Angel Di Maria comments on being snubbed from the Argentina national team

By
Roy Nemer
-
120

Angel Di Maria has been left out of Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni’s squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers and the PSG man spoke about his exclusion.

Di Maria continues to perform well for his club but has not been selected for the Argentina national team. Speaking in an interview with Clos Continental, here’s what he had to say:

“I can’t find an explanation, I have no words. For me, the Argentina national team is the best. If I break my eye… At my club it’s to try to have a chance with the national team and to be able to compete.

“It’s difficult to understand that being in good form, I’m not called up. If I’m not called, it’s because they don’t want to call me, but I will keep fighting to be in the Argentina national team.”

In regards to his age:

“I’m old at 32 years old? If we start to think about replacements, we have to do it with everyone. For that, Messi shouldn’t go, Otamendi shouldn’t go and other players that are in great form. Many say that I’m old at 32 but I still run the same way and I can be at the same level as Mbappe and Neymar.

“I’ve been in good form for a year and a half and I haven’t been called. I’ll continue to show that I’m capable of being with the sky blue and white and that I wish it with all of my soul to wear it again. Every time I play a good game or become a better player, I only think about being called.

“It’s true that I’ve been there for 12 years but it’s my dream and I want to be included.”

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120 Comments

  1. Lots of LONG commentary about this from posters. Short answer is Angel, you are not Messi and you are not at your club. Your club play may or may not be beneficial to the NT. The manager thinks there are better chances. You’ve had your chances. I guess that not playing for that final against Germany will be with you forever. You should have pushed the issue

  2. I THINK this would be ideal for Copa.

    Just my opinion

    Bench
    Musso, Andrada
    Saravia, Licha, Otamendi, Acuna
    Palcios, MacAllister, Dimaria,
    Dybala, Aguero/Icardi, Papu

    —————-Martinez—————
    Montiel-Pezella—Quarta-Tagli
    —————-Paredes—————-
    ——-DePaul———LoCelso——
    —Messi——————-Ocampos
    ———-——-Latauro—————

    With Dybala/Aguero I ll have Messi on False 9

    ——————Messi—————-
    —Dyb/Kub————-Latauro-

    • -Its nice. I think there are maybe not enough workers in the 23?
      -If both Montiel and Martinez Quarta are playing maybe we can consider to not break their pair on the right side and keep it same. If true, then have to play Nico or licha on left.
      -If Licha is in squad I am not sure there is advantage of having Acuna also. Between their profile both can play back up LB, LCB, LCM. Only difference is maybe Acuna can play back up left winger but really that does not seem attractive enough to waste a spot. Also it seems you have DiMaria and Papu in squad to cover that.

  3. D Martinez
    – Montiel L Martinez Medina Tagliafico –
    Lo Celso Paredes Depaul –
    Messi Lautaro Dybala
    #medina/N perez/otamendi
    #dybala/ ocampos

  6. We cant disagree that Davies has been the best left back this season. Absolute phenomenon. He combined his pace and physicality to transform him to a beast. Tell me one match except the UCL final where wingers actually outplayed him. Nobody could trick him.Sancho,no. Moura,no. Werner,no. Depay,no. Even Messi,hell no!. It was ONLY di maria.i repeat,ONLY Di Maria who made a fool of Davies. The way Di Maria dazzled theb was incredible. He nutmeggeg,dribbled,outwitted and outplayed Davies. When it comes to big matches,Maria is a serious killer. In big matches,he becomes as good as messi. Be it for Argentina or PSG. Its a crime not to pick Maria. His passion for NT is unmatched. Not telling him to be a starter. But he can be an incredible sub . He can be a good mentor to the youngsters.

  8. Lamela scores in Macedonia for Tottenham. I wouldn’t worry about Lo Celso not playing because JM probably wants to keep him rested and fit for the Premier League. He could come off the bench.

  11. This is crazy. Never i dreamt of tracking Milan Skriniar’s ( obviously a solid CB ) potential movement from Inter to Spurs. If he leaves to Spurs , Inter’s top target to backfill is Nikola Milenkovic ( Fiorentina CB ) . If all this happens then Fiorentina interested to backfill with Lucas Martinez Quarta . Its too complicated & not in control. But stlll worth checking bcos Pezzella & Martinez Quarta playing together can be a dream for Argentina NT’s defense future.

