Football News

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/10/2012 at 2:30 AM 0 Lets see @Abs all we can do is hope he improves nothing else can be done.

Abs (United States)

Posted on 10/10/2012 at 1:34 AM 0 That's just wrong .. Very wrong !!

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/9/2012 at 3:20 PM 0 Thats what we all may have to wait and watch , Sabella do have the nick name SLOATH for a reason I beleave he will replace some weak players whoever it is sooner or later.

sulav787 (Canada)

Posted on 10/9/2012 at 3:08 PM 0 @leandro.... i think zabaleta should remain with the team . he is improving.. ask english commentators. :)

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/9/2012 at 12:27 PM 0 @Mik, Yup.. If Sabella replaces Sosa for a quality midfielder as you listed (Lucho, Min~o, Jonas) my rating of him would jump from 'good', to 'very good'. If he dumps Zabaleta and freshens up the left back he would go to 'excellent'.. but thats wishfull thinking. I feel Rojo will be here for the long run.. :(

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/9/2012 at 2:06 AM 2 I feel we need more proper Midfield players to replace Sosa some one who can Defend and Help in Offence too the likes of Maxi Moralez(I like him ) Lamela and Pastroe, Gaitan all r attacking Minded Midfielders all r talented but for now guys our main Pblm is to have a Midfield. Dimaria is more of an Attcking Midfileder even though he tracks back to help defence he is still not reliable. So in 4-4-2 almost becomes a 4-3-3 no complaints because Dimarias instinct is always to attack. I m glad with Dimaria,Messi and Higuain/Aguero in a 4-4-2. But we still need some one to replace Sosa who is improved a lot but still an average player .Gutierrez and Mino r the ones which comes to mind first. Where as Banega and Biglia can be used to Substitute Gago and mascerano. Another player is the Commander Luco gonazalez. these r Sabellas type of players.These have a Chance because of their defencive Abilities. where as Lamela, Pastore, and Maxi moralez.they may find it hard to feature under Sabella. And where as Juan MANUEL MARTINEZ. MARTINEZ he looks a gud player he had played well for us in Domestic team lets give him a chance . Even though he wont get time to play.And hope lavezzi gets well soon. whatever others say he is a hell of a player. he has been in our team for a long time now he will defenetly come back. Most here dont like Dimaria and Lavezzi But these 2 will be there if no injuries. We like them or not. But i dont see both of them being dropped by Sabella especially Dimaria. For now Dimaria is the best attacking winger we have.Gaitan, Lamela, Mino etc etc have still not yet proved(They r not played yet by Sabella till now Not their fault). Where as Dimaria have perfermed well for us.Lavezzi too had done reasonably well in our last 2 matches.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 1:53 PM 0 @Leo.t- I totally agree, if we are going to play veteran Clemente then Zanetti is a much better (and deserved) call up. Zanetti should be in the next 4 world cups just out of respect for what he has done and how badly he was burned by the last few coaches. It would also be awesome to make him the most capped WC player in the millenium, he should be called up as a sub, a starter, a leader a role model until his hair falls off. Pupi is class and STILL a top level player. As for Cambiasso, he is good (I am not a huge fan though, his passing is weak at times and he can be slow, great positioning and crashing the box though).. but here is a position where we need new blood. Correct me if I am wrong, but Cambiasso and Lucho are a bit older than Jonas. Also, considering the work load required of the 'Sosa' #8 role Sabella wants and their natural positioning on the field, for a right mid Jonas is a more natural fit with a longer potential for the team. Jonas is also pretty tall, which helps balance out our short mid.

leo.t (United States)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 12:47 PM 0 As Leandro mentioned, we need players like Lucho, Jonas, and Cambiasso to be tried right now. Especially Cambiasso. I don't understand why we have not seen him in the qualifiers. That goes for Lucho as well. As for defense, what about W. Samuel and Zanetti? Yes, Zanetti is old, but solid as a rock in the back. We have some good veteran players that are still playing reguarly, but fail to see them in the national team.

niklucky02 (India)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 11:08 AM 0 Leandro: Ur post was awesome!

