Argentina Anilate Spain in a One Sided Friendly, Beating 4-1.

One of the most anticipated friendly games turned out to be more one sided than anyone could have thought. the World Champions did not start few of their players but no one had expected them to be outplayed the way they were. Sergio Batista had earlier said that he did not care about the age of the players, what he cared was the form and the fitness of those playing and his team did not let him down in any way. With the introduction of more reliable holding midfield duo of Cambiasso and Mascherano, Messi and Banega got the license and played freely, something that was missing from the previous performances of Argentina.Messi was the one to score the first goal, good pass from Carlos Tevez and an unbelievable finish from Messi, i wonder why people say he cannot play as a striker?? Second was a very well taken goal of Higuain from a very acute angle. Pepe Reina's disaster at the back cost them the third goal when Tevez beat him to the chase for the ball. Spain looked much composed in second half after the tired players were taken off and after Xavi was introduced. As the game progresses, the aging legs of the old Argentine defense started to give in and some lazy marking by Gabriel Milito gave Fernando Lorrente enough space to score a goal. Argentina were not quite done yet, in the injury time the substitutes Kun Aguero and D' Allesandro combined and gave a perfect finish to what had been a commendable performance by the team. Spain had their own chances and hit the post few times but once Carlos Tevez scored the third goal they never looked like coming back.

One of the major changes in attacking terms for the team was the freedom Messi had during the game. One of the reason for this was the stability Cambiasso and Mascherano provided at the centre of the park. Messi was rarely seen in his own half, just like Batista ordered . The three front men kept rotating their positions and combined well for all the three goals, always a positive sign. The biggest positive though was the defense. One might argue all the defenders were at or more than the age of 30 and that showed in the later part of the game. But for the first 75 minutes Zannetti and Milito looked ageless. Zannetti has put in a very inspired performance though hid did not venture much in the Spain half of the field but why would one want the full backs to go up front when you have such a strike force? The puzzling sign for me was that D' Allesandro was barely used, i would have loved to see him in action. 

The signs for Argentina football are looking up at present but then the team still needs youngsters to fill in the shoes of players who do not look like playing the next world cup. Sergio Batista for now is trying to get a permanent job but what wold be interesting to see would be if he can find replacements for players like Cambiasso, Zannetti and Milito.