    • That’s great news! There is nothing I have been more jealous of than Belgium having years of a Vertongen and Alderwiereld pairing. With this we will have more justification to slowly stop using Otamendi. A strong center back pairing can well overcompensate for their talent. I quite like Inter as a club so I always want them to keep their best players in order to compete with Juve. With this news though I really hope he leaves and the cycle begins.

      • same here. just that its too much of a chain reaction that needs to fall in place for it to work in our favor & our player movements have been pretty disappointing last 2-3 years ( still cant believe no PL club is grabbing a talent like Buendia & he has publicly stated he wants to be in PL . Also Leeds fighting with Udinese for some extra 4-5 mill for De Paul sounds ridiculous ) But Spurs seriously trying for Skrinar bcos Steven Hitchen ( their head of scouting ) is in Milan. So worth watching this.

    • Not to lower your hopes, but I read that AC Milan coach Pioli has indicated that Pezzella has all the makings to become the “perfect” partner for Romagnoli. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants a step up, shall they come for him. Either way, I hope Martinez Quarta makes the move to Europe!

  12. Argentina’s 23 mans squad for world cup 2022
    Goal keeper .
    1)Emalino Martinez
    2)Musso
    3)Benitez
    Defence
    4)Ottamandi
    5)Pazzella
    6)Saravia
    7)Foyt
    8)Tagglefico
    9)Nehuan Perez
    10)Romero
    Midfielder
    11)Parades
    12)Acuna
    13)lo celso
    14)Ascacibar
    15)Barco
    16)Almada
    17)maclistar
    Forward
    18)king messi
    19)Dybala
    20)occampos
    21)alario
    22)martinez
    23)Aguero

    • Mourinho is just horrible for Argentines. Gazzaniga loses out to Hart now for non PL games. LoCelso in bench for a Europa game & even earlier PL game. He was their best midfielder in 2nd half of last season. Foyth is virtually left in cold from the time Mourinho came. He didnt even allow movement when good moves came from Leeds, Villarreal , Betis. I just hope Spurs loses in all tournaments & Mourinho fired by end of season.

      • I dont know if anyone saw the Spurs documentary in Amazon Prime. I saw till episode 5 or 6. U basically dont see any focused footage interview on LoCelso, Gazzaniga & Foyth . Its all about egomaniacal Mourinho, Levy, Kane, Son , Dier, Vertogen , Winks , Alberweid, Aurier, Lloris,Bergwijn, Moura & even new kid Tanganga

        • Don’t be worried about Lo Celso! Mourinho loves him, praises him a lot and has said he will build this season’s squad around Gio and that he wouldn’t trade him for anyone.

          Spurs must see the potential in Foyth, being so reluctant on selling him and insisting on a loan. It might actually be the best thing for him, if he proves himself in the next team. Gazzaniga on the other hand should definitely leave.

          You missed the episodes where Lo Celso and Lamela featured in the documentary! I believe it was episode 6 and 7 or 7 and 8 🙂

          • Oh that’s nice. Maybe not seeing the argentines in the initial episodes & pochettino sack made my mourinho view harsher. Anyway planned to see the balance this weekend & let me see the positive side of mourinho

      • I don’t argree here that Mourinho is horrible for Argentines. The spine of his famous treble winning inter Milan team were Argentines Cambiaso, Zanetti and Milito. At Real Madrid he compared Higuian as a dog and Benzema a cat. At Man Utd Marcos Rojo was regular starter under him before his injury. Even Romero was playing regularly in Europa league and Domestic cups . Once he said ” If i was Man Utd manager earlier i would have never sold Angel Di maria.
        He is the biggest admirer of Lo celso at Tottenham, he didn’t start at the beginning of the season because he was injured before the break and couldn’t play any pre season matches. Today because he gave him the rest for more important match this Weekend. He always praised Lamela and Gazzaniga. Being a Portuguese he says Messi is better footballer than Ronaldo.
        We all know Mourinho is egoistic and Stubborn Ndombele is his latest victim. But i don’t think he is toxic with particularly Argentine players.
        And what about Argentine coaches like Bielsa and Simeone did for Argentina. How many Argentine players flourished under them?
        Only Pochettino and Sampaoli helped the NT.

