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Copa America 2011: Why the Lionel Messi Backlash Is Senseless and Unwarranted
Published: July 14, 2011
They managed to secure the second place in their group with a win over Costa Rica and are now set to play World Cup semifinalists Uruguay in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
For some reason, the critics seem to have decided that Lionel Messi is to blame for all of Argentina's struggles.
The world's best player has failed to reproduce his Barcelona form so far in the tournament, but does it really make sense to blame him for Argentina's poor level of play?
Of course not. Football is a team sport.
No player in the history of the game has ever, or will ever, win matches, let alone tournaments, alone. The likes of Pelé and Diego Maradona, for instance, weren't exactly playing with a bunch of scrubs. While they were the brightest stars in their sides, there was quality and balance from top to bottom to give them a platform to shine.
Blaming Messi for Argentina's shortcomings as a team is just criticizing for the sake of it. The team as a whole has been playing much below the expected level, given their wealth of talent.
It's obvious that Argentina have some of the world's best players in their ranks, but they've just not been working well as a team; that's pretty much evident.
The midfield is devoid of any creativity (Cambiasso, Banega and Mascherano aren't exactly creators) and the talented attacking players usually try to solve the problems on their own, a strategy doomed to failure most of the time.
In the first two matches, Argentina barely created chances and was pretty lucky to even get draws. Batista changed the team against Costa Rica and the improvement was apparent. Still, it's doubtful whether that is the best tactic against a stronger si...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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