Sabella's first game in charge for Argentina provided some interesting positives but showed that much hard work and tweaking will have to take place before a stable system is put into place. Sabella seemed of a mind to try and recreate a Barça like system which would afford Messi the space to be as effective for the albiceleste as for the blaugrana. He played a 4-3-3 with the 3 forwards not starting too wide but moving diagonally in different directions. Higuain moved in general from centre towards the right, Messi right to left and Di Maria forward on the left flank. This review is from a stadium viewing of the match rather than a tv viewing and hence while providing an enhanced perspective on say, off the ball movement may be lacking in others.
Starting from the top:
Gonzalo Higuain surprised me. He put in a disciplined performance constantly holding a position which caused centre-back Amorebeita to remain focussed on tracking him. The Venezuelan left-back also remained close in support. Higuain still made a few short darting runs which allowed him cracks at goal. More appreciable was his determination in retaining possession from the 50-50 balls or even more hopeful passes played to him. Despite the close attentions of the defender and his own fumbling ways, Higuain managed to retain or regain the ball even if he never looked capable of turning or creating space for himself with the ball at his feet. He did though manage to get in a shot which crashed off the crossbar. Higuain´s positioning means that the other centre-half, who in this case was the excellent Osvaldo Vizcarrondo had a much greater area to cover.
Messi initially starting on the right wing was found closer to his false nine position as the match progressed. He made a few shuffling runs finishing with a deft pass or a shot on goal. Messi was infact involved in almost all of Argentina´s goal scoring chances and his fervour and commitment should hearten Argentina fans. The responsibility of captaincy seems likely to excite further endeavour in his individual contribution more than anything else. Yet there was little meaningful interaction with Ricardo Alvarez on the left or Lucho Gonzalez on the right. This meant that he started his runs from deeper than he likes to than when he carves out space for a shot at Barça; nor did he have the option of a Villa or Iniesta making a run for the right to left angled pass that is natural to his movement.
Angel Di Maria on the left was a one-way street. If Sabella chooses to persist with him it will require a great development in his game to be of sufficient utility to the albiceleste. Playing in a more advanced position than he had at the World Cup, Di Maria appeared incapable of creating an angle whereby the ball may be returned to the centre. Adept at going outside defenders Di Maria allows little possibility of any passing interchanges on the left channel.
If the nimble footed Alvarez can be allowed to advance from his left midfield position towards the penalty area then Argentina will effectively create the hole in the centre which Messi is so prolific in exploiting. During this game however each time they advanced along right or left midfield, players seemed incapable of using the open space created in the centre. Perhaps the marshalling of the well-organised Venezuelan midfield is due some praise for this inability. Yet, it was astounding to see on so many occasions in the game, Messi forlornly looking on from the centre of the Venezuelan half with nary a player within 15 metres of him.
On the right side Lucho Gonzalez was more industrious than we are used to seeing from him. More was perhaps expected from him but he looks a good candidate to take on a playmaking role from the right side of midfield. Javier Mascherano played the anchor and did a wonderful job covering for the defence, especially the wayward Otamendi. But perhaps his eventual role will be to provide this sort of cover from defence rather than the midfield. Guardiola´s innovative usage of him in defence seems justified as he lacks the passing ability to move the ball quickly and find his teammates further up the pitch.
Zabaleta looked adept at right-back, both in providing support while going forward and in covering during defence. They were a few productive interchanges between Lucho, Zabaleta and Higuain on the right. The rest of the defence was manifestly poor and got into trouble every time Venezuela tried anything more purposeful than punting the ball upfield.
The problem starts with the left back Rojo who was probably the most inactive player on the pitch. Perpetually in the wrong place at the wrong time, he was ineffective in providing support and was far out of position whenever Venezuela attacked. This greatly complicated matters for Otamendi who had to rush out to cover additional space. Otamendi´s lack of composure must have been disheartening for Sabella as he rarely managed to win the ball in these situations. Otamendi scored the game´s only goal by attacking a corner at the near post. As Martin Demichelis disinterestedly held his position in the centre, staying close to his Malaga teammate Rondon; it was left to Mascherano to cover for Otamendi. Sergio Romero handled confidently at the back.
A Bit More Analysis
A good place for Sabella to start would be with the left back, Marcos Rojo. Either another defender has to be found (anyone whose name isn´t Heinze can queue up) or Rojo has to improve drastically. At present his lack of awareness and poor positioning is so acute that he even seemed to complicate distribution. Otamendi is fast, athletic and has come into prominence lately; perhaps with a bit more experience at the top level he will do better than throw himself in the direction of the attacker. Demichelis´time is up, I hope Burdisso will replace him in the next game.
A option that is risky and yet which might eventually turn out to be more viable would be to play Mascherano as the 2nd centre-half. This would allow Argentina to recover balls earlier and improve their transition into attack. But this would also require Otamendi to develop better positional sense and leave the tracking and tackling bit to Masch. Moving Masch into defence opens up a spot for a better mover of the ball such as Ever Banega to play at anchor. This improve the overall fluency of passing in midfield and allow a more natural creation of triangles.
Alvarez showed great close control and was replaced by Javier Pastore. This is indicative of Sabella seeking a player at LM who can take on and run at defenders. Di Maria however poses another complication. His starting position was central enough for him to be directly in front of Alvarez thus restricting his path forward. Additionally Di Maria from this position can only either be played in on goal or receiving the ball earlier dribble outside into a crossing position.
An option I would like to see Sabella use is to play Higuain as a left-forward as Villa does at Barça and Diego Milito as the striker who will occupy opposition centre-backs. Milito is a versatile player good with his back to the goal and in playing others in. Sabella´s exclusion of Zanetti, Cambiasso and Milito shows that he wants to close the door on a certain generation of players. Sabella however has other options with players like Defrederico, Marco Ruben and Perotti emerging with whom he can perhaps create a more effective system with Tevez and Aguero also available to throw into the mix.
And Briefly Venezuela
Venezuela seems a very disciplined side looking to play on the counter. The hoof up the field by the goalkeeper isn´t necessarily the best option for them. Rondon was barely active during the match but Miku carved out a few good opportunities. The star of the show was Osvaldo Vizcarrondo who time and again thwarted Argentine attacks. They can pose a few problems to some of the bigger sides in the South American qualifiers if they resist the temptation to give the ball away cheaply and instead use it to create more frequent counters. That Argentina did create enough opportunities to win the game by a larger margin is an indication of the fact that it will be difficult for Venezuela to defend with the same vigour and discipline and hold a good team at bay for a full 90 minutes.
