Neymar contemplates a nation-infuriating Copa defeat
Jack Leahy
Sports Editor
‘It’s not a journalistic assignment to call for Batista’s resignation’, said the editorial of one of Argentina’s leading newspapers, ‘it’s an obligation’.
In Brazil, you wouldn’t have to look too far to unearth similar ill sentiment in the direction of head coach Mano Menezes. In fact, throw his name into Google and the first related story is of player discontent. The fourth even describes him as ‘a hopelessly lost coward’.
Things aren’t well for the big boys in South America. In a 24-hour period of Copa America giant-killing, lifeless displays from Brazil and hosts Argentina saw them deservedly ousted on penalties at the hands of respective underdogs Paraguay and Uruguay.
Two of the most partisan footballing nations in the world are beginning to grow restless. Brazilians expect to win beautifully every time, so Meneze’s ‘results football’ nuanced towards basic survival has not been a palatable introduction to the Brazilian football diet.
There was – supposedly – an abundance of talent on display for Verde-Amarela, keen to demonstrate that their horror second-half showing against Holland in last year’s World Cup was a minor blip in a relentless pursuit of victory on home soil in 2014.
To be honest, it was hardly a squad of champions; an entirely incoherent blend of has-beens, next-big -thing-but-not-quite-there-yets and players who were never good enough in the first place. The involvement of Elano and Fred, the former a success in Ukraine but not in England and the latter a so-so in France, undermined the side’s claims to supremacy. Lucio is a phenomenal player, but at 32 he should stand aside for David Luiz and allow the side to build towards 2014. Neymar, to be fair, had a good few games but Paolo Henrique Ganso, praised as ‘the new Zidane’, was underwhelming. Tabloid rumours have begun to link the man whose name means ‘Goose’ to Manchester United, but on this showing it is hard to tell whether he’s a budding talent thrust into the side a year too soon or an overhyped dud. A remarkably unintelligent player, he fails to see the merit of passing in build-up play, opting for the perpetually ill-fated killer pass much too often.
However disappointing Brazil’s failures, however, all will be forgiven if they manage to win the World Cup on home soil in 2014. Argentina can take no such comforts, and must now suffer the inevitable backlash of expectation emboldened by home advantage. Coach Sergio Batista has so far failed to draw anything productive out of an embarrassment of attacking riches which includes Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez, Diego Milito, and Leo Messi.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if that’s the case then Barcelona should go all red with girlish embarrassment. Batista’s 4-3-3 is identical in concept to that of the Catalan giants, but in execution it is light millenniums behind. Batista fails to comprehend that the Barcelona version works because of the indefatigable engine-room of Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, not because of Messi. He places the whole responsibility for attacking flair on the Barca winger’s sholders and, mercurial talent or not, he cannot be expected to carry a team. He doesn’t do that at Camp Nou; he’s just an extremely functional component of a system powered by its highly functional components. Oh, to metaphorically mechanise Barca’s football feels so…dirty.
He has further problems in defense. Javier Zanetti is too old. Nicolas Burdisso and Gabriel Milito will both be 33 at the next World Cup. Nicolas Pareja and Marcos Rojo ply their trade in the Russian Premier League, an up-and-coming force in European football but still at least fifteen years behind even the German Bundesliga.
I’m not a betting man, nor do we encourage gambling. But if anyone was stupid enough to give you double-figure odds that neither Menezes or Batista made it to the 2014 World Cup in their current occupations, bite his/her hand off. Bite it.