        • Agree with you on pochettino, sampoali & will add our Chilean friend pellagrini. Mourinho I have a diff view while he has publicly spoken well.
          Other than milito & di Maria , he didn’t buy any Argentines . Milito if u remember was blazing in Genoa that season & it was a smart cheap buy. Cambiasso, zanetti, higuain, Romero, rojo, locelso were all bought in those clubs by other coaches . All these players played & earned their spots in those clubs at that stage. Rojo was the world cup 2014 final team left back. Now if u look further Garay, gago, crespo, burdisso ,Cruz were all shipped out during his reign. Just look at the amount of Portuguese he bought in that timeframe including the recent winger gedson for spurs. See the way gazzaniga has been sidelined to no3 for no reason. Foyth is virtually frozen out of squad for an year & he is not even getting a proper sale bcos mourinho stuck on loan option. Locelso worked his way up to mourinho who was struggling with his favourites before locelso steadied spurs midfield in 2nd half. His last Argentine player purchase was dimaria in 2010.

    • Surprisingly Walter kanneman was the man of the match vs internacional. Though his passing accuracy was not up to the mark , but he was very good at Arial attributes ,contacted every ball correctly. Saravia’s rating was average yesterday, as his team lost the match. But overall both the defenders played well. Hopefully they will deliver for the national color in the upcoming matches.

      • Don’t be surprised my friend. If it comes to pure CB play Kannemann is as consistent as Otamendi and Pezzella if not more. To be argentine and be captain of major Brazilian club does not happen if you are poor. Also passing accuracy for CB depends on style of back line play. In a setup like gremio where focus is on clearances for a CB than build up, accuracy will naturally be low.

        Saravia had an average game. Probably could have stepped up a little more to block the winning goal shot.

  16. I think Di Maria deserves to be on the NT. If one of the starters is hurt or suspended, you can’t go wrong with Di Maria filling in. With that said, I do not think it’s a scandal he wasn’t included.

    He was PSG’s best player in the CL final IMO (except that right footed miss in the 1H).

    • If in form & injury free – Di maria is a no brainer for 23 man squad IMO. Scaloni already did it last Copa by calling him in . Big match experience is an asset . Same logic applies for Aguero & Icardi. But for this stage of WCQ early days , Scaloni is rightfully prioritizing Ocampos , Nico Gonzales & even outside chance given to Pavon.

    • Yes, I completely agree with ur view.
      This is why Argentina is failing to win a major cup for the last 1-2 decades.
      Horrible management time and time again….are there administration that dumb??
      Which team is gonna exclude a player like Di Maria not even in the selection list.
      And that also replaced by some mediocre players.
      Stupidity at it’s best.

  17. Ocampos is far far better then the injury prone di maria , di maria is currently playing in farmer league so sclolani don’t wants farmer league player at all

    • I won’t say individual wise ocampos is better than di maria. But, ocampos gives us something which none of our forwards can give that is physicality, work rate and width.
      We need varieties in the attack, we need pace, we need width, we need physicality.

    • there is not exist “farmer leagues” or “farmer teams”.
      this idiotic term that exist in this forum it will be very nice to stop finally.

      French league is one very interesting and competetive strong league that should be respected.

      German league is not better.or at least not far better.
      not even Italian too the last decade.

      so please everybody we should have respect.

        • that too my friend. you speak correct.
          the word farmer is used like it is something embarasing !!!

          without those people we all we wouldn t have food to eat.
          this job is one of those we should have deep respect
          not to make it look like embarasing.

