Hong Kong vs. Argentina: Winners and Losers from International Friendly
Argentina bounced back from their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Brazil by thrashing Hong Kong 7-0 on Tuesday afternoon.
Gerardo Martino rotated his team and checked in on his depth options in every area of the pitch, and he will have been happy with several strong individual showings.
Here, we nominated our winners and losers from the exhibition tie.
Winner: Ever Banega, Who Seized a Chance for Redemption
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Over the last few years, Ever Banega's once-promising career has fallen by the wayside. Now, in 2014, he's attempting to redesign himself as a top-tier footballer following a fresh move to Sevilla.
His strong early form with Los Rojiblancos saw Gerardo Martino call him up to take a look, and he responded with the opening goal of the game.
Bossing the midfield against Hong Kong is easy, so in some ways the only way to get noticed is to notch. The former Boca Juniors man speared home the opener from the edge of the box just as Argentina were beginning to get frustrated by their opponents' defensive resilience.
Loser: Nahuel Guzman, Who Looked Bored in Goal
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Hong Kong's attack was non-existent. This game was attack vs. defence from the first whistle, and Nahuel Guzman totaled so few touches we forgot he was playing at one point.
The goalkeeper, who stood the only debutant in the side, will have been looking to impress given the questionable quality of current No. 1 Sergio Romero, but he wasn't given a chance to make an impact.
"Nahuel Guzmán is the only player in Argentina's starting line up who is getting his Argentina debut.
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) October 14, 2014"
He was substituted at half-time, and just five minutes later the stand-in Agustin Marchesin was called into action at point-blank range!
Winner: The Hong Kong Stadium, Who Saw Lionel Messi Shine
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Argentina's XI for this match was very much a reserve one, but Gerardo Martino delighted the crowd by bringing on his star-studded cast one by one in the second half.
Lionel Messi was the one player the locals longed to see, and in the 58th minute their wish became reality. The Barcelona forward jinked his way to two goals in an incredible cameo and drew the biggest roars of the night.
One fan even ran onto the pitch with a pen to get his shirt signed by the star. Of course, Messi obliged.
Loser: Domestic Clubs Banking on Fitness and Mental Sharpness
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East Asia is a hell of a long way to travel for many of these Argentina players, as the majority of the squad picked by Gerardo Martino ply their trade in Europe.
For Angel Di Maria, Sergio Aguero and Co., this means a draining loss to arch-rivals Brazil and a non-event against a weak Hong Kong side. As key players for their respective Manchester clubs, domestic managers will rightly feel concerned their players are overworked.
When your key players embark on these exhibition trips, the air miles can take their toll for what some managers will feel are unnecessary, pointless games.
Winner: Nicolas Gaitan, Who Forced Himself into Contention
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Nicolas Gaitan was rarely, if ever, picked for the Argentina squad under Alejandro Sabella. Despite strong form for Benfica the selection was set, and the attacking midfielder was often left back in Portugal for international breaks.
Gerardo Martino has seen fit to give him a chance, though, and there's not an awful lot more he could have done on Tuesday evening.
Two goals, some clever passes and one assist meant he looked right at home with Lionel Messi and Co. Players such as Erik Lamela, who are favoured by Martino, should be on red alert.
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