At 20:00 on the evening of March 29, 2015, the friendly match between El Salvador and Argentina’s men’s national football team officially started.
In this training camp and friendly match, the main purpose of the Argentine team, which has basically determined the main roster for the America's Cup, is to select substitutes.
Therefore, core players such as Messi (Barcelona), Aguero (Manchester City), Mascherano (Barcelona), Otamendi (Valencia), Sergio Romero (Sampdoria), etc. None of the main players are on the pitch, but a group of rotating main players plus substitutes, as well as a small number of main players such as Di Maria (Manchester United) and Higuain (Naples).
For this reason, the Argentine team was booed by the home fans of El Salvador at the beginning of the game.
In terms of strength, everyone knows that El Salvador, ranked 89th in the FIFA world rankings, will definitely not be able to beat Argentina, ranked 2nd in the world, even at home. Therefore, fans come to watch the game to see stars such as Messi and Aguero.
El Salvador invited Argentina to play this friendly match and paid an appearance fee. Naturally, it depends on the fans to buy tickets to repay the cost and make money.
As a result, the fans bought tickets and came to the scene, but what they saw was that Argentina was playing a group of substitutes. Not only did Messi not play, but also the main players such as Aguero and Mascherano did not play. Naturally, the fans were disappointed. Feeling dissatisfied.
But how can coach Martino care about so much? The Football Association just uses the name of Messi and others to sell national team appearance fees. His current task is to train and select players for the America's Cup. He will not do it to please the opponent's fans. And disrupt your own plans.
In this starting 4231 formation, Argentina’s double midfielders are Evo Banega from Sevilla and Roberto Pereira from Juventus. Both of them are capable of both offense and defense. Midfielder type.
Now that his skills, heading, speed, etc. have all increased to over 80, Velard is actually of this type and is no longer a purely defensive midfielder.
With Mascherano definitely occupying one of the main defensive midfielder spots, Velarde is actually teaming up with Banega, Roberto Pereira, and Lucas Biglia on the bench. (Lazio), Facundo Roncaglia (Genoa) and others compete for the midfielder spot.
If Martino is determined to play in the 4231 formation in the America's Cup, it will usually consist of two main midfielders and 1-2 substitutes on the roster.
Except for Mascherano who is bound to enter, others will compete for the remaining 2-3 places.
In the first two days of training, Velarde has shown a serious and hard-working training attitude, as well as a strong physique, speed, and heading ability, but I don't know if he will get a chance to play today.
In the stands, there were Desia, who followed Velarde on his expedition to El Salvador with bodyguards, and agent Douglas Johnson.
Krisna, Alyssa, Bertha and others were also watching the live broadcast on the TV, hoping to see Willard appear and cheer for her boyfriend.
Despite the rotation of the lineup, Argentina's technical strength was still too strong. They attacked aggressively from the beginning of the game and overwhelmed El Salvador.
In the 3rd minute, Tevez (Juventus), the beast as an offensive midfielder, volleyed hard from outside the penalty area, forcing Salvador goalkeeper Carrillo to save the ball from the bottom line, helping Argentina get a corner kick.
In the corner kick attack, Argentina center Higuain grabbed the spot at the back point and headed the ball towards the goal. Unfortunately, the angle was too small. Due to the interference from the opponent's defender, his header missed the post slightly and hit the side netting.
Four minutes later, Argentina made a comeback. Di Maria passed two people on the left and then made an inverted triangle pass. Banega stepped in from the back row and volleyed from the line of the penalty area. Unfortunately, it failed to hit the goal frame. Above the beam.
Argentina's offensive was thunderous but rainy. It was not until the 15th minute that Di Maria switched positions to the right side of the penalty area and hit the door frame with a left-footed arc shot. Unfortunately, the ball was not fast enough and the angle was not tricky enough, so goalkeeper Carrillo saved the ball.
In the 19th minute, Argentina received a free kick from the right side of the frontcourt. The position was well distanced. Di Maria directly took the free kick and the result was slightly wide of the post.
In the 23rd minute, Argentina got a corner kick, and Tevez grabbed the spot in front of the penalty area, flicked his head and hit the goal, slightly higher than the crossbar.
Under the powerful offensive of the Argentine team, El Salvador could only defend with a bus and iron barrel array. But it was El Salvador's bus and iron barrel formation that left the Argentine superstars helpless. Coupled with their poor luck in scoring, Argentina failed to score even a single goal until the end of the first half.
This made the home Salvadoran fans boo Argentina even louder.
Forget it if you can't match Messi, the overall offense is so broken, you haven't seen a goal for 45 minutes in the first half, you don't deserve to be the Pampas Eagles.
In the end, everyone even hoped that El Salvador would upset Argentina. If that happened, it would not be in vain for them to buy tickets to watch the national team game.
During the halftime break, Gerardo Martino also criticized the Argentine players. He believed that the team as a whole was underestimating the enemy and had a low fighting spirit, which led to the fact that even the goal of a weak team like El Salvador was not scored after 45 minutes of play. Not broken.
In addition, when the team has a clear advantage in possession and offense, the midfielders, full-backs, etc. in the midfield and backfield should also press forward to participate in the offense to put more pressure on the opponent, rather than just to avoid conceding the ball. Just stand back and watch the show.
This is obviously a sign of inefficiency.
Martino said: "I know that many players have flown back from Europe, which is in the intense stage of multi-front operations in the second half of the season. But this is no reason for you to slack off, because we have only this training opportunity left. The next time we gather together is to play in the Copa America in Chile in June. Therefore, everyone must take this training seriously. If there is anyone who doesn’t want to play in the Copa America or play for the national team, why don’t you bring it up now, I’ll tell you in advance Let him go and never join the national team again."
