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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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