World Cup Qualifiers

[ElNono]

And what's wrong with that? They are the team with the highest winning % of all the NTs in the last 4 international compe ions. The only thing they need to change is playing a little bit better/having a bit more luck in the final. That's all.

This game is all about winning the last game you play in any compe ion. You know that. Nobody cares who the first loser is, or what's the winning %, if it was penaldos, if one team deserved it more, if it was pretty/ugly, etc...

We can argue the shades of losers, but that's loser talk. This is like Menottistas with "well, they played phenomenal football, and deserved to win". Nobody cares. You raise the trophy or you're in the corner with the rest of the losers.

[140]

This game is all about winning the last game you play in any compe ion. You know that. Nobody cares who the first loser is, or what's the winning %, if it was penaldos, if one team deserved it more, if it was pretty/ugly, etc...

We can argue the shades of losers, but that's loser talk. This is like Menottistas with "well, they played phenomenal football, and deserved to win". Nobody cares. You raise the trophy or you're in the corner with the rest of the losers.

Nono

[Canyonero]

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" Albert Einstein

Melania Trump

[DAF86]

This game is all about winning the last game you play in any compe ion. You know that. Nobody cares who the first loser is, or what's the winning %, if it was penaldos, if one team deserved it more, if it was pretty/ugly, etc...

We can argue the shades of losers, but that's loser talk. This is like Menottistas with "well, they played phenomenal football, and deserved to win". Nobody cares. You raise the trophy or you're in the corner with the rest of the losers.

Not really, in leagues you can draw or lose the last game and still win it all. In two legs championships the same. And in single elimination knockout stages you can draw and still win it all on penaldos.

I'm not talking about losers and winners, I'm talking about keeping the cool and looking at the bigger picture. Analyzing the thing with a cold mind instead of going all emo about it.

Look at the Germans, losing in the final stages of big tournaments since 2002, yet they remained calm, didn't blow it over, and finally got over the hump in 2014.

You know why you see the same faces in the Argie squad for so many years? 'cause they are the best players we have. They are some of the best players in the World. And toghether have managed to become the best or second best NT in the World. Because of a couple of little things they haven't been able to win any championship yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't good or that they don't perform well on these kind of tournaments.

This group of players has the highest winning % on international compe ions for more than half a decade now. What good would come from switching them for lesser players? Do you preder to lose in the quarters instead of getting to the finals of tournaments? I don't, I prefer to give this group one more chance to see if they can win it all.

[DAF86]

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" Albert Einstein

Melania Trump

I'm not expecting different results, tbh. At least not radical ones. Winning a simple penaldo shootout in the next final would do.

[Brazil]

we just need a bit of luck

smh...

[Canyonero]

I'm not expecting different results, tbh. At least not radical ones. Winning a simple penaldo shootout in the next final would do.

I would play the same team until semis and then for the finals:

-----------Barovero-------------
Mercado--Maidana--FM--Vangioni
-------Ponzio--Kranevitter-------
Messi-------Pisculichi-------Rojas
-------------Alario--------------

Head coach Gallardo

[ElNono]

Not really, in leagues you can draw or lose the last game and still win it all. In two legs championships the same. And in single elimination knockout stages you can draw and still win it all on penaldos.

I'm not talking about losers and winners, I'm talking about keeping the cool and looking at the bigger picture. Analyzing the thing with a cold mind instead of going all emo about it.

Look at the Germans, losing in the final stages of big tournaments since 2002, yet they remained calm, didn't blow it over, and finally got over the hump in 2014.

You know why you see the same faces in the Argie squad for so many years? 'cause they are the best players we have. They are some of the best players in the World. And toghether have managed to become the best or second best NT in the World. Because of a couple of little things they haven't been able to win any championship yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't good or that they don't perform well on these kind of tournaments.

This group of players has the highest winning % on international compe ions for more than half a decade now. What good would come from switching them for lesser players? Do you preder to lose in the quarters instead of getting to the finals of tournaments? I don't, I prefer to give this group one more chance to see if they can win it all.

They also have the highest losing % of finals in international compe ions for more than half a decade now, tbh... nobody else comes close to the colossal choking. I say that very begrudgingly.
And I'm not even blaming Missi for that, he's part of an entire system that's rotten to the core.

