Argentina: The Critics' "Choice"

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With Argentina arriving to South Africa in hopes to crown champion, many of the critics and fanatics are hopeful but then criticizing of the Argentina's national team as individualists and they play their own game, not knowing the definition of a team. As the days go by, the team is proving not only their country, but to the world that they have think and pursue the title of world champion. Juan Sebastian Veron, captain of the Argentine team, is one example because as we can see that with Estudiantes de La Plata he demonstrates the camaraderie in the field and helps out those players in need that is why Diego Armando Maradona trusts him in the midfield for the team in the World Cup. With strikers like Lionel Messi, Diego Milito, Gonzalo Higuain, and Sergio Aguero are the strong point of the team because of their capacity of goal in their respective teams. But what I think about is the lack of motivation from the midfield and up.

The lack of motivation is inserted in the defense because most of the rival teams will see that their defense is slow and erratic at moments because of their lack of velocity and leaving spaces. Their win at the 2008 Olympics were not enough to boost up the team morale because it dealt with many young players like Angel DiMaria, but it wasn't enough to have the winning mentality set for South Africa. Germany 2006 was a long time ago, but we can acknowledge that Argentina has his ups and downs ever since. Argentina got disqualified by Germany in the Quarterfinals, but ever since they have yet to prove the world that they have the ambition of glory to win the World Cup. Maradona coach has to prove to their players that with his leadership skills can make the team move forward such as the last time when he was a player back in 1986.

Maradona has shadowed his image little by little when the years went by, but now is his time to shine and the opportunity to flourish as a professional coach is there to knock for him. One thing left for sure for Argentina is the hope of Lionel Messi's ability to make the team move forward to become world champions. But we have to see that Messi is not an everyman player, he is an individual player that has too much in his shoulders that I think he feels as if he is carrying a thousand pounds in his back. Messi is given in the team to create counter attacks on time, but unfortunately he is not used to that while in Barcelona. The concentration demonstrated ultimately from the midfield and offense, Argentina is the most sharp in attacking, but that is if Argentina studies their rivals' moves.

Other than Messi, Argentina needs to reboot their attacks with Carlos Tevez's explosive attention to the counter attacks, Diego Milito's opportunity to despise their defenders and Sergio Aguero's openness to the midfielders and their rival's spaces. With Sergio Romero's precise reflexes, Argentina's goalkeeping will be fine unless Mariano Andujar proves to Maradona that he is in the national team for a reason. Their defense has to be well-proven that with Nicolas Otamendi's international reputation is grown but it can be understandable but with joining forces with Martin Demichelis and Walter Samuel as the central defenders, it will be cautious because both can make different choices when it comes to their rival's counter attacks and their velocity, but aware of the defense's mistake of not making a penalty shot.

The midfield will be simple to add because with Javier Mascherano and Juan Sebastian Veron attentive as both successful midfielders to take their rivals head to head. While Jonas Gutierrez and Angel DiMaria's goal purpose is inscripted to lead for the strikers to score.

In the qualifiers, Argentina came in fourth but barely making it through because of their inability to focus on their defense but concentrated much on the offensive. But as we all can know that with South Africa, this will be Argentina's final test, and with rivals in Group B with South Korea, Nigeria and Greece, if their team is not constructed well, their building will entirely collapse as a national monument.

Argentina Hopeful in South Africa

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With Brazil's arrival in South Africa not too long ago, Argentina is following the same path with their minds enticed with the World Cup title. Argentina can dream of becoming a champion, but they have to demonstrate not for the public, but for themselves to prove that they are in South Africa for a reason. It's been 24 years since Argentina has been crowned champion, but it was Diego Armando Maradona, the player that moved the team up throughout the tournament. Now as a coach, Diego Armando Maradona's coaching abilities have to prove many critics that he deserves to be the lead of Argentina's tactical schemes against the rivals in South Africa. Maradona tells the media that he is hopeful to win the World Cup, but that is that Argentina has shown lack of commitment because they have given their rivals space and time to attack.

What I think that Argentina needs is not Lionel Messi's out of this world tricks, but they need to develop a tactical scheme that could derive their rivals in time. With this, one has to study cautiously their rivals moves and abilities because one can be faster than others. Unfortunately, Maradona has left Cambiasso and Zanetti, both leading figures in F.C. Internazionale de Milan, which they have been erased from the list. Cambiasso and Zanetti could have been the players that could have changed the course of the Argentine system because without them, Argentina would certainly be weak and could show lack in the midfield and up. Unless, Argentina has shown the world that they have outgrew from the qualifiers, where they barely made it to the World Cup in the fourth place.

