with bare hands.
Argentina's olympics squad has been posted!!
Goalkeepers: Oscar Ustari (Getafe), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)
Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol), Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid), Federico Fazio (Sevilla), Nicolás Burdisso (Inter), Luciano Monzón (Boca Juniors)
Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Ever Banega (Valencia), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Juan Román Riquelme (Boca Juniors), Angel Di María (Benfica), José Sosa (Bayern Munich), Diego Buonanotte (River Plate)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), Lautaro Acosta (Sevilla), Sergio Aguero (Atlético Madrid)
I'm already salivating at the thought of watching a Buonanotte-Messi tandem at work, with the former's scamper and the latter's scurry. It would be so beautiful. If it doesn't happen, I will cry. Burdisso, Roman, and Masche as the three overage players is about as good as it gets as far as absurdist imagery goes. Two pivots in the middle of the field, like the centers of a gear, exacting their centrifugal force upon all the little teeth who wear numbers as nametags: Zabaleta, Di Maria, Acosta, Aguero, moving, moving, moving. The lack of Pipita is painful, like pins stuck in my wrist. After he declined to play in the 2007 WYC, I subconsciously started looking forward to the Olympics, to watch him play alongside Messi and Aguero, but it's not like I can begrudge someone like Acosta, who has a lot of former youth squad teammates, and maybe that's why Higuain was left off the list -- aside from Gago at RM, he hasn't played with anyone on this list. Can I start calling him the stupid French hussy? (Lovingly, of course.)
Olé has a ridiculously long interview with Batista, which I'm dumb and bored enough to translate. He sounds rather sarcastic, but I like that he is willing to explain exactly why he decided upon this crop of players, and it's a pretty interesting read overall.
Why is Nico Burdisso the oldest central defender?
"First I want to say that it is a shame that we couldn't get Demichelis, Milito, and Coloccini, who all hoped to be here, but I understand their club situations. I thought of Burdisso, talked to him, and he took it the best way. He was willing, he has experience and plays very well apart from being able to play at any of the four positions in the defense. And additionally, he was at the previous Olympics and this was a key aspect."
What are some of the various tactics that are available to you?
"I believe we have the conditions to play in a variety of systems, but the basic one will be a 4-2-2-2. But we can also go with three at the back, we have wide forwards like Di Maria and Sosa, and I was also inclined toward Acosta because he is a right winger, who also gives you the option of being a wide forward and moves all over the front of the attack."
You needed a longer list ...
"Certainly. Here I left out Zarate, Higuain, Augusto Fernandez, Maidana, Ansaldi, who played in the friendlies and did well, but I could only choose 18. One must consider the functionality of the team and not just of the names who can play in the same position."
Is Lautaro Acosta the surprise on this list?
"He could be. He is a player I like, who goes up front and can be a surprise because he is not mentioned often. I had him in mind, same with Buonanotte. I like to make the most of players who are in good form, which is the case of Lautaro and, above all, Diego, who gives me the option of playing him on the left, joining with Riquelme, Messi, and Aguero if we begin to use the 4-2-3-1."
Which players do you consider to be your playmakers?
"The idea is to play with four, with two central attackers for balance, Roman who is a traditional conductor, and I want Messi to also play in this position. My idea is to play with double playmakers, Messi and Riquelme, who will link together, who will generate play. And up top, two strikers, Lavezzi and Aguero."
Where do you want Messi to be on the pitch?
"Lionel is one of the best players in the world, but for me he is going to be even better when he learns how to play without the ball. My expectation for him is to see much more of the ball, to take advantage of space, to not stay stagnant in one place."
Then will you be counting on an offensive quartet?
"The idea is to try to connect the offensive quartet, and players like Gago, who can also be a playmaker. And since all of them like to have the ball, I also want them to keep it in mind to recover the ball."
Why Monzon?
"I like for fullbacks to join the attack, and that's why I decided on Monzon -- he's also left-footed, which is important to me. He's a good marker and can play. There aren't many fullbacks, which was one of the complications at the end of the day. There's Zabaleta, I have Emiliano Insua as a reserve, and Ansaldi was left out: there weren't many others."
Are you missing a center forward [a Crespo or a Batigol type] in your list of 18?
"There could be. We're missing a player with those characteristics, but there aren't any younger than 23. The biggest was probably Boselli, but he's not that tall. Because of that, we're counting on Aguero, who shoots well and can play, and we'll also add Lavezzi, who picks and pecks while looking for space. Against Guatemala we tried him as the lone forward in front of three playmakers, and it worked. For example, Zarate and Higuain, who were left out, are very similar to Aguero in their roles -- they're not center forwards. There aren't players like Cruz or Crespo who are younger than 23, and because of this I was considering Julio for the team. It was clearly between him and a defender and I decided on Burdisso because we needed reinforcements for the defense."
What were you looking for in the four reserve players?
"I wanted two defenders because there were only a few in the team; for this I'm counting on Pareja and Insua. Then Biglia, who can play anywhere in the middle, and a third goalkeeper, for obvious reasons. Then I had to think whether I should put as reserves players who will be close by, and all of them will be in Europe, if anything goes wrong.... I couldn't choose one who will be in Argentina because they would take a day and a half to arrive."
What do you expect from this group that you've assembled?
"The whole world is talking about a final with Brazil, but I'm only thinking about the first game, which is the most important one of all. Winning the first match will give us confidence. Although we have this team and this class of players, if we go in thinking we're champions, it will cost us. We have to maintain our humility, go one game at a time, and face all of our opponents the same way. Argentina is always a frontrunner, but we can't underestimate anyone."
You already have a problem before the start: Roman and Lionel aren't on good terms. What will you do with these two figures of the team?
