Comments on: Technical Difficulties (And: Argentina 1-0 France)

By: skywalker

skywalker — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 20:28:09 +0000

Thierry…

you wrote: two offensive middlefields being Saviola and Crespo…

first off they are strikers. And how do you claim we just sat back and played 9 defensive guys. Anyone who knows Arg soccer worth a lick will tell you Lucho is not there for his ‘defensive’ skills. Zanetti is definately not a better defensive player as he is going forward offsenively.

Due to injuries, we were forced to withold some of our better attacking MF / Strikers (Aimar, Messi, Tevez, etc) but to say Arg went into a defensive shell is a little off.

True, the Arg passing was nice but their general offence left much to be desired, I think it’s a gross misunderstatement to say that Arg played with a totally defensive mindset. Sometimes, the score, circumstances and injuries dictate the outcome…

By: Thierry

Thierry — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:53:55 +0000

Hi, Lauie,

Argentina played a good match, but a very closed and defensif match. Argies were lucky to score against an inexperiment defense Escudé only play against Feroë( is it an experience? And not at this post). Milito and Gago did great job. Basile was probably frightened by France because Argentina played with nine defensif players and two offensif middlefields(Saviola and Crespo). In these conditions and even for a strong offensive team it is difficult to play like we saw it with Argentina Mexico or France feroë or Fr Scotland. So in such closed game , it is preferable to have a good defense but Escudé-Squillaci were newb and Escudé was mystified by Saviola.
French look like tired, in fact they are. Ribery came from pubalgy and was not at his top, Henry play with Arsenal, Trezeguet was too static for this kind of match, the lyonnais were like the tradition in a “frebuary form”.
Well done Argentina, but for the Argies fans who think that with Messi or Tevez, Argentina against France was far superior, i answer them “Let Basile try” but i’m not sure Messi or Tevez could be so efficient in defense than a cambiasso ,a gago a lucho gonzales(awesome in his defensif placement) or a zanetti… Good wind with you argies…

By: Connor

Connor — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 16:44:01 +0000

Have fun watching the game Laurie!

By: whb

whb — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 16:20:57 +0000

I missed the game, because I opted to watch the American-Mexico game instead. (Pardonnez-moi).
Mostly it’s because my beloved soccer bar (which is actually just an obnoxious sports bar that happens to have Setanta) started opening up at 4PM during the week, which means I either have to miss every game (Premiership games especially) or avoid the news and wait for the replay (I don’t have the strength to watch a game when I know les bleus won’t win).
Oh and it might be a tough thing for France to be close to Argentina… There’s an ocean to deal with. But let me know if you work it out.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:27:17 +0000

Heh, France dominated Argentina! Argentina got so lucky that the French goalkeeper dropped the ball lol.
Argentina is still a great team but hell, they got so lucky to beat France

By: Negconz

Negconz — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:22:50 +0000

oh brandon..you just think about france..
Lol,How about Argentina?
think about them..argentina without their main star players..We don’t have our key player..messi,aimar,tevez,sorin,marsherano..without their key player…ours is more important than your thuram and gallas..
if they’re all there..
u think thuram and gallas can stop them?then u’re dreaming..
argentina will just outclass france

By: Negcon

Negcon — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:15:55 +0000

yes yes Messi, Aimar, Tevez all didnt play. but either did Thuram or Gallas
France didnt have her full defence and didnt play her strongest forwards

By: fab

fab — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:04:17 +0000

yes but argentina had none of its midfield stars

zenetti is a defender may i point out yet he had to play in mid

messi aimar and maxi are way more important to argentina

than Thuram or Gallas would be to france

By: Brandon

Brandon — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 05:50:46 +0000

yes yes Messi, Aimar, Tevez all didnt play. but either did Thuram or Gallas. Look at France’s defence (Squillaci and Escude starting). They are in a transition state. To say that France will never be close to Argentina again is a pretty short sighted comment. 1-0 when France didnt have her full defence and didnt play her strongest forwards correctly isnt exactly a blowout. congrats argentina but as a huge France fan, im really not too phased by this.

What does bother me is Sagnol getting subbed continuously. This had better just be Domenech testing out Clerc, and not Domenech looking for an immediate Sagnol replacement. Willy (with Abidal)is the best defense they have right now and with all this defensive transition going on, I really feel he needs to lead them to Euro 2008.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 05:15:37 +0000

I just got back from watching the replay, and it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. My guys let the game go for the first twenty minutes, but after that they played solidly. Except for the freakin’ offense, who kind of forgot to show up. Especially (as much as it pains me to say it) Trezeguet. We’re going to have to do something about that if we’re going to go anywhere in Euro ‘08.