Lautaro Martinez: “I am happy and emotional” following Argentina hat trick

By
Roy Nemer
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85

Lautaro Martinez scored his first hat trick for Argentina and spoke to the media about it all.

Now on 9 goals in 13 games for the Argentina national team, Lautaro Martinez started both friendly matches this month. He has turned into a machine goal scorer for Lionel Scaloni’s team. Speaking to the media after the 4-0 win vs. Mexico, here’s what he had to say:

“I am happy and emotional. We sacrifice a lot to be here and it’s not every day you score three goals with this shirt.

“It’s very difficult to get here and to stay here. There are very good players. I am very happy and thankful to my team mates and to the coaching staff. This is also thanks to them because they give me a lot of confidence. We try to bring joy to the national team, hopefully we continue on this road.

 

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85 Comments

  1. This win was Bilardesque! A solid defending with clinical and ruthless finishing.

    I know it was just a friendly, but Scaloni really outcoached Tata. Who is in my mind an excellent coach. Samuel and Ayala have the D looking good and I see improvement coming. I’m worried about the adaptability of some of the older guard players to Scaloni’s system. In particular Aguero.

  3. I think we played better without lo celso on the field .
    He is definitely a talented player who is smart on the ball, but it must be pointed out that one of the major differences in our lineup against chile and Mexico is Locelso.

    Lauturo and De Paul were perfect, in fact I feel that all of the starters played very well, almost mistake free. Another point to make is that Rojo performed better than otamendi in that position. Scalonj must factor this also.
    Our defense held and stayed organised for most of the game…. I mean holy f shiii… How long has it been since we can say our defense was organised?!?!!?!?!!???!!!??!!??

    Those who understand football are few it seems, and those who understand the tactics, depth and art are fewer.
    It would be nice to get additional news and updates in the comments also. Gracias putos

    • The real issue is if you play Messi Lautaro Aguero AND lo Celso, you have a problem in press and defense. The team played better because they had 2 box to box midfielders and forwards who at times pressed to recuperate. Lo Celso is good but he might be a casualty of this system. He may be better as a bench option to provide creative support if Paredes is marked out of game.

  4. Well, I can’t imagine what the scenes would be here, when the squad list comes up for the October friendlies or a friendly). No(probably) Armani, Andrada,Montiel, Martinez Quarta, Palacios, McAllister, Lo Celso . Add to that inevitable Messi and probably Aguero.
    The scene when our majority of core players were still in the squad this international week and people claiming the exact opposite and going mad, were there for all to see. If that’s the case now, you can only imagine what would be ,the coming month.

    PS: Is Lautaro actually right footed or left footed? I first felt, he was left footed; then he takes penalties with his right foot. The next moment he scores sublime goals with his left foot. I can’t get my head around it. The same with Ivan Perisic.

    And Acuna no matter what everyone says, he’s a versatile player and a proper team player who gives everything for the team no matter what. He should be in the squad.

  5. Scoring goals had been a problem and this is what I had been thinking before this set of friendlies.
    So our three best forward in my view – messi/lautaro/aguero . Is it really possible to continue to play 4312 with them for the next 12 months or so (regardless of whether its palacios or locelso as third midfielder, or how much more otamendi have in him or is parades great or shit like some people say)? Of course it did great in copa but the extreme natural narrowness of this is so crazy (without talking of fullbacks etc), i still doubt it and a search for plan B of it is vital.

    Without a doubt, that plan B would involve aguero and lautaro arm wrestling to take solo number 9 spot in front of messi. When that happens we will drop into some mix of 433/442/4231. But what are our left mid/wide options there. is marcos acuna really the best we can do? Scaloni has been searching in that zone a while now and still the solution is not clear.

