Argentina Continues Winning form under Messi

Diego Maradona's Argentina secured a hard fought 2-0 victory against a ultra-defensive Greece. If you felt that you were watching the Inter-Barca second leg, you could be very much forgiven. It was kind of bizzarre. Greece needed to win this to make sure about progressing but they had 4 centre backs and two full backs on the pitch and forget the defensive minded midfielders. Still Samaras as the lone striker created enough problem for a make shift Argentinian back four. The highlight of the match was once again Messi failing to get into the scoresheet. He came close hitting the woodwork but Palermo was the lucky one who scored from the rebound.

Nicolas OTAMENDI looked good and Maradona should pick him ahead of Guitterez as right back. But the star of the night was Clemente RODRIGUEZ, playing as left back. After watching Samaras causing trouble for Argentinian defense I am pretty convinced that the way to deal with an ultra defensive 5-4-1 or a 4-5-1 formation is not with four defenders . The best option is to have a three mand central defense pair with no full backs. Why because, there will be only one anchor man and the entire idea will be to use his strenth to release player. A three man closed packed central defense will be able to cut all the long balls. That means we can have a 4 men or a 5 men midfield, which will be essential to creating space. But still the best way to crack such ultra defensive setup is from set-pieces. There were rumours recently that FIFA is considering to scrap the offside rule to encourage more attacking players, if that's done Jose Mourinho will go jobless;-).

The Group A matches have finished and Uruguay and Mexico qualified for the round of 16. Argentina will face Mexico, meanwhile South Korea will be facing Uruguay. French players who has become a symbol of national shame hit a new low by losing 2-1 to South Africa. Today two of the tightly contested groups will be decided. The fates of England, USA, Germany all hang in the balance.

Argentina arrives in South Africa in midst of another selection controversy. Pundits across the world is struggling to make sense of Diego Maradona's decision to omit Champions League winners Cambiasso and Zannetti. To an extent mayhem was expected in the selection process, as Maradona had to pick from a possible 100 players(he used that much for qualifying process). That in itself shoudld be a record. The final 23 players who is making to Argentina are Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andújar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon); Nicolas Burdisso (Roma), Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Vélez Sarsfield), Clemente Rodríguez (Estudiantes), Ariel Garcé (Colon); Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Juan Sebastián Veron (Estudiantes), Maximiliano Rodríguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Jonas Gutiérrez (Newcastle), Javier Pastore (Palermo); Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid), Diego Milito (Internazionale), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuaín (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona). Zannetti's and Cambiasso's exclusion doesn't come as surprise for those who followed Argentinian qualification campaign. After a series of not so good performances, both the players fell out of favour with El Diego.

Going by betting market, Argentina is currently fourth favourite to lift the cup, behind Spain, Brazil and England respectively. Surprisingly a more compact Dutch nationa team is placed behind Argentina. A look at the squad, we will clearly know what has prompted that favourites tag - it's that attacking line-up. A squad list consisting of Lionel Messi, Milito, Agüero, Tevez, Higuaín and Palermo should give sleepless nights to opponents. But I doubt many may lose sleep as only two of them is expected to start the match for Argentina. There precisely lies the biggest problem for Argentina. Most of the abundance of talent lies upfront and will be unused for majority of tournament. Like I have written earlier - Solving Argentinian Puzzle , Maradona has to adapt a formation which utilises atleast three of them in every match. The quality in midfield and especially defense is pretty sub-standard. The midfield most probably will have a combination of Angel Di Maria, Mascherano, Veron and Maxi Rodriguez, not a bad combination but many of them are pretty much out of form. How Maradona will organise his defense also need to be seen. Walter Samuel after an excellent display at Inter could be the heart but the likes of Martín Demichelis, Henize all are quite risky against fast paced opponents.

