World cup 1986, I remember the final between Germany and Argentina. A German team carrying high expectations on their shoulders against an ordinary Argentina carried on the shoulders of one freakily skillful midget. I remember Maradona in that game being the destabilizer who helped his teammates to be the neutralizers. Well, Maradona will be there today trying to provide more of the same linking Messi to a joystick he controls from the bench.
But make no mistake; defense will win this game, not offense. Both teams have the magic box required to win the battle. The homework is to find the right recipe to nullify the opponent’s offense.
The German team is not subject to intense analysis. They were the most convincing side in the tournament so far, ticking all the boxes for a title contender. Not a favorite when the tournament kicked off. Decent defense. Youth and Experience perfectly mixed. Width. Aggression. Offense Presence in the box. No dependency on a specific player but more a group of quality players feeding a system of play. All seems to be well planned by Joachim Loew. The rest is for the football gods to plan. But can Maradona hunt them down today?
Maradona demanded apologies for all those who doubted his team quality. I think it’s still too early to brag. Put me on the record, I am one of the doubters. And so far I didn’t see anything interesting enough to apologies. He can win me over if he won this one. But how?
Not sure what he is planning as he has been the most unpredictable coach so far in this tournament (a good thing may be). I will consider it a good start to pick the following selection:
Romero, Gutierrez, Burdisso, Demishelis, Heinze, Mascherano, Bolatti, Di Maria, Messi, Tevez, Higuain.
Maradona will find it more tempting to use Otamendi over Gutierrez for being more committed defensively. But that will not actually add a lot defensively. Having Burdisso (notice that I put him as a RCB not a LCB as he played so far), Demishelis, and Heinze as three center backs are more than enough. Add to that the fact that Germany’s left fullback is not as offense oriented as Lahm on the right. That means the two threats on Argentina right flank will come either from Podolski who cuts inside more than he hug the lines, and Klose moving to channels. Both cases are containable by the defense trio assisted by the tracking back of Tevez and co. Especially with Di Maria checking Muller on the opposite flank. Ozil is a case on his own. He can cause threat on the left, right, and center. He attacks spaces. That’s why having Bolatti in the selection will be crucial to man mark him so he doesn’t distract others from doing their original defensive roles. Mascherano will be the man supporting any weak department creating cover and depth. If the two players Ozil and Bolatti cancel each other, Maradona will be the one smiling at the end of the day.
Maradona also need to avoid using a containable offense setup. So far, Messi was the player serving behind Tevez and especially Higuain. If that will be the case against Germany, Messi may have a tough day against Khedira and Schweinsteiger. I say flip the triangle. Play Messi as a “9” on Friedrich and Mertesacker and Let Tevez and Higuain get advantage of the chaos produced by this twist.
Tevez work rate will be a bless if used behind Messi. Opening to the left he can help Di Maria keeping Lahm where he hates: Playing defense. Moving to the other flank he can assist Gutierrez to stretch the Germans defense. From the center he can put huge pressure on Khedira and Schweinsteiger especially while retaining possession. All that will serve as an advantage for Messi and Higuain who will be completely dedicated to abuse spaces created to generate scoring opportunities. I won’t complain if Milito plays the Higuain role though. In that case he can play the destructive role between the two center backs. But it’s more unlikely than the whole scenario mentioned already.
Or maybe, Maradona will have more magic than we think…
yoles Said,
germany was very convincing side so far but many are forgeting that they had their big wins against teams how have played with flat lines and 4 in the midfield
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 3:13 AM
yoles Said,
why did maradona left out veron and jonas?????
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 8:36 AM
Ramzi Said,
If it was only for that, I won't complain...
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 9:00 AM
Anonymous_69 Said,
Well, that was shocking... I'm sure Spain will win this WC if they can reach their best, but damn, Germany is really dazzling. I wonder what went wrong for Argentina, that made them lose so horribly...
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 10:33 AM
Ramzi Said,
I will make an article about this one Anonymous_69. It need more than just a comment to do so.
Lets see if Spain can upgrade from their Villa dependency first.
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 10:41 AM
Anonymous_69 Said,
I'm looking forward to reading that article :). I agree about the Villa-dependency thing, but Torres has never been too good for Spain, so they have always relied a lot on Villa.
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 11:14 AM
Anonymous_69 Said,
Well, I guess Spain do rely too much on Villa :p. I still believe that if they survive the early goal against Germany, Spail will win and go to the finals.
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 3:48 PM
yoles Said,
spain are nothing but a Barca B without the creative touch of Pep
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 7:07 PM