    Which bring me to this game. Of course its a great victory. Well deserved for the hard work and its great for confidence that the management and players can go back home with such a solid result. But if we look closely it was a very tactical victory. More than anything it showed scaloni’s ability to study and outmatch his opponent in the pre-game planning stage by coming up with a setup to nullify opponents game plan and finish him off fast. A true counterattack on the opponents plan and our executions. But we cannot play 4141 systems as plan A. Regardless of how brilliant el toro is, more often than not single nine without support from anywhere will just get swallowed and disappear in game in matches where you want to be protagonist and not antagonist.

    So to me the biggest miss of the second half is that scaloni did not use that 45 minutes dead time to explore the left mid/left wide options a bit more than 12-13 minutes of lanzini. I also actually thought a Gaich-Dybala-Correa restart would have been valuable as well. Not for Gaich per se, but really to give joaquin correa another chance in a more relaxed game now. Barely 75 minutes between lanzini and correa is just not enough to solve the left side question.

    Maybe the result in first half was so surprising the staff thought it was enough to just give caps out. Let’s see now if October can bring something more than Acuna.

    • Both Mac Allister and Acuña pressed their fullbacks, El Huevo at times appeared as a second striker and them dropped back into midfield. Mac Allister who is nominally an enganche or at best a no8 was played out of position but put a decent effort defensively marking the Mexican left-back. If Kun, Messi and Lautaro start who is going to do all the pressing?

      • just want to mention that the overloaded midfield press is not a new thing.
        If you search my previous old comment in this post I had gone over this as a fundamental part of scaloni’s original strategy when he started as interim coach. In a follow up comment I also question how this might change when messi returns.
        https://mundoalbiceleste.com/2019/03/19/cesar-luis-menotti-talks-about-lionel-messi-sergio-aguero-argentina-coach/
        Now we have seen that with messi/aguero back, scaloni doesn’t neccesarily play the aggressive middle press but the directness still remains.

      • just want to mention that the overloaded midfield press is not a new thing.
        If you search my previous old comment in this post I had gone over this as a fundamental part of scaloni’s original strategy when he started as interim coach. In a follow up comment I also question how this might change when messi returns.

        mundoalbiceleste.com/2019/03/19/cesar-luis-menotti-talks-about-lionel-messi-sergio-aguero-argentina-coach/

        Now we have seen that with messi/aguero back, scaloni doesn’t neccesarily play the aggressive middle press but the directness still remains.

      • Exactly on the pressing point. I think Aguero sits unless he learns to press. You already have Messi who you can’t bench and who really won’t press consistently.

  6. The kid did exactly what we wanted Icardi to start doing few years ago! and with ease as well.

    He is young, Big, good speed, hungry and chases the ball all day long and his finishing was smooth as if he’s been doing it for years.
    I loved the hustle of the team, chasing the ball down whether on defense or offense, we want more and better of what we saw last night.

  7. Well played Argentina. I am very happy with quick pass and speed specially in the first half. Lautaro made for NT I said for many times. Andrada more active on the pitch than Armani. But I didn’t like substitute policy. introducing Dybala instead of Lautaro. DYbala is a playmaker. You should land another striker with Dybala. When Dybala with Gaich (substitute of McAlister) would make sense more. In the 2nd half I was waiting to see Lanzini…..Gaich……..Dybala front line with Paul… Paredes….Palacios mid

  8. Players who should and who shouldn’t called by after September Friendly analysis :-

    These 15 players should play together as a core team
    Armani √
    Marchesin √
    Quarta √
    Tagliafico √
    Otamendi √
    Montiel √
    Paredes √
    Dominguez v
    De Paul √
    Lo Celso √
    Zaracho √
    Mac Alister √
    Palacios √
    Dybala √
    Lautaro √
    Bellow are the Players who must be kicked out from the team
    Andrada ×
    Balerdi ×
    Pazella ×
    Figal ×
    Rojo ×
    Pereyra ×
    Acuna ×
    Guido ×
    Lanzini ×
    J Correa ×
    Alario ×
    Gaich ×

    • “Bellow are the Players who must be kicked out from the team”

      You are just a disgrace !
      is it you to decide who should “kicked” out? what a shit language you speak!
      Some of the players you mentioned didn’t even played! some played only 10-15 minutes.
      In which basis you want to kick them out?