If this Argentinian team is going to win the Cup, it will be soley based on their pure attacking strength. That's why I always believed it would be better to move Messi into the midfield rather than upfront. Many times we have seen Messi struggling to get into the game in an Argentinian jersey. This is precisely due to the fact that the midfield behind him is not letting him. Messi is the trump card of Maradona in this World Cup and the success of his team will depend upon how he use him. The best way is to play Messi as a pivot lying behind the two centre forward and infront of a three man midfield. That way he will get into the game more often and Maradona can use the two of either Tevez, Higuaín, Milito or Agüero upfront. With Veron, Mascherano and Maxi potentially going to fill the midfield, there is a serious drought of creativity there. So Angel di Mari should be a must as he can only provide the pace and freshness from that midfield. I have no idea how Maradona will line-up his defense, but he has to make sure that he don't play Henize in the centre of defense.

No other player in the history of the game would have done so much for his national side's triumph in World Cup like Maradona. He single handedly took Argentina to World Cup triumph in 86 and to the World Cup final in 90. We ahve seen the "Goal of Century" time and again, but how about this wonder assist againt Brazil in 1990.

But Maradona has to stop expecting his players to display the same magic. Maradona as a player lies in a different league compared to these players. We expect Messi to match his genius, but El Pulga may take some more years to match his idol at his best. Last World Cup, Argentina had the best team in the tournament but went out due to their conservative strategy against Germany. But this time around the team is not that perfect, but they still have the likes of Messi, Aguerro, Higuain, Milito etc who can single handedly change the course of a match. And a number of those Gentlemen have to play out of their skin if they have to take home the cup. The last time Argentina lifted the cup was with the help of the genius of Maradona. May be that was the missing piece all these years, and now they have the genius as the Manager. But only his managerial skills remains the biggest stumbling block as of now.

While all eyes are on the Scudetto race, there’s another Serie A battle brewing this weekend that will be much more entertaining.

In most of the major European leagues, there are the sharks and the minnows, with a few barracudas in between.  The mid-level teams are like cheering for the underdogs, except more rewarding as a surprise Champions League or Europa League birth is a wonderful reward, rather than just avoiding relegation.

Last year in Serie A, it was Fiorentina who managed to grab the fourth Champions League spot, and made a great run in the competition this year.

Watching Manchester City and Tottenham battle for fourth in the EPL was extremely exciting.

This weekend in Serie A, Sampdoria travels to Palermo for a battle at the Stadio Renzo Barbera, with the right to play in the Champions League on the line.

Both Palermo and Sampdoria have been fantastic teams to watch this year.  They have made the most of their offensive catalysts, a workmanlike midfield and a solid if unspectacular backline.

Take a look at these quick facts and tell me who has the upper hand:

While Sampdoria had the fifth best defense in Serie A, Palermo had the fith best offense. 

Palermo has the second best home record in all of Serie A, and hasn’t lost a game at the Renzo Barbera all season.

Sampdoria has won every one of their last five games and is the hottest team in Serie A at the moment.

Fabrizio Miccoli of Palermo is in third place for Serie A scoring and Giampaolo Pazzini of Sampdoria is in fourth.

The squads are evenly matched and poised to put on a show for their fans, which is all we could ask for.  The difference will likely come down to the match-ups at various locations on the pitch. 

Let’s examine that a little closer.

The Starting Lineups

Sampdoria typically play a 4-4-1-1 with Cassano playing off of Pazzini up front and the wide midfielders pushed up with the central midfield players sitting in front of the back line.

GK: Storari

DEF: Zauri – Lucchini – Gastaldello – Ziegler

MID: Semioli – Palombo - Poli – Guberti

FWD: Cassano – Pazzini

Palermo has been playing a 4-3-1-2 with Javier Pastore as the trequartista and Miccoli as a support striker, often drifting out wide to the left.

GK: Sirigu

DEF: Cassani – Kjaer – Bovo – Balzaretti

MID: Nocerino – Liverani - Migliaccio

A-Mid: Pastore

FWD: Abel – Miccoli

The matchups that will decide the game are:

Miccoli vs Zauri

Miccoli will frequently drift out to the left and into the defensive zone of right-back Zauri.  If Zauri can keep his mark from dancing past him, making room for a curling shot or at least paying for each possession with a hard tackle, then Sampdoria have a shot.  My thoughts, however, are that Miccoli will own this matchup.

Pastore vs Palombo and Poli

In the middle of the pitch, Sampdoria have two deep-lying midfielders to deal with the ambling runs of Javier Pastore.  Palombo has been one of the better two-way midfielders in Italy this season and should be able to body the slight Pastore off the ball.  I would give the advantage to Sampdoria here.