And 'lesser players' is a relative term. "world class talent" like Passarella was sat in the corner in '86 for the betterment of the team. Maradroga sat out in '78.

Bochini was much more talented than Enrique or Giusti, but he watched from the bench, because those other players are what the team needed. Marangoni was arguably as good if not better than Batista, but he didn't even make the roster in '86.

You can go on an on about building teams that work vs just playing "top talent". Sometimes a 'lesser player' is exactly what the team needs to be a better team overall.

EDIT: That's my pet peeve about guys like Di Maria or Rojo. It's no "emo", it's the fact that because they carry a name and play on this or that club, they're supposed to own their spot? It shouldn't work like that. If they're playing like , they should move along and maybe bring another guy that might not be as talented, but fills a team need better than the ty version of those guys (in Rojo's case, the ty version is pretty much all you get anyways).

[ElNono]

I would play the same team until semis and then for the finals:

-----------Barovero-------------
Mercado--Maidana--FM--Vangioni
-------Ponzio--Kranevitter-------
Messi-------Pisculichi-------Rojas
-------------Alario--------------

Head coach Gallardo

Sign me up for Piscu, tbh... wish he was younger though...

[Canyonero]

Sign me up for Piscu, tbh... wish he was younger though...

He plays the first half and D'Alessandro the second.

[diego]

Needing penaltys vs Chile is exactly the problem. Their weakest spot is defense, our supposed strength is offense. But if the coach is a giant pussy who plays only 3 offensive players, that is what happens, 0-0 draw less than a year apart. :facepalm

Also, let's not be stupid. 3 finals sounds great, but wc >>>>>>> copa America, and the only difference between 02, 06, 10, 14 is that we didn't face a strong team till the final. We struggled mightily to score the whole tournament. Part of that was di Maria getting injured, but the constant is Messi having to do everything because the players around him, no matter how big the name, are not helping. How many times do we see the team build up an attack so Rojo can make a terrible cross to a bunch of midgets, or for dimaria/aguero to shoot 10 seconds too late? The team doesn't have clear ideas.

And imo, winning is not the only thing that matters. Sure, that's what people remember, but they also remember teams that play well, and teams that play like . No one remembers the Greece euro champs for playing well, they remember them for getting lucky (same will be said for this Portugal team). I would have celebrated 14 if we won because it's been forever, but at the same time I would still rate the 02 and 06 teams as better.

On that note it's pathetic how Daf is so zen about these penalty shootouts, when he was the first to crucify tevez for missing in 2011 copa America, or discredit the 06 team for losing in much more unlucky cir stances (starting pk specialist keeper injured 30 min from time)

And you know, I'd be glad to try piscu instead of biglia/banega/Fernández, because he also fits the playmaker mold, though Vázquez is way better

And for the games where the other team is the one taking risks, you can still use the other guys. Last two copa finals pastore was a wasted roster spot, di maría gets injured and we are forced to trot out kranevitter/biglia when we need goals, it's shameful tbh.

[Canyonero]

I would love to see Lanzini get a shot at the NT. Unfortunately he got injured before the Olympics.

[dfens]

Not really, in leagues you can draw or lose the last game and still win it all. In two legs championships the same. And in single elimination knockout stages you can draw and still win it all on penaldos.

I'm not talking about losers and winners, I'm talking about keeping the cool and looking at the bigger picture. Analyzing the thing with a cold mind instead of going all emo about it.

Look at the Germans, losing in the final stages of big tournaments since 2002, yet they remained calm, didn't blow it over, and finally got over the hump in 2014.

You know why you see the same faces in the Argie squad for so many years? 'cause they are the best players we have. They are some of the best players in the World. And toghether have managed to become the best or second best NT in the World. Because of a couple of little things they haven't been able to win any championship yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't good or that they don't perform well on these kind of tournaments.

This group of players has the highest winning % on international compe ions for more than half a decade now. What good would come from switching them for lesser players? Do you preder to lose in the quarters instead of getting to the finals of tournaments? I don't, I prefer to give this group one more chance to see if they can win it all.

son I appreciate the respect but you're not discussing the key aspect. The DFB remained calm because they had a long term plan (since 1998). That's why we had such stability, because ALL teams (u15, u17, u19, u21, first team) played the same system, same strategies, tailor made for the modern german player : relatively tall, skilled, good stamina and strong mentally. Argentina needs a total haul.