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 8:50 AM 3 @Dr.Maggy, its about selling tshirts ;) @Francito - "Instead, he goes with 1st time callups to Martinez, and Barcos.. who both have never been called up for any Argentina team, nor any at the youth level." You answered your own question. Whats smarter? To call a cranky, talented, superstar premadonna who does not deserve to be in the National team (poor goal record, poor # of red cards, poor chemistry with Messi, MEGA drama, publicly talks down of team, with a history of getting bratty when used as a sub (ie, Tevez-Gate) and ask this player to argue with his club to come fly thousands of miles and watch the game in the bench behind 3 other forwards (Messi, Aguero, Higuain)... OR call local, young, upcomming talent that is underrated, happy to even be ball boy for the team and HUNGRY to prove themselves in the world stage. The answer is clear. Sabella is not starting the new call ups, they ar e deep bench, so no reason to loose your cool. And as far as the 'we have players all over Europe'.. thats economics, not talent. Argentina is the #1 exporter of talent in the world (fact, especially impressive considering our population #) and when you point at Tevez, Aguero, etc, etc.. they all started local, so there are plenty of jewels to pick up and give a little polish.

zizo (Jordan)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 8:36 AM 0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2kkxfhehjk&feature=player_embedded romero's blooper causes the loss of his team this guy needs to reconsider he is becoming more and more reckless

Dr.Magdy (Egypt)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 7:42 AM 0 @Amlan Yes Banega started training with Valencia two weeks ago ,and he is expected to be ready to play by November. @el principe The thing about Mancini that he has four of the best strikers in the world and still he was attending Atletico-Malaga game yesterday to watch falcao ... weird !!!

Krshna (India)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 7:26 AM 0 @Amlan, @sulav787, Yes Ever Banega started training for Valencia. http://au.eurosport.com/football/liga/2012-2013/gago-return-to-training_sto3436326/story.shtml Hopefully he gets selected for friendly against Saudi Arabia in Nov

Amlan (Bangladesh)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 7:03 AM 0 Can anyone tell the latest news about Ever Banega's recovery from injury? Has he started training with Valencia?

el principe (United States)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 6:12 AM 1 Some of our players did great, some did poor this weekend. Here is the brief report. 1. Napoli Federico Fernandez started the game after a bad game in the UEFA cup game. He started because the regular Paolo Cannavaro wasn't available. The result is: Federico Fernandez was the Man of the Match! Hope this is the turning point. He is a big prospect but need more minutes. 2. As many people here have reported, Javier Pastore who is still struggling with PSG (no guys, he's not getting better yet. Don't get carried away) in his second season was one of the worst in their crucial game against their nemesis, Marseille. Playing in his favorite position behind 2 strikers, Pastore failed to impress. So Pastore lovers here (including me), don't expect any call up soon. Pastore didn't even get to play if I'm not mistaken in their Champions league game against Porto. 3. Walter Samuel, the wall scored the only goal in the derby match against Milan from Cambiasso's FK. This season after Lucio is sold to Juventus, the wall has become the most reliable defender. He normally starts with Ranocchia, not the new signing the Argentine Silvestre. 4. Playing as a sub, Sergio Aguero scored the second goal for Manchester City as they won the game. Mancini seems to rotate his 4 world class strikers this season. Tevez for me had a so-so game. Watching Tevez game this season, I still don't think it fits Messi's game at all. Tevez team work gets a bit better since that incident with Mancini, but still Messi and Tevez both are Argentina but are not born to play with each other. Period. Zabaleta did good for Man City. If you want to know Zabaleta's problem. It isn't his good performance for City and bad performance for national team. I think it's more than that. Zabaleta's issue is his consistency. He doesn't perform like that consistently. His issue is the same as Clemente Rodriguez issue. 5. The forgotten man, Otamendi is a key player for Porto this season. His team beat's Rojo's Sporting Lisbon 2-0. Rojo who plays as the starting central defender for Sporting this season (not left back) was red carded. The left back, Insua also played the game. 6. Finally Barca-Madrid. Masche was good. Both CR7 goal had nothing to do with Masche. Di Maria was so-so. Not good, but was a threat for Barca anytime he had the ball. Di-Maria-CR7-Benzema/Higuain trio is just as scarry as Messi-Xavi-Iniesta. The thing that I'm happy about is Messi's FK. I can confirm finally that Messi has FINALLY improved his FK to one of the world best. Last year, he was just slightly above average, this year, Messi along with Erik Lamela (Yes the youngster) are our best FK takers.

sulav787 (Canada)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 5:22 AM 0 is it true that banega has stated his training???

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 2:33 AM 0 If you don't know who Burrito Martinez or Barcos then you do not follow South American futbol much. Not random choices, choices that could help.

Kenneth (United States)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 1:25 AM 1 Francito Tevez is done with the national team unless Messi gets injured, he simply cannot play with the players whether the problem is in the locker room or on the field. A fantastic player but i would take Messi over Tevez any day. As for the mid field, that is what Batista put out, Banega, Gago, Masch in the mid field with Messi, Di Maria, and Lavezzi or higuian.) Also don't forget Basile with his 4 defensive midfielders...Sabella is doing fine for the most part, although i do dis agree with a lot of the call ups the starting XI seems solid.