Diego Armando Maradona can be a great laeder, but the lack of players and their quality like Garce is really old enough to retire already. Diego Armando Maradona has to play his cards right, in situations where the team is hurting he has to bring them back up to give a push of motivation to achieve glory. Many of the Argentina's starting lineup wants to depend upon Messi, but it is not like that because they are all playing individually, no one can give the pressure to just one players considered the best player in the world. I think that Argentina needs is the precise counterattacks with Juan Sebastian Veron's ablility to what he does in Estudiantes de La Plata and Martin Palermo's ablility in Boca Juniors. We can know all these questions that the media and myself are asking. How is Argentina going to do in the World Cup?

The answer is going to be defined in the first game against Nigeria on June 12.

Dunga and Brazil

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Brazilian national team's coach, Dunga, is having certain doubts prior to Brazil's participation in the World Cup. In the press conference held in Johannesburg, the coach seemed to be nervous about what is to happen when Brazil meets eye to eye with North Korea in the first game of Group G. At this point in time, Dunga's team has become more prepared because of the past competition winning like The Copa America held in Venezuela in 2007 and the Confederations Cup in 2009. With unity amongst the group, the Brazilian national team will succeed in the World Cup, but has to be aware of the rivals Ivory Coast, North Korea, and eternal rival, Portugal. Many of the news media criticized his pics of forwards. Sometimes when Brazil plays, they end up in a victory because even though they play bad, they always come up and fight for what they believe in.

Brazil's tactical scheme is very efficient because of their defenders and midfielders combined, leaving the strikers the ability to communicate and to measure their centers and aim for the goal. Now, is concerning because several media and the rivals will be studying Dunga's scheme, they will learn their rivals moves and abilities without a doubt. Dunga is smart and trusts this group of players because he respected a process with a mix of experience and youth. But, Dunga never gave a chance for other players like Ronaldinho, Pato, Hulk, Neymar and Ganso, who in turn their rivals are unknown to them and their way of playing. Since he was in charge of the team after the Germany 2006 failure, Dunga applied the midfield to be defensive and offensive, leaving one midfielder to create the counter attacks and it has been working ever since.

Because of his tactics and schemes, Dunga received many criticisms that seemed positive for the players' morale and motivation. We have to see when Brazil plays against North Korea on June 15 to find out if Dunga's tactics work or seemed to be useless but as the press conference in Jonannesburg, he seemed resistant about the naming of several players he left out in the list for the World Cup participation. We can see that Dunga called 8 defenders and 5 of his players who are midfielders called in have defensive tendencies keeping a pace that can easily make the rivals tense and act erratically.

15 Days Until FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010

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With less than 15 days till the kickoff the most celebrated tournament in the world, many of the 32 national teams are making several changes towards their long trip to South Africa. Australia is the first team to arrive and to train in looking forward to a better participation than Germany 2006 four years ago. The Brazilian national team is next after meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and wife Marisa Leticia before parting to South Africa. All 23 Brazilian players were with dark sporting attire reflecting the state of seriousness of this tournament that they are going to represent the country of Brazil in hopes for the next World Cup held in Brazil in 2014. President da Silva greeted with every single player and chatted up with players like Luis Fabiano, Robinho and Kaka.

The country of Brazil is hopeful to achieve their sixth title in South Africa, with fans said farewell to their players and bid them a good participation in the World Cup. Most of these fans couldn't make it to the open training sessions the Brazilian team held in Curitiba over the past few days but they made up themselves some time and bid them the greatest honor an athlete can get, the country's support. According to the Brazilian government, their patriotism is greatly admired due to the fact that the Central Banks of Brazil will be closed when the Brazilian national team plays the group stage. President da Silva hopes that Brazil makes it to the final against European champion, Spain, in hopes to obtain the World Cup title to finally get ready for the next World Cup in 2014.

Brazil has demonstrated over the past four years, with a great level of seriousness in their game. Players like Julio Cesar, Lucio, Maicon, and Robinho will give the Brazilian team an indentity that four years ago seemed unknown to the world because Brazil was not themselves in Germany. So I bid the Brazilian National Team a farewell and hope to win the World Cup, in which I will be rooting for "La Madre Patria" of Spain or the United States, because I believed in this country greatly but we can all dream.