      So far I can only see you commenting about Icardi and wanda.Never saw anyone cheaper than you in this blog.
      Some of them has very opposite opinion but they never speak in foul and cheap language like you.

  9. Player ratings for starting players as per Ole, translated and paraphrased:

    E. Andrada: 6 In the first half he dedicated himself to picking up the crosses that Mexico threw at the penalty box. In the second half he almost had nothing to do

    G. Montiel: 6 He had to stay put to defend his flank. Given the Mexican pressure , he had to largely forget about attacking.

    L. Martínez Quarta: 6.5 Handled well everything that was thrown at him. He showed on this tour that he deserves a place in the National Team. A distinct personality.

    M. Rojo: 6 It was a mystery to see how he would fare after a long time without playing, but he never complicated things.

    N. Tagliafico: 6.5 It was an exact copy of what happened with Montiel. He understood that first he had to take care of the defensive side of things and he did well.

    Alexis Mac Allister: 6.5 He worried a lot about the recovery and defending and almost didn’t atatck. On a rare occasion he did go on the attack, he almost assisted De Paul for the fifth goal.

    R. De Paul: 7 He was the one who asked the most questions in the first minutes and helped to recover the ball. Almost converted from the outside of the box.

    L. Paredes: 7.5 Assisted Lautaro’s first goal, worked hard and converted the penalty.

    E. Palaces: 8.5 Intercepted the ball when needed but more importantly an excellent pass to Lautaro.

    M. Acuña: 7 Linked well with Tagliafico and Palacios.

    Lautaro: 10 Alone in the attack, everything thrown at him turned into gold. Scored all kinds of goals, with brilliant technique and execution. Oh, and on top of it, earned the 3-0 penalty. And only played the first half!

  10. We pissed on the haters again LOL. After a decisive win the shameless are back again talking about how the opposition was poor. No they werent! They were supposed to teach us some lesson etc. We made them look piss poor. We retrieved counterattacked the shit out of them.
    When we play with possession people say we are not generating enough chances. When we generate 20 + chances they say we don’t have possession.
    I am loving Scaloni’s idea that he is embedding in the NT. Hussle hard, retrieve and reach opponent D in minimum time. Football is a simple game. You generate chances you finish chances. He is doing that , the players are giving their all and I am one happy fan !
    I wont individually praise everyone who played well. I am behind the team and the idea. Baby steps in the right direction with a united group. We will always generate world class talents. That never has and never will be a problem.

    • This is what i m talking about…
      You said just the words i said….
      With 37% possession we had 17 shots and 7 on targets.
      With 63% possession Mexico had 4 shots and 1 on target and that 1 shot was a long shot that was a easy catch for GK.
      The tactics was clear fast Counter Attack…

  11. I noticed that yesterday, although we won, Mexico dominated. They had significantly higher passing accuracy, twice as much possession, and more aggressive. Scaloni said we “played a perfect game”, but we are still far from that. While no one can deny our clinical abilities, we are still not up to the mark in our core areas. But, we are still a young and new team with lots of time to improve. Looking forward to a similar lineup next month. VAMOSARGENTINA!

    • Right we didn’t had much possession.
      But mexico wasn’t aggressive. All they did is side pass and back pass…. with 67% possession they were not able to penetrate the defence once…. Yes i would love Argentina to have more control of the ball… But i dont want to see those side passing and back passing again….

    • Possession for the sake of possession is useless. Mexico had only 1 shot on goal vs our 7 shots. In the end, the scoreline matters. Sabella was also largely counter attacking.

      • sabella and simeone type are great at counter attacking but we have been exposed big time in defense over the last year. For now, id rather have possession and control in attack instead of relying on quick breakaways and opposition mistakes.

  12. As Riverplate and Boca players wont be called….
    There might be some new faces in next two Friendlies….. Buendia might get a call and he deserves it TBH….
    Few players from Sub23 deserve a call…

    • It’s rather question wheter he will be our starter or Lo Celso, not wheter he will be called up. IMO we should continue to start Palacios and let see.

