Monday, May 31, 2010

Argentina glides past Canada in warm-up!

Higuain Messi

Tevez

Di María Pastore Jonas Gutiérrez

Mascherano

Heinze Otamendi

Samuel Demichellis Banco: Milito/ Clemente Rodriguez/ Veron/

Romero

The above would i be the most effective line-up for the Argentine National Team come June 12th!


O Canada, stick to hockey! The friendly w/ Canada was purposely organized by the AFA, so that the Argentines could have any easy run around & build some confidence before getting on the plane to South Africa. Only, the game went better than many skeptical Argentinians would have expected. The result 5-0 is more or less something expected, however the ball movement & full-on collective effort was some to suggest some serious expectations. The big surprise will be to start the 20 year old slick Pastore. Although marking was non-existent, I picked up on something in Pastore I haven’t seen from an Argentine central midfielder since Aimar in his prime. A distributor who doesn’t need to hog the ball & slow the pace like a Riquelme nor an over anxious long ball passer as Veron can be when unsettled. Pastore showed flashes to be the perfect unknown, w/ a bit of swagger who can find the ball, & within seconds have redistributed it to a player running into open space. Hallelujah! Many analysts suggested Pastore started in place of an injured Messi. I would beg to differ, or at least only hope that Maxi Rodriguez is relegated to the bench so that Messi can run wild on the right side of the pitch which is his strength. Could the coaching staff have been saving some master plan all along? Argentina has some serious potential to be a mad-happy offensive team.

It seems Di Maria is going to be rode like a horse, if something happens to him, there is no-one for the left wing, other than Aguero, or switching over Messi if on top of his game. Palermo was the only player in the friendly vs. Canada who looked like he did not belong when brought on from the fans clamoring, “Paleermo, Paleeeermo!”. Heinze is an extreme liability defensively, yet as long as he plays aggressive attacking, he may be Ok. Clemente Rodriguez would be a more sure fire choice in that position if I were in charge. El resto del equipo me parecio barbero!

Friday, May 21, 2010

100 on Ghana!

Mes amis Futboleurs!
To quote the truest French footballiuer Eric Cantona, "this game is about heart, Hohner, & beauty." The worlds greatest competition on the African soil for a first time. Most of the main-stream media outlets & expert annalists have suggested "There will be no surprises, that the champion will arise from one of the 6 original powerhouses"; England, Germany, Holland, Argentina, Brasil, Spain."
I will give an honest proposal w/ only one African team that can legitimately win the whole enchilada, that team is GHANA. Ivory Coast is full of talent but no spirit after the African Cup of Nations debacle. Even without "El Bison" Michael Essien in the midfield (lost to injury), & wo/ a true killer up front in the attack, I see Ghana to be the most physically imposing & "subestimado" to reckon with. They have some young 20 year-old talent whom performed well during the ACN that the world has yet to take notice of.
This will also be the first time in over 50 years that Germany will not reach the Final 8, aside from the Ballack injury, purely based on intuition & a lack of player production over the last 4 years. The best team in Europe when the time is right will be Holland. England's life-line is 99% dependent on Rooney as he could steal the show. If not, England will go home early again & along w/ an always crack under the pressure Espana. It's absurd to believe the 4-1 Vegas odds on Spain, when they were beat in South Africa last year by Los Estados Unidos.
Algeria is going to give the Los EEUU more problems in their final group game than most could imagine, again dependent upon Majid Bougherra being healthy for Algeria, (there is always danger when the best player on the pitch is playing for the opposing team). Even the Gringo poster boy Donovan commented after the Lottery draw in December in regards to Algeria, "We don't know a lot about them." Geez, the right wing sports media is going to have a field-day replaying clips of an Algeria extra-time goal w/ a screaming arab commentator "Allaaaahhhh, alllaaahh..." to steal 3 points & knock out the US, agaaain! The complacent US attitude, which suggests US Soccer is on a rise is farcical Nike Marketing Scheme!
Algeria, Paraguay, Chile &; Cameroon could show some serious heart, but realistically quarterfinals at best for either team. Spain is going home at the hands of whomever they have to face from the group of death, either Portugal or Ivory Coast.
All though the world might not get to see an overweight Samba Ronnie dance around the ball this June, Brasil are still loaded & for the first time in their history are more dominant defensively than offensively. When it counts Luis "Fabuloso" Fabiano is a killer, & was the most dominant Player who missed out on the last 2006 World Cup in preference to Adriano. Along w/ another German Bundesliga Killer named Grafiti, I think they will be the revelation of the World Cup scoring 5-6 a pair. There are some serious question marks in Dunga's call ups, including some questionable players in the starting 11, most notably a skinny Ramires, however there are enough players to follow a defensive counter attack minded scheme. Although Samba Ronnie should be there over the likes of Robinho or a designated bench sitter like Josue or Kleberson.
Argentina is a true leap of fate. I've been reiterating it on a daily basis for over a year know that Argentina will magically come together & somehow play collectively, hmmm! It's really embarrassing that the Argentine Football Federation but it's cup in the hands of a coach w/ no tactical measure. Everything is a question mark! Having watched Veron play masterfully last year for Estudiantes & to win the Copa Libertadores, he was out of air at the 80 min mark in both games. Veron can't play 90 mins at the world cup level anymore & if he were to be injured, at 36 a very likely possibility, who is going to distribute the ball? A 20 year old Pastore? The wing defenders for Argentina could pose to be the biggest embarrassment, I can see the 1st 20 mins in Joburg, sitting in the stands, & Heinze being roasted for an early 1-0 Nigeria lead. This might actually be the best thing that can happen to Argentina to give them a chance, immediate relegation to the bench! There are various conspiracies, one being that Heinze's brother is a travel agent & that his brother has helped Marado to pocket some money years back & that is the reason he's consistently called up with about for 4-5 other dodgy selections. Until he performs on the big stage, I will not even mention the name of the little, "Magic Man" who plays for Barca.
So many questions so much anticipation. The only lasting advice I can give to all in these tough economic times is to wager a small sum on Ghana, on some sights 80/1 Vegas odds I believe 50/1.
At this preliminary stage I would Favor in the following order, Brasil, Holand (a 1st timer),England (dependent on Rooney), Argentina, & Ghana. Unless Spain really holds together, I don't see any of the lesser teams standing a shot. As Fifa loves to flash old black & white footage & over-exagerate a silly golden age of pre 1950 world cups. Ghana is the only team, that with a 10o wager, could yield a $5,000-8,000 return. Before 1957 independence, Ghana was known as the Gold Coast.
In this market, I wish as people have said for years, invest in GOLD! BLACK GOLD STARS!