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II<br />

SPORT<br />

Sourav Modak<br />

A<br />

rgentina, the name is inseparable<br />

from the most<br />

famous sport — football.<br />

And whenever we think of football,<br />

we can’t help thinking about<br />

Lionel Messi, who is considered to<br />

be the finest player of the current<br />

generation, may be a few notches<br />

ahead of another great in making,<br />

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.<br />

At the same time, the Messi<br />

who is famous all over the world<br />

is the one in Barcelona colours,<br />

not in blue and whites — the<br />

Argentina jersey. There is a reason<br />

behind that. Many theories have<br />

been put forth by experts and<br />

supporters worldwide behind<br />

Messi’s inability to replicate his<br />

club-level success in the<br />

Argentina shirt.<br />

Whatever be the reason, it will<br />

be unjust for the other players in<br />

the Argentine squad — which will<br />

arrive in Kolkata on Monday to<br />

play the Fifa friendly against Latin<br />

American rivals Venezuela at the<br />

Salt Lake stadium on September 2<br />

— if we don’t pay them the attention<br />

they deserve, treating them<br />

just as teammates of the wonder<br />

boy of world football.<br />

The next big name in Argentine<br />

football after Messi is definitely<br />

Carlos Tevez. However, the<br />

Manchester City forward has been<br />

overlooked by recently-appointed<br />

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella<br />

for the two friendlies in Kolkata<br />

and Dhaka (on September 6<br />

against Nigeria). Sabella has<br />

declared a squad mainly consisting<br />

players plying their trade in<br />

Europe. Tevez’s exclusion may<br />

have been disappointing but<br />

Kolkatans will still get to see some<br />

excellent players like Sergio<br />

Aguero, Angel di Maria, Gonzalo<br />

Higuain, Javier Mascherano,<br />

Martin Demichelis, Pablo<br />

Zabaleta, Jonas Gutierrez.<br />

Currently ranked ninth in Fifa<br />

rankings, Argentina’s fate will<br />

largely depend on Tevez’s City<br />

teammate Aguero and the Real<br />

Madrid duo — Higuain and Di<br />

Maria. While Messi has found the<br />

back of the net 17 times in 60<br />

appearances for the national<br />

team, Aguero’s scoring rate is<br />

quite high at 13 goals from 30<br />

matches.<br />

Married to Maradona’s<br />

youngest daughter Giannina, 23year-old<br />

Aguero is a centre forward<br />

but can operate from behind<br />

as he often did for his Atletico<br />

Madrid teammate Diego Forlan. A<br />

stocky footballer, Aguero is characterised<br />

by strength, agility and<br />

acceleration, which make him a<br />

dangerous weapon in the attacking<br />

third.<br />

The next big star is Real Madrid<br />

striker Higuain, who enjoys a 50<br />

per cent scoring rate in light blue<br />

shirt with eight goals in 16<br />

appearances.In an equally successful<br />

club career, Higuain has<br />

scored 77 goals from 166 appearances<br />

for Real so far. Because of his<br />

excellent skill and scoring rate,<br />

Real have retained the 23-yearold<br />

since 2007 and in June 2010,<br />

extended his contract till 2016.<br />

Higuain was inducted into the<br />

senior national team for the<br />

2010 World Cup qualifiers by the<br />

then coach Diego Maradona. He<br />

became only the third Argentine<br />

to score an international hattrick<br />

in Argentina’s 4-1 win over<br />

South Korea in their second<br />

group league match of the 2010<br />

World Cup.<br />

Real Madrid winger Di Maria,<br />

another big name on Argentina’s<br />

roster, is known for being really<br />

quick on the left flank and one of<br />

the best dribbler right now.<br />

Mainly known for his ability to<br />

assist strikers, Di Maria has<br />

improved his goal-scoring abilities<br />

as well, scoring nine goals in<br />

53 matches in his debut season<br />

(2010-11) with Real.<br />

Zabaleta, the 26-year-old fullback,<br />

is another player to look at,<br />

who has become a favourite of<br />

Manchester City fans with his<br />

dependable performance since<br />

coming to the Premier League<br />

club in the summer of 2008.<br />

Barcelona midfielder<br />

Mascherano and Malaga centreback<br />

Demichelis are also important<br />

to Sabella’s scheme of things<br />

as they will add experience to the<br />

mainly young squad selected for<br />

the two friendlies in Asia.<br />

While the former Liverpool<br />

player Mascherano has been a<br />

tried and tested name in the<br />

Argentine midfield since his<br />

debut in July 2003 in a friendly<br />

against Uruguay, 30-year-old<br />

Demichelis has also been quite<br />

a familiar name with 33<br />

appearances.<br />

If Sabella can bring out the best<br />

from the Higuains, Di Marias and<br />

Agueros, that will not only help<br />

Argentina to attain the desired<br />

level of performance they can<br />

reach but also bring the best out of<br />

Messi.<br />

The European footballer of the<br />

year is at his best when he is free<br />

from pressure to perform. That is<br />

what happens in Barcelona when<br />

he plays alongside Andres Iniesta,<br />

Xavi Hernandez, David Villa and<br />

Pedro. Equally good at scoring and<br />

assisting, Messi creates quality<br />

moves for Villa and Pedro apart<br />

from receiving good passes from<br />

Iniesta and Xavi at Barca. Sabella<br />

needs to find that kind of a combination<br />

for Messi. So there is life<br />

beyond Messi in the current<br />

Argentina squad but coach Sabella<br />

has to look after them properly.<br />

Kolkata Friday September 2, 2011<br />

www.thebengalpost.com<br />

Messi not Argentina’s only star<br />

Argentina’s fate will<br />

largely depend on<br />

Tevez’s City<br />

teammate Aguero<br />

and the Real<br />

Madrid duo —<br />

Higuain and<br />

Di Maria<br />

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RETAIL<br />

Column Contact<br />

Partha : 9830557648,<br />

Saumik : 9038414135 / 9051950365<br />

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We are looking for<br />

Authorised Booking Counter<br />

all over West Bengal. Please Contact<br />

Classified Department :<br />

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Disclaimer : The Bengal Post or any of its agents assume no responsibility for the authenti<strong>city</strong> or reliability of<br />

any advertisement published in this news paper. The adver- tisements carried in the newspaper are acce- pted<br />

on good faith.

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