina in one thing, Copa America since 2000’s but thats it

      • I wouldn’t be surprised if Chile retain Copa America this year. The truth is, none of the South American teams are playing spectacular football at the moment so this makes Chile chances of winning the tournament really high. Moreover, Chile brought back majority of their winning experience 2015 team. With Vidal, Alexis, Medel, Jean Beausejour, Isla, Jara, Aránguiz and Vargas in the starting XI they have enough to retain their title despite these guys aging since 2015. Argentina selected a weak roster compare to the other South American nations. For this Copa America you wanted experience and a mixture of youth. The Copa America like the world cup is every four years, you can’t go into the tournament with the idea of experimenting because a four year tournament is a once in a lifetime opportunity..The idea is to use the best players at your disposal no matter what age.

        • There is nothing wrong with our player quality . For Ex — if you compare team against Uruguay , with the exception of Diego Godin – in no other position , our team is inferior . Its only Brazil which has a stronger side on paper than us even today.
          But no team can survive such a pathetic management & resultant coaching ( AFA + Bauza + Sampaoli + Scaloni now ) . If you just see from the time we lost Copa 2016 final to now – how may players /coaches / formations tried. Without bringing a level of consistency in player selection & formation – no team can survive . It is but natural that Argentina fell into this bottomless pit.
          We can reverse all this in 1-2 years ( provided Messi decides to stay after Copa 19 . Hats off to the GOAT for pulling this so long . Any other player would have called it off by now & focused on club success ) . What we just need is the dumbheads AFA sticking on to 1 experienced coach who ensures mass player & formation tweaking be STOPPED.
          The nucleus of the WC2022 team is definitely promising – Lautaro , Icardi , A+J Correa , Lanzini, LoCelso , Palacios , Parades , Dybala , Ascacibar , Pity , DePaul, Pavon, Foyth , Saravia , Tagliafico, Ruilli, Benitez , Musso , Pezella
          Cover this youth with the experience of Messi ,Aguero, Otamendi
          Continue with seasoned performers like Battaglia , Kannemann while we discover a C Romero, Dominguez or a couple of attacking FBs

          If you look at it, post WC2018 – Scaloni just had to save his seat till Copa & hence kept changing players & playing weak opposition. In the process we never gave a chance to build a core team . That is the ONLY reason we don’t see the team being able to hit a rhythm . Lot of Sabella’s success came with player selection consistency

          • Football isnt what’s written on paper. We didnt win our first 2 games in 2011 Cop, yet we still tied Uruguay 1-1 and they only won via penalties. They went on to win the tournament with 3-0 win over Paraguay so that’s basically means even at our worst, we could still level the best team on the tournament in a good day.

            Another example is WC 2018 where Argentina was the only team that almost beat France at some point , they even almost get a late equalizer in final minute. We’re one of worst team at group stage , yet we almost match France. The early penalty by Rojo clumsy tackle was the only difference at the end of the day.

      • As much as I don’t like Brazil, I think they have been unlucky in 2010 and 2018; just like us in a lot of occasions. This year, it’s very tough for any team to beat them, solid from keeper to forwards, at their home soil, and played together under the same coach for a long time.

        • Unlucky? in 2006 perhaps to some degree but not in 2018. They couldnt beat Switzerland at group stage and then losing to Belgium in QF. Belgium is good but its not like they’re as good as France, or 2014 Germany or 2010 Spain, far from it.

          Argentina would be most unlucky team since they’ve reached 4 of the last 5 Copa finals and lost all of them, 3 of them via shootout. Also lost narrowly at 113 minutes to a very strong Germany.

          In 2018, Argentina faced 2 of the finalist within their first 4 games, and people never really take this into account. Now compare it to other teams… who they actually beat to even get to QF or semifinal? Spain only won 1 game and they couldnt beat teams like Morocco and Russia. Uruguay couldnt score any goal againt France. England get into semifinal without even facing any strong team except Belgium , who beat them twice.

          Argentina won Copa 1993 with only 2 wins. They won the QF and semifinal by penalties but then they beat Mexico at normal time in the final. Sometimes luck will be on your side. We beat Chile in 2016 group stage and they beat us on penalties again in the final.

    • Shaun
      Why are you still on this website? Please leave. EVERY time you write something everybody on this site who reads your trash gets dumber.
      The only people that want you here are your multiple user names that “support” you.
      You gotta search the Internet high and low to find a more pathetic soul.

