Football News

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/15/2012 at 11:15 PM 1 Exactly @sulav and I agree with @ el principe Batista was maily critizized for his non creative Midfield. if we have to bring in banega or biglia then they may have to replace Gago. otherwise when we play Defencive formation then we can Play the likes of Mascerano, gago , Biglia/Banega trio which is compact for sure but less creative neither Those 3 r not creative enough like Dimaria, The most important part of Dimarias playing is his creative ability and his knack to provide assists. Which is not easy. only messi can challenge Dimaria on that in current times not only in our NT but we look at any playmakers around the world we can see that they r also giveing far less assists than Dimaria, So give him respect which he deserves.

CERNESTO (Panama)

Posted on 10/15/2012 at 1:40 PM 0 Honestly, I'm so glad and so impressed with Argentina's performance that there's nothing bad I could name. We worked as a unit. Remember! This was Uruguay, 4th place in the last World Cup, all their most significant players played: Forlan, Suarez, Cavani, Lugano, Muslera, etc. Of course, like Lionel always says, "there is always room for improvement". Evidently there has been an evolution in Argentina's game. And I know it will become more solid. My only concern is that the substitudes raise to the challenge when their time comes, and it will come! But I have very high hopes, I know they will.

el principe (United States)

Posted on 10/15/2012 at 8:08 AM 0 @GAB I understand your opinion about us better having a regular number 8 in the starting line up. Just one question. Who would you replace him with? The fantastic four? The fantastic four that have been doing extremely well? Suppose that: Replace Di Maria with Pastore. They both are skillful, but Di Maria is clearly in better form and is more of a winger than Pastore is. If Pastore can not raise his level to French Lique 1 BEST PLAYER standard -just like Eden Hazard was last season- then we shouldn't consider him starting. In fact, to me the only non Argentine player today that would challenge Di Maria's place for starter in our national team today is Eden Hazard (the best French lique 1 2011/2012). As for Pastore, I would take him if I were the coach as a back up, not starter. If he were as good as he was at his last year in Palermo, then I agree, he would have challenged Di Maria for the starting spot. Or Gago? You replace him with Pastore? So Pastore-Di Maria-Messi-Aguero-Higuain? Well unless Pastore role is limited as deep lying playmaker or unless he improves his defense, no way that would help the team. Or one of the forwards? Higuain or Aguero? Well, you'll make Messi unhappy doing that, even if Pastore is one of Messi's favorite teammates according to goal.com. The only possible way that MAYBE can improve the team is the healthy and in form Banega for his own teammate in Valencia, Gago. If we change Di Maria for Banega, then we would look just exactly like Batista's squad. Remember Batista was criticized for playing 3 DM altogether (Cambiasso, Masche, Banega).

sulav787 (Canada)

Posted on 10/15/2012 at 7:08 AM 0 di maria is totally differnet level from gaitan lamela perez or even pastore . These names replacing dimaria is like theo walcot replacing messi...

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/15/2012 at 5:27 AM 1 What we want from any particular player is not important , What Sabella wants to make his formations work is important ,Sabella has always said that he likes to attack through the Wings with a strong defence, In that Formaion there is not so importance to the Enganches ,If any one want Banega to play why not let him replace either Gago or take of one Striker. I dont think Sabella will ever take out Dimaria and play 3 forwards,Dimaria is the important player who connects Defence with Attack, Now Dimaria is the BEST winger (apart from Messi we all know he dont play there nowadays)we have whichever alternative anyone here suggests comes only second to DIMARIA, whoever it is Gaitan,Mino,Lamela,Gutierez,Enzo Perez, etc etc and may be some r Cool headed players than Dimaria but that doesent Matter they r higly Untestesd because Sabella havent played them yet, its not the players mistake, What it means is Dimaria Completes Sabellas Fantastic 4. Wheather we like it or not we may have to get used to him. otherwise we can keep discussing.Where as players like Zabaleta r virtually untouched. even though he keeps playing badly.