      • Neither Lo Celso neither Palacios or Macallister will play vs Germany (Libertadores), if still without Messi and Aguero with whom will Scaloni start? Acuna will play (sad) with De Paul and Lautaro upfront and? Unused Lanzini and who?

        • THis is not problem to find subs on this generation of talents. MacAllister, Dominguez, Lanzini, Zaracho, Ascacibar.

          Still River and Boca players may make the list. CL Semifinals are 02.10. and 23.10 while we play Germany 09.10

          • Heard that River and Boca players will not be available and messi also. It’s going to be difficult against Germany i think Aguero Lautaro will lead the attack but Palacios should be called up for next friendlies

          • That might be good. Paredes as lone DM for Germany might not be enough. Ascacibar should come in. The more he plays in Germany.

    • Now real question is wheter we should play still with two strikers. This match showed we are more efficient having more hardworkers (even without briliance as Acuna) instead of strikers. When Messi will back and Aguero too then who will fight out of our 3 forwards (Messi, Aguero, Lautaro). IMO we should sacrifice Aguero (Lautaro our best striker) and play with another winger instead.

      • Which match? Brilliance Lautaro against a very badly played Mexico? This is enough in a friendly, (was not against Chile) but in real competitive matches against strong opponents only Lautaro could score from this team, nothing else, and he wont play always this godly. Messi a CF plus one more goalscoring midfielder is a must (we dont really have any, maybe Lo Celso in good form or Angel Correa.)

        • “but in real competitive matches against really strong opponents only Lautaro could score from this team, nothing else, and he wont play always this godly”.

          Now it’s about comepetitive matches? I think before the game you could suggest we can’t do that even against Mexico and for sure not by 4 goals. So, as you see, real football is regularly overthrowing your predictions.

          “only Lautaro could score from this team”? Really? You are wrong, cause clearly this is not another one-man team.

          • Acuna, De Paul didnt score a single goal in NT jersey not even in friendlies, Palacios not a goalscorer type, Lo Celso and Dybala underpeform regularly so who? Lautaro, a good defense will easily neutralize him as Serie A defenders did last season, if he is the only man worth pay attention.

          • Gonzalo, it’s not a matter of argument, it’s a matter of being witty, and Csabalala is also right. You can’t lay all your eggs in one basket as contingency.

  16. The next friendlies will be against Germany and Equador(yet to confirm). The rumour is, there will be no River or Boca juniors players due to copa libertadores semi final.

  17. Yes we won..but second half was boring at best..opportunity for everyone..Acuna is useful but does not have speed..need Pity Gonzalez or Pavon on the wings for pace..

    Rojo needs playing time – He should thank Scaloni for the opportunity to play football..

    The one thing missing is free flowing football and understanding..We need a strong European opponent to test..may be next year..

      • Yes, you were talking Pity is slow also before Copa Libertadores final and his famous looong run…. He was never slow and is not. How he play depends on his positioning. He is fast when used as winger.

        Not that I write this to claim for call up for him now, but you said nonsense.

  18. @Csabalala your big club players, UCL players couldn’t defeat minnows Peru 😂😂😂

    Btw haven’t seen your specialist comments after our victory

  19. Best 11: Marchesin – montiel Otamendi Foyth/Quarta Tagliafico – Lo Celso De Paul Paredes Palacios – Messi Lautaro/Aguero

  21. The best player who can help out on the transition was Lanzini and he was on the bench most of the time during these 2 games, in any situation, we should have at least Lo Celso or Lanzini or both on the pitch. It really hurt my eyes to watch that level of quality of play. Paredes always slow in replacement, let Mexicans too much space and time. I don’t understand why Scaloni didn’t try any other option. Is our NT really married to him? He’s a good player but too much unfit for this role in this formation. Having De Paul and Acuna at the same time is kinda redundant as their profile is quite similar, same thing to have Mac Allister and Palacios together.