          • i have a vertical hydroponic vegetable growing system in my house. After years of working this thing, i have found a new respect for farming. i guess i’m a proud city farmer 🙂

  18. What argentino played better than dimaria this year ? I’ll wait …………………… the answer is Messi and no one else…if current form is the curriculum for selection to the national team… (on the roster not necessarily a starting position) El Fideo is a no brained…

    • I can name a few. Ocampos and Papu. Both were at least as good as Di Maria if not better than him. Then there is N. Gonzalez as a future prospect. To answer your question, the selection should not be based on the current form only. There are other factors like future prospects and collective play. An in-form player can be unsuitable for a system preferred by the coach. Maybe that’s the case with Di Maria. Di Maria can be a good sub, that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. This ongoing complaint of him being a ‘must’ in the NT is a bit exaggerated IMO. I mean, he can be a ‘maybe’ but not a ‘must’. In the pecking order, he is behind Ocampos and Papu Gomez atm. Now, do we need another player like him for the same position? I don’t think so. If anyone is injured, then sure. But I appreciate Scaloni opting for N. Gonzalez or a fast winger like Pavon over Di Maria. We were literally complaining about the lack of youth aggregation in the squad for a long time now. Now, when Scaloni is starting to do the exact thing, we are back to complaining again. We fans are surely pretty difficult to appease, that I’ll tell you.

      • @hira mate you spot on
        I’m glad scaloni is doing right things
        Bring new blood fresh young pacy
        Like nico gonzalez at the same time
        Keeping things balance to bring
        Inform players like papa gomez
        Who can offer much more than
        A lot of people expecting.

      • The problem with Ocampos that his passing skills, vision and creativity are bad. Not just compared to Di Maria to an average winger too.
        Ocampos last year 44 matches 17 goals (a lot of penalties) and only 5 assists, Di Maria 40 matches 11 goals 23 assists!!!.

        • But mate, if you play Di Maria on the left-wing, you will not gonna see those results for NT, that I can tell you for sure. The odds are you will be going to see him running aimlessly resulting in dispossessing himself, giving 1 good pass while misplacing much more, giving avg if not below avg crosses into the box knowing that the probability of converting those crosses is much low assuming the profile of our strikers. So, I don’t know where we are going with this.

        • Although you haven’t mentioned it, I think Di Maria is a better finisher than Ocampos. It’s based on my previous experience with Di Maria in the NT, not based on the stats that you provided. But you have to consider the defensive contribution that Ocampos offers us. So, it’s a trade-off basically.

  19. Firstly Di maria is not needed in the team,i do not know what he is going to bring to Argentina if selected.Ocampus and Papu Gomez are currently superior to Di maria for national team.Scaloni is trying to set a organised game plan,Di maria has nothing to in it.

      • What Di maria did in Copa,nothing.We are strong enough to win without Di maria.Di Maria is finished for Argentina.Di maria’s weakness is he does not have football brain,weak shot on goals,chances created bu him are average quality,not good crosser of the ball

  20. To be fair, in last year Copa, he should have had a great assist when he came in but Aguero blew it.

    I think Scolani simply wants a regeneration for the national team. He’s thinking a long term future rather than just current. Otherwise, we will continue the 2005-2007 generations forever.

    I think he deserve to be included based on last season form though, at least as a sub, not a starter.

  21. Fideo is a mixed bag at best. Yes, he can be brilliant but then gets injured or dribbles aimlessly with no end result, plus not much of a defensive contribution these days. I suppose if someone gets injured Scaloni could call him up as an option off the bench.

  22. The hate here toward Di Maria is rather inexplicable. In those tournaments we did well where Di Maria played well. Yes, it’s Di Maria. Messi is the GOAT, but Messi didn’t score a single goal in 2014 knock out games. Who scored? Higuain and Di Maria. After Di.Maria got injured we couldn’t score a single goal.

    In 2018 world cup against France, it was Di Maria who gave us hope by scoring a scorching goal.

    In Olympic 2008, it was Di Maria who scored goal against Nigeria in the final.

    In the final qualifying match for 2018 World cup against Ecuador, who assisted messi for the first goal? It was Di Maria.

    Only stupid people can say that his decision making was poor. I am just fade up seeing these stupidity. Yes, in last copa he didn’t play well? Did Messi played well? No. Because team was rebuilding and it’s a team game. In the Semi Final against Brazil where we played well but robbed. We started gelling together.

    Di Maria is the champions Legue finalist with Paredes. Because of there performance PSG went through. And they were not demolished by Bayern.