Francito (United States)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 1:14 AM 0 Once again, Coach Sabella calls up the most random people for our important matches. In this months 2 qualifiers, Sabella called upJuan Manuel Martinez and Hernan Barcos! WTF?!?! WHOOOO?!? I dont understand his motives when we could of called up Tevez, who is playing great with ManCity, and Javier Pastore who is doing decently fine with PSG. Instead, he goes with 1st time callups to Martinez, and Barcos.. who both have never been called up for any Argentina team, nor any at the youth level. I have bashed Sabella in the past for calling up Brana, Guinaz, and all his former Estudiantes players. But he seriously needs someone to stand up and tell him this isnt working. We have so many great players all over the world, playing at the highest level of futbol from Spain, England, Italia, France, Germany. But instead, he calls up players playing in Liga de Brasil, Chinese Superliga, Ukraine League, etc. I have watched every Argentina game in past 17 years and I can tell you that this coach will not get it done for us. Yes he has helped our defense shape up alittle better with Garay, Fernandez, Colocinni, Campagnaro, and Zabaleta. But his decisions with the midfield is horrible. Mascherano, Gago, Banega, Di Maria, should be our 4 main mids! The only thing helping us out is our forwards (Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Lavezzi) other than that.. we are screwed unless he(Sabella) changes! We will get by our group and qualify, but once we get in the WorldCup… god be with us!

123tps (United States)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 12:30 AM 0 Jack, i believe Banega is actually 24 not 26.

cleanball (Indonesia)

Posted on 10/8/2012 at 12:07 AM 0 I think calling Martinez is not a bad idea; he's a good potential player and dare to fight and penetrate.

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 11:37 PM 0 Players that want to play in the MF for us, it doesn't matter who you are, you better track back and get the ball. Sosa is not that bad tbh. He has had some bad moments, sure, but he also has some good too. As for Sabella using this method, I don't know, it could be but I think whoever has been called up i.e. Pastore, Lamela, I am sure Sabella told them exactly what he expects from them.

Kenneth (United States)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 10:27 PM 1 I remember in my high School team the coach (who happened to be colombian) would play a player who was not as good or slower etc, over somebody who was really talented offensively (high school standards of course) he would do so, to make players who wanted that position work harder defensively and be more balanced...i wonder does anybody think Sabella good be doing that with the likes of Sosa? He did not start the last 2 games, but when he starts him is it b/c he really likes him or is it b/c he's doing more of "Hey nobody is safe, your gonna have to earn it"

Dr.Magdy (Egypt)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 8:40 PM 0 Sabella called up Sebastián Domínguez and Gino Peruzzi (who both did a god job against Brazil in my opinion) for the qualifiers. The rest of the local players are ... as usual: Ustari , Clemente Rodríguez ,Leandro Desábato ,Rodrigo Braña and Maxi Rodríguez.

Flaco (United Kingdom)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 7:04 PM 0 Something wrong with Pastore's head tonight, I did not get it! BTW, Atlanta is a weak team beaten by newly promoted Torino last week 5-1. I love the player to show in every match, not in 1 from 7! Better to rate the player for whole season not from 6 matches of 38! -I agree about Morales since he was in Velez. -I enjoyed the classico Barca vs Madrid.

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 6:52 PM 0 That guy is 26.

messi (Lebanon)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 6:48 PM 0 pastore aint that efficient with his style in the national team, banega still injured? how old is this guy?

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 6:47 PM 0 Sulav 787, yeah, I got no issues with Sosa. And only time he plays is when we have a system of 4-4-2, he normally is subbed off when we have to bring in another forward. Brana and Maxi, are more defensive then your boy Pastore. It would make zero sense to start Pastore or bring him even for a Sosa, since we bring in another attacker. And it would not make even more if you want to use 3 forwards, have Di Maria and have Pastore on the pitch. That is suicide. Oh BTW, Pastore was beyond crap today for PSG.

sulav787 (Canada)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 6:21 PM 0 @jack! usa... who would u like to replace sosa with?? or are you happy with sosa , brana, maxi?

