WC 2010 [Stubborn] Managers Watch -- compromising the World Cup experience!

[tinytim]

I have watched 4 World Cups in my life (3 of which I could genuinely follow), and I have never before felt so much antisetiment towards so many managers as the biggest tournament approaches ...




ARGENTINA: Diego Maradona has decided not to pick Pupi Zanetti and Cuchu Cambiasso ... not only should they be automatic selections, but Zanetti should be the prime candidate for captaincy ... and what's worse is that Burdisso is somehow selected -- that man is a disaster waiting to happen ... there is no rational logic to Maradona's selection on this matter; but should I really have expected rationality from "El Diego"?


BRAZIL: Dunga has jettisoned the traditional ginga for an ugly fast counterattacking style ... at times, some of the natural skills do squeak through into some of their play, but it is just not often enough ... almost every football fan has a Brasil jersey somewhere in their wardrobe because Brasil bring their sublime skills to the pitch on the big occasion, and play to entertain while winning as well (one without the other is pointless as far as I am concerned) ... they won the Confederations Cup, but never has a Brazilian triumph been hailed less around the World ... as a result of Dunga's deplorable change in tactics, players who would provide flair and colour, but aren't perfectly suited to quickly sprint from their defensive box to the other end to score a quick goal on the counter, are not going to feature ... Ronaldinho has been indirectly told that, no matter what he does for Milan, he won't go to the World Cup ... Pato won't get a start ... Ronaldo, even if he gets decently fit, will likely not get picked ... Dunga has his 23 set, and his starting XI sorted ... no amount of performance from now till May will change his mind ... and no amount of showing him classic footage of the great Brazilian teams will put him off his tactical preferences ... tragic ...

About Argentina: I'm still trying to figure why Maradona left the two you mentioned out. They were, like you put, automatic selections. I wonder how differently and much more confidently would Argentina behave if Zanetti and Cambiasso were there. Goodness, they had one great season for Inter last year. Saying that coming from Maradona isn't understandable it's a quite a pleonasm. But still, I thought the man knew something about football, not just creating a closed club.


About Brazil: I don't really see Dunga jettisoning Brazil's style. He actually added something so necessary to our football: tactical discipline. No one on Earth can say Brazil didn't behave brilliantly when regarding defense in the past 3,5 years. That's thanks to Dunga. Maybe he overestimated Brazil's capability of creating plays since with this system, the team would have more ball posession.

And Pato...no, please.

 

[ArgVega]

Lucho, Cambiasso, Zanetti, Gaby Milito, Aimar...

but Maradona's worst sin was getting in a fight with Riquelme.

Argentina needed a midfield to control the game, and sadly Messi is not it. He needs to recieve the pass, not be passing the ball 40yards from goal.


Also will can we start producing other players than **** strikers. I can't think of a quality LB or RB we have coming up the ranks.

 

[Arnau]

Baneeega

 

[ArgVega]

Baneeega

Ya I was advocating for him b4 the world cup, he had a great season with Valencia. He's quality, but knew he had no chance of being picked by Maradona

Lucho was the one I really wanted in the midfield. Pastore isn't looking bad though, maybe by next WC he'll be the creative CM we desperately need.

Messi can't play in that posicion anymore though he looks so miserable, like he hates playing soccer. Maradona should build the team around him, not Mascherano + 10

 

[tinytim]

Guys,
There were some pressure to call Ronaldinho, but absolutely none for Pato.

The biggest pressure Dunga faced was in relation to Neymar and Ganso.

And not taking them was his best decision. They'd be exposed with Kaká.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Baneeega

There was a lot wrong with Argentina. Every educated fan in the world could tell you, when it became apparent that Maradona was playing 3 CMs, that Banega and Cambiasso should be the natural partners for Mascherano. If he wanted midfielders wide, okay, Di Maria and Maxi are fine, but they were expected to be central mids, and not only central mids, but DMs!!!!!!! Cambiasso and Banega would have been so much better.

Also, when it was 2-0 there was 1 guy that I feared... his name was Diego Milito. The greatest finisher in the WORLD in 2010 never saw the field in the World Cup. Horrible managing from Maradona.

I understand that the Argies weren't getting any creativity, but instead of putting MORE creative forces on, you should drop off Tevez and Messi and bring in Diego Milito, the greatest poacher of the season.

 

[Dalecooper54]

NETHERLANDS: I don't have too much against van Marwijk at the moment, though I was quite unimpressed with the team selection in the last friendly (check the Oranje thread for details) ... one man who is surely not going to be selected, and who I think would be invaluable to the team, is Clarence Seedorf ... he has had a resurgence of sorts at Milan, and his ability to read the game confirms the fact that he is an intellectual, on and off the pitch ... his experience would have come in handy ... this is the least of my "begrudgements" (compared to Italy, for example), but I definitely feel it warrants mentioning ... I also think that Van Nistelrooy should go to South Africa (to come off the bench as an impact substitute), but his case is unlike Seedorf's: you see, Ruud still has a chance because he is playing in Germany now, and that is a very good thing in van Marwijk's book ...

Seedorf is a great player, and it pained me how little chance he got in the national team in the last ten years. But the only position he should play in the Dutch team has been occupied by Sneijder for years now, and... well, Seedorf's good, but he's not as good as Sneijder is right now and has never been as important for the Dutch team when he played as Sneijder is now.

Van Nistelrooy we could've used though, given how Van Persie performs.

 

[Lean]

The final phase in the World Cup proved something no-one is taking into account. Take Brazil and Argentina. Both their managers are ex-players, and they never managed a team on club level, or in the World Cup for that matter. Anyway, they are NOT managers.

Dunga had a experience of four years, at most, whilst Maradona never managed on the bigger stage. Both of them faced experienced coaches in Van Marwijk and Joachim Low. Marwijk has been on club level for a good while, whilst Low was a big part of Germany's 2006 campaign, and had a good Euro 2008 in charge. The coincidence? Both ex-players got toasted and had no clue about what to do when their teams were losing.

In 2006, Van Basten also got toasted by Felipao in Holland vs. Portugal. So, I ask: why would any country try to win the World Cup with an inexperienced manager?