    • Those bus….rd have no idea about football…
      & No love to our beloved Argentina football team…
      Who hate our legend Messi, de Maria, aguera, higuein…
      31-32 years is not called old…

      • Calm down, brother. There’s no need to curse anybody here. It’ll not get you anywhere. I think every one of us has our own opinion here. It seems Romance King’s ghost still looms over this forum. 😂 😂 😂

      • @Rattlehead, Messi is the Goat. He assisted, Di Maria converted. If he couldn’t convert then Messi wouldn’t have assist. Messi assisted 2 goals against France, no denying that. But, u should not undermine Di Maria either.

    • Listen, man. Don’t get me wrong. To you, it may sound stupid but you have to look beyond his goal scoring record for the NT. Nobody is taking away anything from Di maria for what he has done for the NT.
      “In those tournaments, we did well where Di Maria played well” is kind of an over-statement. We did well because we played as a team in those tournaments. Dimaria scored the only goal against Switzerland from a right-wing position, assisted by Messi. Higuain only scored against Belgium with a deflected shot and then there was that infamous miss in the final. Again, it was rather Sabella’s formation and team selection that caused subdued performances from Messi in the knockout stages among other reasons. All I’m saying is that Di Maria has provided his majority of the good performances when he was played in the right position. Also, You seem to disagree about his poor passing skill/ crossing skill/ decision making. If you look closely into his overall game performances, it shouldn’t get past your eyes that his passing accuracy and crossing statistics are below average considering his status. His tendency to hold on to the ball for too long, going into areas with no return, and then dispossessing himself was a common scenario in NT matches. Only Ancelotti had managed to control these problems to some extent in his RM days. If you compare his pros with his cons as a footballer, statistically speaking, you should not get promising results. One more thing, people often bring up the fact that Messi didn’t perform in the knockout stages of WC 2014 or other big tournaments for NT whereas Di Maria did. You have to consider the fact that having Messi in any team is always a plus. When you have a player that can occupy 3-4 defenders of the opposition all the time in big games, then that player doesn’t always need to provide assists or score goals for the team. He automatically creates spaces for his teammates to exploit. And that is the privilege Messi’s teammates like DiMaria and co. have enjoyed over the years which people seem to forget every now and then. I personally love DiMaria for his passion for the NT and for his attitude in big matches. But only passion doesn’t win you games in football anymore. Maybe he can be an impactful sub, as some are saying, for NT if used properly. But we should look for new options rather than lingering onto the old ones if we want to evolve as a team and win something in the future.

  23. The WCQ are a hardcore marathon and so every player that can make a meaningful contribution should be called up.
    I have no issue with Kun, Papu and Angel being there on the bench ready to back up or replace Paolo, Lautaro, Ocampos and even Lio.

    imagine

    ———-Ocampos———Dybala/Lautaro———-Lio—————–starting

    ———-Papu—————Kun——————–Maria—————backups

    OR
    ———-N.Gonzalez———-Alario/Icardi———–A.Correa/Buendia—-if you want to go for the younger backup options.

  24. Trying to get past and dribble 6 players in a tight space and holding onto the ball for long time is definitely the last thing we need. Can anyone remind me of the last time a cross from Di Maria ended up in the net? It’s ok he has the dream of coming back to the NT, but unfortunately he is replaceble unlike Messi who isn’t at this very moment and that’s simply why Messi is selected all the time. The other guys he mentioned are gradually on their out of the NT though I like Aguero to be around till Qatar 2022.

    Du Maria thinks he still has those lungs?….Man, that was then and this is now. Thanks for the great services you provided for the NT, and wish you good luck with your club career.

    • Trying to get past and dribble 6 players in a tight space and holding onto the ball for long time is definitely the last thing we need. Can anyone remind me of the last time a cross from Di Maria ended up in the net? It’s ok he has the dream of coming back to the NT, but fortunately he is replaceble unlike Messi who isn’t at this very moment and that’s simply why Messi is selected all the time. The other guys he mentioned are gradually on their way out of the NT though I like Aguero to be around till Qatar 2022.

      Di Maria thinks he still has those lungs?….Man, that was then and this is now. Thanks for the great services you provided for the NT, and wish you good luck with your club career.

  26. Di Maria is one of the few world class players we have today. His contributions are no less than a Messi in NT shirt.He should be included in 23 as long as he is fit and performing for his club.

