10 - Lionel Messi - v5

Meatball

New member
Argentina and Messi should play like they have nothing to lose. they already recieved alot of backlash and most people have already decided they'll exit in the groups. if they sit back and play it cautious one of those twats at the back will fuck up vs Musa

start Dybala, Messi and Aguero

who is the #2 GK for Argentina btw? no way can they start with Willy in goal again

If Arg start with Messi and Dybala up front, I would rather pair them with Higuain instead of Aguero. Not only because Dybala and Higuain play at the same club hence the better chemistry but also this way there ll be someone in the box to receive crosses and make headers.

And no Caballero as goalie, completely agree.
 

Givenchy

Senior Member
If Arg start with Messi and Dybala up front, I would rather pair them with Higuain instead of Aguero. Not only because Dybala and Higuain play at the same club hence the better chemistry but also this way there ll be someone in the box to receive crosses and make headers.

And no Caballero as goalie, completely agree.

good point about Dybala and Higuain being club teammates aswell. Aguero looked sharp in that first match and everytime I see Higuain im reminded of those misses, I guess its worth a shot though.
 

Donatello

Active member
Lo Celso, Dybala, Higuain, Aguero, Banega and Messi all together against a team that totally owns Argentina in terms of athleticism and pace? good luck

You can play any 3 from Dybala, Aguero, Messi & Higuain. Its not imbalancing, you still have the rest 7 spots to fill.
 

Stoichkov1

New member
good point about Dybala and Higuain being club teammates aswell. Aguero looked sharp in that first match and everytime I see Higuain im reminded of those misses, I guess its worth a shot though.

Higuain is great in this kind of matches, he only chokes in finals.
 

Flavius

Member
I would play with Dybala in centre, let him start the attacks , let him create. He would have more space than Messi. I.m courios how this would look
 

Givenchy

Senior Member

Slaven Bilic, former Croatian NT coach, votes for Messi. :)

tbh most pundits debating this, just like fans, end up going round and round in circles due to the form of Ronaldo and Messi. its only fair to make a decision either way once both have retired. I saw a british news site set up a poll after Ronaldo's match vs Spain 'Whos better, Ronaldo or Messi?' and ofcourse after the world just watched that game it was something like 70% Ronaldo 30% Messi. recency bias is ridiculous
 

Meatball

New member
What doesn't kill you make you stronger. The defeat against Croatia will just make Leo's path to WC glory even more epic.

Hattrick for Messi against Nigeria.
 

Meatball

New member
The key is to remain solid defensively and attack on counters and hope that they make mistakes and them capitalize it.

Your right. They should enter the pitch and approach the game the way they did under Sabella. Those Nigerian players are so pacy so they gotta play it safe at least in the first 60 mins or so
 

Barcaman

Administrator
Staff member
jj banned. That's 3 now in this thread.

Reminder to those who think they'll get cheap relief by dumping inflammatory comments.
 

DennyCrane

Senior Member
Messi tried to drop deep to get the ball against Iceland, it didn't worked.
Messi tried to stay on top and wait for the ball against Croatia, it didn't worked again.
What do you guys think he should do against Nigeria? Stay close to Aguero or close to Mascherano?

Move into the right half space and stay there until he receives the ball to work his magic. The rest is up to his teammates:

-Maybe have the RB run down said half-space, binding a defender and thus opening space in the middle for Messi to dribble into.

-Maybe have the LW or the LB make a decoy run from the left side to the right while Messi dribbles in the other direction from right to left forcing the defense to make a wrong decision: If the defenders stay put, both players have an advantage in movement; if the CB moves towards Messi and the RB stays in his position the player who made the decoy run is not covered; if the RB and the CB follow the player who made the decoy run, Messi can move into the space left behind and finish.

-Maybe have a midfielder move into the right half space into the intersection in front of Messi to open up space for him there by binding a defender to him or make it possible for him to receive a pass there in the first place.

-Maybe have a central striker making diagonal runs to the right in the intersection in front of Messi and bind a CB to him to open up space.

-Maybe have the RB go apeshit as in alternating between running towards the byline, move into the half space and pick up combination play when Messi drops towards the right wing, win balls by with effective gegenpressing etc.

All of this may or may not work but I absolutely guarentee you that it will work better than passing the ball around in slow motion in a giant half circle like Argentina did vs Iceland or letting Messi rot in the cage put up by Croatia in that half-space yesterday.
 

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