Football News

aka Mr. D (Peru)

Posted on 9/22/2012 at 12:47 PM 0 @Leandro I think Argentina needed to try and go for a more posession-based, build-up-the-attack approach in the second half. The quick-break, long-pass thing just wasn't cutting it. Maybe Pastore isn't the answer but then have SOME creative midfielder on the bench. When Guiñazu came on that signaled Sabella was settlign for a draw. It's true Argentina looked less shaky but that's about it. I was at the game and had a good view of when Guiñazu got in the box and it was clear he couldn't do anything offensively with that ball.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 9/21/2012 at 6:00 PM 0 @Mr.D, against Peru I am afraid Pastore would have gotten squashed by the overly aggressive Peruvian midfield and defense. They dont call him Fideo for nothing. While there is a chance that a more ball controlling team could have put more pressure on Peru, I think the most likely outcome would have been our midfield getting further squashed, more pressure on Masch and co in the back and a loss. Things started looking up when Guinazu came in and we finally started winning 50/50 balls in the middle. In futbol, besides a quality forward and a quality goal keeper, 90% of the rest is winning the 50/50 challenges in midfield. Peru, by being dirty and desperate won 90% of those battles. Players like Pastore make the difference in OPEN games. Peru was perfect for Guinazu, Masch, Burdisso, Heinze, Tevez, etc.. brawlers.

aka Mr. D (Peru)

Posted on 9/21/2012 at 8:21 AM 1 The thing about the PSG match was that Pastore was deployed on the wing but after PSG managed to get 3 quick goals Pastore played much more centrally. I don't know if this was a change by Ancelotti or if Pastore just did this because and Ancelotti didn't care since PSG was cruising. I thought from then on Pastore looked much better. Because Pastore models himself on Kaka I think people sometimes think he should be able to do what Kaka did which is to be just as comfortable as the attacking midfielder or as a winger. But this isn't the case. I don't think Pastore is worthwhile except playing centrally. And this is where I find myself having been won over by Sabella. I've been convinced by the H*A*M upfront with di María and the double pivot (Mascherano and Gago) behind them. In this formation there's no place for Pastore. So why call him up? Well, I think the Perú match is the reason why. It just wasn't working in that game. It would've been worth pulling off either Lavezzi or di María (in that case I'd say di María since Lavezzi was having the better game and looking far more dangerous) at half-time and putting in Pastore (or Lamela, or Aimar, etc.) and trying to build the attack and push forward instead of counter-attacks and long balls.

Moe (United States)

Posted on 9/20/2012 at 4:56 PM 0 There is no alternative for messi. Argentina is the best team in the world on paper (with all the names) except our defence, hopefully Sabella will work on this problem. I really like the performance of fernandez and campagnaro

el principe (United States)

Posted on 9/20/2012 at 10:34 AM 1 @Flaco I watched the full match of PSG-Kiev, not just the clip. If we just watched the clip, Pastore must have looked good because he has 3 clear chances and some beautiful flicks, but if we watch the full match (I was just concentrating on one player only, who is Pastore during the whole match), I could see how ordinary he was. He was way better at Palermo. I know he's improved in the last 2 matches, but that doesn't mean that he's good. For me he's still in adaptation process.

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 9/20/2012 at 2:00 AM 0 I think one of the few players who can Substitute for Messi is Pastore. i mean we must have an alternative for messi too isnt it. pastore is more matured than the likes of Lamela in International Arena. He can play behind 2 Strikers Say in our case KUN and HIGUAIN thats were hes more adapted to. Say a PLAN B.

Abs (United States)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 11:10 PM 0 @ pablo.d: No no no no Pablo, don't get me wrong, I never said Pastore is Riquelme or the future Riquelme. All I said is, if Pastore want to ever be our national team saver, then he MUST do what Roman does best. That doesn't mean he need to be at his level, but at least have his way of playing. I believe Pastore have what it takes to do that, but is he willing to is another story !!

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 9:16 PM 0 at the moment i don't see a place for pastore in the n/t, maybe one day but for me hes a long way from it at the moment but riquelme was a special player, a once in a generation player.

Abs (United States)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 8:29 PM 0 If we ever want to see Pastore in the national team then he'll need to take the playmaker role. The type that Roman was. He isn't a dynamic player, and no way we can play him as a wing. However, he have the vision, skills and the talent to be what we all want .. The new Riquelme !!

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 5:46 PM 0 @Mik-on second thought, I agree. Pastore is probably not cut out to be a winger. Its tough to find a position for the kid !

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 3:44 PM 1 Now Sanchez Mino can also bee added to the puzzle to have as an alternative to Dimaria. Gaitan,Lamela,And Mino can be tested in place of Dimaria. But i dont think Pastore can play at Wings he is more adapted to centre. last time Sabella played him out of position.Donnow he may ever play under Sabella. Somehow i think he needs to beef up a little hes tooo Skiny and Tall EL FLACO apt nick though but defenetly talented. So as other names lamela, Gaitan, Mino etc etc. But whoes gonna make into Sabellas Radar its a very tricky part. ENZO PEREZ did it SALVIO too is there Coincidently both r former Estudiantes Players. I think Enzo will be the next one to replace Sosa.