    • Not totally true, in 2014, they had that fighting spirit. There were very smart players to execute the tactics correctly. Remember France in 2006, they had a shit coach called Domenech, the team was no where and their leaders like Thuram, Makelele and Zidane stepped up and brought the team to reach the finals. I don’t see Messi(despite his status of best player of the world), will do the similar thing. The truth is the players are just followers and no leader is here.

      • Zidane step up? You forgot France drew their first 2 games and Zidane contribution was 2 yellow cards so he got suspended for third group game which they need to win by 2 goals.. and they did so without Zidane! They finally won a match when Zidane was suspended.

        Zidane and then had 3 good performance but then getting sent off in the final. 3 good games and he won golden ball with that header against Materrazi lol

        Also, Zidane didnt score a single goal in 1998 until the final, they also won the semifinal through penalties. Overrated achievement

  22. Wondering how effective a 3-5-2 would be with 2 defensive midfielders (Paredes, Guido), Messi attacking mid, and Aguero & Lautaro/Dybala up top. I know our defense has been weak but it seems like a lot of these problems start in the middle of the field. Not necessarily proposing this so don’t attack me (plz).

    • Too late to experiment that now. 352 is a very difficult system because fullbacks need to run, the forwards need to cover the flanks, midfielders need to be box to box and CB need to cover the fullbacks, with the lazy altitude of most of our players, I won’t see how it can work.

  24. AGARTE FIERAS….NOS FUIMOS A LA B (CONCACAF) HAHAHAHA.

    Well at least the team isn’t divided like it was this time last year with Sampaoli. That is a plus.

    Here’s to hoping we beat Qatar by a 4 to 5 goal difference. Rather take my chances with Venezuela as oppose to losing to Brazil, Chile, or Uruguay.

    Happy Saturday fellas!

  25. I see the lot of people here taking about the possibilities of who our never opens will be, but if you see the games of Argentina in this Copa, I don’t see them beating the Qatar with clueless Scaloni.

  26. Under Maradona the team still have some sparks, and know how to pass the ball. Scaloni, please show us, at least you’re on par with Maradona.

  27. Never liked to check this before decisive game but which team is going to be our rival in quarterfinal if we win tomorrow?

    • I bet if Paraguay will beat Columbia and Japan win too than Uruguay or Chile, if Paraguay win but Japan not than Brazil, if Paraguay wont win than Venezuela

    • depends on japan/ecuador game also.
      -if its us and peru as 3rd, we will meet brazil and peru to uruguay/chile
      – if its us and japan as 3rd, us to uruguay/chile, japan to brazil
      -also if we win and paraguay only get draw or worse we go to venezuela as 2nd.

    • a couple different options my friend. if we get second in the group we play Venezuela on Brazil side of bracket and if we get third we play either Brazil or Uruguay/Chile (whoever wins the group)

  28. peru really fucked this one up. Japan also must be liking its chances now. I believe if its us and japan in 3rd we will move to the uruguay side of the bracket.

  30. The real problem is not just the coach, but argentine players (for many, many years now) stopped using the old football philosophy of ‘pass and move’. They adopted a new technique called ‘pass and stand still’

    Though, still better than my country Scotland we adopted the retard technique – ‘pass to opposition and stand still’ 😂

  31. If Messi is on the team Argentina have the chance to beat anybody, especially these Brazil motherfuckers who lay down like bitches and play a friendly to Germany in their own land in 2014 cause they fear Argentina winning 2014.

    • Even after being humiliated by Germany in the semi finals 2014 by 7 goals to 1
      They were cheering for Germany in the final. They were supposed to either stay neutral or support their South American neighbor.

      • They fuckers done it on purpose imo

        I think Neymar exaggerated/faked his injury, then Brazil gave up to let Germany go into the final ready, while Argentina played to penalties in their semi final, Germany had an extra rest day and basically played 45 mins vs Brazil! I still believe Argentina were robbed in 2014

  32. Cox4 my friend, once again you said things exactly the way are. It is not that Argentina does not have talented players anymore as some people are trying to convince us but the people who are running this team and select the coaches too. I mean it is not only about results, they are highly responsible for the fact our team’s way of play has nothing to remind us our great team and the worst part of it is that these people are watching everything from the sidelines leaving all the responsibility, criticism and outcome falling all over our players shoulders and also the coaches who were selected by these people. I don’t want to hear anything about Tapia or Angelici, for me they are the main reason of our current state. Think about that: How on earth one of the greatest national teams ever is not able to have a proper coach on the helm? And Portugal that is constantly being mentioned by many people here, which cannot be compared to Argentina by any means, just one euro and european nations league trophy, not even a single wc final and failed to qualify to many wcs, has a very good coach, Fernando Santos. Brazil also has a very good coach and if you put an interim coach to any of these teams they will crush and burn.