Pial (Bangladesh)

Posted on 10/15/2012 at 1:14 AM 0 I will take Di Maria over a hard working, disciplined and defensively better player any time. he may lose the ball sometime, but he will provide some killer passes and at least one assist in almost every match. Without him, creativity in the midfield will depend only on Messi. Because Mashe, Gago are not that creative and anyone who replaces Di Maria(say Gaitan or Perez), will not be good like him in the creativity department. But i agree that Sabella needs to teach him some lessons about work ethic and discipline.

Abs (United States)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 11:56 PM 0 @ Mik: Di Maria doesn't have ego problems, he is just naive.

Abs (United States)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 11:55 PM 0 First of all congrats for the great second half, even though I believe Lugano's injury was a main reason. Anyway, I didn't get the chance to watch the game perfectly, bcoz I watched it from my iphone while I was in class. I can't rate the players, but there are 4 players that really did more than well in that game. Messi for sure, Di Maria was amazing, Kun, and Romero. I just hope we don't drop the performance down against Chile, coz that's what we do every month. One more player that interest me was Barcos, the guy have some touches, and that disallowed goal of his was class. But I still believe if Higuain can't make it then Sabella was suppose to play Lisandro Lopez. I wish I can watch the game again :(

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 4:42 PM 0 leandro and gab, im with you both on di maria. this boy has all the talent but needs to lose the madrid attatude and just get on with the game. he reminds me of a kid who does a brilliant pass and then just stands back to admire it,whipping out a comb like the fonze would and my work is done attuatude.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 4:33 PM 2 @GAB, I am with you on DiMaria.. he is good and should be in the team.. HOWEVER.. he has definite flaws that stop him from being an All-Star player. Almost every game: a) He tries to dribble 6 players and looses the ball with his floppy dive. That hurts us at both killing the attack and at putting pressure on our defense on the counter. b) While he is capable of tracking back, he is weak and easily pushed off the ball, he is also bad at tackling and makes risky fouls near or in the box. c) He tries nutmegs way too much in center field, again.. counters gonna kill us. d) He tries and olympic goal almost every corner he takes. While he IS creative, great passer, decent shot.. he is VERY VERY immature. Until the coach puts him in his place (like Mou does) or DiMaria gets serious I wont grant him the title of Fantastic 4 and a definite starter. We have other players with good talent AND decipline AND better defence that would help the overall team better. Id rather loose his passing and gain a real #8 midfield. Messi, Kun, Higuain and our able midfielders are more than capable of scoring. A real #8 would make our mid solid, as of now its VERY easy for a team with a good midfield (Germany, Spain, etc) to by pass Masch and Gago alone.. DiMaria leaves Rojo too exposed.

GAB (Australia)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 3:23 PM 0 @ El Principe - I've read a lot of your comments, and in particular, on Di Maria & his role as playmaker and you obviously have a great understanding of football. Like I said in my other post, I love Di Maria and his ability to provide assists along with his other skills is unquestionable and I never said he was ineffective. All I'm saying is Argentina is lacking a number 8 in the team to balance out the midfield, which then provides a central option for the supply, which would create a lot of uncertainty for the opposition as a result. One more thing on Di Maria, I don't like him taking corners from the right hand side because he actually is trying to score an Olympico rather than provide a decent ball into the centre of the box. In the Uruguay game, he had one corner kick from the right and you actually see him size up the goal and the keeper. He does it all too often.

soumya (India)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 10:19 AM 0 i think @Tony Montana's rating is the best and ideal rating...!!! good rating man!!

Shafat.Redondo (Bangladesh)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 7:57 AM 0 Rated everyone 6 except Maria 8 , Gago/Aguero 7 , Messi 9 , Higuain 5 and guess what ? Pablo Zabaleta 4 . I don't like him at all . Campaignaro should play at Right Back instead of Zabaleta.

Diego86 (Australia)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 6:26 AM 0 Look at this Pirlo's freekick and compare it with Messi's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXoV3yQjd54

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 5:21 AM 0 And donnow for some reason most here Hate Dimaria, lavezzi, its unfair i agree the hate on SOSA, MAXI ,somewhat TEVEZ(I like him ) too but Lavezzi and Dimaria have been playing gud for us when got chances. not complaining but it depends on choices and ROJO also have been improving slowely one player i would add to the hate list is ZABALETA ( I dont hate him as a player i beleave he is very gud going forward for us and at MC but defencievely he is poor both for us and at MC) but i hope he keeps performing like he did in last match but i still suspect him.