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 12:14 PM 0 Pastore doesn't have much of a spot on the NT. He's kind of a cherry on top player, a luxury sports car that is fancier than it is fast or reliable. Think high maintenance Jag. I like the kid, and always have, but I don't see him featuring at all for Sabella, at least not any time soon. Like others have pointed out, he would be competing with Di Maria on the left wing, and I would throw Gaitan in there as well. Maybe Lamela, though honestly I prefer Gaitan at the moment, though not by a whole lot. Both Gaitan and Lamela have more speed than Pastore, and so does Di Maria. So, Pastore is probably down the pecking order, as it looks like speed on the left flank is a priority, given that Sabella seems intent on running quick hitting counters. In addition, I don't see Pastore as much of a digger on defense. As for Gaitan, I do wish Sabella would look at him as competition for Di Maria. It might be helpful to Have Di Maria looking over his shoulder a little. But, if Sabella stuck Gaitan on the squad he would most likely be faced with ditching one of his DMs. At any rate, that's my 2 cents after lots of coffee this morning.

Flaco (United Kingdom)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 11:42 AM 0 @Leandro Agree...

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 11:11 AM 0 I am not a Pastore fanboy, nor am I wanting him in the starting 11.. however, the kid has talent and all he needs is experience.. as he nears his late 20's early 30's with discipline and good coaches he could be very important for us in the future.. def. not now. Players that can step on the ball and create a time-warp-black-hole then split the defense of a tight team with a good pass or flick are very important, especially for world powers where other teams park the bus. If he tries really really hard he could be the sort of player Xavi, Zidane, etc are/where.. that kind of players matures very late in their carrer. They dont necesarily need a lot of running, they need an intelligence above any other player in the field combined with creativity. Pastore has great ball control, good vision, good finishing and a nice injection of creativity.. he is just too green in a team too big for him. He might become more.. time will tell. We do need him or Lamela in our bench though, for confidence, for training and incase Messi or DiMaria get bad long injuries as a fallback.

Flaco (United Kingdom)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 10:49 AM 0 @elprincipe Did you watch full PSG match yesterday? Or I saw another Pastore than that you watched? I do not write that because I am just Flaco fan. Even press which have criticised him very harsh recently praised him very much! PS: good luck for Argntine players tonight

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 8:44 AM 0 Ofcourse Saviola is not a Kid any more all knows it hes around 30 but he still looks chilidish thats what meant. Cute, And Have to agree with @elprincipe Zabaleta now on have a tuff time to get playing time.But no worries for him He will be kept on choosen as our NT RB by Sabella. he wont easily gives up on certain players. i do hope Peruzzi comes out gud against Brazil. And Dimaria thats what he brings to the table. Agree or not he has the Knack of giveing sublime assists from nowhere. He play bad sometimes But look at his Ratio of assists even at NT level.He can perform well as a Winger but when given a more central role he dribbles too much and looses the ball.He needs to mature more which i think he will he is young afterall.Which we all knows. But saw the other day he was trying to Punch down someone OMG thats sort of things need to be avoided, Hopefully he do. Sabella wont replace him for sure soon. And Tevez i think didnt had a gud match he was the only striker for most part he was better to be played as a SS not as a main one along with Aguero or may be others.

el principe (United States)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 6:21 AM 0 I watched some games of CL last night including Madrid-City and PSG-Kiev. Some of our players were playing: 1. Gonzalo Higuain. Just when Mourinho seemed to trust him more than Benzema, he did bad. Benzema, his replacement did a lot better in just 20 minutes of playing. I won't be surprised if Mou prefers Benzema again now. 2. Angel Di Maria. Wasn't too good in the first 65 minutes, but ended up with 2 assists to Marcelo and Benzema. The guy has a very high instinct of giving assists. 3. Carlos Tevez. Worked really hard, but his positioning was bad as usual as "false" number 9. He was going too deep at times. 4. Pablo Zabaleta. This guy is in jeopardy of having a bad season. Maicon is clearly better than him both offensively and defensively. Plus, in this game, it was Zabaleta's poor marking that gave CR7 winning goal. They also still have Micah Richards. It's a perfect time for Sabella to think about his replacement. I will be really surprised if Zabaleta won the competition against Maicon and Richards. The left side back has Kolarov and Clichy. It isn't easy at all. So far, Zabaleta is Maicon's back up. Higher than Richards, but we'll see. 5. Javier Pastore. He had 3 chances and a goal. To be honest he looked disappointing. If Lavezzi is spirited, Pastore is the other way around. He's extremely lazy and treat every game as if it's an exhibition game. He hardly runs. He's just interested in flicks and showing great touches. There is nothing wrong with that, but he needs more running. He needs more passion to do damage to the opponents since he's not DM. He's just perfect for our national team if we have already won 4-0 and there is no emergency to add more goals. I like Pastore, but he needs to improve. Don't blame Sabella not to call him now.

