Argentina vs Brazil as it happened – Strictly non technical

(By Rony Dasgupta)

Ok, I took the seat in front of my TV set with keen interest to see Argentina taking on Brazil. Being an Argentine fan myself I expected a higher ranked Argentina to run over Brazil. And Brazil was the team which got 7 goals from German in world cup. And Argentina lost only 1 match out of their last 27 matches. But what I witnessed was just the opposite. There was few initial run by Argentine players but they did what they know best..Ruin the chances. And then Brazil slowly started talking on the match in their grip. And Brazil capitalised from once such situation when Diego Tardelli of Brazil scored in the 28^th minute. It was a poor clearance from the Argentine defence. Zabaleta and Fernandez both tried to clear a cross from Oscar which was fall into the the legs of Diego n he doing justice to his name scored the opener.

After that the battle was more in the midfield with both teams trying to gain land. Brazil might seemed to be better on the duet. And Messi was successful in keeping up with the tradition of his failing with major opponents. DeMaria on the other hand seemed visibly more active among the other Argentine players and he earned a penalty in the 40’th minute. Though from the replay it was clear that the Brazilian defender first touched the ball before his slide clipped off De Maria from his balance. Brazilian players were furious about it . But referee awarded spot kick which was missed by Messi. A poor shot on the right side of the goal keeper which was fistted away. Brazil keeping up with the tradition of producing good goalkeepers. Brazilian players were seemingly jubilant after their goalkeeper JEFFERSON made the save. Poetic  justice as many would claim . After that Argentina never really seemed to be getting the edge. Brazil seemed to be getting more dominant in the pitch.  Neymar  looked threatening whenever he had the ball. Federico Fernández and  Javier Mascherano both had hard time with Neymar. On the flip side Divid Luiz n company had much easier time managing their defence. Messi never looked threatening and every time he got the ball was quickly and easily dispossessed. Diego Tardell in the meantime scored another one from a corner after Oscar and David Luiz set for . Diego. A great night for him. He enjoyed his visit to China. The Chenese fans came in number and were mostly supporting Argentina. They never stopped cheering so its hard to know if they were upset.

This match was bit special for me and was looking forward to see how the latin Americans side has fared up after world cup. Though Argentina might have defeated Germans in another international friendly but it was really dragging a group of jubilant players who were partying hard after winning the world cup to play a very insignificant match which really does not matter after becoming the world champion. Don’t think even a blind Argentina supporter would read much into it. It’s like playing for a tea pot after winning a world war. But this was the match to look out for. And this  match proved that the two Latin American sides went to major stages of the world cup only by the virtue of having a favourable draw for them. With the current form none of the team will have much say against European football powerhouses. Messi seems to be losing out his magic. He is a great player. No doubt about that. Though for people who compares him with Maradona are not much aware of football. Sorry, but that man won an world cup single handedly and almost won another one with a deadly injury. He won champions league for Nepoli. And other day when I was watching a Brazil Argentina world cup mtch of 1990 on advise of a gentleman of our neighbourhood. I literary  saw David beating Gullet. Maradona was simply great. But Messi never had done anything similar for Argentina. Forget Maradona, Mesi never been half as close to what Zidane did for France. Even Riquelmi did some extraordinary job for Argentina compared to Messi. Messi’s major success has been with Barcelona playing by the side of Ronaldinho, Eto, Alanso and Xabi. And honestly being an Argentine fan myself I have learned to live by shedding the hope that Messi might someday do a Maradona. Infact in today’s match he was not the best Latin American star nor was he the best Argentina star. And this is not the first time he has disappointed the Argentina fans. Even Barcelona losing to a group league match against PSG in Champions League might be the signal of beginning of end of Messi magic, which I sincerely hope not.

Ok just before signing up as a post script would like to say that watching Kaka in the field after a long time. Also Robinho got the nod seconds before the whistle and though he did not infact managed to get in a touch. It’s good to see him in yellow as well. They were stars of the yesterday and deserves to go out on a high. During the last minutes when Neymar handed the armband to Kaka and left the field it appeared to be a fantastic gesture. Special mention of Dunga, he looked to be a man strictly interested in setting the proceedings  correct right from the word go.

For Argentina they need to pull up the socks and think hard about where they go in from here. They need to get in Travez and say goodbye to Augero. He might have nailed Moradona’s daughter and have given him a grandson but he fails to nail the goalkeepers. Also a message needs to be sent to Messi mentioning clearly that he hadn’t been what Argentina wanted from him so he have to adjust with everything that is necessary for betterment of Argentine football. Be it bringing back Travez or anything else.

On the end just like to confess it was not a good evening for an Argentine fan and not a very pleasing evening for a football lover either.

About the Author: Kolkata based Rony Dasgupta is a web developer by profession.  Since completing his MCA from Pailan College of Management & Technology, he has been associated with many projects. Currently he is working as a project leader in —-.  Rony is deeply rooted to Kolkata and its versatile culture. He loves sports, paintings and writing. Rony is a published author and believes in ‘live and let live’ mantra. He likes to keep his surroundings happy and healthy.

(Original Source: http://ronylive.in/argentina-vs-brazil/)

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