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Argentines in the Champions League

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With the Champions League draw for the season having taken place, there’s an Argentine in every group.

The group stage draw for the Champions League this season has already produced (on paper) some interesting matches. Barcelona against Manchester City, Atletico against Bayern in a repeat of one of last season’s Champions League semi-final matches and more. There’s a total of 33 Argentinians with 9 of them coming in Group H (along with Group A, the only two groups to have an Argentinian on every team). Here’s the groups for this season:

Group A:
PSG (Angel DI MARIA and Javier PASTORE)
Arsenal (Emiliano MARTINEZ)
Basel (Matias DELGADO)
Ludogorets (Jose PALOMINO)

Group B:
Benfica (Lisandro LOPEZ, Eduardo SALVIO, Franco CERVI and Oscar BENITEZ)
Napoli
Dynamo Kyiv
Besiktas

Group C:
Barcelona (Javier MASCHERANO and Lionel MESSI)
Manchester City (Willy CABALLERO, Pablo ZABALETA, Nicolas OTAMENDI, Bruno ZUCULINI and Sergio AGUERO)
Borussia Monchengladbach
Celtic

Group D:
Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid (Augusto FERNANDEZ, Nicolas GAITAN and Angel CORREA)
PSV
Rostov

Group E:
CSKA Moscow
Leverkusen
Tottenham (Erik LAMELA)
AS Monaco (Guido CARRILLO)

Group F:
Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund
Sporting Lisbon (Marcelo MELI and Alan RUIZ)
Legia Warsaw

Group G:
Leicester (Leonardo ULLOA)
FC Porto
Club Brugge
FC Copenhagen

Group H:
Juventus (Paulo DYBALA and Gonzalo HIGUAIN)
Sevilla (Nicolas PAREJA, Gabriel MERCADO, Matias KRANEVITTER, Joaquin CORREA and Luciano VIETTO)
Olympique Lyon (Emanuel MAMMANA)
Dinamo Zagreb (Leandro SIGALI)

As always we will be covering the Champions League here this season on Mundo Albiceleste and we hope you can join along!

Angel DI MARIA: “I still haven’t recovered emotionally”

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Angel DI MARIA spoke about the pain of losing three finals.

Angel DI MARIA commented about losing the three finals, his injuries, Lionel MESSI and more. Speaking to ESPN Radio, here’s what he had to say:

“I still haven’t recovered emotionally. From the 2014 World Cup final until today, I think it will always be there and will continue to be the same pain and suffering for having lost three straight finals. It’s tough to recover. Thank God football gives you the chance for revenge and we have the chance to do well in the Qualifiers to reach yet another World Cup.”

On his injuries in the finals:
“These are high stress moments with a lot of anxity and lots of matches. Knowing that one represents his country has a lot of influence in one’s head. I’ve thought about it a lot and I’ve talked to a lot of people. I try not to let it happen, to take the pressure away from the big matches. I didn’t do therapy but I did speak to people to help me. In a club, it can happen because you play a match every two or three days but with the National Team, it’s happening when you reach the important matches or big moments, things like that and one tries his best not only on but off the pitch as well.”

On Lionel MESSI:
“He’s a very important player and we can’t not have him on the National Team. Thanks to him we’ve gotten where we’ve gotten in the World Cup and in two Copa America’s. It shows in every National Team match that he’s the guy and that we try to help him reach the objective. At times you get criticized a lot, you can get rushed and not think at that time and say things.”

“We’re all coming back and we’re all very anxious about playing in another World Cup.”

Franco VAZQUEZ can still play for Argentina: “I feel very Argentine”

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Franco VAZQUEZ could still play for Argentina and might get that chance.

Despite having already represented Italy twice, VAZQUEZ (currently at Sevilla under coach SAMPAOLI) has come out with some surprising comments regarding the Argentina National Team. VAZQUEZ’s two matches came in international friendly’s against Portugal and England. Meaning he has not played an “official” match (a World Cup or European Qualifier or a tournament), therefore he would still be eligible to play for Argentina.

VAZQUEZ’s comments came after Edgardo BAUZA said this:
“If you can play in the national team, you will be taken into account.”

Speaking to Radio Continental, here’s what he had to say:
“I’m surprised. I was training and when I finished I grabbed my phone and had a lot of messages. I feel Argentine.”

“Another coach had closed the door on me, and now I open it.”

“For any player, to be in the selection of a country is always a goal. I am happy to have been named by the national team coach, but I cannot think beyond that because it isn’t known if I will be able. I must remain calm.”

Edgar BAUZA reveals chat with MESSI and MASCHERANO

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Edgardo BAUZA reveals what was said during his conversations with Lionel MESSI and Javier MASCHERANO.

Earlier in the month, new Argentina coach Edgardo BAUZA travelled to Barcelona to speak to the two captains. With it also came Lionel MESSI’s return to the National Team. BAUZA has revealed what was said during their talks.

“I told them what I thought and they told me a lot about the group. They said it’s extraordinary. “You’ll see Paton (his nickname) when we’ll be working, you won’t have any problems, everyone adapts, everyone wants to play, everyone would die for the National Team, they told me.”

“I went (to speak to MESSI) not to convince him, I went to talk football. We spent almost two hours talking about football and naturally it came out (from the conversation) that he would be on the list. I told him that in Argentina there are 100 idiots, who speak and criticise, but I told him that people want much, and if you are still heeding 100 idiots who criticise, you would go crazy.”

“I imagine him in two or three positions, something we’ve already spoken about with him, but we’ll see it here. He has that pressure naturally by who he is. And he knows it. And we all know that when the ball goes through him, he can make something different happen. But we need help from the team.”

If the criticism still hurt MESSI:
“I believe so. MESSI or anyone. I’ll repeat myself: If they say “We’ve come second, we’re a mess”, it hurts and that’s very Argentine. It’s normal that it bothers him. But to be the best, you also have to be able to deal with it and put that away.”

Edgardo BAUZA comments on ICARDI, starting line-up, more

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Edgardo BAUZA spoke to the media about Mauro ICARDI, the starting line-up and much more.

BAUZA stated that they are following 60 Argentinian players, hinted at his attack and also about the goalkeeping position, MASCHERANO and more. Here’s what he had to say:

“From the start, I think MESSI, AGUERO, PRATTO and DI MARIA… Those four. It could be those four, why not? That’s the idea… that’s the idea.”

BAUZA also hinted that against Uruguay he could use a 4-2-3-1 (which would likely be his main formation) but also a 4-4-2 and that at the top (of the 4-2-3-1) it could be PRATTO. Part of the starting line-up against Uruguay could look like this:

ROMERO; MAS (ROJO is suspended for the first game due to Copa final red card), FUNES MORI, OTAMENDI, MERCADO; MASCHERANO, FERNANDEZ or BIGLIA or BANEGA.

If SABELLA and MARTINO’s teams were balanced:
“Of course, they reached finals. I hear the word failure (about the team not winning). How is it a failure? They reached finals! After that, of course, they lost. Argentinians wants to kill them all. But it’s all in the fine details.”

BAUZA has also spoken to MARTINO on the phone and he’s working on a list of 60 players which he is following. BUFFARINI, FAZIO and LAVEZZI are among that list of 60. Other names included in the 60 are:

ICARDI, RULLI, MARCHESIN, Nacho PIATTI, CALLERI, OCAMPOS, CERVI, ALARIO, MAS, Jose Luis GOMEZ, ASCACIBAR, PAVON, Seba BLANCO, RUBEN, TEVEZ and GAGO.

“We’re keeping track of them all but we’re also thinking about the future of the National Team and there’s great players which we don’t know if they will make it to Russia in the same form they’re in today.”

About ICARDI:
“ICARDI, just like any other Argentinian player, I’m going to follow. He’s among the 60 players. And if he has to be called-up, he’ll be called-up. I have no problems with any player. I start at 0 with everyone.”

About DEMICHELIS being included:
“I want him to transmit his experiences to the young players. Maybe I’ve called great players who don’t play and young players like ALARIO that don’t play often but I’m looking for them to start experiencing the National Team.”

About what he looks for in a goalkeepers:
“Stability. And that’s what he (Sergio ROMERO) has always brought to the National Team. Before him, we would change goalkeepers all the time but ROMERO has cemented himself as the starting goalkeeper.”

If MASCHERANO could play as a defender:
“I wouldn’t discard it. But OTAMENDI and FUNES MORI are playing really well and it’s for that reason I think of MASCHERANO as a midfielder, for now.”

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