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 5:01 AM 0 And @elprincipe i completely agree with u on Dimaria for me is ireplaceable in our fantastic 4 he completes the Fantastic 4. and I think Dimaria do provide great assists to Higuain more than to Benzema in RM. Higuain now have a slight dip in form but he will comeback ,Surely he is a Class player it happens to every player.

el principe (United States)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 4:50 AM 0 Secondly, I have just come up with this conclusion. I have been counting the players rating since game 1 until now. I have been using all of OUR players rating and let us be the judges. I am doing this because I am interested in knowing who's our best performers in the WCQ, who's out top scorer, top assist, top defender, top midfielder and so on. But I think I have to cancel the counting system. The case of Rojo and Sosa make me change the rule. Here, some of us are extremely biased. For example, if Rojo did well or if Sosa did well, where he should have gotten at least 8 had their names not Rojo or Sosa, we would give him at most 6 as the average. I mean we give him number that low ONLY BECAUSE Rojo, Sosa, and Di Maria won three of the top five most hated players in our national team in a poll. IF they play bad, then because we hate them, some of us would give him like 1 or 2 or at most 3. We really exaggerate, don't we? So that's unfair. On the other hand, some of our favorite players would get a 9 or something like that when they only deserve at most 7. So I come up with this conclusion, I would just take the votes from: 1. The top five kudosed members 2. The administrators. I have seen their votings from day 1, and they all seem quite fair to me. For example, Seba. I know he doesn't like Di Maria, but he gave a 9 to Di Maria against Uruguay. I think by this, we'd see the better numbers for each player.

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 4:48 AM 1 So Now DIMARIA too has ego pblms great, TEVEZ also have Ego Pblm, I dont understand how come a player who had the oppurtunity to score a Goal still passed it to Aguero can be called as Egoistic, Ofcourse Dimaria sometimes hold on the ball little longer so what, he is world class at that, He is virtually one of the Playmaker in our Team he is the one who is making the long runs from midfield to collect Messis passes, And more over he has to track back to help in defence too and he is doing that too to the best of the ability , Atleast he is doing it, what about Zabaleta, All know Zabaleta can easily be passed by a World class player like Cr7, Neymar etc etc they will cake walk through him, cavani too troubled him even though Cavani is not a Right Midfield player, And i agree that our left side of attack is the most active the reason Messi and Dimaria both the playmakers (Yess they both r the creative Hub can be called as Playmakers) r LEFT FOOTED. between messi and Dimaria they have the Number 1 and Number 2 left Foots in the world. All know how average their Right foot r. Our Right side is weak because of this, either we have to put some one who can play better at Right in place of gago or else Dimaria have to play at right and left like a Free role but its too much to ask from him,he is already asked to help in defence.For me according to the yesterdays formation only 3 players r the suspective ones. GAGO ofcourse he is playing great he is the supplier to messi But he mostly passes to Messi. He can be replaced by Banega and Biglia. The result may vary may be they both perform badly than Gago too but we need to see how they play if they perform better than Gago then its World class some one like pirlo or Xavi. Gago plays great no doubt about it but hes not World Class.but its not a compulsory change we can manage with gago too. No complaints. ROJO and ZABALETA hmm Rojo has improved a lot in his recent outings hope he keeps giving great Performances again then we can be confident about him he has the experience of handling Cr7 he had done resonable well too against tuffer opponenets, But Zabaleta is still a suspect for me Sabella too said that Campagnaro is better than Zabaleta dfencively but campagnaro is preferd second because of his age. Peruzzi seems to be the one who may slowely replace Zabaleta, Saying that Zabaleta did better yesterday if he improves then there is no pblm. Then We have to get some Better Substitute players to replace the likes of Maxi, brana, Sosa etc etc. bench strenght is not gud for now.But All in all there r no majour complaints with our Team its a Strong unit we have already earned our respect back, So lets see Sabella will improve his squad with better players.

el principe (United States)