  27. Honestly who will you take right now
    Ocampos Who has been impressive
    For the nt so far or di maria that we all
    Know what he brings for the nt regardless
    His club form . Man please give up for the
    Sake of your home country.

  28. Lautaro Martinez
    Emiliano Martinez
    Lucas Martinez (Quarta)

    Three Martinez with a high chance to be in the Argentine first x1.

    Lisandro Martinez waiting..!!

      • I believe MQ is probably scaloni’s
        First choice cb now and realistically speaking.
        He will partner with otamendi even though he shouldn’t be there in first place.Right now it’s suppose be MQ and pezzella.

  29. I will always like Angel to be included in 23 squads.
    To win the Copa and WC…we need players in form. World class players.
    Angel still there.
    The only negative is his injury concern. Mainly during a tournament. As a sub.. I think the chance to be injured during the tournament is less.

  30. I think his time in the NT is over. Although considering his current form, he deserves the call-up tbh. But Di Maria has been played in the wrong positing for NT by the managers all the time. He is better as a right-winger like Messi, who likes to come inside. Unfortunately, you had to choose Messi over him. He lacks the accurate passing and crossing ability to be a good left-winger, which is the position he has been played and will be played for the NT if ever gets a call-up again. His decision making is also poor. So, his club form doesn’t ensure that he’ll translate it to the NT. We should gradually include young promising fast players on this side of the field. Currently, Ocampos is our best bet followed by A. Gomez and Nico Gonzalez.

  31. Well here we go again, Di Maria is a good player and had his time for the NT for long long years. But it’s time to move on. Soon Otamendi, Aguero and finally Messi will have to move on because no one can play forever. It’s better a player accepts it.

    I m glad that Di Maria isn’t selected. He is not gonna add anything new to our NT any more. I would rather select Papu who has still lot to offer to the NT and now we have more better alternatives for Di Maria too like Ocampos, Acuna, Nico Gonzalez, J. Correa, Pavon etc. These r young players they need to be trusted now onwards.

    • Oh man come on, for the sake of winning; not a single player you have mentioned is at the level of Di maria…
      Di maria’s talent is always entertaining to watch, his dribbles, speed, technicality…But i dont know why Argentina selection board is that dumb.
      Its considerable to exclude Di maria, if and only if, we have world class talents at his position.
      And yes, Papu had a stellar season, but it doesnt manifest that he is at a level above him.

      • Of course, pound to pound Di Maria is definitely level above all the above players whom I have mentioned at individual level and at Club level, He is a great Club player, but not a good NT player, We have seen what he brings to the table for the NT Umpteen times and that’s not enough for us. And that’s definitely not enough in the eyes of Scaloni too.

        • It’s not like that brother, if a player is exceptional with the club doesn’t validate that he will be a flop for the NT. If talent is there, he can shine anywhere anytime, no barrier can ever dare to stop him.
          The thing is if he has that immense talent, he shouldn’t be excluded at any cost…cos I don’t think Ocampos is at the level of Di Maria.

  32. I think it’s silly to call Pavón ahead of di maria. Pavón has some potential but he will never be as good as di maria is now. I would only play him if he moved to Europe.

    • I dont think Pavon will be playing, he’s just there for backup…maybe subbed in but definitely not a starter..Scaloni is set in his squad except CB and RB will be switched around ahead of that the starting team is set.

      Ocampos Lautaro/Dybala Messi
      Lo Celso Paredes De Paul
      Tagliafico ? Pezella Foyth/Saravia

  33. DyJ won today against Olimpia 2-1.
    Crespo with his 3-3-3-1 / 3-2-4-1 hybrid attacked the game. He continues to be important coach for NT first at Banfield and now DyJ. Though his style is too open and maybe he will never have good record because of it, he always trusts youngsters and develops them. First with Urzi, Bravo etc, and now playing young back line of Adonis Frias and Hector Martinez behind very promising river plate loanee Enzo Fernandez.

    Racing win 2-0 vs Allianz Lima. Becacecce showing two different halves. First half showing an aged squad not suited for his intense, high press style. But in second half he brought in youngsters thiago banega , ben garre , and alcaraz and scored two great goals just overloading the box. However my favorite performance once again this week is from someone who might be too late for europe now but probably one of most complete CM’s in argentina currently 26 year Leonel Miranda.