aloushi (Lebanon)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 5:09 PM 0 this is off topic, but todays el clasico was incredible messi and ronaldo both had doubles, Messi had the edge in playing he couldve had 2-4 assists, his dribbling seems to be back, and what a freekick, hes showing again that hes a better fck taker than ronaldo. it was a beautiful match. Mascherano also played really good today, but i didnt like di marias performance today

aloushi (Lebanon)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 5:09 PM 0 off topic, but todays el clasico was incredible messi and ronaldo both had doubles, Messi had the edge in playing he couldve had 2-4 assists, his dribbling seems to be back, and what a freekick, hes showing again that hes a better fck taker than ronaldo. it was a beautiful match. Mascherano also played really good today, but i didnt like di marias performance today

elpipita (Iraq)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 2:29 PM 0 el principe I was watching the match very intently also, but my attension wasn't just on coco, maxi moralez is another player who I think could benefit the national team. He's very fast, great at dribbling and ball control and he can play in multiple positions namely central attacking midfield or left wing (makes some great crossing). His only weakness is his size (at 5,3 he's the smallest player in seria A) but from what I've seen it hasn't been determental to his game. Like lamela he needst to improve his defensive game, but for the majority of attacking players it is up to the coach to induce the mindset of defensive contribution (see what mourinho did with di-maria).

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 1:26 PM 0 Coco is going to be a better player than Pastore if he fulfills his potential.But could be extraordinary players. Like many people, I do rate Lamela as the better talent from the two. Coco has that corazon factor that many players don't have. When he does a move or trick, it looks natural it doesn't look forced a la Pastore. Lamela is only 20 years old and has a lot of room to grow. As I said, a lot of players have a couple years to show what they are are made out of. If Pastore and Coco both fulfill their potential, I doubt anybody will have much worry about the attacking core of our MF. Plus throw in Sanchez-Minó, we are going to be just fine. But calling them up now... I don't think it's the right thing or right time, even though it will give them "experience"... No, not just yet. The team still has work to do and we should continue to work with what we have now then think about tweaks and changes for players in certain spots. Just be patient.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 1:17 PM 0 Agreed, Iniesta > Christiano. I think Lamela has more future than Pastore. As for him dribling more, no!.. thats DiMarias weakness.. in midfield you want control and possession. A turn over will kill us on the counter. Dribbling is for wing play and forwards.. unless you are Messi. If Lamela can work hard to win back balls in defence I think he should be tried in for Sosa. Cheers.

Caniggia (Hong Kong)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 12:09 PM 0 Lamela really ought to be an outright replacement for Sosa. Would our team really be that unbalanced with him in the squad? For me, I don't think so and I'd rather he be our iniesta than CR7.

el principe (United States)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 9:04 AM 1 Off topic: Just finished watching Roma-Atalanta. The guy I watched closely was Erik Lamela. Strengths: I think this guy has all it takes to help our national team. He's right sided attacking midfielder just like Di Maria for Madrid, but that is just one of his positions. I tell you, Erik is very unselfish, he's a good team player, he's extremely versatile (our only player who can play anywhere from midfield up), he's got good dribbling and first touch, and most importantly, just like Di Maria, he loves to attempt making assists. I dare to bet that he'll be at least the top three top assist in serie A if Zeman trusts him to play in most serie A games. In the game against Atalanta alone, he "almost" had 3 assists. He's becoming a more important player this season. He's more important than the likes of Osvaldo, Pjanic, or Destro for Roma. Only Totti is more important than him for Roma. So expect a good thing from him. Weaknesses: Need to be more selfish. He needs to believe that he's a better player than what he thinks he is. Many times he played too safe. Yes he rarely made turnovers, but he barely attempts to get past his opponents as well. That's the biggest difference between him and Di Maria. With his amazing close control dribbling skills ala Messi, he should try to do more with his dribbling than just play safe. For me his weakness is his mental aspect, not skill. Killer instinct. He needs that. If he adds this aspect to his game, he'll be similar to CR7. How he helps Argentina? Argentina have no back up for Di Maria. Enzo Perez and Maxi both are just so so. Not only can he back up Di Maria, he can also back up Aguero, Higuain, Sosa, or even Messi (he played false #9 under Batista). For me with how Argentina play under Sabella, Lamela is a more ready product than his senior, Pastore.

elpipita (Iraq)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 5:46 AM 0 Martinez is a good call, fast, hardworking, has a good eye for goal and just good all round. He and Licha definitely deserve a look. As for Lavezzi, well I really like him and he was a delight to watch in Napoli, but like many of you have pointed out, he's a hothead and can be a big liability. He's the type of player that you need....on the bench! he's fast, strong and energetic and creates spaces for others, but he's very volatile and unpredictable, he could be that player that comes on and turns everything around (remember the 1-0 win against brazil during batista's reign) or could be that headless chicken that comes on only to be sent off a few min later (ala the 4-3 against brazil).