Posted on 10/14/2012 at 4:36 AM 0 Guys, I said it many times before. Back then there was only one kind of playmaker, the number 10 just like Maradona or Riquelme. Now there are three kind of playmakers in modern football: 1. The regular ones: Ozil, Kaka, Aimar, D'Alessandro. 2. Depp lying playmakers: Xavi, Alonso, Banega, Pirlo 3. WING playmaker: Di Maria Di Maria's NEW position this year is the WING PLAYMAKER. He's a playmaker thatplays on the wing (not center). That means most of the attacks will go through him, just like regular playmaker. So Sabella gives him that role because of his assist instinct that is higher than any player in La Liga. I am not against another attacking midfielder like Lamela or Pastore. They both are my favorite players more than Di Maria, but if any of them is included then, Di Maria would be less effective and would just get the "winger" role not the "wing playmaker" role. To say that he's not effective, you guys gotta check this out. What does 2 goals and 6 ASSISTS in 8 WCQ games mean? It is better than all playmakers in the world do in their national team. It means in each game, he has at least a goal or an assist! Check out the world top playmakers like Ozil, Kaka, Aimar, Modric, Xavi, Pirlo, Silva do for their national team, if their numbers are better, then start the discussion now! I praise Sabella for this. Both Maradona and Batista could not find Di Maria's best position by playing him as a central midfielder and a left winger. Sabella found the best one for Di Maria: Wing Playmaker! Actually it is the same position he has for Madrid this year. The only difference is that he plays on right side for Madrid and left side for the national team. If you watch Madrid, you'll notice that most Madrid attack will go through Di Maria this year and let CR7 be the finisher. In fact, if CR7 won the Ballon D'or this year, and if Benzema starts over Higuain forever, blame Di Maria. He does assist them.

Francito (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 6:26 PM 1 I have criticized Sabella soo much in past years for his callups and his starting lineups. But last nights game is the PERFECT starting team, and that should be the team every game!!! Great chemistry, yes alittle slow start, but if Sabella can field this team every game all up until Brasil 14', if all healthy, then we have a great chance guys! i havent seen such a great "team win" in awhile! All we need is some more depth in the middle and maybe another winger that can attack similar to Di Maria. Lamela, Piatti, Mino, etc. If Sabella can keep a core 14-15 players always, and then back them up with a few bench/practice guys, we should be solid for next few years! great game Argentina! VAMOS CARAJOS!

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 5:13 PM 1 Gab I agree. We need an 8 more than DiMaria. If we have 3 up front (Kun, Messi, Higuain), then from the 3 in the middle I think Masch and Gago are permanent, so I would sub DiMaria for Jonas or Min~o, etc. DiMaria can sub in for Higuain or Kun upfront where he is strongest. In the middle he is a liability, so so defense and ego dribbles can kill us against stronger teams.. for his position we need a real creative midfielder that can defend... Banega *could* be that.. but guys get over him.. until he recovers and kicks alcohol.. and starts to shine.. he is a no go.. thats ALOT of Ifs.

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 5:09 PM 2 Guys! Guess what?!! NOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOSSSSAAAAAAA!!!!! :)

GAB (Australia)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 4:46 PM 4 That was the best game I've seen Argenting play in a very long time...since 2006 WC. If this is how they're going to play under Sabella, man I'm sold with this coach because the only other team that can play like that is Spain. And seriously guys, WTF giving Rojo a 6 rating. That kid has played his best game ever for ARG and deserved a 7, and he's only going to get better given his form with Sporting lately. I do have one criticism about Argentina's strategy and that is that they went through Di Maria on the left side way too much (the attack on the right was non existant), to the point is was becoming predictable. The problem I have with this is twofold: 1) It obviously shows our lack of a talented central midfielder (say a Lamela or Aimar) hence, Di Maria has become our main playmaker; 2) Di Maria being Di Maria, has a Dr Jekyl & Mr Hyde element to him and his ego can get out of control at times, meaning he holds on to the ball too much rather than passing the ball as the better option. Now don't get me wrong, I love Di Maria and we need him in the team but all I'm saying is that we need another option in the middle to have as supplier to our brilliant forwards. What we need is a true Number 8 in the centre of midfield that can do this. Some of you are probably thinking, but Gago is that person and let me just say Gago had a great game and his link up with Messi was superb at times HOWEVER, Gago is a natural number 6 not a number 8. Now, the only person at the present moment who can play such a role would be Banega (if he brings his Valencia form with him to the NT) BUT I think the ideal person in the future will be Lamela.

