Di Maria dependent when he's mediocre 70% of the time? I don't think so. Like most legendary former Argentina players have been saying recently, Argentina should be lucky Messi is still playing for them as he and Mascherano has been pulling the team to two finals where their team mates have failed to help them get over the line.
To be dependent on someone that player has to actually do well consistently instead of being a fucking liability most of the time and have one or two WOW games where everyone loses their mind.
In the WC, Di Maria had ONE great game against Belgium or Switzerland. In this Copa America he had ONE great game and one game where he scored, but was nothing more than decent.
That's not to say Messi didn't or doesn't miss Di Maria, but that's merely because he's a kind of player that'll make things happen, unfortunately you never know what and most of the time it's failed passes, failed crosses, turnovers, brainless dribbling. Had others stepped up then Di Maria wouldn't have been missed much.
Don't take Argentina's greats words too seriously, they see him distraught and nearly depressed, they have been consistently trying to cheer him up. Its tough for him, he seems like an introvert and excels through his artistic display of fantastic football.\
Di Maria's final third ball is what makes him frustrating, however he is the one who carries the ball forward, and does it so much that he injured himself TWICE already, which makes him an idiot for not pacing himself.
Mascherano is a monster, but between all three, the team is really poor, despite all the names. Average full backs and slow CBs do not help one bit. Then there is the fact that everyone not named Messi, Di Maria or Masch is an egomaniac, glory hunting SOB. That is why they don't step and will not.
International tournaments are short, you a star (Messi), you need a co-star (Di Maria) and the work horse (Mascherano). The star can more or less take care of 3-4 games, the co-star will show up in 1-2 games and then you are at the final. If you don't have all three you are bound to lose.
Brazil's Ronaldo and Rivaldo and Ronaldinho had that. Ronaldo was the star, Ronaldo disappeared against England but Ronaldinho and Rivaldo showed up. Against Germany in the final, they lost Ballack but Ronaldo showed up when Rivaldo paved the way. They had Edmilson cleaning up and sweeping. The full backs helped a lot. You don't need a formadible team, you need a good leader and a few good player available. Argentina don't have a leader and of their 3 good players, 1 has been injured twice in a critical time.