Brazil's Road to the World Cup

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It was not too long ago that the Brazilian national players opened to the public to see them train as they are getting ready to play for the World Cup in South Africa. Before this, Brazilian Coach Dunga, imposed a strict rules for the media and the public to witness the players train because of other teams might spy on them and just to see what the Brazilians will actually play in their starting lineup. With this leniency, many reporters and many of the fans approached them cautiously without interruption so that the Brazilian players will focus into their tactics and schemes of offense and to attack. Brazil's national team has been training at the Atletico Paranaense's headquarters in Curitiba, with the inclusion of soccer balls so that they can start wit their "Joga Bonito". We have also have to acknowledge that after Brazil's failure in Germany 2006, Brazil has been under pressure into being champions again.

Now, many of the fans around the Brazilian country are sending out a message of hope of getting better than what happened in 2006, where Brazil was eliminated by France in the Quarterfinals. Since then, Brazil has been scrutinized under a microscope becasue the coaching staff are doing what they can to achieve that goal into winning their World Cup since 2002. What really got to me is that in the training facility, kids with defficiencies attended among the crowd, but the Brazilian team was honored to take pictures and play with them in the field because as I wrote this blog for a reason and that is for the world, everyone, to play one of the most loved sports in the world for the good of the game. There are many people in this world that come out of the rut and make it big, that is the reason what this game means so much into this world, because with the diversity and background, we can achieve great things in life.

With this training sessions, the Brazilian national team will leave to Brazilia, where they would meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before leaving to South Africa and get ready for the upcoming challenge representing their country in the World Cup.

Brazil has shown us that they have grown in the last four years since their downfall in 2006. With Coach Dunga's tactical systems and motivation, they will go through a hard battle amongst the 32 teams looking for one objective only: to become World Champions. Brazil has shown a great amount of camaraderie that actually benefits the team's morale because with this, they can achieve great things.

Brazil

Diego Milito: Inter's Man of the Hour

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Diego Milito, the striker for Internazionale that recently won the Champions League Final, will not leave Inter for another team. Diego Milito scored both goals in the "greatest" game of his life against Bayern Munich, in which he hopes to score in the World Cup to give Argentina the title of World Champion. There's been many speculations that many of Internazionale's players will go to different teams and Milito's future for now is uncertain because he is the most effective striker aside from Lionel Messi. Before leaving to Argentina to play against Canada, he affirmed that he will be staying with the Italian team for three more years of his contract. Milito has become a sensation over the year scoring 30 goals this past season with Internazionale which will give hope to the Argentina's national team to succeed in South Africa.

Diego Milito has been an unwarned sign from Internazionale this past year. Milito was very fundamental in Jose Mourinho's team scoring with rivals A.S. Roma in the Italian Cup and winning the Serie A in Italy and obtaining the Champions League title after 45 years empty handed. Milito is also nicknamed "The Prince", for his similar looks to striker Enzo Francescoli, he is now claimed "The King" after scoring in the Champions League Final. At his 30 years of age, Milito seems as if he is young physically and mentally prepared to face the several challenges wich are the World Cup and the Club World Cup in the Emirates Arab States. Milito came to Internazionale in substituting Zlatan Ibrahimovic, so he made fans forget about the Swedish striker long gone. Milito is an explosive attacker in every way, when a player gives him the ball, he can do many tricks to his rival's defenders. With Milito's ability, he can search for spaces left by their rivals and then analyze the scoring ability.

We can also hope that in the World Cup he becomes a star because we can agree that Milito has worked his way up and we can acknowledge as a fundamental player for Argentina in South Africa. We can only hope.

Mourinho to Real Madrid

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Jose Mourinho, recent Internazionle di Milano manager, has signed on to lead Real Madrid as head coach for four seasons. Mourinho was expected to leave Internazionale, but with much speculations he signed a contract earning $12.5M a year, which I think that Mourinho is at this instances one of the best soccer coaches in the world, aside from Josep Guardiola. Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez anticipated to Mourinho before the final in the Santiago Bernabeu, convincing him to create a visionary team for Real Madrid. Mourinho will be presented Tuesday or Wednesday as the world will turn to Madrid for the biggest hiring since Cristiano Ronaldo's euforic welcome last year. Mourinho has a very clear idea to what to expect in the Real Madrid players because with players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, with Mourinho's tactical system, the team will move on to many great things done like Internazionale. After the glorious victory over Bayern Munich, Mourinho stayed in Madrid and left Internazionale with a full hand of the trophy to show Inter fans what they are capable of.

Jose Mourinho was personally not my favorite coach of mine because of his attitude towards several players and people, and also his way of portraying himself to people is just very strange and oblivious. Throughout the game, he denied fouls and made silly faces that made him think that he is above the law and above everyone else. With this signing to Real Madrid, Mourinho will definitely crush Barcelona's superpower team and also giving a taste of what is to come in the future at the Champions League season in the Fall and La Liga.