Caniggia (Hong Kong)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 1:27 PM 1 Just watched the game! Gotta like the result and spirit within the team that is getting stronger (though must question whether it can be maintained at the uglier away venues as well). But I just gotta wonder if we would have been able to break through if Lugano hadn't gone off? That guy was a monster at the back who seemed to stifle anything close to goal. I couldn't see Higuain off the screen, but I think his positioning created more space for Aguero, Dimaria and Messi through the night - even though he had about 2 chances himself only. I think Banega coming back to challenge for Gago's role will make us stronger. As much as I like Gago's performance in this game, he's still a little bit too loose with the ball at times and is missing that little bit of class to make him a world beater. Competition will make him better and more consistent I hope. Macherano on the other hand, is total class for his position and role in the team. He reminds me of Makelele for France in the year they won the WC. He and Messi were the best players in their respective part of the fields for me. It seems Argentina are scoring on the break from Midfield during a quick turnovers and in many ways, this seems a good tactic against bloody strong defences like Uruguay. A traditional playmaker would probably get marked out of the game and get 1 or 2 chances to complete a defence splitting pass but offer nothing else defensively for the other 99% of the match.

Tutigol (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 1:21 PM 3 Zabaleta and Rojo played great. I'm not sure what all the hate on Zaba is about the center backs played solid overall but Fernandez got a little lost at times and if not for Zabaleta would have conceded a goal to Suarez.

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 1:16 PM 0 Agree with U @ddr1123 We cant take every game the same especially in SA qualifiers were the Geographical difference is huge, Its very Difficult environment to play, then the players defends with teeth and bones, Its like a War Zone, especially outside Home, We have to sometimes satisfy with a draw against teams like Bolivia,Equador( Both r dangerous conditions to play) and Peru etc, not because they r a Great team but the conditions is their 12th man its such a huge advantage. And @Soumya I think in between the TWIN TOWERS I would say Fernandez is the Better one, not that Garay is bad ,they both r almost same quality wise,but have to give credit to Fernandez because the guy rarely plays for napoli still he delivers high class performance when playing for Argentina,Its always great to have a defender who is playing in Italy the place where Defending is an Art.Fernandez is Sabellas discovery along with Campagnaro, Guinazu, Garay etc,some of the players Sabella had picked is really very usefull and Gud , but some r still there which i think he will gradually replace. Any how its time to enjoy our performances guys, With time we will gradually improve more, Because Sabella knows what he is doing so we shall be calmful and enjoy our games.

aka Mr. D (Peru)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 10:59 AM 0 Argentina's best performance from the back line yet. Very encouraging. (I'd still like to see Ansaldi, Monzón, and Insua get a shot at LB though)

ddr1123 (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 10:26 AM 0 And to follow up from what I said after the Peru game, this is what it is. Peru was bad, but you need to live another day to play a game like this. This is what has been good in Sabella reign so far. Hang in and get some sort a result. The other problem remains, the bench needs to be stronger. But lets give Sabella some time now. This is much better than Copa america days. Really did not have any pattern.

ddr1123 (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 10:04 AM 2 One of the greatest performance. Still to be critical, I can say Uruguay just did not want to bring the game. But you know, who cares, fantastic night! Lets enjoy. 2 best players for me - Gago and Messi. If I am the opponent I will put a man behind Gago, that almost cuts the supply to Messi. Lovely one touches from Gago. He was like a bouncing wall for Messi. Hope he keeps up the play. Attacking line, its just too much fire power. Too many good players, and too quick with too many tricks. Almost unfair for a defense. As some said here, I like the Federico and Garay. Opponent goal kick, corners, free kicks, they just get the first header 90% of the times. Its a huge boon. Go back a few years almost 90% headers were won by opponents. Rojo was very good too. Dimaria will all his tricks, sometimes a little too many, defends very well, thanks to Mou (the man I hate). Messi has just started playing the same game for Barca. Its other way round now, I think he is playing the game at Barca that is more close to Argentina. Not the other way round. And freekicks, what can we say, now tell me what do the wall do next time? May be jump, but the bug is in the head now, its disturbing. Reminds me of great Ronaldinho :) Uruaguay dismantled. ENJOY!!!

soumya (India)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 8:35 AM 0 @mik i completely agree with u....garay and fernandez:twin towers....i dont know who is better....they are just consistantly performing...!! but garay is experienced CB...will be at his pick at 2014....fernandez is improving a lot....

