Spain

[FCBarca]

[Trequartista]

there was certainly an element of this, and the lack of the war-wounded ('til he brought xavi on to avoid shipping seven or eight) gives further credence to the theory.

but mainly, there were three, maybe four problems:
1. cesc is not ready yet to replace xavi

cesc is skilled as a shuttle, world-class even, but he's not yet a dominant volante. as such xabi alonso had too much playmaking responsibility. and as a result espanya didn't know whether they were in xavi mode or xabi mode and thus were just a mishmash of pseudo-ball-retention they were for the first couple of games in south africa until xavi started playing deeper and took control. only argentina are much much better than switzerland or honduras.

2. david silva doesn't work as a false9

perhaps I'm being harsh on lil' dave, but really the combination of two aggressive CB's and the two best pivots in the world meant any espanya attack that went near the middle of the argie half was getting swallowed up. this really hurt their ability to keep the ball at any sort of advanced position and force argentina back, compounding problem 1.

3. marchena isn't good enough

simply put he's not on piqué's wavelength, and not of a sufficient quality to play in espanya's back four. you'll get away with it against smaller teams but anyone decent will pummel you. botia needs to get promoted, posthaste. or ramos needs to get moved to CB. one of the two.

4. reina plays a different style to espanya so isn't suited to keeping goal for them, despite his obvious qualities

this is perhaps being really pedantic, because he's in awful form lately which explains, on the surface anyway, the fuck-up for the third goal. but really it's the kind of mistake you can't see iker or valdés making because they are so used to performing those kinds of passes. reina is much more accustomed to hoofing it downfield and so would his technique be good enough? it clearly wasn't yesterday. but like I said, this may just be needless grinding of the axe.

Meta,You are just a legend

[FCBarca]

I also think that when I saw the lineup and that back 4, I thought problems...You can't merely string together 4 defenders and assume they'll be able to pull off the cohesion & understanding that the regular back 4 would...I'd contend that you could pick apart all 4 goals from Argentina and point to that back 4 being at the heart of the breakdown.

Moreover, Barca's attacks, much like Spain's, begin from the back...Something we saw little of yesterday...So, I wouldn't be too quick to judge Cesc and his ability/inability to take over for Xavi

It was a makeshift starting XI from Spain, a side that has been jetting around the globe to play matches after an already exhaustive season and International schedule...It was a friendly and not entirely sure one can draw too much from the result apart from some welcome promise for the future of Los Albicelestes

Overreaction, in general, IMHO, from the headlines

[XaviMessiGirl]

Your D'Alessandro comment has convinced me that you are Diegomessi...

yeah, where is DM anyway? Thought he would have run across the Argentina thread naked by now!

[Bionicman]

Sorry to say, the biggest / second biggest reason Spain lost was Pique. He bore significant responsibility for the first goal (as did Arbeloa), and he was the primary (arguably only) culprit on the second. On both goals, he got caught flat-footed and didn't catch up. Awful performance.

[FCBarca]

Sorry to say, the biggest / second biggest reason Spain lost was Pique. He bore significant responsibility for the first goal (as did Arbeloa), and he was the primary (arguably only) culprit on the second. On both goals, he got caught flat-footed and didn't catch up. Awful performance.

That's easy to say if you look at it from a very narrow perspective, I believe...When you attempt to single out a defender out of the back 4 when they are beaten from an offside trap or turnover, you often have to take into account how the 4 play together & understand their positioning...Pique was the high profile defender back there but that back 4 was doomed from the whistle...They were at the center of each of Argentina's goals and I'd continue to contend that it was their lack of cohesion that led to those goals

[Hamzah]

i have got tickets for sotland against spain

[nebeer]

NOOOOO... cannot be!















ps. mate, I suggest buying one of those wicked sarcasm detectors.

You can get those for as cheap as £10.

Yeah, I went to get those, but they told me you bought 'em all already

[Antimilan]

Anyway... I thought Navas would bring something new to the team but still the same shit like in the first half.... shitty performance, shitty everything, dissapointed a lot !

[stokebarca]

i have got tickets for sotland against spain

Me to mate. Cant lose. Obviously, im supporting Scotland but even if they get trashed, it will be a pleasure to watch Xavi, Iniesta etc

[nebeer]

yeah, where is DM anyway? Thought he would have run across the Argentina thread naked by now!

He went in hibernation after hitting 10000 posts

[Hektor]

Quite frankly I don't think Spain cared about the game yesterday.

Hi Edward:

It was a funny game. I agree with you that Spain did not care about the game, but only in the first half. Spain did care about it in the second half being down 0-3, but Argentina wanted to get the game over by then. With game in hand, most of the Argentine players were more concerned with the upcoming season than getting hurt. That's my take on the game. Again, it was a meaningless friendly with nothing on the line, but pride. The outcome does not matter, at all.

Hektor

Your D'Alessandro comment has convinced me that you are Diegomessi...

Hi:

DiegoMessi and I have seen D’Alessandro play since ~ 2001. Unfortunately, his nick name is “Cabezon,” which has a double meaning: large head and “pigheaded” or too stubborn for his own good. Fortunately, he has matured in the last two years and has realized his true potential: “top hat and walking stick” type of player. What in the world possessed the Moron to leave D’Alessandro out of the WC team is one of those mysteries that will never be known, like the Bermuda Triangle - morons are not that stupid unless one works at it, very hard.

Hektor

[nebeer]

Great great great pics. Thanks for posting dude. I wish I could see the expression on Messi's face as well in the first picture. My 2 most favorite national teams played each other.

[XaviMessiGirl]

Have fun those going to Scotland v. Spain.

[nebeer]

Is Torres gonna be playing in this one?