Argentina Olympic coach Fernando Batista comments on loss vs. Australia

By
Roy Nemer
-
18

Argentina Olympic coach Fernando Batista commented on the team’s 2-0 loss vs. Australia.

It was a difficult match for Argentina as Ortega got red carded and the team let in a goal in each half. Speaking after the 2-0 loss, here is what coach Fernando Batista had to say:

“During the second half, with a man less, the team tried to maintain the idea of playing and keeping possession of the ball.

“We knew that we were going to face an opponent who was going to try and hit us on the counter attack. Sadly, we were not able to draw.

“In general, I don’t know if it’s a good or bad result but losing a player in the last play of the first half, at this level, you feel it.

“This is just the beginning. At times there are surprising results but every national team is at a good level. We have to stay calm, we still have two matches left and we depend on ourselves.

“The kids put up a solid effort with 10 players. You have to turn the page. As I said, we depend on ourselves. We have to lift ourselves up as fast as possible and prepare for the match against Egypt.

“This is a beautiful stadium, nice to play in. You have to enjoy the experience. We will try to reverse what happened today against Egypt.”

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18 Comments

  1. This team is the future of Argentina. When the Copa winners retire, the baton would be passed on to them. Starting with a loss and reaching the last 4 is not uncommon. The coach should carefully plan for the Egypt match. With a key player out in the next match, it would be his ability as a strategist that would be tested. Good that the other behemoth of the group Spain drew their first match. So the Egypt match would give us a good scope to turnaround. It would also show the mettle of the future of Argentina football team. Let’s see what happens.

  2. Ok guys…we need realistic… focus on senior level…arg already hv more junior thropy but less for senior…we need to up the standar..

  7. The scary thing is that if Batista is the man with the responsibility of developing future players then AFA is putting the future of Argentine NT in chaos. With Pekerman and Tocalli the kids were taught to play kids as a team from early age. Irrespective of the U20 WC victories, the most important thing is that those kids learnt to understand teamwork and tactical basics at an early age and went onto play for important competitive clubs clubs in Europe.
    I’m taliking about Aimar, Riquelme, Cambiasso, Sorin, Saviola, D’Alessandro, Messi, Aguero ,Di Maria, Zabaletta, Garay, Maxi Lopez etc who won U20 WC. Others like Tevez, Mascherano, Lucho Gonzalez, Lavezzi, Higuain, never won it but were a result of a successful development system. This Olympic team looks like they have no idea of tactical basics. No clue of recovering lost possession nor pressing in the right areas of the pitch to prevent danger or causing opposition problems in the last third at pace. The players look like they most technical but the lack of work rate is very evident. The universal four key elements of modern football are possession, pressing, counter attacking with speed and defending spaces. All of this was evidently lacking with this Argentina team. it doesn’t matter if the team can not take of modern basics, even Messi can be on the field and the team will still lose. AFA need to bring in a tactical teacher. Most Argentine players have good technical qualities but lack the work rate and physicality required by the modern game.

    • Well said, it doesn’t even necessarily matter if we win olympics, this team needs to be used for developing players and modern tactics, showcasing them to Europe, and preparing them for europe

    • Yes very very true and also so sad as Batista is not tactically or as great teacher as Pekerman and Tocalli once were, maybe Still are, but now instead AFA have Batista as one of the major one’s developping future players for our beloved Albiceleste ! This is not good thing at all and should be changed as faster the better, but unfortunatly i do not have any name for another candidate, but maybe and hopefully someone else has?

  8. I got so mad at that second yellow card, given for no reason that I stopped watching after first half. Maybe I will catch the second half afterwards at some point.

    Anyways I thought too much of our game was flowing through Valenzuela in the first half. Too much of a luxury player to work out well as a half mid/winger. Poor with defensive marking for a wide mid role, too one footed (which is fine if you’re even lo celso or dybala level, forget someone higher level like di maria or messi), interested only in occupying and stretching the wide channel so that the structure of your 442 is broken etc.

    To the extent that De La Fuente who I thought was having a interesting and decent half had to be exposed on multiple defensive 2v1 situations when the Australian full back Joel King was overlapping. We have discussed this before, when the opposition full back overlaps your winger has to be intelligent enough to track back. Your full back cannot consistently cover an overlapping full back, as his primary responsibility is always the opposition winger. He will just get put in an un-winnable 2v1 no mans land, exactly like the first goal.

    If Batista is to turn it around he needs to play a more responsible right mid and put Barco in the hole with Gaich ahead of him, as MacAllister seems to be having one of his far too often invisible moments.

  9. I don’t care for Olympic play other than seeing future stars… And I don’t see too much potential on this squad. Maybe we will hear of one or two if these players in the future…
    Also I believe Egypt has brought alot of their senior squad. North African countries are not to be underestimated. Algeria, Egypt and Morocco all have players who play for A league clubs.
    I believe we are the only team that doesn’t have a senior player unless you consider mccalister. All respect due to him but he is average at best.

    • i agree with you totally. i don t care at all about Olympic tournament. it doesn t mean anything important for me. i watch it only to see possible future stars for our national team. That specific team in Tokyo will not effect in to anything as have to do about our national team after 2022 world cup in Qatar.

  12. Batista does not have the same DNA as Scaloni. He likes ball possession with less emphasize on defense. Scaloni doesnt care about ball possession, he wants all his players to defend when having no ball.

    Argentina should hire a coach of U23 similar to the senior team. Same play style, same tactic not completely different.

    During the game before Ortega got a red card, I saw 2-3 times Australia attacked us with us defending only with 5 men.

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