    It is not that they are that good in comparison to us but that we are way below to our own standards thats why they seem that good.

    I hope my friend that this state comes to an end soon for our beloved team, not just because of us only, but also because football itself deserves the real Argentina back for its own sake.

    • ” I don’t want to hear anything about Tapia or Angelici, for me they are the main reason of our current state.”

      straight to the point. Daniel Angelici is a double, triple faced he never honored his word.

      • Angelici is a murderer ,he for the sake of his own club ruins the national interest ,Now this guy will ruin Mac allisters career .Boca should be banned from all competition , a club run by a thug.

  33. If WE qualify as best third( expected) and Meet Brazil in the QF and beat them in their backyard, that would be bigger than lifting the WC for me 🙂

    • ..and we all can join and chant

      Brasil, decime que se siente
      Tener en casa a tu papá
      Te juro que aunque pasen los años
      Nunca nos vamos a olvidar
      Que el Diego los gambeteó
      Que el Cani los vacunó
      Que están llorando
      De Italia hasta hoy
      A Messi lo vas a ver
      La Copa nos va a traer
      Maradona es más grande que Pelé

    • my friend if we speak this some days before my answer will be different.

      but after i see our picture against Colombia and Paraguay really i agree 100% with what Diego said.
      that team now can not beat even Tonga.

      plus i don t want to live one humiliation against Brasil.
      that will be disaster. i am not and no else Argentinian can accept something like that.
      my brains is not well after last game and really i don t want to lose my brain and go to put 1 bomb in AFA headquarters when they will return back home.

      • “my friend if we speak this some days before my answer will be different.”
        “plus i don t want to live one humiliation against Brasil.”

        100% same feelings here, Hermano

        I always want Argentina to beat Brazil even in a dog race 🙂

      • I can understand your feelings and the fear of losing to Brazil in a bad way in a world stage now….but we have to stay positive as that’s the only way to light…lets remember we have the best player of this generation and probably the greatest of all time still playing for our team… fifteen minutes of Messi magic can seal the deal for any match..so lets stay optimistic…at this point ,we are our own enemy rather than the opponent…its all about getting our act together rather than thinking about opponents strength

    • Dont even dream about that considering our present state and brasils state. They are far far superior than us. We can pray that we could finish second and pray for colombia beat paraguay.

      • In 2004 Copa and in 2007 Copa ARG were the far far superior team, dominated the whole tournament with beautiful game much more than this Brazil, and still they won with dose of luck with their creepy teams, so i hope God is fair sometimes.

  34. I wish Brazil score more and be overconfident against Argentina. Casemiro out for QF probably against Argentina and wish Coutinho also get yellow and out for QF

      • hearing a lot of good things about Heinz . Always liked him as a player. I think its these three & in that order – Gallardo, Heinze , Coudet.
        The big league coaches like Simeone, Pochettino , Pellagrino wont step in at this shit stage . So it has to be from the primera for now & then build on that .
        That dumbhead Tapia also looks useless & a parasite. Maybe someone like a Pekermann as AFA president ( while it wont happen & also controversial – I would love to see Maradona as President) .
        Its so strange to see that our biggest problem is coach , while argentina would be ranking on top 3 globally in terms of coach exports

    • We have to move the ball faster into their goal line thats the only key. Back passes wont do the job and in final third thers no chemistry at all…..Players have to know what system they are playing for that we need a coach not a philosopher or feel good person like scaloni.

  37. If you are watching the Brazil game just look how fast and strong the Brazilian players also take a close look how everyone apply pressure on the oppose team from attack to keeper and how they use the sides …. well i hope our team take a note

    • The fearful fast and strong brazilian didnt win a single medal since 2007 in big tournaments…take a note…yes they will teach ARG how to play LOL

  38. not even in my worst nightmares i could imagine some years before that will come one day that ARGENTINA one of world football giants will arrive in the position to worry if will be able to win one football game against QATAR !!!

    no offense to Qatar. i respect it as i respect all the countries. i speak about football only.
    in past if one draw bring one team like Qatar to Argentina road we was speaking with how many goal difference we will win. NO IF WE WILL WIN !!!

    aaahhh my beloved national team where they bring you shitty people like Tapia , Angelici and co.
    Grodona s soul will be furious in the other world by watching what is happening in the national team.

