There’s no one there World Cup in Brazil eight years ago could forget the soundtrack of the tournament. It is powered by a lot of fans visiting from Argentina who, wherever they gathered, sang a song to the tune of “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The adapted lyrics have nothing to do with the 1986 Mexican tournament, when Diego Maradona reached the heights of genius rarely seen before or since. They didn’t even talk about Argentina ’78, where they won the World Cup for the first time. No, the lyrics of the song focus on a goal scored in Italy ’90.
Then, as now, Argentina suddenly received defeat in the opening match of the tournament. From the point of view of the times, lose Cameron at least as surprising as last Tuesday’s shock Saudi Arabia. But that team picked itself up, dusted it off, and made it all the way to the final. Thirty-two years on, Argentina fans are hoping for a similar revival.
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It is interesting that Italia ’90 holds such a place in football folklore. But again, Argentina is a country of tango, with dark romances, dramatic twists and turns, and romantic tragedy.
Perhaps things are simply going too well when this team comes back against Qatar after a 36-match unbeaten streak. There was a fear in the camp that something could go wrong when it mattered most. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about it after his side beat the European champions Italy in June. Of course, the Italians had a long undefeated streak – and even missed the World Cup. Something similar happened to Algeria. One can imagine that it would have been better if something went wrong in the first game of the World Cup – when there was still time to get things right – than in the knockout stages, where but failure means disqualification.
And Argentina’s situation is more comfortable than that of Germany, another surprise in the first round lost to the Asian opponent. Argentina does not have to face Spain in the next game. Instead, it is Mexico Followed by Poland, both looked unimpressive in their dull goalless draw. Mexico’s wingers don’t seem to pose as much of a threat as they did four years ago. Argentina beat Mexico three times during Scaloni’s years in power without conceding a goal, and Poland played too slowly to support the center. Robert lewandowski – and too slow to order the Argentine midfielder under the pressure that Saudi Arabia managed on Tuesday.
After Tuesday’s game, Scaloni said he was not surprised by Saudi Arabia’s approach, the high defense squeezing play and preventing his team from establishing a patient passing rhythm. rate. This raises an obvious question: if this was to be expected, why did Argentina handle it so poorly?
There has been an atmosphere of excitement about the national team throughout that long unbeaten streak, and especially since winning last year’s Copa America. The baptized party”Scaloneta” — the Scaloni team, in tribute to the remarkable story of a man with no prior senior coaching experience who led the team to its first senior championship since 1993. But 45 minutes bad before the Saudis was enough to bring an extended honeymoon to an abrupt end.
Argentina loves analysis, articles and televised debates that delve into the flaws and setbacks of the shock defeat. The real test of a team is always when they fall behind – not a position Argentina has faced too often in recent times. Under pressure, a team with strong ideas becomes a group with no ideas.
Scaloni’s team was based on alignment, on a combination of faster-evolving passes near goal. It’s really an injury Giovani Lo Celso did not help the problem. He was a key part of a central midfield trio, and when he was dropped, Scaloni confessed he didn’t have an ideal replacement. However, Argentina should have done better in its attempt to break through the Saudi defense. The best solution would be a quick mix in midfield, followed by a forward pass by a player running from deep. Instead, Argentina never solved this, and persistently making long balls to the strikers resulted in 10 offside decisions against them.
So does Scaloni coach his team only for favorable situations? No other game plans? And why aren’t his replacements so effective? Did the rookie coach make the mistake of not using a striker as a backup? And does he spend too much time hoping for the players to recover before having to remove three from the squad?
In the painful days before the game against Mexico, all these questions and many more are being debated. There’s a way to silence them: a win on Saturday and revive the hope that, like in Italia ’90, Argentina can make it to the final by following the beautiful, showy route. grit that will be sung about in the years to come.