cleanball (Indonesia)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 6:00 AM 0 Saviola ,the Rabbit ( El conejO )is not a kid anymore, at 30s still can offer at club level, nice Malaga brings him back to La Liga. Biglia is a potential and more to come from him. I agree city should play Kun or Edin Dzeko from the start, maybe Mancini wants to control the mid and it works but the last minute goal changes the result. Enjoy the Barca's game tonight.Love all :)

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 4:34 AM 0 Saviola the other day i was watching Malagas Match has been nick named by the Commentater as LITTLE RABBIT sounds cute he still looks so childish.I like Saviola . And BIGLIA is one player who was impressive against AC Milan he is someone who can pose and dictate better than gago he takes good Cornerkicks gud passing a calm player and uses his head more. never shoots wastefully. And MC only playing Tevez upfront dont help them they need to pair Aguero and TYevez together they seems to be a lethal pair. They do play well together brings in so much movements upfront.

cleanball (Indonesia)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 3:29 AM 0 Saviola is one of the best but unlikely to be call again as he have to compete with Higuain,Kun and Lavezzi; beside el conejo already said to retired from intl'national level since 2009

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 2:28 AM 0 saviola is one of my favs as he has never let the n.t down,a very good tem player. id like to se lamera, lis lopez,aimar and gaitan given a chance.

cleanball (Indonesia)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 1:54 AM 0 For me, 3 players deserve a called from Sabella : Pastore,Lisandro Lopez (Lyon) and Gaitan

Abs (United States)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 12:19 AM 0 Oh, forgot about Pastore and Lucho !! But Pipita did (pretty much) him self a very bad deal by missing those easy goals, and Karim just reserved his spot again !!

Abs (United States)

Posted on 9/19/2012 at 12:17 AM 0 Saviola yet with another goal to Malaga .. Told you I love that kid !!

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 9:45 PM 0 @Leandro-not to turn this into a Man City thread, but agreed with all of that about Yaya Toure. He's a piece of work.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 9:30 PM 0 YayaToure is a beast.. funny though, always looks like he is too slow, too winded, about to fall over.. and then when it counts he turns it on and explodes like a run-away train.. power, speed, skill, intelligence. Such an interesting player.

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 5:49 PM 0 @Leandro-I hope you are right about Man City, but they were completely outplayed much of the match. Real Madrid marked tough the first 65 minutes and City could do little other than a few counters orchestrated by Y Toure. I think its going to take awhile for Mancini to fit in his new additions. Plus, I ain't crazy about him playing Tevez alone up front. I hope KUN is just about ready.

zizo (Jordan)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 5:43 PM 0 saviola is doing great I saw Argentinian calling for him to be in the NT I want him too miss him so much

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 5:32 PM 0 @Jhonny, wait for the return leg at Man.City. Madrid is under a lot of pressure to prove since they are sucking at la liga. Man.City still got 2 goals away from them, if they play just a little better at home they got this.

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 4:35 PM 0 Well, that certainly didn't turn out as I hoped.:(

los matadores (Argentina)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 2:24 PM 0 Gaitan would be a good substitute for Di Maria. I rate him higher than Lavezzi.

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 2:15 PM 0 I too dont like Mourinjo he seems be a coach who does anything to win. No Sportsman Spirit and after all the things and cheap shoats he do he talks crap just like Pele i hate both. No Offence both r great in what they do. But too much Blah Blahs.Both r ridiculous.

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 2:00 PM 0 @Leandro and CannedHeat-good points !!

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 1:47 PM 1 Yeah.. right on @Johnny. And dont forget they disrespect our good players like Pipita and Saviola and Gago..

Canned Heat (Sweden)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 1:36 PM 1 @Johnny, think you forgot Arbeloa. That guy, when playing for RM, acts like the worst kind of psychopath. The odd thing is, when playing for Spain, he seems to put on a quite different costume/face. I mean acceptable behavior. So there is a clear example of Mou'se corrupting influence. Wonder how Casillas is coping with the RM situation.

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 1:06 PM 2 @Nicky B-you are right ! Plus, I don't like many of their players. Pepe-jerk ! Sergio Ramos-asshole ! CR7-brat extraordinaire ! Di Maria....oops, he's one of ours !!:)

Nicky B (Jamaica)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 12:37 PM 0 @Johnny I can sense you don't like a bone in Mourinho

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 10:11 AM 0 How it would do my heart good to see Man City drive a deeper stake into the belly of Mourinho and Real Madrid. I want to see them as miserable as is possible.

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 5:04 AM 0 Gaitan can perform as a Winger and AM too i guess.and Salvio too. Enzo Perez seems to be in gud touch recently. Looking forwrd to Biglia against AC Milan.

los matadores (Argentina)

Posted on 9/18/2012 at 1:42 AM 0 Gaitan and Salvio have been looking excellent lately. Too bad we have no use at all for more forwards.