    Tomorrow we see what Boca can deliver in Medellin

    • Delighted for both Crespo and B’ce’ce. Thanks Ghallardo for showing the door to Martinez and Fernandez, and putting trust in 80 year olds.
      And Becececce should be brave and trust his youngsters.
      And Bro, what will Boca deliver? A lot of Colombians for sure.

    • Man as you said before Hernan crespo is turning to new bielse his team play beautiful football. Attacking precise passing and movement 3,3,3,1 too many bodies in forward area.
      They make the pitch too big
      I really liked watching crespo’s team now.

  35. Di Maria has been a serial nuisance as far as his NT play goes. He, Aguero, Otamendi should show some humility and respect for the NT and move on. This is not a private company to work on as you please.
    But what could have been if our moron managers had used him in his best position and used Messi as a false 9? In that sense, Di Maria was unfortunate he played in the Messi era.
    We should not repeat the same mistake and play Dybala in his best position and use Messi as a false 9 or use him in 3 man midfield. Messi will be awesome (if u go by how wonderfully Papu Gomez has slotted into that role).

    Watched a bit of Valenzuela debut against Benfica. He played on the left, while he played on the right in Argentina. He worked hard but tired as the match wore on.

        • Hey sergio, what are you saying bruh, argentina has only had world class / top notch forwards in the past 20 years, such a statement from you was completely unbelievable. Messi hasn’t played as a false 9 since many years, and he can barely score headers, coz he isn’t a natural 9 so any cross in the box would be just useless. Dybala can play as 1 of 2 forwards in front of Messi and beside a natural 9 (lautaro/agüero) in 4-3-1-2 lineup, which was experimented by scaloni in last friendly against Uruguay and it worked quite well.

          • Don’t get me wrong. I am not talking about Aguero or Higuain or any other striker that play for their clubs but rather the version that turn up for the NT.

  36. I think Di Maria is depressed with his 4 games ban and he just opened his mouth and grumbled uselessly. Considering his 32 yrs old, he should realize his time with N/T is almost finished. he is not Messi or Ibra and comparing Otamendi inclusion is just a kid babble; be more open minded and have a big heart… you can’t play all the time and enjoy the time with P$G alongwith Neymar and Mbappe,

    • C’mon you’re being harsh.
      Give him some much deserve respect.
      He has been great servant for us. He could have taken retirement just like Higuain but he didn’t he still wants to be a part of our beloved NT. I like his attitude.
      But still I think we should give more chances to Nico Gonzalez, pavon, dybala etc.
      He has been my favourite player of Messi’s generation and I’m always going to love this guy.

  37. ……… Mertinez……..
    Foyth-Pezzela-perez/medina-Taglia
    Di paul… Gomez/paredes… Lo cleso
    …………. Messi………..
    Dybala…………… Lautaro
    Sub:musso,saravia,otamendi,acuna,dominguez,guido, palacios,mac alister,ocampos,alario,gonzales

  38. As I have said it many times and as much as we all have been disappointed by Angel time and time again………………I HAVE and I MUST respect his passion and love for the national team and he is never shy to let his feelings known.
    I don’t know if his pleas will ever be answered but he could be a solid off the bench option IF there isn’t a better one.

    • “he could be a solid off the bench option IF there isn’t a better one.”

      Even that is something I doubt.
      He is a pure creative nowadays – like a ‘junior neymar’. We will already be carrying messi, and dybala, and potentially lo celso can also step in that role. To make room for him you will have to make a sacrifice among the rest. If you look at the numbers it will end up being a question of (a) carrying only two pure #9’s so you can accommodate him or (b) carrying only 5 mids to make a spot for him. Both of them are highly risky luxury sacrifices in my view and not worth unless either la pulga or la joya miss the call by injury or something. But I guess (a) will be least painful if its a must, carrying 5 mids can be squad suicide.

      This is not to say I fully respect him for sacrificing his body, and his real madrid career and potentially his Man Utd career as a consequence, all for the 2014 magic.

      • Dybala hasn’t done anything for the NT uptill now. The only reason dybala is playing for the NT is because of his age and potential.
        I just want dybala to be more than just a Messi’s replacement.
        Because talent is immense in him

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