With two matches under his belt, Edgardo BAUZA has picked up 4 points out of a possible 6 in Qualifiers.
It’s still early days but how would you rate him so far as Argentina coach.
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Edgardo BAUZA: “There are things to correct”
Edgardo BAUZA held a press conference following the team’s 2-2 draw against Venezuela.
Edgardo BAUZA, Lucas PRATTO and Javier MASCHERANO all spoke to the media following the match. BAUZA stressed that the team had to take risks in the second half but that there are some things to fix. Here’s what he had to say:
Edgardo BAUZA:
“The comfort I have coming out of that match is the effort that they did to come back from being 2-0 down. There are things to correct and we’ll talk about them the next time we’re all together.”
“The goal changed our look of the match and allowed us to turn around a game we didn’t want to lose 2-0. We managed to rescue something, we’ll think about what’s ahead. There’s a lot of things to think about.”
“We faced the Venezuela we were expecting to face. A vertical, aggressive team counting on RONDON’s power, it didn’t surprise us. The fact that it rained made the game better because the ball moved smoother. The pitch wasn’t all straight. The idea was to win but they complicated things. And for that, it was a point rescued. We risked a lot with the changes in the hope of getting that.”
“We were much better in the second half, able to do more of what we wanted and because of it we were able to get the draw. We wanted to win but we were losing 2-0 and the pitch wasn’t good. But at the very least we got something out of the great effort the team put in.”
Lucas PRATTO:
“It was a hard fought match. The pitch didn’t help as it complicated things. What I liked the most was the character shown from the team. Because we were losing 2-0 away from home and we kept looking for the draw.”
Javier MASCHERANO:
“The team showed character.”
Match highlights: Argentina fight for a draw in Venezuela
Things didn’t go as planned and it could have been much worse for Argentina against Venezuela.
No Lionel MESSI and Paulo DYBALA (also, no AGUERO and HIGUAIN although if you ask many that may have been a good thing), Edgardo BAUZA’s second match in charge of the Argentina National Team came away to last place Venezuela. With Ever BANEGA and Erik LAMELA in the line-up, Angel DI MARIA saw a lot more of the ball than he normally would and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
After a steady start to the match, two defensive errors by left back Marcos ROJO saw Venezuela take the lead through a fantastic strike by JUANPI. Half-time couldn’t have come any sooner for BAUZA’s men as the home team nearly scored a second just seconds after their first. The second half saw MARTINEZ score Venezuela’s second and at 2-0 away from home, even a draw would feel like a win.
BAUZA made some tactical changes in the second half introducing three very attack minded players in Angel CORREA (for Erik LAMELA), Lucas ALARIO (for Lucas BIGLIA) and Nicolas GAITAN (for Marcos ROJO). After some hard work in the box (and generally throughout the match) by Lucas PRATTO, the forward had luck on his side (though deserved luck) as he scored his first goal for Argentina with an outside of the boot finish to cut the lead in half. The goal seemed to have give Argentina some life and Nicolas OTAMENDI tied it all up as he scored his third goal for his country (two of those three against Venezuela as his first ever international goal came against them as well).
At 2-2, both teams were going for it and both teams had chances. For Venezuela, a free kick which Sergio ROMERO came out for but completely missed and the Venezuelan player missed an open net as he headed the ball above the bar. Their second chance came after Sergio ROMERO didn’t catch the ball properly and it fell to a Venezuelan player inside the area who’s shot hit the post.
Considering the players who were absent for Argentina and possible fatigue after having to play with 10 men for 45 minutes against Uruguay just days earlier, this result could have been much worse for BAUZA and his team.
Venezuela’s first goal:
Venezuela’s Juanpi just scored this goal vs Argentina in #CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers #VENvsARG pic.twitter.com/qZcAlPVtOu
— Mesfouf & Koshary (@MesfoufKoshary) September 7, 2016
Venezuela’s second goal:
Venezuela lead 2-0 vs Argentina.
Never underestimate the beauty of South American football!https://t.co/KKJtWeAsYE https://t.co/Cv07Itm3iA
— Rorotaryan.™ (@Roromeo_MUFC10) September 7, 2016
Lucas PRATTO’s goal:
#VamosArgentina Así definió @PrattoLucas12 para su primer gol con la Celeste y Blanca. pic.twitter.com/ZkHFxaCdeJ
— Selección Argentina (@Argentina) September 7, 2016
Nicolas OTAMENDI’s goal:
#VamosArgentina Así le dio @Notamendi30 a la pelota para el empate argentino. pic.twitter.com/7pfHDJbsaW
— Selección Argentina (@Argentina) September 7, 2016
The reaction from the bench on OTAMENDI’s goal:
#VamosArgentina Así se vivió el empate en el banco albiceleste. pic.twitter.com/BEbMalBVNx
— Selección Argentina (@Argentina) September 7, 2016
Argentina vs. Venezuela – Kickoff delayed
Argentina vs. Venezuela has been delayed by 30 minutes.
In typical CONMEBOL fashion, Tuesday night’s World Cup Qualifier between Argentina and Venezuela has been delayed by 30 minutes. The match will now begin at 7:30pm Eastern time (Toronto), 12:30am in London, England. CONMEBOL made the announcement a few hours ago. Here’s Argentina’s line-up for the match:
ROMERO; ROJO, FUNES MORI, OTAMENDI, ZABALETA; MASCHERANO, BIGLIA; DI MARIA, BANEGA, LAMELA; PRATTO
Celebration of Two Legends: Messi & Batistuta
Messi’s winner against Uruguay marked his 56th international goal for Argentina, drawing level with another former Albiceleste legend, Gabriel Omar Batistuta.
Some media outlets claim that Batistuta’s official tally for Argentina stands at 54 instead of 56, but that depends on who your source is: FIFA or the AFA. Back in June 1995, Argentina played an unusual friendly in Mendoza against the Slovakian nation youth side which they won 6-0. Batistuta scored two goals in that game which FIFA recognize as legitimate to his tally while the AFA don’t, and hence the ambiguity in Bati’s total goals scored for Argentina.
Here at Mundo, frankly we dont care… Messi and Batigol are two legends who will forever be inscribed in Argentine football history, and this post is not in any way a comparison, but a celebration of their 112 goals and everything else they have done for the Albiceleste.
Gabriel Batistuta
Albiceleste Career: 1991 – 2002
Senior Appearances (goals): 78 (56 goals)
Goals Ratio: 0.72 goals/game
World Cup: 10 goals
World Cup Qualifiers: 11 goals
Copa America: 13 goals
Confederations Cup: 4 goals
Friendlies: 18 goals
Lionel Messi
Albiceleste Career: 2005 – Present
U20 Appearances (goals): 18 (14 goals)
Olympic Appearances (goals): 5 (2 goals)
Senior Appearances (goals): 114 (56 goals)
Goals Ratio: 0.49 goals/game
World Cup: 5 goals
World Cup Qualifiers: 16 goals
Copa America: 8 goals
Friendlies: 27 goals