    • My friend, there are many ways to Qatar goal, their defense is not that solid. I still think WE will beat them soundly. The players have to show that this white and sky blue shirt does not come cheap for anyone to wear ! as What Maxi said
      “AGÜERO AND HIGUAIN ALSO DID A LOT FOR THE ARGENTINA NATIONAL TEAM. THEY COULDN’T BE CROWNED BY LIFTING A CUP BUT THEY LEFT A LOT (FOR THE CUP).”
      Players have to do a lot of lifting for the cup even if they don’t lift the cup
      VAMOS CARAJO

  41. When playing XI needs to change in every match, it means coach has no idea about players and combination. Nonetheless he has no idea about himself. I have posted several times here during friendlies that, we should use final XI for at least couple of matches but most of here disagreed. And wanted to see different types of guys from Argentina league. You do not need 100 players to watch and select. if yes, you do not watch other league games. coach to collect best players and to develop team chemistry…It seems problem in AFA too. Menotti wanted a argentina league based team!!! What the hell

    • Exactly… and a lot of people on here wanted all these experimental players, domestic, youth…. but really all we need was a consistent XI and we never had it ! We were supposed to experiment for the last year not during the tournament !!

      • ” We were supposed to experiment for the last year not during the tournament !!”

        Many members here stressed this and mentioned that many times, but their words always fell on deaf ears and got twisted and bend and fabricated to a completely different ideas. I hope by this third game we will find our ‘magical’ formation
        chasing consistency by not being consistent 🙂

        • To create good team chemistry XI players should play together 3/4 matches at least. Tournament not a place to determine best formation. This is the place to show your works!!!

  45. ”what I find interesting is quality wise, Lo Celso + Paredes + (either of G. Rodriguez, Acuna, De Paul) are far greater than Mascherano + Biglia + Enzo Perez.”

    This left me speechless. I have seen it all here today..SMH

  46. NOW I AM REALLY GETTING ANGRY WITH SCALONI. HE HAS BEEN WITH THIS TEAM SINCE SAMPAOLI TOOK CHARGE. STILL HE DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT HOW TO USE MESSI AND DYBALA TOGETHER.ANY DECENT COACH WOULD HAVE USED THIS LETHAL COMBO BY NOW. BUT GREAT SAMPAOLI IS STILL CLUELESS. WHAT A SHAME FOR ARGENTINE FOOTBALL. WE NEED A SOLID COACH.

  47. Xillo: ”Two positive outcomes will come out of this:

    1. We use this copa to find our best 11, crash out in the knockout stages, and build on this chemistry for upcoming tournaments
    2. We find our magical 11 during this tournament, and it clicks so well that we end up winning the whole thing and can build on it for future tournaments and the WC.

    Obviously we all prefer the second outcome.
    I honestly believe this current Argentina side has the ingredients to beat any team in the world (such as France, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal) but also has the ingredients to lose to any team in the world (such as Tongo, New Zealand, Qatar).

    I just hope to God we find our best 11 who click well. If we win 2 or 3 games in a row in a convincing manner, we honestly will return to the same heights we once were.
    We are that close to success, but we are that unstable from reaching it.”

    This comment is not base in reality. This team does not have the ingredients to win against any of the top 15 teams in the world currently, I will go as far and say not even the top 20 teams in the world currently. You really think this is a team? These guys can’t even control and pass. The only time this team look decent is went the opponent decides to leave them with the ball and they pass it around in their own half, but as soon as the opponent start pressing then all the Argentina players panic and don’t know what to do with the ball.

    There is a lot of fantasy in this statement, instead of looking at the root of the problem and not look pass it, you’re putting band aid over a nonstop bleeding wound then pretend everything is ok, because this team, ”if have the right formation and coach Argentina can win Copa America.” This is possible the WORSE Argentina team assemble on a football pitch so keep on thinking otherwise for another outcome.

    If Argentina wanted to compete at this year Copa then Banega, Rojo, Romero, Garay and Mecardo should have been on the team especially for their experience of playing in tournaments. Add to this list some new faces (in terms of international caps) like Alejandro Darío Gómez, Jaoquin Correa, Lanzini and Jonathan Silva.

