SOUTH AMERICA QUALIFYING:BOTH AS players, and now as coaches, they occupy opposite ends of football's spectrum. The pragmatism of Dunga clashes head on with Diego Maradona's romantic attacking vision, and on Saturday night the former offered a masterclass to the latter.
Argentina had promised to attack Brazil, but in doing so played to Brazil’s strength. The 3-1 defeat in Rosario now jeopardises Argentina’s qualification hopes. With three matches remaining, there is no margin for error for Maradona’s men if they are to reach South Africa.
Dunga’s philosophy may have won him few admirers in the Brazilian media, yet his team has won the Copa America and Confederations Cup trophies in the past two years and now qualified for the World Cup ahead of schedule. Dunga’s approach has also reaped three comfortable victories over Argentina since 2006.
Yet while Maradona will have been frustrated at his team not creating more danger in attack, more of a concern is the defence as Argentina were undone by two set -pieces in the first half. After a confident start from the home side, Gabriel Heinze permitted Luisao the luxury of a free header, which the Benfica defender converted with ease. Failure to deal with a driven free-kick from Elano seven minutes later allowed Kaka space to cross, and Luis Fabiano profited in the ensuing scramble.
When the debutant Jesus Datolo’s effort beat Julio Cesar from long range in the second half, Brazil charged up to the other end with Kaka and restored their two-goal lead after Fabiano finished off a classic counter-attack with a calm finish.
Where doubts over Maradona’s ability to find the formula for the national team were previously only whispered, now they are front page news.
“The selection isn’t a team,” warned Ole, “and Maradona can’t find the way to turn the situation around”.
Maradona will be more concerned he has yet to bring out the best of Lionel Messi. While the forward thrives on the system employed by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, he has not come close to reproducing that form in an Argentina shirt. Messi will feel he was too often isolated in attempting to unlock Brazil’s watertight defence. La Nacion, however, pointed to his poor decision-making and reluctance to pass.
Messi’s only offensive ally on the night was Juan Sebastian Veron in midfield. For all his toil, Carlos Tevez was ineffective as Messi’s strike partner and failed to shoot at goal for the entire first half. Veron may be the reigning South American footballer of the year, but the 34-year-old Estudiantes midfielder could not keep up with his Brazilian counterparts.
An Argentine cliche labels any important game a “cup final”. With three fixtures remaining of the South American World Cup qualifiers, all of Argentina’s matches would certainly seem to fit that criteria. They travel to Paraguay on Wednesday in the knowledge that two teams – Ecuador and Colombia – are just two points behind. Second-placed Paraguay will offer a real challenge, and could sentence Argentina to suffering the biggest disappointment of all.
Guardian Service
