Football News

Mik (United Arab Emirates)

Posted on 3/21/2013 at 4:24 PM 0 I can see Guinazu mostly in our WC side he do play on Brazil too just like Montillo But Guinazu is one of Sabellas favourite,More over that he is one of aa kind of player in our Current team we may need him in WCs his so called risky tackles and aggression will help sometimes against teams like Spain and Germans. Just to cut of the rhytm, we never had a player like him in recent times apart from Tevez but Tevez was a Stricker but Guinazu is DM which is tailer made for him.

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 3/21/2013 at 2:22 PM 0 me d i agree and like you i believe sabella knows exactly who is in and who is out barring injuries. as you said their may be a few small additions but i also dont believe they will be 1st teamers and at best wil be on the bench.

aka Mr. D (Peru)

Posted on 3/21/2013 at 10:52 AM 1 Sabella's smart, no doubt about that. He always says the right thing. Does he really have the squad 70% nailed down? I'm willing to bet it's much higher than that but he'll keep us guessing until the WC 2014 squad is announced. Unless a player has an absolute break out year or there's a major injury I doubt we'll see players in the WC that haven't been called up already. Icardi and Lamela have a shot but that's about it among the youngbloods. People are fooling themselves if they think the WCQ squad and the WC squad are going to be markedly different. Do you really think Sabella is going to call up Guiñazu in 2011, 2012, 2013 and then drop him from the WC squad? And then turn around a call up someone like Pastore who hasn't been called up prior years and put him in the WC? I wish.

Majumdar (India)

Posted on 3/21/2013 at 4:42 AM 0 Havent seen anything of Montillo, but can he track back to defend and hold well? About the defence. What do you guys make of Gaby Palletta (Parma) and Renato Cavalli (Nice)? Saw a couple of matches of these guys in their domestic league and thought they were good... Regards

elpipita (Iraq)

Posted on 3/21/2013 at 1:57 AM 0 Montillo is a talented midfielder and one of the few true and tried enganches that the NT currently has (the other being Dario Conca but his chance flew out the window the second he decided to leave for China. Montillo was superb in the domestic game against Brazil and quite decent in the most recent friendly against sweden. My only concern is that Montillo is being played out of position as he's a 10 not a winger ala Di-maria so I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't set the world alight 2moro (hope I'm wrong). I Still hope to see a formation similar to the olympic team of 2008 (a team that had 8 of the current core players) whereby montillo would play Riquelme's role, Lavezzi would cover the left, messi would play his former role at the right wing and pipita would be the team's striker (kun's role in 2008). In any case, I am looking forward to game even more so than any of the previous game as this will test Sabella's ability to come up with a plan B.

Aslam (Qatar)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 9:48 AM 2 Montillo is a part of team not just because hes a good midfileder who can score goals or pass the ball well. But other main reason is next WC is taking place in Brazil, where he plays. He will be like a local player there. And you know hes not just a player there but a star icon already..!

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 9:01 AM 0 Youtube of Montillo. Not much to see regarding holding the ball or passing, but he can score, no question about that. Plus, he has his own "spank the pony" goal celebration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF6_rwUVaEU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V17vufCEVPY

Alam (India)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 8:19 AM 1 Montillo is engache in santos.one of d best players in brazilian league.I m very happy to see him in our n/t. lamela,Icardi,caballero and sanchez mino are d other players deserve in our squad..Keep faith on sabella and get 6 points from these two rounds.. Vamos argentina

Kenneth (United States)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 8:19 AM 0 @ Pablo D Sabella said he thinks right now he has 70% of the squad for the world cup right now, so don't count out Lamela! Pastore for sure won't be there unless he has a drastic career changing season next season.

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 5:26 AM 1 montillo before Banega?! gago and banega always play well together since their sub-20 championship, although with masche in midfield and with lavezzi, Messi and higuain up front...thats a solid attack...

hi2suresh (India)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 3:21 AM 1 @Pablo.d: I agree. Count my thinking same as yours in this regard.

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 3:09 AM 0 johnny: "This why I hope a guy like Montillo will show up and knock everybody's socks off" i fully understand what you are saying and i feel the same sir. keeping the faith ill always do as we are Argentine and we have messi :)

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 2:36 AM 2 I don't disagree pablo.d. I struggle with aligning myself with Sabella's vision and strategy, which at times conflicts with my desire for a traditional enganche. This why I hope a guy like Montillo will show up and knock everybody's socks off. As stated many times, I think the team is built exclusively around Messi, and his ability to function as both enganche and goal scorer. Its hard to fault Sabella in that regard, as I think most coaches would go the same route. The question is what happens if Messi can't go ? So, we will see if Sabella tweaks things between now and the WC, to include some more attacking/enganche like midfielders, or whether he will stand pat. Hard to predict. So far, I would agree with you that he will stick with his current tactics and strategy. That's the way he has coached dating back to the Veron days at Estudiantes. Keep the faith !