    You’re naive to think this Argentina team in its current state can win against full strength national teams like Spain, Brazil, Holland, Portugal, England, Belgium, Germany etc. Not to mention 2nd tier teams like Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, South Korea, Tata Marino-Mexico etc.

    It took Haiti just 22 and 33 minutes to score two goals against Nicaragua during the Gold Cup while Argentina playing at home needed 37 and 38 minutes (almost an entire half) to score their first two goals against Nicaragua.

    Argentina had formidable teams under Sabella and Tata Martino, the last time this team look to be on par with the other big football nations. Currently this Argentina team and the coaching staff is a JOKe, and if you think anything good is coming from this tournament or the next then you haven’t been paying attention.

    And for the people here trying to make comparison between Argentina 2019 and Portugal Euro 2016 triumphant victory, they had a STRONG defense, a TOP coach and an overall better team despite struggling in their group! Portugal had the right mixture of experience and youth aka the future and the present. Right now this Argentina team is neither the present or the future.

    Going by Qatar games thus far; they only lost 2-0 to Brazil, playing in South America for the first time especially given the game was in Brazil and they still put on a respectable showing.

    Qatar 2 vs Paraguay 2 (draw)

    Colombia 1 vs Qatar 0 (unfortunate defeat on their part)

    So going by these shorelines, the Argentina vs Qatar game is going to be very close, and a draw or defeat is very likely given the way how Argentina is currently playing. The only hope for Argentina is Messi (Aguero and Di Maria to some extent) pulling off one or two brilliant individual play, be it a solo run and score or a free kick or long distance strike and only the three players I mention have the ability to pull this off under so much pressure.

    Guys stop pretending everything is alright with this team. The team is really, really BAD.! Forget Copas, is this team even capable of qualifying for the 2022 world cup?

  48. The reason why Messi omes back? Obviously he loves his country, And he is a winner, He simply want to win something with us. Something for us. He will try for that again and again. Untill he run out of gas.

    Most wouldn’t have done that, considering the criticism he received. Unwanted criticisms.

  49. In my humble opinion if The country Argentina in such trouble and disarray and AFA is a not able to hire a decent coach maybe and just maybe they should halt Argentina participation in global events and save face at least the world remember it as a world Giant and not a team afraid of Qatar ( i can not find it on the map).we go from Maradona, Mario kempes, batistuta, just the names strike fear in the hearts of the other big nations of the game ( Brazil, Germany, England, Italy.,,,)

    • Brazil crashed out at group stage in previous Copa, Germany crashed out at group stage in last year WC. Spain out at group stage in 2014 , Netherlands didnt even make it to the WC 2018, so did Italy (4 x champ)

      In comparison , the last time Argentina out at group stage in major tournament was in 2002.

      My point is, other nation has been having even worst run than Argentina in recent years , yet Argentina fans just keep proclaiming how their team has been the worst ever lol

      Those clown fans who’s afraid of Qatar can just support Chile , Colombia
      or maybe Germany or Spain, if you think they have much better players than Argentina!

      Oh but wait.. I forgot they didnt progress further than Argentina last year, Chile didnt even make it to the WC and we beat them in qualifier ! Yea, you clowns can keep glorifying our opponents who basically didnt even put better performance than Argentina in recent WC!

    • I am still expecting a win against Qatar by 3 goals, If we go with 2 strikers.
      That is not underestimating Qatar but expecting our boys to put a good show.

      VAMOS A GANAR, CARAJO

  50. Hope somewhere our coach starts stabilizing on team .
    for now – for Qatar , I think they shld just stick to the team & maybe bring back Saravia.
    Armani
    Saravia -Otamendi-Pezella-Tagliafico
    Pererya- Locelso- Parades- Depaul
    Messi- Lautaro

    Let aguero or Rodriguez come in post 1st half depending on match situation .

  51. Don’t underestimate this Qatar team. I am living in Qatar. We celebrated when Qatar won the Asian Cup.
    As an Argentine fan…I want Qatar to lose this time..!
    You know..Qatar didn’t concede more than 2 goals in their last 17 games…! If we concede one or two goals..we are in trouble..!
    These players playing together for a long time. Their coach started with them in U19 and cached U20, U23 and finally NT. He knows each player very well. That’s the strength of Qatar.