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 6:28 AM 3 Well great Perfromance all in all. One thing which was nice to see is Sabella sticked with the fantastic 4 for long period he knows that if they cant score no one else too cant, Messi well what can we say he is such a clever player took that cheaky freekick perfectly under the wall, smart thinking, this is his team he is the Captain leading from the front with example. Another Player who impressed me is DIMARIA he is such an important player in Sabellas puzzle he completes the fantastic 4 , even if i take Higuain out i wont take Dimaria out the only creative Hub apart from Messi, The first Goals assist was clever inbetween legs and I liked the second goals assist even more because he had a chance to shoot directly at the goal but still he gave a great pass to Aguero,Its shows he is improving. And i m sure if DIMARIA plays an average game in next match most here will again say to drop him, The same old headless chicken Theory will be used again, as far as this game is concerned well well looks like the LEGENDARY CHICKEN HEAD again delievered a Punch to the faces. One thing we have to understand is No player can play every match greatly in some matches there will be drop in form. that dont mean that drop them in next match. The only player who is still a suspect is Zabaleta , Cavani troubled him, Zabaleta is not gud Defencively he is simply bad at that where as he is gud at Offence But I would favour defencive FB than an Offencive one, Rojo was gud.He is Improving some matches he will perform badly just like every other players too. But impressive ones r Garay and Fernandez, Especially fernandez is marshalling our CB he is improving in every match a great sign, Garay is giving him ample support. the TWIN TOWERS.

Thang (Vietnam)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 3:29 AM 0 lol, i forget to put 9 on Leo =)).

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 3:01 AM 0 tonight congrats to the team, it was very solid at the back and a always messi fantastic, the fab 4 is just that. the test is in a few days time as if it is a w.c the game begins again and the last one means not a lot unless its winning the final of course.

fotobirajesh (India)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 2:53 AM 0 Thank you Argentino : found it

elpipita (Iraq)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 2:50 AM 0 No, Albiceleste did not look like a 4-2-4 team today, but you have to remember that Uruguay were missing some key players and they came in with the wrong mentality (i.e. park the bus and try to get the counters). They are becoming undone, Tabarez seems to be losing them.

el principe (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 2:13 AM 0 Messi and Di Maria have to be the MOM for me. Messi because he scored 2 and always looked dangerous. Di Maria because of his two assists and two other attempt assist attempts. Assist attempts mean that he's got 2 other times where his passes almost resulted in assists. So he could have 4 assists during the match. I thought the defense did well overall and just like Sabella said, the fantastic four were fantastic defensively. That's the reason why we won by big margin. And no... We didn"t look like 4-2-4 at all. Not even a bit. Please stop this discussion about us looking 4-2-4 as what happened on the pitch was the answer.

Jack! (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 2:06 AM 0 Nah, Gago was very good tonight, his connection with Messi seems to click.

Argentino Trucho (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 1:37 AM 0 fotobirajesh: I download from Rojadirecta.me

elpipita (Iraq)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 1:37 AM 2 Now thats what Im talking about, I knew there was a reason why a person from Iraq who has no connections what so ever with argentina would support the Albiceleste for so long!! great team performances throughout, solid defence, solid midfield (I hope some of the non believers are beginning to see Gago's worth in the NT, the guy is a gem!) and a world class foward UNIT (emphasis on the word unit). Pipita was subpar this time around but he only needed one shot to make it count against peru and he's now had 6 goals and 2 assists in the qualifiers, so not to shabby, but I would've loved to see Burrito for abit. I would also like to say Campegnero is the team's one ture world class defender, the guy is pure class with interceptions, dribbling, passing, tacking, air duels and pretty much everthing else, its really no wonder why he's got one of the best stats amongst Seria A defenders (and defensive midfielders). I have to agree with Leandro that his age is the reason why sabella is having him as a sub, but Im glad that we have such a quality defender who can fill in for the right back or centre back positions