After saying this, naturally no one dares to say that he does not want to serve the country. No matter what you think in your heart, you definitely can't say that on the surface. Otherwise, the media and fans will spray him to death.
After the half-time criticism and reprimand from the head coach, Argentina's players became more aggressive in the second half, and the intensity of the attack was greater than in the first half. The midfielders and full-backs began to take turns taking turns to participate in the attack.
In the 52nd minute, right back Zabaleta suddenly stepped in to assist. He hit the wall twice with winger Lavezzi and forward Higuain, then cut inside and passed the ball in an inverted triangle. At the top of the penalty area.
Midfielder Roberto Pereira, who was inserted in the back row, blasted a shot that was powerful, heavy and had a tricky angle.
Unfortunately, this time El Salvador's goalkeeper made a world-class save and saved Roberto Perez's threatening shot from the bottom line.
In the ensuing corner kick, Argentina failed to grab the first point and was pushed out of the penalty area by the Salvadoran defender to clear the ball.
After attacking for more than ten minutes, Argentina still had the advantage but failed to score. The final kick was always lacking. Coach Gerardo Martino finally couldn't help it and replaced Messi in the 68th minute. Tevez was removed.
At the same time, Martino also replaced No. 19 Evo Banega and replaced No. 8 Alan Willard.
"It is now the 68th minute of the second half. Argentina is preparing to replace two people in a row. No. 23 Tevez comes off and No. 10 Messi comes on. No. 19 Banega comes off and No. 8 Alan Velarde comes on."
"When the offense is strong but cannot score, and it has been unable to open up the situation, it is natural to replace Messi to strengthen the offense."
"But Alan Willard got the opportunity to make his national team debut in the first friendly match, which is also quite unexpected."
"After all, there are several defensive midfielders such as Mascherano, Biglia, and Roncaglia sitting on Argentina's bench."
"Perhaps Martino wants to test Willard's ability in actual combat."
"Let's see if Velard, who is making his debut for the national team, can bring any beneficial changes to the Argentine team."
Seeing that Villard and Messi were called to the sidelines together, waiting to appear, the fourth official had already raised the substitution sign. Desia and Johnson were in the stands, as well as Krisina and Ali in front of the TV. Shah, Bertha, Henderson, Conrad Barzel and others were also in high spirits, applauding and looking forward to Willard's debut performance.
Tevez himself has a bad relationship with Messi, and it is well known to the media and fans. At this time, he was replaced by Messi. It is strange that the beast has a good look on his face.
When he came off the field, Tevez ignored Messi's outstretched hand and walked straight out of the sideline without high-fiving Messi. Even his head coach Gerardo Martino, who tried to reach out to encourage him, was ignored by the beast. .
Tevez's temper is so straightforward and explosive.
Messi was not surprised and immediately ran into the field to prepare for the game.
Midfielder Evo Banega, who came off the field two steps behind Tevis, was also unhappy. He felt that his performance in this game was good and he did not allow any of El Salvador's counterattacks to succeed. In addition, he also stepped in many times during the offense and provided support for the frontcourt. What does it have to do with him if the team fails to score? Why did you just substitute him?
Therefore, when he came off the field, Banega ignored Velarde's extended palm in an attempt to give a high-five to complete the handover, and went straight off the field. He also ignored head coach Gerardo Martino and returned to the bench directly. Sit down.
It can be seen how bad the atmosphere in the Argentina team is. No wonder they have not won a championship for many years. Not only are there management issues with the Football Association, but there are also issues with the relationship and unity among the players.
Velarde shook his head and trotted into the field while muttering in his mind, and stood in the midfielder position, ready to play.
Regardless of whether everyone has a harmonious relationship or not, Willard himself needs to gain a foothold in the national team. Becoming a national football player can not only increase your endorsement fees, but also gain more game experience and upgrade as soon as possible.
After the game restarted, Argentina continued to attack wildly. The two full-backs and the two midfielders Velarde and Pereira also took turns to participate in the attack.
Anyway, El Salvador's counterattack could not test Velarde's defensive ability. After all, after Messi came on the field, his dribbling breakthrough and offensive organization ability were more than one level higher than that of Tevis, and his ability to organize offense outside the penalty area was improved to more than one level for Argentina. Using offense instead of defense, El Salvador basically had no power to fight back.
In the 73rd minute, Messi suddenly exerted his strength and continuously broke through Salvador's wide midfielder Jose Alvarez, midfielder Lundros, and center back Alexander Mendoza, all the way into the penalty area, attracting the last two players. After the defender blocked the interception, he passed the ball horizontally into the gap on the left side of the penalty area.
Messi's breakthroughs from several players and Higuain's movement in the penalty area have caused El Salvador's defense to fall behind and become chaotic, leaving the left rib area empty.
Angel Di Maria cut in from the left and just received Messi's pass. Without stopping the ball, he directly volleyed the ball and successfully scored the ball into the lower left corner.
Just a few minutes into the game, Messi passed several people and provided a wonderful assist for Di Maria, helping the Angels open the scoring and Argentina leading 1-0.
At this time, not only a small number of Argentine fans in the stands, but also some El Salvador home fans applauded Messi's breakthrough, assists, and Di Maria's goal.
This attack was indeed so beautiful. Even if they were the ones who conceded the ball, the Salvadoran fans could not help but applaud Messi and Di Maria.
