Defence in chaos as Argentina lose breath in Bolivia
April 2nd 2009 01:05
The altitude played its part that’s for sure. But when experienced Argentina captain Javier Zanetti tried to dribble his way out of his own box, only to loss possession and concede a penalty in the first half, the explanation to ‘La Seleccion’s’ 6-1 massacre against Bolivia became clear.
In all forms however, Zanetti was not the sole reason why Argentina suffered their worst loss in over sixty years against a brilliant Bolivia in La Paz.
Argentina were a shadow of the side that had attained terrific victories against the French and Venezuela. Yesterday morning, they suffered one of the worst defeats in their history against a Bolivia team who were rooted to the bottom of the South American World Cup qualifying zone.
Prior to the start of the match, coach Diego Maradona opted for a more controlled approach instead of the offensive vertigo that his side used to destroy Venezuela in Buenos Aires.
Martin Demichelis found himself in Argentina’s back four while FC Porto midfielder Lucho Gonzalez replaced the suspended Jonas Gutierrez.
Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez beat Kun Aguero for a spot alongside Lionel Messi in attack. But it was to no avail.
The game that Argentina tried to play against the Bolivians literally fell into the abyss. Maradona’s men became claustrophobic, not only because of the altitude, but the willingness of a rival that pressured each and every Argentine in all sectors of La Paz.
When Argentina finally crumbled from Bolivia’s repeated blows, Marcelo Martins scored the opener for the home side after just eleven minutes of the first half.
Indeed Argentina’s will to turn the match around was destroyed by their apparent lack of energy - something Maradona hoped to avoid playing in the rugged climate of Bolivia.
Although Lucho Gonzalez equalised against the run of play for Argentina, the short burst of stamina in the side was diminished when Zanetti conceded a penalty to gift Bolivia a 2-1 lead.
From there, Argentina’s road to redemption became too steep, and Bolivia made the climb insummitable. Argentina were forced to defend in desperation and could only hope that they went into halftime only a goal behind.
This was not to be though as Da Rossa scored from a clinical header to put the Bolivians up 3-1 and finalise a game not even Maradona himself could inspire his troops to come back and win in the second half.
Instead, what followed was a catastrophe for Argentina, as Benfica midfielder Di Maria was sent off, leaving ’La Seleccion’ with ten men that were spilling blood all over La Paz.
It was here that Boliva were allowed to feast on an Argentine side that had its defensive structure destroyed by a team not known for its attacking prowess.
Botero completed his hat trick for Boliva, in the midst of the home side’s celebrations.
Bolivia had earned the right to do as they pleased, and at times, enjoyed themselves against an amateur Argentine defence which resembled the very definition of chaos.
Torrico scored the sixth goal for Bolivia and it was amazing to see the midfielder not even celebrate his strike, such was the constant ability of the Bolivians to find the back of the net.
As fulltime sounded, one could excuse Maradona for jumping off an altitude of over 3,000 metres. His beloved Argentina took a massive step backwards after previously taking three small steps forward prior to the Bolivia massacre.
Although Maradona suggested that any team would have suffered against Bolivia yesterday morning, the great man himself now knows that his beloved Argentina is once again in chaos. Despite the good early work, Maradona must once again build his team from scratch.
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