Dante Pastrana (United States)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 12:50 AM 0 Honestly they all did their thing as a Unit! I give them all a 10. Every player has his off day and Pipita isn't different. Besides like Leo Messi says, "el pipa no aparece pero le das 2 bolas y te mete dos goles. True story. There's a lot of biased ratings indeed but I loved how we looked tonight as a team.

fotobirajesh (India)

Posted on 10/13/2012 at 12:28 AM 0 So happy on this. Was travelling and couldnt watch. Please please, anybody can give a link to the full match download, Please

soumya (India)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 11:43 PM 1 GOAL.COM ratings: Sergio Romero:6,Ezequiel Garay:6,M. Rojo:7,P. Zabaleta:6,Federico Fernández:6,Ángel Di María:8,Fernando Gago:6,Javier Mascherano:6,Gonzalo Higuaín:5,L. Messi:9,Kun Agüero:8,.....

miskan (Indonesia)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 11:42 PM 0 now..when messi take the free kick...i'm sure believe that will goal

Wa$iM (Canada)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 11:39 PM 0 Although did nothing to deserve to go on the score sheet nor did he make any spectacular saves (thanks to our improving defense) The way Romero sacrificed his body with Lugano was the turning point in my opinion! Most impressive/complete 'competitive win' in a very VERY long time! Cant wait to complete the transaction against Chile!

Leandro (United States)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 11:25 PM 3 Ratings: > Romera - Solid > Zabaleta - Solid, did much better than usual. > Garay - Solid, playing well for club and country. > Fernandez - Solid, but was not his best game. > Rojo - Solid, his best game. > Gago - Solid. A few failed passes, but he was crucial at giving Messi the ball. Won a lot too.. played well IN FRONT of Mascherano instead of next to him. > Mascherano - As expected. BOSS. For much of the game he played as the central defender with Garay and Fernandez at his flank. > Di Maria - While he did set up the assist.. he seldom penetrated, did stupid superman moves and did not do nearly as much as Gago in the center of the field both at passing the ball to Messi and at defending. I think DiMaria needs to get subbed from time to time and let others play (Lamela, Gaitan, Pastore, etc) if we need attack and Jonas or Biglia for balance in defence. DiMaria is too much of a forward and Id rather have Kun on the left. > Messi - Yes! > Higuain - Madrid is not helping his form.. that being said, he fought, he triangulated well in the goals and was ok.. not his best game but a 5 rating is waaaaay to harsh. It was mostly a tactical issue that silenced him.. In packed defences Higuain is not as effective as the little ones (Messi, Kun, Tevez). Higuain is deadly when making runs and running unto the ball, he is a counter attacking #9. Barcos is better for tight control situations. > Aguero - Solid, good midfield play.. looking more like his Atletico style (deep) than his City style (high) > Campagnero -Crunching tackles, good positioning, good in the air and some very classy moves dribbling out the back. I think he is by far our best wing back. I feel Sabella is using him as a sub because of his age, not skill.. At times we played great, at others we lacked creativity to penetrate. I would rather sub DiMaria and have someone like Min~o to untangle the defence down the middle. We do well when we are attacked, then counter.. or when they park the bus and our midgets triangulate.. we are still weak in strongly contested midfield battles.. Guinazuuuuu to the rescue. Vamos Argentina!

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 11:22 PM 0 anytime u shutout three forwards with the quality of Cavani, Suarez and Forlan...defense need to get credit! Mascherano played great distributing the ball but Gago made a lot of negative back passes, which was frustrating to me during the match. DiMaria's assists were world class...Aguero was average for himself despite the goal and Messi, what can u say...brillant as usual...

el principe (United States)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 11:14 PM 0 I also notice that some members are extremely biased. If they don't like a certain player, no matter how well he plays, he'll get low scores. And if they like a certain player, no matter how regular he plays, he'll get high scores. That's what ruin the Mundo Albiceleste players rating. We're not that objective enough.... well at least some of us. Rate how they play! Not how much you hate them or like them!

