Maradona's aggressive layout worked wonders against the Asiatic team, who were forced to wait for Argentina's advance without real opportunities to worry Sergio Romero. Juan Sebastian Veron's absence could hardly be felt thanks to Maxi Rodriguez, who made everything look easy in the midfield. Carlos Tevez was the man of the match, leading the advance, moving from left to right to join Di Maria or Messi depending on the circumstances. Park Ji Sung's expertise was not enough to earn Korea a place within the best sixteen. Only a loose victory over Nigeria could secure their ticket for the next stage... Will they make it?
The game was won for the Albiceleste from the first minute, for victory is not only obtained thanks to goals, but also with attitude. With Angel Di Maria more committed as a play maker, the interaction between the players exposed every weakness in Huh Jung-Moo squad, who had to rely on violence to stop Argentina's endless advance. Argentina's defensive backbone Walter Samuel could only perform for the first 20 minutes, as a muscular fatigue forced Maradona to replace The Wall to better preserve him for the upcoming matches. Roma's Nicolas Burdisso took over his place, who might even had much to do with Argentina's second goal.
Maradona's delight
From the Asiatic violence came the Argentinean revenge. Park Chu Young's own goal gave Argentina the security needed to go for more. Another free kick found Gonzalo Higuain only a few inches behind Korea's goal, and an excellent header gave Argentina its second goal. Gabriel Heinze was raging to join the scoring table and celebrate once again as he did during the debut match. His endless advance forced Javier Mascherano to cover a wider space than he could normally do, while Martin Demichellis was once again responsible for the worst: A misunderstanding between Argentina's captain, Bayern Munich's players and Sergio Romero closed the first half with the Koreans shortening the gap 2-1.
Regarding this error (maybe the only one in a brilliant Gaucho morning), Masche said that the sound is so loud in the stadium (both for the overexcited followers and the already controversial vuvuzuelas) that Demichellis could not hear his advice to guard his back. This error had no real effect on Argentinean confidence, and the second half showed the best of Maradona and his players. Messi's presence in the left band was determinant, and even though he had no chance to score on his own he was responsible for most of Argentina's offensive advances. Two consecutive shots left the ball once again served for Gonzalo Higuain, who scored his second goal in the game without much efforts.
The koreans had a lot of problems no matter how they tried to break Maradona's layout. Maxi Rodriguez and Angel Di Maria, as well as Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi were omnipresent, assisting in the defense and joining the offense in a continuous advance. Sergio Aguero replaced Carlos Tevez for the last 20 minutes, as the Apache was exhausted after an over excessive effort. With the Kun Maradona's scheme was modified, and speed played a role of utmost importance. In the last 10 minutes a beautiful assistance from the Pulga found Aguero alone in front of the Korean goal: Gonzalo Higuain received an exquisite pass and gave another header to write history for the Albiceleste.
Future in the group, Korea's test of fire
Park Ji Sung will have to lead his team against Nigeria with ferocity not to be sent back home so early. Argentina will have to do without Jonas Gutierrez for the Greek game, as Newcastle's midfielder received its second yellow match when he criticized referee's judgment when he declared a foul. Ariel Garce or Clemente Rodriguez will probably take over his place, and Veron might return to the squad. Argentina is indeed a favorite for the title, will they lead the group with perfect scoring after their Hellenic affair?
