footyfan
Calma, calma
Watch out for Sneijder too, he's only been getting better as the tournament has progressed. Argentina haven't faced a midfield maestro like him yet. It is going to be real difficult. Lavezzi will be crucial in this game.
Watch out for Sneijder too, he's only been getting better as the tournament has progressed. Argentina haven't faced a midfield maestro like him yet. It is going to be real difficult. Lavezzi will be crucial in this game.
King Leo
Banned
The one thing that troubles me is that if the Dutch score first. Argentina has not faced this situation so far in the WC.
In the qualifiers, they struggled to come back after Venezuela scored a goal, during the Colombia game I remember they made an amazing come back and winning 1-2 and they lost to Uruguay 2-3 but they had already qualified and Messi was injured. Peru and Bolivia they came back to tie the game but despite altitude those teams are not the calibre of Holland.
In the qualifiers, they struggled to come back after Venezuela scored a goal, during the Colombia game I remember they made an amazing come back and winning 1-2 and they lost to Uruguay 2-3 but they had already qualified and Messi was injured. Peru and Bolivia they came back to tie the game but despite altitude those teams are not the calibre of Holland.
Exactly what I'm thinking. I feel this game is for Aguero to shine, and silence his critics (just like pipita in the last rd). He should come on a sub to get the winner ala colombia.
So far in the K.Os..
Pre-qtrs -Angel di Maria
Qtrs - Gonzalo
Semi - Aguero
Final - Messi
And thats the fab4 signing off..
Chainsaw
Killahead
Fortunately I have watched Sneijder enough at Inter to know that he's a hot and cold player. Sure he could be a danger alongside RVP. Just not as dangerous as Robben. That diving cunt could be a big trouble for Argentina, considering it's Rojo he's gonna play against who is not very fast as well.
I think Sabella will start with a defensive approach and try to hurt Holland in counter attacks. Robben should not be given much space, and that should be Argentina's priority #1 going into this match.
AURELIUS
Member
Alfredo di Stefano (1926-2014)
Words cannot describe the greatness of La Saeta Rubia the blonde arrow What his contemporaries said about him and the black and white figures in the record books, the indelible memories he left in all who saw him are all the testament that is required. Suffice to say he had the defensive capability of a Beckenbauer, the passing of a Messi and the striking qualities of a Ronaldo.
As a young boy he was impressed by the footballers of the first Argentine golden such as the legendary Boca striker Francisco Varallo and the talents of Carlos Peucelle at rivals River Plate whom he would watch every other week.
When Jose Minella took over the management of River Plate he created the first total football in the form of La Maquina where players rotated position with the emphasis on passing and movement off the ball with technique.The team was headlined by five legendary players Jose Moreno, Juan Munoz, Felix Loustau, Angel Labruna and a great influence on di Stefano, Adolfo Pedernera. di Stefano whose talents had been noticed in the streets thus entered one of the great academies of the game at at time when he could learn from the best players on the planet at the time.
All five of the Maquina line although they rarely played together are revered in Argentina and would be household names worldwide had there been World Cups in 1942 and 1946. di Stefano was coached to play anywhere on the pitch as required by the manager, equally comfortable as centreback as playing in the centre forward role and even once as goalkeeper in the Superclasico.
Due to the incompetence of the AFA di Stefano only played six times for Argentina winning the 1947 Copa America including a hat trick against the country he came to represent Colombia. Frustrated by low pay and other demands not being met many of the top Argentine players led by Pedernera went to Colombia with di Stefano in tow. Faced by the player exodus, the AFA refused to defend their Copa title in Brazil in 1949 and did not travel there either for the 1950 World Cup something which still rankles in Brazil today as a snub.
At the time of the arrival of di Stefano in Bogota,a dispute in the newly formed Colombian league meant that FIFA refused to recognize Colombia as a member.It however allowed Millionarios with the other Colombian clubs to sign players from all across South America for nothing making up for it in wages and creating a league populated with South America's best.
It was here while on a tour Real Madrid first saw di Stefano. What happened afterwards is still a matter of dispute and bitterness between the Spanish old Firm with Barcelona feeling they had agreed a transfer with di Stefano's parent club River Plate before being trumped by an agreement between Millionarios and Real Madrid.
A compromise was agreed between the two clubs that the blonde arrow should play two seasons for each club but the announcment caused even more of a furore and in the end it is supposed Franco's minions also played a part in di Stefano remaining at Real Madrid. After the Munich air disaster he was set to join Manchester United on loan to help the club rebuild but the FA in their usual idiotic backward way blocked the move.
With five European Cups, 216 goals in 282 games for Real and a ratio of .84 goals per game in the European Cup as opposed to Messi at .78 a born winner, a father figure and leader of a team that included other greats like Puskas, Gento, the Uruguayan Santamaria hewill always be revered at Los Blancos as the founder of the clubs greatness.
After retiring from the pitch the great man moved into management instilling his love of artistic football mixed with physicality.As a manager at the club he only managed a couple of runner up spots but nurtured a generation of talents that formed the core of the Spanish side at the 1986 World Cup.
Elsewhere he had success in winning titles with both Boca and River and with Valencia in Spain. He will forever remain immortalized as one of the foundations of Real Madrid as a club participating with zest until recent years as the honorary president,as one of the last great products of La Maquina and one of the greatest of all Argentine players perhaps the only one to challenge Maradona for his status.
A legendary triumvirate:
Despite never having played at a World Cup (he took Spain to qualification in 1962 before being ruled out by injury) it would only be fitting that one of the greatest of all players is remembered before the Argentina-Holland semifinal.
L
linetty
Guest
Not Basanta? Rojo is back?
JamDav1982
Senior Member
Yes.
Give me the names of all. Anyone?
I will go with..
Dimichelis, Masch, Messi, Biglia, Lavezzi
Di Maria, Rodriguez, Fernandez, Garay, Kun
Not bad. You got 2 wrong. I'll wait for more responses before disclosing them
DonAK
President of FC Barcelona
You got it frm somewhere, didn't you? Tell me the truth.
On a second thought then I should have left out one so it would not be seen as suspicious
Yeah, I did
King Leo
Banned
I got them all correctly except for Maxi. Di Maria you can spot from a mile.
BTW Simeone is predicting that Argentina will lift the cup if they get through the Dutch. I hope he's right! it's gonna be a long nail biting game. Aguero is so needed to showup big for this game. RVP will face the same Turkish official who he insulted a year ago (I like that ) I hope he calls off Robben when he dives.
BTW Simeone is predicting that Argentina will lift the cup if they get through the Dutch. I hope he's right! it's gonna be a long nail biting game. Aguero is so needed to showup big for this game. RVP will face the same Turkish official who he insulted a year ago (I like that
) I hope he calls off Robben when he dives.
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Djab
New member
Di maria hasn't changed a bit. That's hilarious.
Cakir? He's not a good ref, at all.
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