Part 7: Brazil vs. Argentina – Player Analysis
Sergio Romero also saved a free kick from Ronaldinho during the second half and that simply showed why Sergio Batista and the former coach Diego Armando Maradona decided to put him as the number 1 for the Argentinean side. In the second
half, Romero was barely “insecure” and he barely made a save that troubled him. There was one shot for Robinho that was taken from out wide and was not even going in and Romero decided to put a hand to it and caught the ball safely in his hands.
Nicolas Andres Burdisso was the one who played as a centre back in place of the Barcelona man Gabriel Milito or the Inter Milan centre back Walter Samuel. Burdisso was simply outstanding while playing against Brazil and did a wonderful
job and got the most out of Robinho as he did not let the Milan man pass through him even once. He hardly put a foot wrong throughout the game; however, whenever it came down to running alongside the Brazilian striker like Neymar and Robinho, he always felt
lagging behind as he could not match up with their speed. Even though he did not have the pace that they had, he was simply outstanding whenever a player was charging towards him. He got the ball superbly and defended extremely well. He was outstanding in
the air as well and with the help of his aerial ability the Argentinean side saw many good clearances.
The second centre back that the Argentinean team was playing was Nicolas Pareja. Pareja did not have a good first half he lacked the same skill and pace that the Brazilian forwards had. The Brazilian coach played an outstanding striking
force including the very quick Neymar who was trying to be a constant threat to the Argentinean defenders. With Burdisso getting most of the job done, Pareja barely had anything to do at the back. Despite a weak first half, Pareja came back in the second half
and started to play better as later Ronaldinho and Neymar were both taken off for different players but it was simply seen that Walter Samuel, Gabriel Milito or Walter Samuel could be better for the Argentinean side than him. However, he did make some good
tackles on Robinho who was having an off-night himself.
The full back playing on the right flank was none other than the very experienced Inter Milan player Javier Zenetti. Zenetti showed the Brazilian players what he was capable of. The Argentinean coach had faith in him and he was definitely
the best choice that the Argentineans had. Javier Zenetti was also played in the friendly match against Spain which was won by the Argentineans side and it was definitely a “night-to-remember” for Javier Zenetti who was able to hold back the Spanish goal scoring
machine and the newly signed Barcelona star David Villa.
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