Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina: Will this be the World Cup that Lionel Messi finally delivers?

This is a team that will play to Messi’s strengths and make him comfortable so that he can make  the difference

Vivek Chaudhary
Saturday 14 June 2014 20:51 BST
Comments
Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal against Uruguay during a FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 qualifier match on October 12, 2012.
Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal against Uruguay during a FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 qualifier match on October 12, 2012.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi will step out at the Maracana on Sunday knowing that he still needs to prove himself if he is to be truly considered as one of the greats of the game.

Despite a glittering career with Barcelona, Messi has yet to bring his club form to a World Cup and silence those who claim that he will never rank alongside the likes of Maradonna, Pele or Zidane until he does so.

In two previous World Cups, Messi has managed just one goal, and most Argentine football fans are sceptical about his contribution to the national team, claiming that he reserves his best displays for Barcelona. On Thursday night, Brazil’s golden boy Neymar lived up to expectations, scoring two and delivering a man-of-the-match performance in a 3-1 win over Croatia. Now it is over to Messi, as his team take on Bosnia-Herzegovina in their opening Group F game.

Neymar celebrates scoring his second goal against Croatia in the opening game of the World Cup 2014

“He is very relaxed and will handle all the expectations,” said team-mate Lucas Biglia before tonight’s match. “This is a different Messi you will see, not like at other World Cups. This is a team that will play to his strengths and make him comfortable so that he can make the difference.”

Argentina manager Alex Sabella is spoilt for choice when it comes to attack. A lethal front three of Messi, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain are supported from midfield by Real Madrid’s Angel Di Maria. They are known as Los Cuatro Fantasticos, – the Fantastic Four. On paper at least, there is not another side in this World Cup that can boast of such a forward line.

Gonzalo Higuain

As Spain found out to their cost on Friday night, though, you need more than flair and firepower.

It is in defence and central midfield where Argentina’s weaknesses lie. The two first-choice centre-halves, Frederico Fernandez and the highly rated Ezequiel Garray, who came close to signing for Manchester United last summer, are not considered to be the quickest, while first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Romero made just three League appearances for Monaco last season.

In central midfield, there is not a single ball winner of Javier Mascherano’s quality in the Argentina squad, while Fernando Gago, who is likely to start alongside him, suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Boca Juniors, missing the last month of the Argentine football season and only just making the squad for Brazil.

In qualifying for this year’s tournament, Argentina’s 35 goals was the highest of all South American nations but they kept just four clean sheets in the 16 matches they played to get to Brazil.

Sabella has been honest enough to admit to his team’s deficiencies, telling the Argentine press before the World Cup: “Our way of playing means that we end up having an imbalance. Picking four players with attacking characteristics means that at times we suffer defensively. We are not a team who attack based on possession or order. We are an anarchic team, with very anarchic players.”

At the team’s Brazil training base in Belo Horizonte, Sabella has been focused on getting his team to master the two Bs – balance and basics, as he puts it.

In previous World Cups, he believes there was too much responsibility heaped on Messi’s shoulders and that the time has now come for the whole team to muck in so that the Argentina captain is allowed to express himself and have a greater influence on games.

While the eyes of the world and Argentina’s opponents will be on Messi, Champions’ League winner Di Maria could prove to be the player most pivotal to their chances of lifting a first World Cup since Mexico in 1986.

Sabella is planning to take a leaf out of Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti’s book in the way that he uses Di Maria’s pace to support the forward line, and his stamina and discipline to carry out midfield defensive duties.

Said Di Maria: “I will carry out the same role for Argentina as I do for Madrid. Under Ancellotti it took me time to get used to it but it has worked very well for us. It requires a lot of concentration and energy but it gives us the option of being able to hit teams on the break but at the same time not be tooexposed in important parts of the pitch.

“With Argentina I will be playing with some of the best strikers in the world and the best player in the world in Lionel Messi. But we cannot just sit back and expect him to do everything. All the team has a responsibility to carry out its roles and I think in previous World Cups we have not always done this.”

Heading into tonight’s game, the omens are certainly good for Messi. Since being appointed captain by Sabella in 2011 he has, at times, been inspirational for Argentina, scoring 10 goals in the 12 World Cup qualifiers he started. Before receiving the armband he had gone 16 competitive matches without scoring. La Pulga – “the flea” – as Messi is known, also appears more comfortable operating in a deeper role for Argentina than for Barcelona.

By his standards, Messi had a mediocre season for his club. While his 41 goals made him Barça’s all-time highest scorer, he was criticised for being ineffective in the matches that really mattered in La Liga and the Champions’ League. Ironically, Barça fans claimed this was because he was saving his best for Brazil. His Argentina team-mates and the team’s fans will be hoping they are proved right, and that this will be the World Cup when La Pulga finally delivers.

Argentina v Bosnia Herzogovina is live on BBC1 Sunday, kick-off 11pm

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in