Midfield Possession

Palermo play a tight midfield that flairs wide when needed and often gets added width from the fullbacks as well as Miccoli drifting wide.

Sampdoria gets their width from the wide midfielders pushing forward and Cassano dropping off to pick up passes or drifting wide to find a mismatch.  Unfortunately, with both central mids sitting deep, there can be a lot of space to exploit.  Both Migliaccio and Nocerino could have acres of space in front of them if Palombo and Poli concentrate on Pastore.   They are also able to help the fullbacks deal with Guberti and Semioli.

Palermo will outman Sampdoria in the center of midfield and won’t lose anything out wide.  Palermo should have the advantage.

Cassano and Pazzini vs the Palermo back line

The dynamic duo up front for Sampdoria has at times appeared to have a telepathic connection.  That said, they could frequently be isolated as two attackers vs a four-man back line if the Palermo midfield cancels out Sampdoria’s.

In this scenario, Simon Kjaer is more than capable of handling Pazzini while Cassano is constantly presented with two defenders in his face.  Again, the advantage is in Palermo’s favor.

The Verdict

It should be a hard fought game with a lot of action, but I see Palermo getting the win, and enjoying a one point lead on Sampdoria for fourth going into the final week of the season.

Guarani 1 - Boca Juniors 3 (Copa Libertadores, March 18, 2009) The hosts took a surprise lead when Jose Negreiros turned in Fabbro’s low cross in the 35th minute. Boca levelled in the 67th minute when Hugo Ibarra went down in the area and Juan Roman Riquelme fired home the spot-kick. Boca then steamed ahead, Martin Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio scoring twice in the last 15 minutes to give them a flattering win.

Cruzeiro 2 - Universitario 0 (Copa Libertadores, March 18, 2009) Wellington Paulista scored a second half brace for Cruzeiro to wrap up the points.

San Lorenzo 0 - Libertad 1 (Copa Libertadores, March 18, 2009) San Lorenzo defender Gaston Aguirre turned the ball into his own net five minutes after the restart to seal the home side’s fate.

Boyaca Chico 3 - Universidad de Chile 0 (Copa Libertadores, March 18, 2009) Edwin Movil opened the scoring after three minutes with a shot off the left post, Wiston Giron doubled the lead in the 18th, and midfielder Juan Gilberto Nunez capped it off with 20 minutes left.

Defensor Sporting 0 - Sao Paulo 1 (Copa Libertadores, March 18, 2009) Sao Paulo ground out an efficient 1-nil win away in Uruguay thanks to a goal from striker Borges six minutes before halftime.

San Luis 2 - Universitario Peru 2 (Copa Libertadores, March 18, 2009)

Coming into Sunday’s game, Juventus had seven players unavailable due to injury when they faced Palermo, which only added to the immense pressure Juve manager Claudio Ranieri already was in after three consecutive draws.

In the starting XI, Pavel Nedved made way for Sebastian Giovinco, who took on the role of trequartista behind Del Piero and Amauri.

Palermo had three wins in four games and were flying high under new manager Ballardini. The Rosaneri missed three players ahead of the game, but played up to their potential, handing Juventus their first defeat of the season.

The game started with a slow tempo at Turin's Stadio Olimpico. Both sides created chances, but it was the visiting side that took charge in the first half.

The first goal came in the 23rd minute as a Fabio Liverani free kick found Edison Cavani’s volley bringing out a one-hand save from Gianluigi Buffon. However, Fabrizio Miccoli was first to get to the rebound and tapped in the shot beside a prone Buffon. Soon after his goal, the former Juventus hit-man was substituted for Migliaccio due to a calf injury.

Not long after Ballardini’s first substitution his Juventus counterpart was forced to do the same thing as Olof Mellberg had to go off with an upper thigh problem, with Hasan Salihamidzic coming on and the Juventus tactician changing to a 4-4-2 system, pushed Giovinco out to the left flank.

Juventus started to grow into the game late into the first half. Amauri was hacked down right outside the Palermo box. Alessandro Del Piero stepped forward and curled in one of his trademarks free kicks to level the score at one.

