REAL Football Match Report: Brazil vs. Argentina

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American “football” (covered very nicely by our own Nick Pomazak) starts up next week, but we all know you came here for some commentary on REAL football…

International Friendly: Brazil vs Argentina

Brazil (4-4-2): Gomes, Cicinho (Maicon 66), Lucio, Juan, Gilberto, Elano (Julio Baptista 73), Gilberto Silva, Edmilson (Cearense 69), Daniel Carvalho (Kaka 59), Fred (Vagner Love 80), Robinho (Rafael Sobis 89).
Subs Not Used: Fabio, Luisao, Alex, Marcelo.

Booked: Gilberto, Elano, Robinho.

Goals: Elano 3, 67, Kaka 89.

Argentina (4-3-1-2): Abbondanzieri, Zabaleta, Coloccini, Milito, Rodriguez (Samuel 46), Gonzalez, Mascherano (Somoza 46), Bilos (Insua 72), Riquelme, Tevez (Aguero 66), Messi.
Subs Not Used: Saviola, Franco, Ponzio, Fuentes.

Booked: Riquelme, Milito, Aguero.

Attendance: 59,032.

Referee: S Bennett (Kent).

Man of the Match: Robinho

Sunday saw Arsenal’s brand new Emirates’ Stadium stage host to a prestige “friendly” between the two giants of South American football, Brazil and Argentina. Both sides entered the game in a transitional/rebuilding phase after both having disappointing World Cups. Argentina played some lovely football in the Group Stage and contested the match of the tournament against Mexico in the Second Round only to choke against hosts Germany in the Quarterfinals. Brazil had an even worse World Cup, with the pre-tournament hot favourites fail to justify the hype as they seemed content to just play over the top to the most ponderous Brazilian strike-force ever. Even this negative, lethargic football was enough to overcome such footballing giants as Japan, Croatia and Ghana until France did us all a favour and knocked them out in the Quarterfinals with Henry and Zidane giving the Brazilians a lesson in how to play the “beautiful game”. So with both teams nursing wounded prides and boasting brand new managers this game was promising to be a very competitive friendly.

The Brazilians as the score-line suggests were by far the most impressive team, although the margin of victory flatters them slightly. New coach Carlos Dunga has grasped many of the nettles that caused Brazil’s ridiculously talented squad to put in such ridiculously insipid performances in Germany. Gone were the old, over the hill full-backs and back were the speedier, younger, hungrier pair of Cichino and Gilberto who incidentally had been key members of the Brazilian team that destroyed all who got in their way during last year’s Confederations Cup. In the middle of the park the preference for reputation over form was scrapped, as Arsenal’s energetic holding midfielder Gilberto Sliva was preferred to Real Madrid’s Emerson whilst Kaka was shockingly left on the bench. However, the big chances were up front with the uncoordinated stiff that has assumed the identity of Adriano nowhere to be seen whilst Big Ron was kept from the pitch by a dodgy knee. Instead in Fred and Robinho, we got two forwards who can actually do more than simply stand on the 18yard line and shoot. Which was nice. However, the shocking news was that in Dunga there’s finally a Brazilian coach whose willing to look at players who ply their trade for Eastern European clubs with the likes of Elano, Cearense and Rafael Sobis all playing a part even if they play for decidedly unsexy clubs.

The effect of these changes was obvious to see. Brazil played with real power and urgency, with full commitment shown in their desire to get the ball back (something that is relatively rare even in good Brazilian sides) that only added to the potency of their counter-attacking play and the sheer muscular irresistibility of their forward play. The thing about good Brazilian sides isn’t that they technically wonderful or they string together a thousand passes effortlessly, no it’s that they play the game with such power and pace that they are simply irresistible, to use the old cliché they do all the simple things well. That was what Brazil were like against Argentina, with strong running from defence and midfield as the Brazilians always sought to move the ball forward and create another attacking opportunity. There was a dynamism and purpose to their play that was sorely lacking at the World Cup. At the centre of it all was the talismanic Robinho who was behind much of the best of Brazil’s attacking play with him playing a key role in the first two Brazilian goals and having some superb chances of his own, particularly a surging run into the penalty box in the 29th and hellacious 66th minute strike from distance that if it had been going anywhere except straight at the goalkeeper would have been a goal.

Argentina’s Alfio Basile had gone into game saying he would only be satisfied with a 4-0 victory and he certainly never looked close to getting his wish. The reason was partly because of the Brazilian performance, partly due to poor team selection and partly down to sheer bad luck. The problems with his team selection was simple, Messi and Tevez cannot play together and if he has any sense this experiment won’t be repeated. Nothing against either player, but to play two midgets upfront is just gifting the opposition’s defence 9 out of 10 of all aerial battles, which means most crosses or long passes will be wasted. Because of their strikers’ inability to win the aerial battle against Juan and Lucio Argentina were especially reliant on Riquelme to use his position behind the two strikers to put the passes to feet and through balls that could expose the Brazilian defence. Sadly Riquelme was having one of his off days, with the temperamental playmaker seemingly not interested in the game. The result was that Argentina really struggled to make the most of their possession and find the final ball from midfield to create a proper goal scoring chance because nothing was on through the middle due the Riquelmes’s off day and nothing was on from the wings due to their striker’s being wee fellas (to be fair Tevez is a good header of the ball, but someone of his side is rarely going to score with his hide and even less so if he’s playing alongside someone who isn’t an aerial threat).

The bad luck came from some missed chances and key decisions that didn’t go Argentina’s way. After a pretty poor first half performance they came back for the second half playing a far more aggressive, pressing game and showed more attacking penetration in the first 20mins of the second half then they had the entirety of the first half. On the 57th minute Messi played a gorgeous ball to Gonzales who (inside the Brazilian penalty box) did a pitch-perfect backheel to Zabaleta who sadly couldn’t get his far post strike on target or to deflect off Cichino (who did very well to avoid putting the bull into his own net). In the 61st minute they should have had a penalty when Zabaleta snap shot from a poor clearance was blocked by Gliberto’s raised hand. Indeed Tevez could easily have dragged his foot over Gilberto’s leg in the 64th minute to gain a penalty. Instead after 20minutes of it being all Argentina, with Brazil firmly encamped in their own half when some tidy exchanges on the edge of the Argentine penalty box between Kaka, Robinho and Elano saw Elano bag his second with a sharp strike across the goal.

With that the game ended as contest with numerous substitutions sapping the game of its vitality and shape, still 70 minutes of top quality, competitive football is above average for international friendlies these days. Still there was time for the game to get a tad nasty with some handbags-at-dawn tackles towards the end that in a competitive game would’ve been punished with a red card and there was also time for substitute Kaka to give Dunga the sign he had asked for as he topped a fabulous run from inside his own half to score a fabulous goal to put the stamp on what turned out to be a thumping win for Brazil. All in all, a very good game of football with Brazil putting in a better, more energetic performance than at any game during the World Cup.

A Comics Nexus original, Will Cooling has written about comics since 2004 despite the best efforts of the industry to kill his love of the medium. He now spends much of his time over at Inside Fights where he gets to see muscle-bound men beat each up without retcons and summer crossovers.