Awesome Sergio Aguero Stakes Claim for Argentina Copa America Spot

Argentina’s Saturday warm-up friendly against Bolivia was a potential banana skin eventually won in emphatic fashion. Without Lionel Messi or Carlos Tevez, all eyes were on the forward line, and Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero in particular played exceptionally to inspire a 5-0 thrashing and stake their claim for spots up front in the Copa America.

With the possible exception of the Bayern Munich midfield, no position in world football is subject to the same fierce competition for places as Argentina’s attacking trident. The incomparable Messi is, of course, an automatic choice; but behind La Pulga are a host of willing competitors looking to crash the party.

Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi are all superb competitors desperate to win a place in the line-up. Even outside the squad, players of immense quality—think Mauro Icardi, Paulo Dybala and Luciano Vietto, each of whom posted a personal-best season in 2014/15—were deemed surplus to requirements. Coach Gerardo Martino’s preference for playing Di Maria in a more advanced position, compared to the roving midfield role he fulfilled under predecessor Alejandro Sabella, only adds another world-class performer into the puzzle.

Five forwards who would walk into almost any team in the world are competing for just two spots on Martino’s team sheet. But while Tevez experienced the bitter disappointment of Champions League final defeat, Aguero and Di Maria took their chance to shine in the Albiceleste’s only warm-up before taking on Paraguay in next Saturday’s Copa America opener.

An admittedly poor Bolivia team were blown away by the pair, reunited on the pitch following a season on opposite sides of the great Manchester divide. The United representative instantly shook off the uneven form which characterized his first year in English football to run the left wing.

Di Maria stretched Bolivia one way and the other, linking up wonderfully with another revitalized hopeful, Javier Pastore, deep and constantly seeking the Verde penalty area. A double for Fideo included a venomous right-footed hit from the edge of the box, and barring injury, the Rosario native will almost certainly play a big part in the Argentine campaign. Indeed, the relative lack of playing time due to Louis van Gaal’s selection policy and a Champions League-free year could make Di Maria a dangerous prospect in Chile.

It was the performance of Aguero, however, which will most cheer Martino. The Manchester City star and Premier League top scorer gained the upper hand in what will be a three-way battle against Tevez and Higuain to line up as Argentina’s centre-forward against Paraguay. A superb hat-trick against Bolivia capped Kun’s best performance in national colours for some time, the highlight coming with a turn and shot which left the defence motionless to seal his triple.

“My dream is to play a big role. But first I have to win my place. With Carlitos and Pipa we are fighting for one spot, and it is Tata [Martino] who will decide,” the ever-humble Aguero told the official Argentine television channel after the game (via Ole). But with performances like that, he will do his chances no harm.

Aguero’s stock went down with the Albiceleste after the World Cup, where he was far from his best. The ex-Independiente and Atletico Madrid man’s talent is beyond question, however. His poaching instinct was also evident on Saturday as he turned in a low cross entering the six-yard box seemingly from nowhere. Higuain, meanwhile, was once more subdued and looks destined to spend a large portion of the Copa America on the bench.

The 5-0 destruction of Bolivia was Argentina’s best performance since September 2014, when World Cup adversaries Germany were taken down 4-2 in Dusseldorf. Curiously, captain and star attraction Messi was missing from both of those games, letting Aguero and Di Maria take centre stage.

So far, the duo and Martino’s charges as a whole have struggled to reproduce that dizzying, direct style when the Barcelona phenomenon is on the pitch. But with La Pulga taking his game to a whole new level in the current year, it would be foolish to doubt him before the Copa has even kicked off.

As is custom in the South American festival of football, Argentina will begin their campaign in Group B as one of the favourites, if not the prime candidate to take home the Copa for the first time since 1993.

There is plenty of reason for fans to be confident. Di Maria and Aguero showed in the preliminary test that they are raring to go in Chile; and once the wizard Messi joins the mix, that forward trio has the potential to strike fear into the hearts of even the continent’s most formidable defences.