"This thing you're talking about ... if anything happens they'll have to talk about it, because we're going to be in China, we'll have to see the two of them all day, and we have to get along. I hope there's nothing between them and if there is, we'll talk. What's clear is that in every group there are disagreements, and what's important is that it gets cleared up between them and between everybody. Even more so in this case, because they're both very important players and their friends are leaning on them. They don't need to be friends but they need to have a good relationship."
I just have one more question: WHY DOES THE COACH LOOK LIKE A CHILD PREDATOR??
I'M JUST SAYING. :((((
Goalkeepers: Oscar Ustari (Getafe), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)
Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol), Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid), Federico Fazio (Sevilla), Nicolás Burdisso (Inter), Luciano Monzón (Boca Juniors)
Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Ever Banega (Valencia), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Juan Román Riquelme (Boca Juniors), Angel Di María (Benfica), José Sosa (Bayern Munich), Diego Buonanotte (River Plate)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), Lautaro Acosta (Sevilla), Sergio Aguero (Atlético Madrid)
Olé has a ridiculously long interview with Batista, which I'm dumb and bored enough to translate. He sounds rather sarcastic, but I like that he is willing to explain exactly why he decided upon this crop of players, and it's a pretty interesting read overall.
Why is Nico Burdisso the oldest central defender?
"First I want to say that it is a shame that we couldn't get Demichelis, Milito, and Coloccini, who all hoped to be here, but I understand their club situations. I thought of Burdisso, talked to him, and he took it the best way. He was willing, he has experience and plays very well apart from being able to play at any of the four positions in the defense. And additionally, he was at the previous Olympics and this was a key aspect."
What are some of the various tactics that are available to you?
"I believe we have the conditions to play in a variety of systems, but the basic one will be a 4-2-2-2. But we can also go with three at the back, we have wide forwards like Di Maria and Sosa, and I was also inclined toward Acosta because he is a right winger, who also gives you the option of being a wide forward and moves all over the front of the attack."
You needed a longer list ...
"Certainly. Here I left out Zarate, Higuain, Augusto Fernandez, Maidana, Ansaldi, who played in the friendlies and did well, but I could only choose 18. One must consider the functionality of the team and not just of the names who can play in the same position."
Is Lautaro Acosta the surprise on this list?
"He could be. He is a player I like, who goes up front and can be a surprise because he is not mentioned often. I had him in mind, same with Buonanotte. I like to make the most of players who are in good form, which is the case of Lautaro and, above all, Diego, who gives me the option of playing him on the left, joining with Riquelme, Messi, and Aguero if we begin to use the 4-2-3-1."
Which players do you consider to be your playmakers?
"The idea is to play with four, with two central attackers for balance, Roman who is a traditional conductor, and I want Messi to also play in this position. My idea is to play with double playmakers, Messi and Riquelme, who will link together, who will generate play. And up top, two strikers, Lavezzi and Aguero."
Where do you want Messi to be on the pitch?
"Lionel is one of the best players in the world, but for me he is going to be even better when he learns how to play without the ball. My expectation for him is to see much more of the ball, to take advantage of space, to not stay stagnant in one place."
Then will you be counting on an offensive quartet?
"The idea is to try to connect the offensive quartet, and players like Gago, who can also be a playmaker. And since all of them like to have the ball, I also want them to keep it in mind to recover the ball."
Why Monzon?
"I like for fullbacks to join the attack, and that's why I decided on Monzon -- he's also left-footed, which is important to me. He's a good marker and can play. There aren't many fullbacks, which was one of the complications at the end of the day. There's Zabaleta, I have Emiliano Insua as a reserve, and Ansaldi was left out: there weren't many others."
Are you missing a center forward [a Crespo or a Batigol type] in your list of 18?
"There could be. We're missing a player with those characteristics, but there aren't any younger than 23. The biggest was probably Boselli, but he's not that tall. Because of that, we're counting on Aguero, who shoots well and can play, and we'll also add Lavezzi, who picks and pecks while looking for space. Against Guatemala we tried him as the lone forward in front of three playmakers, and it worked. For example, Zarate and Higuain, who were left out, are very similar to Aguero in their roles -- they're not center forwards. There aren't players like Cruz or Crespo who are younger than 23, and because of this I was considering Julio for the team. It was clearly between him and a defender and I decided on Burdisso because we needed reinforcements for the defense."
What were you looking for in the four reserve players?
"I wanted two defenders because there were only a few in the team; for this I'm counting on Pareja and Insua. Then Biglia, who can play anywhere in the middle, and a third goalkeeper, for obvious reasons. Then I had to think whether I should put as reserves players who will be close by, and all of them will be in Europe, if anything goes wrong.... I couldn't choose one who will be in Argentina because they would take a day and a half to arrive."
What do you expect from this group that you've assembled?
"The whole world is talking about a final with Brazil, but I'm only thinking about the first game, which is the most important one of all. Winning the first match will give us confidence. Although we have this team and this class of players, if we go in thinking we're champions, it will cost us. We have to maintain our humility, go one game at a time, and face all of our opponents the same way. Argentina is always a frontrunner, but we can't underestimate anyone."
You already have a problem before the start: Roman and Lionel aren't on good terms. What will you do with these two figures of the team?
"This thing you're talking about ... if anything happens they'll have to talk about it, because we're going to be in China, we'll have to see the two of them all day, and we have to get along. I hope there's nothing between them and if there is, we'll talk. What's clear is that in every group there are disagreements, and what's important is that it gets cleared up between them and between everybody. Even more so in this case, because they're both very important players and their friends are leaning on them. They don't need to be friends but they need to have a good relationship."
I just have one more question: WHY DOES THE COACH LOOK LIKE A CHILD PREDATOR??
I'M JUST SAYING. :((((