    I hope we win by 2-0 or 3-0. Play calm and takes advantage of quality. Don’t get panic and give them the opportunity to counter.

  52. Maxi Rodriguez said something truth.
    everybody when we think the day that Leo will stop wear the Albiceleste jersey
    it will be one very sad day. we will miss him for sure.

    for me personally when i am thinking that day i feel like those days when Diego Maradona stop
    and Batistuta stop too.
    i felt depresion those days and months after.
    Probably it will be same about Leo too.

    anyway.
    this is life. i have to accept it i like it or not unfortunately.

  53. I asked this simple question few days before Copa started, WHY DOES MESSI KEEP COMING BACK TO PLAY FOR ARGENTINA?

    Money?
    Fame?
    Glory for himself?
    Gluttony for abuse?
    …………………………..etc

    YOU figure the answer to that question and you’ll understand if you haven’t already.

  54. ACUÑA will be crucial for width. He will play out wide and deliver crosses. We haven’t seen that all tournament because Di María played as true winger but did absolutely nothing and the rest of the wingers have always been inverted. I like dybala but probably best he doesn’t start. He will make a good sub for aguero or lautaro,

    • Yup. Acuña is very underrated here. He is naturally left footed, very hard working, disciplined defensively, and surprisingly slick going forward. He is also very strong, short, but strong. We lack steel in the team, we need players like him, Lautaro, Otamendi, etc that will not back down from hard play. Both Colo and Para won the majority of 50.50s in midfield.

  55. Anybody who thinks Messi hasn’t saved the AFA bacon has not seen how Argentina football has deteriorated in its structure and increased in instability and corruption. But that aside, when did we decide as a federation, footballing nation that we are no longer going to run on the pitch and just walk the ball up and do sideways and backward passes?
    Any amateur can see this is a HUGE problem with our playing style. Nobody has legs anymore.

    • “Any amateur can see this is a HUGE problem with our playing style. Nobody has legs anymore”.

      We really need to start as NT from scratch, like underdogs, without any claim to think of ourselves as big team that is obliged to win just by number of his stars. Only such attitude can muster up of us the needed spirit and will. This is advice for the upcoming game. If we lose for future as well.

    • the problem is we had the slowest of snails in midfield for a long time (mascherano, biglia, enzo perez) and reached 3 consecutive finals. we would outscore most opponents because of our forwards and messi was generally the heart of it. all of this masked our midfield problems.
      our midfield has always been slow af and uncreative (apart from a few moments from Banega).
      what I find interesting is quality wise, Lo Celso + Paredes + (either of G. Rodriguez, Acuna, De Paul) are far greater than Mascherano + Biglia + Enzo Perez.
      Our forward talent is still as strong as it has been too.
      so im hoping its only a matter of time that THIS Arg team will show that its far greater than the 2014-2016 team

      • The problem is that we gave up ALOT of steel in mid. Paredes is a walker, locelso works hard but is not a destructive player, same for all the others except Guido and maybe Acuña.

        Masch, Enzo and Biglia would die on a tackle, they worked in deep defensing teams like Sabella, not suicide mids like Sampa.. and they got old.

        We need players like Simeone used to be, dynamic, aggressive and skilled. Until we have a mid with that, we will be overrun and our (mediocre) back line will be exposed.

        Especially since half our team are midget sized.

    • > footballing nation that we are no longer going to run on the pitch and just walk the ball up and do sideways and backward passes?

      That’s a great question for the coaching staff.

      I just don’t fucking get it. Coaches and Staff tirelessly assess players after the game via replays and CLEARLY see the lack of support (statues), backward or sideways passess. Why aren’t they benching the damn player or slapping them across the face to wake them up?

      I along with others have said this countless times but our main issues are coaching staff. We’ve also had an amazing pool of talent, we just lack the manager. That why i dont get too excited when Player Y or X gets called because that never been our problem. Its fucking infuriating that our Coaches managed 80% of south american NT teams and some of the best european clubs yet all we can find is Scaloni?

      What the hell is going on with this lunacy!!!

  56. Before Copa it seemed like it’s going to be tournament off-form teams. Now it seems aside Colombia, Uruguay also Chile is in good disposition. Add to that Brazil (even if not much impressive), solid Venezuela and the path to medal zone is damn hard.

    Of course ATM we have other aspirations.

