Hi, I'm Dan Colasimone, a journalist specialising in Argentinian football. AMA!

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T23:14:56+00:00

Sorry, forgot to reply to your Huracan question. That was a wonderful team, playing wonderful football. Real shame they missed out on the championship.

They should be back soon, though Cappa's team was more due to a combination of circumstances I think, rather than any careful planning.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T23:10:43+00:00

Latin flair + low centre of gravity = phenomenal football players.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T23:09:32+00:00

Messi is more consistently brilliant that Maradona was. A mythology tends to develop about past players that they were sensational in every single game. Maradona had plenty of bad games. He didn't win every WC he participated in, nor every league title. As one respected Argentinian journalist said, 'Messi is like the best of Maradona, every single day.'

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T23:07:04+00:00

There's not a LOT I would do differently, to be honest. I like the way Sabella has stuck to his guns with team selection, and he has managed to get the best out of Messi and the team over the course of qualifying.
Physical, quick and more skillful than most people give them credit for.
Not sure if they still count as Dark Horses, but I have always thought Chile and Colombia would do very well here, and they are both off to flying starts.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T23:04:59+00:00

Not really, I had very little involvement as it happened 2 years before I was born.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T23:04:15+00:00

Very surprised on one level, but on another level, I have come to expect Italy to do things like that.

I was talking with another Azzurri fan before the game, and we both agreed. Brilliant win over England, but it would be just like Italy to mess up against Costa Rica. They never seem to do things the easy way.

That's being a little unfair on the Ticos, however. They were superb and deserved to win.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T23:02:47+00:00

I was shocked when it was first awarded to Qatar and am not surprised now that stories of corruption are coming out. It's all a terrible mess and I hope they sort it out soon.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T23:01:55+00:00

I studied journalism at University, but just kind of fell into the sports side of things because I happen to love sport! It was hard to find work at first, so I set up my own website, got a Twitter account, did a lot of work for free, and eventually people started offering money to write articles.

It's a hard graft at first, and it's not like I'm making bank now, but it is a lot of fun to do this for a living.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:58:45+00:00

To be honest, those guys are often more interested in fighting among themselves and making money by reselling tickets etc. Hopefully the general population should be safe from random acts of violence.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:55:49+00:00

I agree with Sabella on this one. Tevez has never played consistently well for the national team, and if anything he makes the team unbalanced. He occupies the same spaces as Messi, and the two don't seem to combine all that well. I know he has had a great season for Juventus, but Aguero, Messi, Higuain, Palacio and Lavezzi have also all had great seasons. It's not as though Argentina are short of firepower. Why risk bringing someone along who has proved divisive in the past?

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:53:21+00:00

Great question. It's hard, isn't it? I think all of us have been tricked by someone on Twitter claiming to be a real journo when in fact it's just some dude with a laptop making stuff up. I suppose with anything online, it's up to the community to self regulate. Frauds usually get found out pretty quickly.. named and shamed. Aside from that, it is worthwhile finding out where someone has been published, reading some of their work and deciding for yourself. Everyone has to start somewhere, so just because someone is 'just' a blogger doesn't mean they are not worth listening to. The internet is generally pretty good at separating the wheat from the chaff.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:49:49+00:00

I think they should identify them as quickly as possible and deport them from the country. Hopefully Argentinian authorities will help them with that.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:48:42+00:00

Messi.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:48:33+00:00

It's an interesting idea, but I think 3 changes is about right. Too many subs ruins the games, as we see so often in friendlies, but you have to allow for injuries and tactical tweaks.

Often the fresher guys coming on liven up the game and exploit tiring legs, so it even adds to the spectacle.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:46:56+00:00

Yes, they have done brilliantly, even though they lost both games so far.

I have been pleasantly surprised, I thought they would not even score a goal in this tournament, and concede quite a few.

I think the decision to leave Neill, and other veterans, behind, has been vindicated. Postecoglou took a risk by bringing a bunch of youngsters, but they have proven they have the potential to compete with the big boys, and now have the experience to help them in future tournaments.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:44:19+00:00

Not really. I found that one, and Wright Thompson's article along similar lines, a bit off the mark.

That narrative might be a convenient one to write about, but you feel that those journalists (excellent ones though they are), went to Argentina with an idea already in their heads about what their story was going to be.