[DAF86]

They also have the highest losing % of finals in international compe ions for more than half a decade now, tbh... nobody else comes close to the colossal choking. I say that very begrudgingly.
And I'm not even blaming Missi for that, he's part of an entire system that's rotten to the core.

And 'lesser players' is a relative term. "world class talent" like Passarella was sat in the corner in '86 for the betterment of the team. Maradroga sat out in '78.

Bochini was much more talented than Enrique or Giusti, but he watched from the bench, because those other players are what the team needed. Marangoni was arguably as good if not better than Batista, but he didn't even make the roster in '86.

You can go on an on about building teams that work vs just playing "top talent". Sometimes a 'lesser player' is exactly what the team needs to be a better team overall.

EDIT: That's my pet peeve about guys like Di Maria or Rojo. It's no "emo", it's the fact that because they carry a name and play on this or that club, they're supposed to own their spot? It shouldn't work like that. If they're playing like , they should move along and maybe bring another guy that might not be as talented, but fills a team need better than the ty version of those guys (in Rojo's case, the ty version is pretty much all you get anyways).

Ok then, play Pity Martinez if you want. The final thing should be fixed since we won't even get there.

[ElNono]

Ok then, play Pity Martinez if you want. The final thing should be fixed since we won't even get there.

I thought Missi is the guy that makes this team a contender vs crap?

You can't about Missi being "all alone" and "having to do everything by himself" then turn around and say we gotta keep doing the same with the same players.

I actually think a change of system would be beneficial for Missi too. You just need to put players around him that might not be as talented but are more utilitarian towards making this a better team with him still being the centerpiece.

What good is Messi if Di Maria loses 80% of possessions when he tries to take on 3 defenders by himself? For a team that likes to take care of the ball, that's stupid football.

What's the point of moving the ball around with 40 passes to end up with Rojo centering 40 meters past the box? And it's not just once, dude can't ing center for .

[urunobili]

Action starting again on Thursday... plenty of trap games to be played TBH

[apalisoc_9]

By the end of 2016, we should have a few teams that pretty much have qualified by winning significant amount of games.

[lefty]

Camroon is going to kill us

lol group of death

Algeria
Cameroon
Nigeria
Zambia

[apalisoc_9]

Camroon is going to kill us

lol group of death

Algeria
Cameroon
Nigeria
Zambia

That's rough.

They really need to strip of two spots from Europe and allocate them to other continents. Another 0.5 to South America, 0.5 Africa, and 0.5 Asia.

The 9th to 13 whatever european team are always ing garbage.

[Canyonero]

So Bauza is playing

Dybala-Fatguero-Dive Maria
Chokeguain

[dfens]

So Bauza is playing

Dybala-Fatguero-Dive Maria
Chokeguain

how many balls does argentina get with dybala/higuain/aguerro/di maria PLUS messi ? ... seriously, this is how you a country in the ass big time. You play all the stars and win big against poor teams instead of playing a balanced team and creating a long term strategy for winning against tough opponents. When they lose against tough opposition everybody says that they were unlucky, "look, they had good results till now", when any coach will tell you "well, no bro, you just changed tactics because you know you can't play 5 strikers against a strong opponents and tough luck, your players have no long term experience in this formation, your talent advantage is nullified by your strategical disadvantage".

Sad stuff for argentina, y'all s are ing blessed with talent. It's like every day we get a new argentine star. Never in my life have I seen talent like messi SQUANDERED like this, with long term incompetence. If he'd would of played for ANY euro country contender (france / germany/ netherlands / italy / spain / even portugal) he'd have a world cup (maybe not with portugal) by now and probably a euro. Messi on france/germany/netherlands/italy is . Spain with messi goes b2b euros and WCs tbh.

[dfens]

Needing penaltys vs Chile is exactly the problem. Their weakest spot is defense, our supposed strength is offense. But if the coach is a giant pussy who plays only 3 offensive players, that is what happens, 0-0 draw less than a year apart. :facepalm

Also, let's not be stupid. 3 finals sounds great, but wc >>>>>>> copa America, and the only difference between 02, 06, 10, 14 is that we didn't face a strong team till the final. We struggled mightily to score the whole tournament. Part of that was di Maria getting injured, but the constant is Messi having to do everything because the players around him, no matter how big the name, are not helping. How many times do we see the team build up an attack so Rojo can make a terrible cross to a bunch of midgets, or for dimaria/aguero to shoot 10 seconds too late? The team doesn't have clear ideas.