  57. Let me know which of Argentina team was star studded?
    2014 World Cup final
    Romero- played at Monaco on loan we know not the best at his club level compared to the likes of Neuer,Julio Cesar,Courtouis.But showed his love and passion for Country made some outstanding saves. only Messi,Masche and Romero were the ones who carried us.
    Zabaleta-Played at his 30s too slow barely made impact in world cup.
    Garay-Tall Strong but way too slow to compete in world cup.Did some blocks but nothing much except his penalty agianst the Dutch
    Demichelis-Way past his prime played at 34 in the World Cup
    Rojo-A centre back who played as our left back(wow what a star team)
    Mascherano-The only Defending player who Was Effective.He and Messi literally carried us.A true Leader
    Biglia-A backpassing snail.No tackling missed penalty against Chile 2015.
    Enzo Perez-A slow central midfielder played as Right Midfielder missed an open chance against Croatia 2018 World Cup
    Lavezzi-Another hardworking guy.Did really good but not lived up to the expectations
    Messi-In Group Stage –
    Vs Bosnia hit the free kick which turned out as a goal(goal contribution 1)same match scored a wonderful solo goal(goal contribution 2)
    Vs Iran 90 mins of defending with 11 players inside the box.Only Messi can do something at such time what a long shot curled past whole Iran team.(Goal Contr. 3)
    Vs Nigeria Open goal in 3 mins (Goal Contribute 4) same match wonderful Free Kick (Goal Contribute 5)
    2nd Round completed most dribbles than any player in world cup vs Switzerland gave an assist to Di Maria( goal Contribution 6)
    QF played vs Belgium made the 3 key passes 2nd most dribbles completed in a match. 1 of key passes lead us to a goal(Goal Contribution 7)
    Semi Final – Scored the penalty (not counting as Goal contribution)
    Final-Got a good chances but was literally 1 inches away.Ok you got it he should have scored.But not that bad compared to Higuain.
    Higuain-Was great at World Cup 2010 Copa America 2016 but!!2014 WC final blasted past Neuer in a 1v1. 2015 Copa America a hard chace couldn’t score.In pens sent the ball to the moon yes Messi missed in 2016 finals too.
    2016- Again at Copa America final 2016 2v1 chips Bravo but ball goes wide.
    Where in the World is there a World Class team?You had great players but,they never became a star studded team.Butthole

    And you say without Messi you were doing good?My Foot you were DOING GOOD.In World Cup Qualifiers after Tata Martino left Argentina got 28 points in total.Out of Which Messi played 10 Games out of 19.With Messi we got 21 Points lost only to Brazil. Without Messi in 9 matches we got 7 points.Won 1 match drawn 4 matches(barely) and lost 4 without him.
    Don’t forget he took Argentina single handedly to the World Cup at the last match vs Ecuador with his hattrick.Against the same team whim we lost in home 0-2.
    What Messi has done nobody will never ever do.About Ronaldo?In which finals did he score?
    In International Finals
    Messi
    Played 4 Senior national team finals(Copa America2007,2015,2016)(World Cup Final 2014)Goals Scored 0.Lost all of them.
    Ronaldo
    Played 3 senior national team finals one of them was friendly tournament
    (UEFA Euro 2004,2016,UEFA Nations farmers league 2019)Goals scored 0.Won 2 of them.
    The difference is when Messi can’t perform the team chokes.When Ronaldo doesn’t perform his team backs him up.
    So shut up and GTFO here.
    Messi has done whatever he possibly could . Only if he had a team with the quality the Maradona ’86 team he had.He and his team-mates would have won all if it.Don’t Forget Trophies are won with a team not all alone.

    • yeah u r right…….in 2014 messi single handedly took us into the final……only masche helped him a little bit…..
      di maria, higuain, lavezzi, garay, zabaleta and co. were just expectatators…. right?

      c’mon it’s a team game …it’s not tennis……..messi alone can’t win anything by himself in this game……….
      suppose, had lautaro or matias suarez instead of messi missed that dolly header against colombia in the first match, wouldn’t they be more criticise?……..

      don’t blame other players too…..don’t say they did nothing….if u hv to blame someone then blame afa management.

    • ArgentinaToGlory ;

      Great analysis , but many critics will keep barking up the wrong tree 🙂
      That does not mean Argentina does not exist without Messi, some keep twisting it this way because they can not deny what you said, because what you said is just absolute fact. I don’t know what is on their minds, they don’t even like ROY publishing articles about him

Comments are closed.