FIFA World Cup 2010: Argentina Post-Match Tactical Analysis vs. Greece

With three wins in three matches and a +6 goal difference, Argentina have closed out a promising first round with a 2-0 win over Greece, thus once again confirming their status as true World Cup competitors.

Given the relative ease with which these first three matches were won, it's easy to forget that very few people expected Argentina to come out of this stage with such confidence.

Perhaps it's now time we all lay aside our differences and take our hats off to this manager and his staff and players, for having pulled it together when it really mattered.

Diego Maradona has also very wisely used this match against Greece to make some changes, thus boosting morale and avoiding any pouty faces on the bench by superstars who feel they should be given a chance. Ninety-five percent of his squad have already been given an opportunity to show themselves during this World Cup.

Tactically this was a match which presented notorious difficulties for Argentina.

Although I am quite familiar with the cynical and defensive tactics of Otto Rehagel, I have to say I was expecting Argentina to break through this Greek defense far sooner.

Thumbs down

a) Lionel Messi's position on the field . I've grown tired of repeating this ad infinitum: Lionel Messi is not a playmaker, he needs company. In order to make him central in the match, you've got to make him peripheral in play. He's not a passer, he's a dribbler. He doesn't have the “vision” of play to pull the strings. He has got to be in a spot where he can inflict damage: closer to goal.

Messi's inability to generate play also showed in the fact that Milito and Agüero were completely disconnected from play and “lost” amidst the Greek defenders.

The subbing on of Javier Pastore marked a before and after in the match, and in Messi's performance. Messi needs a skilled player right behind him who can accompany him in play and feed him the ball at the edge of the box, where his dribbling can inflict damage.

b) Unlike Tévez and Higuaín, Milito and Agüero did not make good company for Messi. There just wasn't the same kind of chemistry or combined play going on. Both of them proved quite harmless and ineffective.

c) Martin Demichelis scored a goal which helped cover up another very weak performance on his part. After three poor performances in the World Cup, one might wonder why he's still starting.

The answer? Well, for the same reason that Van Gaal starts him at Bayern Munich: he's a central defender who can pass elegantly, rather than just clear the ball away.

d) Too much horizontal midfield play. If Argentina have shown a virtue thus far in the World Cup, which contrasts with their usual modus operandi, it has been the tremendous verticality of their play. Although granted, there are moments in each match where a team does need to exert control in the midfield, this kind of "possession" can also become somewhat of a trap, causing both teams to settle into an unproductive deadlock.

It may, however, merely have been a result of the type of players that were on the field. Verón and Bolatti, for instance, are two very similar midfielders who can easily get trapped in this mantra of passing the ball endlessly around the middle. The presence of Di María and Pastore in the second half did a lot to correct that.

Thumbs up

a) Clemente Rodríguez. Finally a true wing-back. This might just offer Diego Maradona a new dilemma. Clemente Rodríguez has proven that he can surge forward dangerously, while also remaining solid in the back (unlike Jonás Gutiérrez). He can also play equally well on both right and left flanks.

b) Juan S. Verón had the kind of performance we're used to seeing him put in at Estudiantes. Although he may not be the most brilliant player on the pitch, he is an enormous presence in the middle, covering when he has to cover and playing when he needs to play.

c) Good substitutions. No one can deny that Maradona is still only finding his way around the manager's role, but he has certainly shown a fair amount of instinct and an ability to read into the game and make correct substitutions. In the match against Korea you could say Agüero's presence practically sealed the match for Argentina, and this time it was Pastore.

d) Patience and determination . When faced with a staunch and cynical defense, Argentina showed patience and determination, exhausting every possible option in search of a goal. This voracious and yet unrelenting tenacity is one of the more positive signs this team has shown since the start of the World Cup. You can't win a World Cup on attitude alone, but it certainly can be one of the determining factors.

e) Martin Palermo. Although this is more of an emotional thumbs up than anything else, most Argentines celebrated Palermo's goal as much as any in the World Cup so far.

People who are foreign to the folklore of the Argentine game will likely fail to understand the hype, but to Argentine football Martin Palermo means as much or more than anyone else on this squad. Seeing him play at a World Cup, and score a goal, is an enormous satisfaction for many.