And imo, winning is not the only thing that matters. Sure, that's what people remember, but they also remember teams that play well, and teams that play like . No one remembers the Greece euro champs for playing well, they remember them for getting lucky (same will be said for this Portugal team). I would have celebrated 14 if we won because it's been forever, but at the same time I would still rate the 02 and 06 teams as better.

On that note it's pathetic how Daf is so zen about these penalty shootouts, when he was the first to crucify tevez for missing in 2011 copa America, or discredit the 06 team for losing in much more unlucky cir stances (starting pk specialist keeper injured 30 min from time)

And you know, I'd be glad to try piscu instead of biglia/banega/Fernández, because he also fits the playmaker mold, though Vázquez is way better

And for the games where the other team is the one taking risks, you can still use the other guys. Last two copa finals pastore was a wasted roster spot, di maría gets injured and we are forced to trot out kranevitter/biglia when we need goals, it's shameful tbh.

good post son tbh. see my previous post about my opinion on the argetina NT.

[Canyonero]

how many balls does argentina get with dybala/higuain/aguerro/di maria PLUS messi ? ... seriously, this is how you a country in the ass big time. You play all the stars and win big against poor teams instead of playing a balanced team and creating a long term strategy for winning against tough opponents. When they lose against tough opposition everybody says that they were unlucky, "look, they had good results till now", when any coach will tell you "well, no bro, you just changed tactics because you know you can't play 5 strikers against a strong opponents and tough luck, your players have no long term experience in this formation, your talent advantage is nullified by your strategical disadvantage".

Sad stuff for argentina, y'all s are ing blessed with talent. It's like every day we get a new argentine star. Never in my life have I seen talent like messi SQUANDERED like this, with long term incompetence. If he'd would of played for ANY euro country contender (france / germany/ netherlands / italy / spain / even portugal) he'd have a world cup (maybe not with portugal) by now and probably a euro. Messi on france/germany/netherlands/italy is . Spain with messi goes b2b euros and WCs tbh.

I think it's just Bauza saying " you" to his detractors imho. We won't see this kind of too often (hopefully).

[TheGreatYacht]

Is Spain back? They look really good so far

[DAF86]

how many balls does argentina get with dybala/higuain/aguerro/di maria PLUS messi ? ... seriously, this is how you a country in the ass big time. You play all the stars and win big against poor teams instead of playing a balanced team and creating a long term strategy for winning against tough opponents. When they lose against tough opposition everybody says that they were unlucky, "look, they had good results till now", when any coach will tell you "well, no bro, you just changed tactics because you know you can't play 5 strikers against a strong opponents and tough luck, your players have no long term experience in this formation, your talent advantage is nullified by your strategical disadvantage".

Sad stuff for argentina, y'all s are ing blessed with talent. It's like every day we get a new argentine star. Never in my life have I seen talent like messi SQUANDERED like this, with long term incompetence. If he'd would of played for ANY euro country contender (france / germany/ netherlands / italy / spain / even portugal) he'd have a world cup (maybe not with portugal) by now and probably a euro. Messi on france/germany/netherlands/italy is . Spain with messi goes b2b euros and WCs tbh.

Bauza will never play with 5 strikers. Dybala is playing now because Messi is injured, if not he would be on the bench.

The formation is a typical 4-2-3-1:

Romero

Zabaleta Otamendi F.Mori Rojo

Kranevitter Mascherano

Dybala Aguero Di María

Higuaín

When Messi and Biglia are fit they would play instead of Dybala and Kranevitter respectively. The name selection isn't an issue, imho (outside a few choices like playing Messi on the right, I would rather give him the freedom to play as a true number 10); the problem is Bauza being reluctant to his teams doing a high press, I don't know how he expects to mantain a short cohesive team with so many offensive minded players and not forcing his defenders to press high on the pitch. I don't see Messi, Aguero, Higuain and Di Maria all doing the work of getting back 50 metres everytime Argentina loses the ball.