    After these 2 games, I believe that our best 11 when everyone is back should be:
    Walter Benitez or Andrada-Foyth, Otamendi, Quarta, Tagliafico-Lanzini, Palacios, Lisandro Martinez-Messi-Lautaro, Aguero

    • Mexico only had 4 shot and only 1 on target…..
      ” Let mexico ToO MuCh SpAcE and TiMe ”
      Only thing mexico did in whole match is side pass and back pass…

    • Lautaro – Aguero
      Messi
      Lazini – Martinez – Palacios
      Tagliafico – Otamendi – Quarta – Foyth
      Benitez

      This squad would be great to see! although for now, id probably go with energizer bunny De Paul instead of Lanzini. De Paul is doing great and Lanzini has to a bit to prove again after long absence. Pre injury, Lanzini was 100% starter. Do you know if he’s doing well again at club?

      • He plays well so far with West Ham this season. I found that interesting he plays quite deep, slightly on the left in a left CM position. Very similar to Iniesta’s role in Barca 433 in the old days. He’s not a fast player but very agile and always go to the pressing. Strong to hold the ball and keep it under pressure. De Paul, I think he could be a good box to box player able to play on 1 side. I agree that’s very important in modern football to have that kind of player which can allows to switch from 433 to 4231.

  22. I don’t want to be mean but despite the result, I didn’t find any high quality of play. It’s more an individual performance of Lauatro that we all know about his potential and I don’t need to mention anymore. As usual, the midfield didn’t manage to win back the ball quickly so we were forced to defend very deep. We were not able to keep the ball, the transition was bad and slow. It’s very predictable the playing style which is none: sending the long ball to Lautaro for counter attack and expect him some world class action to make it happen. To beat a good team in an official competition, we still need to improve, by a lot. This victory should be forgotten ASAP because the content is null, or closed to. I don’t understand why people are so excited by a large victory without any content against a very weak Mexico team which didn’t play at 100%. I still don’t see a team playing, it wasn’t a “bloc” with players closed to each other and helping each other.

    • I pity you…
      Maybe Argentina in future will lose and you would have something good to say… And we wont have to read something nonsense like this…..
      If the midfield wasn’t able to win back the ball faster… Then how on earth we had that many counter attacks….
      If you want to hate than hate logically….
      And possession doesn’t matter if we can score…
      And tata didn’t lose a single match until today….very weak mexico team…. You won’t be able to see team playing if you are blind folded with hate….

      • Hate? I don’t know you, never seen a post from you. How long have you been here?

        Did I mention a single word about possession? Did you really watch the game before you did the talking? Or you just watched the 5 min youtube summary? You call that counter attacks?

        • That Mexico’s A team and i wonder why would they not play at 100% . I will tell you why . Because we made them look like a joke. That’s why.

      • > Maybe Argentina in future will lose and you would have something good to say… And we wont have to read something nonsense like this…….you are blind folded with hate.

        total bullshit. CanadienRoyal is one of the most objective posters here. He’ll also spin circles around you when it come to technical observations. Wrong person to say that bullshit to.

      • Is the ‘hate’ thing trending now on mundo ?
        CanadienRoyal as mentioned above, and as it is well know here, he is a true objective observer along with el mongol, and to some degree Batigol-cowcho among others, he always provide unbiased objective technical analysis of our beloved NT. No disrespect but hate goes a little far, he only spoke what he observed like many, not underestimating the win against mexico or the effort put by the players. Scaloni outclassed Tata, and Lautaro was the main star along other players. Some talk after the last win as if we go to the World cup tomorrow we will win it without a doubt. there is nothing wrong with being ambitious, but we still have work to do, to be among the best.
        This team still needs to be improved to compete effectively. hopefully we will get there one way or another.

  28. The ‘bull’ is a complete striker and despite his average height, he is a real threat on air. Still could improve in many sectors especially consistency. Sky is the limit for this hard worker !

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