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Lars Lagerback was the manager of the Sweden side that held Argentina to a 1-1 draw back in the 2002 WC.Originally Posted by trey ohh five
Wrong Argentina won that match 1-0, the only goal being scored by Batistuta, it was a tough match I remember it like it was yesterday.Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez
Originally Posted by kidoopz
Originally Posted by PersiaFly
Hearing now that Nani is out of the tournament with a shoulder injury. If I was holding a newspaper I'd throw it in disgust like the Spaniards in the Nike commercial.
I literally almost teared up when I read that. Nani is one of 3 of my fav players to watch play. He was a force during qualifiers and caused havoc against Bosnia in the 2 legs. I couldn't wait to see him opposite of Ronaldo. He might of been benched b/c of Simao (although I felt he should of started) But just couldn't wait to see him play.
At least Pepe made a nice return, hopefully he can stay healthy. Him and Raul Miereles back together would make things much simpler in midfield.
Man I really hope any changes Maradona makes plays into the benefit of the Super Eagleslol.. Having Messi, Tevez, and Higuain up front is almost blouses for any opponent. Nigeria's back line has been sooo shaky in the past friendlies and it has me worried most def. Nigeria has been poor defending wing onslaughts and incoming crosses. The offense seems to be in sync though, and Lukman Haruna has shown the most creativity in midfield along with Odem and Uche. We'll see.. I know a Lot of Eagles have revenge on their tongues. 2 More days!!!
I think Lagerback will use the same template he used to hold Argentina to a 1-1 draw back in the 02 WC.
Lagerback was hired as Nigeria's temporary coach just for the WC back in February. He apparently won over the Nigerian association's support by explaining to them his strategy going into the 2002 WC...he said that his plan was to play for draws against England and Argentina and attack Nigeria (the weakest team in the group in 2002). I feel that he will try something similar this time around. Park the bus and hope for a draw against Argentina and then try to beat Greece and South Korea.
It looks like Maradona will be fielding this lineup on Saturday...
--------Romero----------
----Dimechellis--Samuel----
Jonas-----------------Heinze
----------Mascherano--------
----Veron----------Di Maria--
-----------Messi-------------
-----Higuain---Tevez--------
Strengths: Strong attack, width from Di Maria and Jonas, will likely defend with 4-men most of the time (Mascherano covering for Jonas)
Weaknesses: Left side of Argentina's midfield/defence looks exposed if Di Maria doesnt drop back, Tevez has not performed well for the NT in a long time, Jonas and Heinze arent the best defenders in the world.
Question marks: Does this formation suit Messi? How successful will the Higuain and Tevez partnership be? Can Mascherano hold it down on his own?
I'm looking at other teams and I see Brazil playing with 2 holding midfielders (Melo and Gilberto), Spain with Busquets and Xabi Alonso, Holland with De Jong and van Bommell, Germany with Schweinsteiger and Khedira. Basically most of the contenders in this tournament are going with 2 holding players in the middle of the park. With Argentina you just have Mascherano in the middle...Veron is not really known for his defensive abilities