The Bianconeri happiness was cut short as Momo Sissoko earned his second booking within a matter of five minutes, leaving his teammates fighting with only ten men for the remainder of the game.

Juventus largely dominated the second half, but Palermo continued to look dangerous every time they pushed forward.

Midway into the second half Ranieri decided to sacrifice Cristian Poulsen, who until then had not done much wrong, in favor of Mauro Camoranesi in an attempt to change the game. Mark Bresciano had made way for Levan Mchedlildze on the opposite side five minutes earlier.

With ten minutes remaining of the game, Ranieri surprisingly decided to bring Nedved on to replace Giovinco, who until then along with Del Piero and De Ceglie, had been the best Bianconeri player on the field.

Palermo’s winner came almost directly after Ranieri’s last substitution. With a through ball from Simplicio, the 19-year old Mchedlildze scored his first ever Serie A goal.

Del Piero then curled another free kick over in the stoppages while Palermo had a golden opportunity to add another goal to the score-sheet through Simplicio, but had to settle for a 2-1 win.

The Rosaneri go back to Sicily with three well-deserved points as Serie A takes a break for international duty.

Palermo sails up to fourth place whereas Juventus free-fall down to 11th, sending the club into crisis.

It’s safe to say that Ranieri can now prepare himself for an interesting press conference as he is going to be under quite a bit of scrutiny following Juve’s dismal performances.

Last year’s demolishing from the Turin outfit is a distant memory as a confident Palermo travels to Turin to take on a struggling Juventus this Sunday.

Both Juventus and Palermo are level on points—laying the ground for an interesting game at the Stadio Olimpico. The Sicilian club is hoping to get past Catania on the table ahead of next week’s derby as Juventus is going through a goal-drought.

JUVENTUS

Last season saw Juventus having a field day by trashing the Sicilian side with 5-0. There are different circumstances this time around as the Bianconeri players have had major difficulties in finding the back of the net—in spite of no shortage in the amount of chances created.

The Bianconeri now has three back to back draws that as resulted in talks of a club in crisis as well as the possibility that coach Ranieri might be getting the sack this Sunday should his side fail to deliver

Ranieri’s injury headache continues as Legrottaglie, Zebina, Zanetti, Andrade and Trezeguet remain injured, but Buffon is expected to be back between the posts after his two-week absence.

Due to the injury list the Juventus tactician is facing he could very well be forced to start with his sixth defence line-up in as many games seeing that Chiellini still is an uncertain card. In the case of Chiellinis inability to participate on Sunday’s fixture Knezevic is set to fill his place next to Mellberg.

Recent reports suggests that Alex Del Piero has had a falling out with Ranieri – something that could result in the dropping of the captain thus opening up a spot for Iaquinta who scored twice in their midweek Champions League game against Bate Borisov.

Amauri is up for an emotional encounter as this is the first time the Brazilian comes up against his former side since his summer switch to the Turin-based club.

Juventus (probable): Buffon, De Ceglie, Chiellini, Mellberg, Grygera, Nedved, Marchisio, Poulsen, Camoranesi, Iaquinta, Amauri.

PALERMO

Palermo has, under new coach Davide Ballardini, snatched up three wins in four games and is finally playing their potential. The confidence is high and the team fresh considering having had no midweek cup-play.

Last week’s clash with defence prone Reggina lead Palermo’s game to a stand-still at times but an individual performance from former Juventus hit-man Miccoli gave all three points to the Rosanero.

The game against Juventus marks a streak of tricky games for Ballardini as his men take on Catania next week in an away derby followed by Fiorentina home at La Favorita.

Ballardini has just like his Juventus counterpart several absentees ahead of the game with Bresciano, Budan, Fontana, Succi and Guano on the sidelines.

The Sicilian side holds as many as five previous Bianconeri players in the squad, the latest being Nocerino who has fired up the atmosphere ahead of the game by declaring that he is very eager to beat his former side.

Palermo (probable): Amelia; Cassani, Carrozzieri, Bovo, Balzaretti; Nocerino, Liverani, Migliaccio; Simplicio; Cavani, Miccoli