Kenneth (United States)

Posted on 10/7/2012 at 1:35 AM 0 Lavezzi has been playing well for Argentina as of late..in that case so has Martinez, he adds a completely different dynamic more of a dribbler, but still makes that run to create space. Honestly it's a good call up, for all those people that think that there 10+ better forwards out there please don't be naive.

hi2suresh (India)

Posted on 10/6/2012 at 9:32 PM 0 @Jack Spot on!! Martinez is the next best we have after Licha. Though I have seen his play only few times he always impressed me. Its always better to select players who has great attitude & mental balance. Lavezzi is a headless chicken & hez not the type of guy who can control his temper & this may cost us big time in imp matches.

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 10/6/2012 at 4:44 PM 0 Honestly, I don't think there is a half of a dozen forwards ahead of Martinez. Licha is the only one I can think of. Milito? No. Denis?No. He brings that South American experience to the table and knows how to play against those types of defenses. Martinez is a player that is needed. He was quite good vs Portugal a year back, where he drew the PK that gave Argentina the win. He shows his skills, and plays that 7 role quite well, will attack on either side and do his job quite well. He may or may not play but he has the skills on the training ground that can help the others around him. Lavezzi does well for the team but is really reckless, he is a player that can easily blow up and pick up a red card, that is what I worry about about when I see Lavezzi play. He is a liability.

aka Mr. D (Peru)

Posted on 10/6/2012 at 4:37 PM 1 I like Martinez, I really really do but there a half dozen other Argentine forwards that I think would be a better call up. As for the Lavezzi-hate, this guy was the best the player over the last two WCQs but I suppose some people come up with an opinion and refuse to budge.

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 10/6/2012 at 4:21 PM 1 People need to STOP CRYING about Pastore! Why is he still playing in South America? Why is Neymar still playing in South America? He gets paid better in South America then he would in Europe. And that logic why is he still playing in South America, is garbage. So whoever makes it to Europe are automatically better than anybody in South America? Martinez is a forward that is why he is called.

sulav787 (Canada)

Posted on 10/6/2012 at 3:34 PM 0 why not pastore?? why?? if this guy martinez is better than pastore then why is he still playing in south america?? why not europe?? sabella's stubbornness will cost arjentina big in upcoming matches... cambiasso is only 32 yrs old and he is excellent at inter... instead of brana and sosa use cambiasso..

Dr.Magdy (Egypt)

Posted on 10/6/2012 at 3:18 PM 0 Romero catching butterflies !!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRDEmxeXMPo

mzzl (Russia)

Posted on 10/6/2012 at 4:06 AM 0 Burrito isnt the same cla$$ as Lavezzi. You are right. But he is better dribbler & more intelligent player.

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 10/5/2012 at 11:58 PM 1 Juan Martinez is not of the same class as Lavezzi...and if you think so...never play fantasy soccer!! lol...I really wanted Pastore to be called on with Lavezzi's injury....

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/5/2012 at 11:04 PM 0 @Pino.. while I agree Tevez is a beast and helps a lot in the midfield, I think you will find most people disagree with you. Tevez is no midfielder. While each player has its strengths and their inclinations, what we need are 'real' midfielders. A midfielder is a player that runs back every play to help the defence, a player with incredible stamina, a player with a good balance of size, strength and speed. A player that has experience reading the flow of the game, a player that can hold possession and control the middle with safe pacing and ball control. A player than can split a defence with smart passing and that can scare you when near the box. Unfortunately, most our current star midfielders are in the defensive spectrum (Masch, Gago, Banega) or hyper offensive (Pastore, DiMaria, etc). We are desperately in need of players like Lucho, Jonas, Cambiasso, Simeone, Maxi(before he got hurt), Min~o, etc who are balanced AND TALENTED.. so far Sosa is our stand in..

Pino (United States)

Posted on 10/5/2012 at 9:46 PM 0 Tino Costa, Yacob, Ronglalia, and Gaitan!!!, we need to focus on the midfield. The defence is getting better but our mid is horrible. Also Peruzzi should be our rightback and Messi is not a midfielder, we need someone that has midfield experience, Tevez. Tevez is our best mid, he really is and i would take out DiMaria or Lavezzi, to headless chickens, only one.

Dr.Magdy (Egypt)

Posted on 10/5/2012 at 6:53 PM 0 It looks like Lavezzi's injury turned out to be a blessing ,Martinez is way better than that headless chicken ,he is more calm with the ball and a better dribbler. Good luck "El Burrito".

Shinigami (Canada)

Posted on 10/5/2012 at 6:44 PM 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfslY_AvhLw