el principe (United States)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 11:10 PM 0 I suggest don't be too cheap in giving ratings. The average of the rating of our players is just slightly above 6 (before the match against Uruguay). For a team that tops the table and have the best goal difference, the average rating of its players has to be higher than 6! Especially this is a HUGE win against the 7th ranking in FIFA, the Copa America Champion, and the World cup Semi finalist. If you give all players a 6 and Messi a 9, that's not fun :) It doesn't really show how good we actually were.

cleanball (Indonesia)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 10:47 PM 0 Our defense are very solid, with Garay, Zabaleta and Fernandez outstanding almost make a goal from Messi Fk. M/F are good with Gago back-up and penetration only Higuain is not in his form t'day. Anyway, our 3-0 wins Really THUMBS Up for team work and spirit. Our movement and passion are more lively in the 2nd half with diMaria playing in his right place and Messi super formance

soumya (India)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 10:38 PM 0 garay and fernandez ...both r solid in defence......rojo played better...than he played in last match...but higuain.... i personaly dont like that man...

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 10:37 PM 0 Pretty sharp performance tonight and great to see Messi with a brace. I loved that last free kick goal. A bit of sly genius from Messi. Higuain looked super rusty and /or tired, and not on his game. Great work from Mascherano, and Zabaleta showed he can still play. Di Maria with two nice assists. Now, if he can eliminate the middle of the pitch runs that lead to nothing... On the other hand, Uruguay stunk, particularly in the second period. They gave Argentina way too much space and paid for it. How many shots did they have on goal ? Close to none, and that with Forlan, Cavani and Suarez. Tabarez must be concerned that he has lost that team.

ArgiesFanIndia (India)

Posted on 10/12/2012 at 10:28 PM 0 3 points and we are on TOP once again!!! 3 things I really liked tonight... 1. Defense & masch: Defense was really solid today although they are not that much tested mainly because of one MAN Javier Mascherano. 2. Messi-Kun: I really wanted to see Messi-Kun together for 90 minutes and they proved once again that they can rock together in the upfront. 3. Passing: Overall impressive performance from Argentina. Our passing in this game was really good. Finally after long long time I can see our passing have improved. we were able to complete more than 10 passes at a time Ratings: Romera - 7.5 [Not tested too much. But solid and distributed balls well] Zabaleta - 7 [A better game in Argentina shirt. Couple of great tackles to deny Saurez in the first half but doesn't helped much in upfront. But he has done his Job] Garay - 7 [Solid and impressive. Getting better and better with FF. Hope they will play together for next 2 years withouy any injury] Fernandez - 7.5 [Out best player in defense. Hope he will get more and more time in Napoli. A great prospect for us] Rojo - 7.5 [I am impressd. But better options are available, yet decent job done. Helped in attack as well defense. Solid game from him] Gago - 7.5 [Finally getting his Rhythm back for Valancia and reflects in the field today as well. Formed sloid pair with Mascherano. well played] Mascherano - 8 [A excelent presence in the midfield. Really love this guy. Agreed with Maradona Argentina is masch + Messi + 9 others players. Helped in defense and also distributed the balls very well.A very solid game] Di Maria - 7.5 [Provided 2 assists. But must improve his direct play. Always try to do too much with the ball and losts his ball so many times. But combines well with Messi and Masch] Messi - 9.5 [LION roars and we saw the result. Yes he can win matches for Argentina. No # 1 in free-kicks, Pirlo is no more No # 1, miles above than CR. One of his best performances with Argentina. Impressive throughout. Combines very well with Kun. Clearly MOM performance from this 2nd shortest man on the mideild. Yes Argentina-messi is now better than barca-messi ;)] Higuain - 6 [Below per performance from this hit-man. Caught out of position so many times. Falls in Offside trapped again and again. Not of is best nights but I am sure he will score agains Chile and will rescue us.] Aguero - 8 [Give him time on the field, he will score. Combines very well with Messi and also worked hard. helped in midfield. Soli solid performance from this man] Guys all the ratings are strictly IMO...But we won against Uruguay with some solid performance. Time to Cheers!! Vamos Vamos Argentina!!!