Losing like this hurts your soul - on Argentina’s Copa America Loss.
The Copa America of 2007 was a fine advert for South American football. 86 goals were scored and some of the football was scintillating – undoubtedly the team that contributed the most to the spectacle was Argentina – epitomised by Lionel Messi’s goal against Mexico in the semi-final.
Rarely do Brazil go into a final as second favourites. Yet this Argentinean side had swept all beside them on the way to the final, scoring 16 goals in five games, and the football played by Messi, Tevez, Riquelme and the rest was some of the finest seen in recent years. So why did Argentina bottle it (again)?
Tactically last night, they missed the presence of target-man Hernan Crespo. Messi, Tevez and Riquelme were all muscled off the ball throughout the game and they lacked a focus point in attack.
However, this generation of Argentinean players seem to always go missing in big games. At the last Copa in 2004, the “Albicelestes” played the best football and lost to an under-strength Brazilian side in the final. And at the 2006 World Cup, the whole world salivated over their stylish football but they failed to progress past Germany in the quarters.
No one epitomises this sense of anti-climax more than Juan Roman Riquelme. The playmaker, who pulled the strings for five games leading up to the final (scoring five goals), froze in the final on the big occasion.
Argentina is split by two football philosophies. Some follow the approach proffered by 1978 World Cup winning coach Cesar Luis Menotti, who was known for playing an expansive attractive type of football. Others preach the pragmatic, often ruthless, style played under Carlos Bilardo who won the World Cup in 1986.
Current coach Basile and former coach Pekerman are both known as “Menottistas”. Following the win over Peru in the quarters Basile said, “It’s not just about winning. You can simply win a game, but to win the way we are doing makes me proud.”
Brazil’s 3-0 win has hit hard. Esteban Cambiasso said after the game: “We’re totally ruined… Losing like this hurts your soul.” In the next few years Argentina’s football soul will grapple with one of the most common and unanswerable questions to afflict the beautiful game. Is it better to have a team that plays beautiful football but fails to win trophies or is it all about having a pragmatic team that can close out a game and win tournaments?