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 1:52 AM 1 johnny: i do agree with what you are saying but lets pretend its the world cup today and we face the same injury crisis as we have now as strength and depth is what every team needs, we lack creativity once a player or two is not available and that's why we need a lam in the team, strength and depth in all positions is needed and this is what scares me is sabella will take the sosas, rojos and maxi type of players as they may well become the starters not the back ups and again if today was w.c time one can see the problem we could face as i don't believe sabella will spring any selection surprises for the w.c, what we see today barring injuries is most likely the w.c squad.

Johnny (Thailand)

Posted on 3/20/2013 at 12:30 AM 1 Yes, here's hoping Montillo can make a name for himself with the NT. Talented, versatile midfielders who can not only attack, but defend, have been in dwindling supply for Argentina. Though both are very talented, I think this is the reason Sabella has not shown confidence in either Pastore or Lamela. If you are going to consistently field Messi, Aguero and Di Maria, then you must have midfielders who can defend like crazy. Tough fellows. I know some of you may not agree, and for the record, I like both Pastore and Lamela, but I think this is Sabella's reasoning.

some supporter (Argentina)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 11:34 PM 0 I want to believe Sabella is really playing the right cards and that he's saving Lamela (and/or, say, Pastore) for the WC, when we will need him playing against more strategy-based European teams, rather than in typical South American physical matches. That's why we have Guiñazú there after all; but, right, Lamela plays in "Maurocamoranesian" Italy anyway. Good luck to Montillo by the way!

cleanball (Indonesia)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 9:52 PM 0 We will miss Di Maria but its worth trying and blessing for Montillo to start and shine

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 9:09 PM 0 its strange as sabells is observing lam and its very obvious that lam deserves to be at least in the squad and to me ahead of lav and way ahead of the likes of maxi, sosa etc so why does he not call him.

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 7:20 PM 1 ..i meant not 1000+ goals

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 7:10 PM 1 if we believed everything Pele has said we wont know anything!! lol, we would think he actually scored 1000 goals too....(Pele scored 760 official game goals, 1000+)but really i am looking forward to watching Montillo....

Aslam (Qatar)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 5:46 PM 0 @pablo.d, Sabella said recently about Lamela and Burdisso. "“Nicolas and Erik are two players who I always observe,” said Sabella. “They are important players who have been selected in the past. “They are in good form right now, but their footballing state is not the only factor to consider... their behaviour also counts.”. Personally i like Lamela. He should be in 2014 WC. He will be great addition to the squad.

pablo.d (New Zealand)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 5:34 PM 0 chainsaw and cernesto, add me to the list as to me it also it makes no sense why lamela is not called up.

Deb (India)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 5:21 PM 0 Not seen Montillo yet, really looking forward!! any previous match he has featured in? so i can go back and try to check the highlights tonight...

Aslam (Qatar)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 4:33 PM 0 Pele said: "It is a shame two of the best players in the Brazil is Non-Brazilian.!". He was pointing to the success of Montillo and Conca in Brazilian league. Montillo is still there and hes given number 10 shirt of Santos, while Neymar wear 11 shirt..:). I rate Montillo high, hes a talented midfielder who can score goals, pass the ball well and defend for the team.

CERNESTO (Panama)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 4:31 PM 0 @Chainsaw... I couldn't agree more! It's mind boggling why Lamela didn't make this cut... Sabella called up 28! And he couldn't find a spot for Erik... I don't think Sabella will be taking Lamela into consideration anytime soon...

Tony Montana (United States)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 2:58 PM 1 Lavezzi will be perfect in place of Sergio but dimaria pace and passing is impossible to find else where.... Montillo needs to step his game up if he starts, honestly since I have seen Sosa more and know what to expect, I rather have him start in midfield

Chainsaw (Iran)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 1:40 PM 3 It still puzzle me why Lamela wasn't called up. He could replace both Aguero or Di Maria in the line-up.

el principe (United States)

Posted on 3/19/2013 at 1:24 PM 2 I read that Lavezzi would definitely start once he arrives in the country. Either way, it is still fantastic four tactic. Montillo replacing Di Maria. Lavezzi replacing Aguero. I am glad that although Sosa is called he's going down from a starting eleven member to the 12th man (first sub player) to the bench cheerleader. I think Sosa is called for Bolivia match. We need hard worker with perfect stamina for the match. Sosa is one of them. For me Sosa's attributes are something like this: offense 1 (out of 10) dribbling 1 shooting 3 stamina 10 back pass 10