TyranaxA team that I found fascinating from both a tactical perspective and to watch at their sublime passing and technique was the Argentina team from the Copa América in 2007. Favourites to win the tournaments and players of the best football there, on paper it shouldn't have worked. Look at their midfield, which reads Cambiasso, Mascherano, Verón and Riquelme. Where's the pace? Who is going to get beyond the midfield and break into the box? Two destroyers? But it did work, and beautifully, until the final.
Cambiasso and Mascherano proved to be key in the first phase of play, getting the ball back. They were tireless, constantly harrying and hustling, the two of them never allowing their opponents to settle in midfield when Argentina did not have the ball. But then, when Argentina did, they contributed further, through movement. While they mightn't have been breaking into the box Lampard or Gerrard style, they gave the two playmakers, Verón and Riquelme options to spread the ball. They were aided by raids on the right from Zanetti, and Messi and Tévez drifting, either wide or deep. Tevez indeed played like a Number 9, hustling the ball himself, and presenting himself as an out ball. While he isn't tall, he is mobile, and passers of the quality of Argentina's two playmakers picked him out with ease. This let Messi drift between the defenders and midfield, giving him space to dribble, shoot, or spread the ball wide for Zanetti or Heinze, whenever he got that far forward. This combination of hustle and passing and movement proved overwhelming for most of their opponents.
Except Brazil in the final. Brazil triumphed 3-0 in the final but it wasn't as one-sided as the score suggests. Brazil scored early, but Argentina's heads did not drop. They dominated possession, and looked likely to equalise. Then an Ayala own goal on the '40 mark sucked the life from them. Riquelme hit the woodwork, but they were done, and posed no further danger, Alves wrapping the game up with a goal on the counter.
While they may have lost the final, and Brazil perhaps proving a model on how to do so (play defensively and try to break with pace out wide) their style of play was beautiful, and, perhaps, instructive. Spain combined a work ethic with their flair and deservedly won Euro 2008. Barcelona did the same in this year's Champions League, where they were also nearly undone by a defensive Chelsea. But I believe that Argentina were modern innovators for playing with the personnell that they did in that year's competition.
24.06.2009
nvrDon't they need a good finisher like Crespo or Batistuta badly? You can only go so far without a killer in the opponents box.
25.06.2009
TyranaxThey played Saviola and Crespo at times, neither impressed. Messi didn't have a great tournament either, Tévez and their midfield were their best players. Riquelme was their top scorer in the competition, he got five goals. They just had so much possession and territory in their matches, it seemed inevitable that they'd score, and they usually did. They scored four goals in three different matches, and three goals in two matches, with one match won by the single goal. The only match that they failed to score in was the final, where Brazil mugged them a bit in truth.
25.06.2009
willieFinally another person who appreciates them for what they did. Did they really use a 4-2-2-2 though? It seemed a diamond formation was usually present, though Verons forays forward could suggest that it was a "magic square". I really felt during the tournament that Sorin was sorely missed, as his pace & constant attacking could have made the team more balanced as our team leaned towards the left when our strongest players were on the right. Despite that, I truly miss that summer when I could really believe in magic.
01.03.2010
