Argentina reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 Copa America as Group A’s runners-up with 5 points. The Albiceleste could meet Peru, Chile or Uruguay next up.
After 180 minutes of poor football, Argentina finally woke up to the cries of their angry and anxious supporters. They demolished Costa Rica 3-0 in their last group stage match to seal their passage into the quarter-finals of the 2011 Copa America.
Lionel Messi starred with a fine performance despite not scoring. Aguero clinched a brace whereas Di Maria also got his name on the scoring sheet. This left Sergio Batista proud of his team and of Messi in particular as he told the press in a post-match interview:
“He played a fantastic game. We talked a lot about the emotional and individual state of the team before the match. We needed to regain our confidence. Lionel knows how to overcome these situations.
“He has great character. We sought more penetration and bodies in attack. There was a change of mentality here and we kept the ball without confusion, we did not let ourselves become disorganized.”
But looking at the way Argentina performed last night, it is now being said that Sergio Batista copied Diego Maradona’s style. Batista made some changes before the match, dropping Tevez and Lavezzi on the bench, after giving up on his initial plan of changing nothing. However, the manager maintains his opinion all the same as he declared:
“I have always had a strong view on how football should be played, but I am not too proud to change. We are always looking for the best for this team.”
Meanwhile, Javier Pastore shared his relief by boasting about Argentina’s quality against Costa Rica. He told pitch-side reporters the following:
“We understood that we were playing a final and luckily the goals came. We also saw the quality of football we have been looking for. We played a big game, played with everything and we managed to push forward in a game which was closed in the first half.”
But above all, LG man of the match Lionel Messi thanked the fans for being the inspiration behind Argentina’s vital win. According to Terra US, the playmaker stated:
“We needed the love of the fans because of what we were going through. The Copa starts now for us and we want the best for Argentina more than anyone.”
The runner-up in Group C will be paired against Argentina in the quarter-finals. The match will come up on July 16 in Santa Fe.
Lionel Messi starred with a fine performance despite not scoring. Aguero clinched a brace whereas Di Maria also got his name on the scoring sheet. This left Sergio Batista proud of his team and of Messi in particular as he told the press in a post-match interview:
“He played a fantastic game. We talked a lot about the emotional and individual state of the team before the match. We needed to regain our confidence. Lionel knows how to overcome these situations.
“He has great character. We sought more penetration and bodies in attack. There was a change of mentality here and we kept the ball without confusion, we did not let ourselves become disorganized.”
But looking at the way Argentina performed last night, it is now being said that Sergio Batista copied Diego Maradona’s style. Batista made some changes before the match, dropping Tevez and Lavezzi on the bench, after giving up on his initial plan of changing nothing. However, the manager maintains his opinion all the same as he declared:
“I have always had a strong view on how football should be played, but I am not too proud to change. We are always looking for the best for this team.”
Meanwhile, Javier Pastore shared his relief by boasting about Argentina’s quality against Costa Rica. He told pitch-side reporters the following:
“We understood that we were playing a final and luckily the goals came. We also saw the quality of football we have been looking for. We played a big game, played with everything and we managed to push forward in a game which was closed in the first half.”
But above all, LG man of the match Lionel Messi thanked the fans for being the inspiration behind Argentina’s vital win. According to Terra US, the playmaker stated:
“We needed the love of the fans because of what we were going through. The Copa starts now for us and we want the best for Argentina more than anyone.”
The runner-up in Group C will be paired against Argentina in the quarter-finals. The match will come up on July 16 in Santa Fe.
