I have to say that prior to the World Cup I thought that Diego Maradona might be certifiably mad and I haven’t seen anything at the side of the pitch or in the press conferences to make me change my mind. The best player in my lifetime, of that I am sure, but as a manager, he is nothing if not a character.
I think we all wondered whether Maradona could fashion together a team capable of challenging for this title. Individually there is no doubt that they are one of the most talented groups of players in South Africa, but as a team, Maradona has previously shown no real prospect of bringing them together.
Harsh
Yesterday they did dominate the game but perhaps the 4-1 score-line was a little harsh on South Korea. An own goal put Argentina ahead and then Real Madrid striker Higuain added his first and their second. At that stage it looked as though they were coasting, but a horror show from Demichelis gave Korea a reason to go in at half-time reasonably happy at 2-1 down.
In the second half Yeom Ki-Hun missed a glorious chance to bring South Korea level and had that happened we would certainly have seen what Argentina are made of. As it was Higuain added two more to complete his hat-trick, give his side an easy win and send a message to the other big guns.
Impressive
Argentina had 53% of the possession in the game and managed nineteen attempts on goal, eleven of which were on target. Those are impressive statistics but against that, it should be noted that South Korea, with just 47% possession also managed to have twelve attempts on the Argentina goal, hitting the target six times.
It looks as though Argentina are going to be a whole lot better going forward than they are going the other way. Maybe that is not surprising when you look at their manager.
Frightening
Their front three of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain are certainly going to take some stopping. The form those three players bring to the tournament is frightening when you look at the figures.
- Lionel Messi, forty-seven goals in all competitions for Barcelona
- Gonzalo Higuain, twenty-nine goals in all competitions for Real Madrid
- Carlos Tevez, twenty-nine goals in all competitions for Manchester City
That is a remarkable one hundred and five goals in one season between the three of them.
Compare that with the three that Emile Heskey got and you begin to see a serious issue. It may not be fair to use Emile as a comparison. You have to add up the goals he has scored over the past seven seasons to reach the amount Messi scored last season!
Vulnerable
On a serious note, Argentina play some absolutely sublime football going forward but to me they look vulnerable at the back. Demichelis showed his limitations and Newcastle’s Gutierrez has never been a full back.
At this stage of the tournament Argentina will get away with their style and will look good. When they get to the later stages I can’t help but feel the better teams will exploit their defensive frailties. It will then be interesting to see if Maradona can show a tactical astuteness that I am not convinced he possesses.
The master and the apprentice
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