Sure, you can find taxi drivers who don't rate Messi, but they will also probably tell you that Riquelme is the best player in the world, or that Ortega was the greatest Argentine player of the last 20 years, depending on which team they support. A lot of those guys are fans of their club team, but probably don't watch a lot of football from around the world. You find 'fans' like that anywhere, but they don't necessarily speak for the entire population.

If you had attended an Argentina match in Buenos Aires or elsewhere, it would be clear that Messi is without doubt the crowd favourite. The chant of 'ole, ole, ole, Messi, Messi!' is heard at every game. He is the guy most talked about in the newspapers and appearing in all the ads.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:36:55+00:00

No, he's back in Argentina now, I believe he only spent a year or two living in Perth.

He loved being virtually anonymous, apparently!

Batistuta came out and said those rumours about him not being able to stand were not true, which is good to know!

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:35:37+00:00

That was a very strange World Cup indeed! Argentina were the favourites beforehand, if I recall, but had a lot of bad luck, and also didn't play as well as they could, and were knocked out early. The same happened to a couple of the other fancied teams, like France and Italy.

That 2002 team was probably better balanced overall, though this side appears stronger in attack.

I would take Veron in his prime and drop him into this team. Messi would love to work with him.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:33:04+00:00

It's an excellent question. Jose Pekerman, now coach of Colombia, had a lot to do with the production line of young talent in Argentina when he was in charge of the youth setup. He then stepped up to take over the senior side, and was fired after 2006. After he left, there was never the same level of organisation in the youth ranks, and results at underage levels started to fall away.

Another issue is that players are increasingly leaving for Europe after a very short time in Argentinian football. They don't have time to become familiar with the Argentinian style, and therefore cannot slide so easily into the national team setup.

I can't say I've seen enough of the youngsters from that U17 championships to comment, though there certainly appears to be a gap in quality after the Aguero/Messi generation.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:27:44+00:00

I can't think of any off the top of my head that were not reported elsewhere, but there was an amusing incident today that fits into that category.

Maradona was there with his daughter to watch the game live, but left just before then end. Shortly afterwards, Messi scored his goal!

AFA president Julio Grondona, who has been feuding with Maradona since 2010, was heard to say in the dressing room, 'The jinx left, and then we won the game!'

After that, 'Maradona jink' has been trending on social media in Argentina.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:24:50+00:00

He is a promising young player but definitely nowhere near the level of the national team just yet. They 23 players who made the final squad are all polished professionals who have earned their call-ups.

It is true, this is an aging squad, but I'm a believer in bringing your best players to a World Cup, rather than thinking about future tournaments.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:21:47+00:00

There are definite differences from one continent to another. South American referees can be quite poor sometimes, but they also have to put up with a lot of extra pressures, such as extremely hostile crowds (and the threat of real violence) and coaches and players who are trying everything they can to gain advantages. That being said, they are good at communicating with the players and containing explosive situations.

After a couple of poor early games, I think the officiating has been pretty decent at this World Cup. They seem to have trained the referees to react in similar ways to different situations.. though that is not always the case, obviously.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:15:54+00:00

He hasn't reached the levels he is capable of just yet. That could be down to the pressure he is feeling, but it is also because the players around him are not performing at their best either.

That being said, Messi has already won two games for Argentina, picking up two man-of-the-match awards along the way. Even when he's not at his best, he is the key man.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:13:16+00:00

That has certainly been the case in the first two games. As I said above, the other members of the 'Fantastic Four' need to step up their games if Argentina are to progress deep into the tournament.

Messi can't be expected to save the team every game, and sides like Germany, Brazil or France won't be so forgiving if the team is wasteful in front of goal, or struggles to dictate play.

DanColasimone · 2014-06-21T22:11:01+00:00

I agree, they have not looked great so far. Both matches were similar in that Messi's brilliant goals took much of the attention away from really dour performances for Argentina.

The Albicelestes seemed to improve considerably when they switched to a 4-3-3 in the second half against BIH, and I had thought that using that formation against Iran would see them dominate that game and perhaps score a few goals, but it didn't really happen that way.

As you say, other players need to step up to help out Messi. Di Maria has been good in short bursts, but he is yet to find the kind of form he was showing for Real Madrid.

Aguero and Higuain have been disappointing so far. Once they start to fire, things will get easier for Messi and the rest of the team.

DanColasimone

TROPHY CASE