In preperation of Argentina's World Cup Qualifier against Uruguay, our friends over at LaCelesteBlog.com have written an article previewing the match.
In exchange, LaCelesteBlog.com will be posting a Mundo Albiceleste article previewing match.
Here is the article:
Greetings to: MundoAlbiceleste
Hopefully our friend “FoxFang4″ will have a recap of Argentina & Uruguay’s rivalry posted soon… and somewhere in San Diego a very good Podcast exists and will hopefully be released before Christmas! But since nothing is going on in here, I thought it’s time to break the monotony. And so I give you my final preview of the Argentina vs Uruguay WCQ match.
Well not really much to report, if you have half-a-brain, you already know who’s playing and who isn’t. You already know Gastón Ramírez will not be playing, and even if he were fit, it would’ve been unlikely he would’ve managed to find himself a starter for this match. And Diego Pérez will not be playing, that much was already covered by this Blog.
Ovación, that Uruguayan source of pride took out an article today which makes a point out of saying that the Forlán/Suárez/Cavani trident did not score this weekend for their respective clubs. Suárez meanwhile made the news once again, this time for diving with no contact. Fun stuff of course.
But it’s not all doom and gloom is it? Surely we can begin to imagine that this particular match will not be a pitiful exercise in futility? It’s Mendoza we’ll be playing in and not Buenos Aires where Uruguay has not won in World Cup Qualification. So there’s at least that to be excited about right?
How will Uruguay line-up? Who knows… I’ve given up trying to read El Maestro’s mind, anytime I try to imagine an ultra-defensive lineup, I manage to stick in Álvaro González in the starting eleven –– something which really doesn’t make any sense, as even Stefan from the Podcast mentioned to me during the Podcast, that Tata is really El Maestro’s offensive/defensive/whatever the situation calls for answer off the bench. And so I really can’t draw up a starting XI to counter Argentina’s offensive firepower.
I will say this, in all probability, Lugano will be a starter –– his non-minutes at PSG means that maybe Tabárez will rethink the back-line more than the midfield. If that’s the case, maybe Gargano gets the nod to start? Again I don’t know why every time I try to put myself in El Maestro’s mindset, I can’t for the life of me see him playing both Arévalo-Ríos and Gargano. And so I think, wait, what about Tata? Wait a minute… didn’t I already cover this?
Let’s change the subject. This is who Argentina will take:
Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Sampdoria); Mariano Andújar (Catania) & Oscar Ustari (Boca Juniors).
Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City; Hugo Campagnaro & Federico Fernández (Nápoli); Ezequiel Garay (Benfica); Marcos Rojo (Sporting Lisboa); Clemente Rodríguez (Boca Jrs); Leandro Desábato (Estudiantes de La Plata); Sebastián Domínguez & Gino Peruzzi (Vélez Sarsfield).
Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (FC Barcelona); Angel Di María (Real Madrid); Enzo Pérez (Benfica); Fernando Gago (Valencia); José Sosa (Metalist Kharkiv); Pablo Guiñazú (Inter do Porto Alegre); Rodrigo Braña (Estudiantes) & Maximiliano Rodríguez (Newell’s Old Boys).
Strikers: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City); Ezequiel Lavezzi (París Saint Germain); Gonzalo Higuaín (Real Madrid); Hernán Barcos (Palmeiras); & Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona).
& Uruguay?
Do we really need to cover this? This is why it’s called an Equipo de Memoria –– if you’re surprised by any of these call-ups, you haven’t been watching Uruguay at all this year:
Goalkeepers: Muslera –– starting keeper, ’nuff said. Even though the following game will be in La Paz, it’s unlikely Tabárez will start Castillo or Silva. Castillo plays in Querétaro –– I have no idea what the altitude is in the Mexican city he plays in or if makes a difference at all. Unless Muslera gets ejected in the Argentina match, I think Muslera will start both matches.
Defense: Victorino; Cáceres; Godín; Aguirregaray; Lugano; Scotti; Coates & Maximiliano Pereira. I think the Tabárez will go with 5 in the back –– Something with Cáceres, Godin, Lugano, Victorino & Mono. Basically I think Tabárez will not replace Lugano despite his situation at PSG and rather than embarrass him by pulling him out will instead give him support –– there’s a lot of unsung work that Lugano does do that many people take for granted.
Midfield: Arévalo-Ríos; Gargano; Eguren; Flaco Fernández; Álvaro Pereira; Cebolla & Lodeiro. The wildcard in here is Flaco Fernández, a player who hasn’t been called up since the 2010 World Cup Quarterfinal match with Ghana. Does his call-up mean he automatically earns starting minutes? Probably not. Something with Pereira, Arévalo-Ríos & hmmm who else can we stick in there? How about Tata? LOL seriously… I got no clue here! I think he’ll go with a make-shift double-pivot: Palito and Arévalo-Ríos with Cebolla playing in front of them and Cavani playing his deep-field lying winger role. Or maybe he’ll take out Palito and go with Cebolla on the left flank with Arévalo-Ríos by himself in the middle.
Strikers: Uruguay’s crème de la crème aka Forlán, Suárez & Cavani ––– Abreu; Hernández & Sebastián Fernández make up the bench. Tabárez could always take out one of the strikers and play maybe Tata at midfield? Boy this joke is getting tired! But seriously, if El Maestro opts for a 4-4-2 formation, one of Uruguay’s big 3 would have to be sacrificed –– but who? Again, unlikely El Maestro removes any of them. A possibility would be moving in Lodeiro in the right flank to team up with Cebolla, but would this make Uruguay more dangerous or weaker? But there has to be a reason why he took Lodeiro and Flaco? Right?
The question to how Uruguay will lineup will be whether Tabárez sees Lugano’s lack of form as a problem and who he’ll replace Diego Pérez with –– Despite what this Blog thinks about El Ruso’s passing, he still would have been useful for this particular match. I think however Tabárez will go with a 5-3-2; will sacrifice Álvaro Pereira and hope the addition of Victorino will patch up any deficiencies in the back. And if that won’t work, he can always sub-in Tata right?