Argentina - It's not all about Messi only
Yes, this is the team Lionel Messi will be playing for in the World Cup but make no mistake, he will not be accompanied by Barcelona’s perfectly teamed up players. We know we have only seen so far some glimpses of what Messi is capable of but surely the Iniesta’s and Xavi’s of his club outfit have a hand or two (or a foot or two for that matter) in his performances. The reigning World Player of the Year will be under immense pressure as the whole world and more importantly his football fanatic compatriots back home would be expecting him to execute his flair in the blue and white stripes as he has masterfully done in the ones of Catalonia for the past two seasons. It doesn’t get any bigger at a stage than the World Cup for a football maestro to make a name of his own and get the legendary status but even the Pele’s and Maradona’s of this world need to have support from their team mates. Let us take a look on what else Argentina has to offer in this World Cup.
When talking about Argentina when it comes to football, the mood certainly gets exciting. We can be sure of watching the attacking football with any Argentinian side on a football ground but with Diego Maradona as the head coach of this trip to South Africa the playing style would spice up even more. It’s not only that the coach needs to tell the players to attack at every opportunity, 159 season goals among the five attacking players of the squad are definitely good enough to set the tone of their match, no matter who they are up against. This line-up includes Lionel Messi (47 goals for Barcelona FC), Gonzalo Higuain (31 for Real Madrid), Diego Milito (31 for Internazionale Milano – including the winning double in the UEFA Champions League final), Carlos Tevez (31 for Manchester City) and Sergio Aguero (21 for Atlético Madrid). I agree, this is mouth-watering stuff indeed!
They say goals win matches but there are inevitable times when teams are under pressure and it is the players in midfield and defence that can dig there heals in to prevail through it. Argentina has likes of Javier Mascherano and Juan Sebastian Veron for cutting offensive moves of the opponents and letting wingers and forwards keep attacking with less to worry about than defence. The overall teamwork rate will increase (not to mention the contribution by Tevez in this dimension) with Maxi Rodriguez and Gabriel Heinze on flanks. Walter Samuel who will be supported by Martin Demichelis and Nicolas Burdisso adds experience in the defensive line. Overall look of the team is exciting at front and solid at the back.
Nevertheless, it was not that trouble free for Argentina to book their place for the World Cup in South Africa. They had a defeat to Chile en route and an astounding 6-1 defeat to Bolivia. They started their campaign with Alfio Basile as their head coach. First ten matches yielded six unfavourable results, which saw a change in the managerial seat and entered Diego Maradona. First it was considered a gamble but the team and the support of the nation needed a lift, which could not be provided any better than Maradona himself. With Greece, Nigeria and South Korea as their Group B opponents in the World Cup, Argentina can iron out any wrinkles in their group matches and get in full strides for the all important knock-out phase. There are no clear favorites for this World Cup (Spain apart) so this could well be a chance for this full of energy, hard-working team to write their names in history books.
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