The Hindu : Sport / Football : Battles within the battle

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 27, 2010
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Football

Battles within the battle

Lionel Messi vs. Rafael Marquez: The Champions League semifinal between Inter Milan and Barcelona showed the virtue of familiarity, as Argentine veterans Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso kept a tight leash on compatriot Lionel Messi.

Against Mexico, Messi will be in direct confrontation with Barcelona teammate Rafael Marquez. Marquez will play just in front of Mexico's centre-backs, which is precisely the area Messi likes to drop into. Marquez's footballing intelligence is second to none, and Argentina could get frustrated if he were to contain Messi effectively.

Carlos Tevez vs. Carlos Salcido: Left-back Carlos Salcido is potentially one of Mexico's most dangerous players if given space to raid down the flank. With Argentina playing a system that doesn't feature a natural right winger, Salcido could find himself in plenty of room when he has the ball at his feet. Carlos Tevez will need to occupy Salcido's thoughts by hounding him when the left-back has the ball, and making runs into his channel when Argentina has possession. Tevez certainly has the work rate and stamina to perform this role.

Guillermo Franco vs. Martin Demichelis: West Ham striker Guillermo Franco isn't the most gifted of forwards but Javier Aguirre values him for his intelligent movement, his dropping off the front line leaving space up front for the likes of Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela to exploit. His off-the-ball movement could cause problems for Argentine centre-back Martin Demichelis, who is prone to getting dragged out of position.

Diego Milito's movement caused Demichelis all kinds of problems in the Champions League final, and the Bayern Munich defender must guard against leaving holes in the centre of defence, especially considering his partner Walter Samuel's lack of pace.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport