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The Di Maria Who Saved Argentina’s Hide Is the Man They Need for World Cup Glory
Published: July 1, 2014
Who would the ball fall to? One Angel Di Maria, who in extra time had suddenly appeared as a genuine threat following 90 dreadful minutes. The Real Madrid man did not hesitate.
A low shot flashed across the body of goalkeeper Diego Benaglio—helpless as the ball hit the back of the net—and the whole of Argentina released a relieved scream. After yet another display where the Albiceleste had failed to fire on all cylinders, Alejandro Sabella's men were on the way to the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup.
The identity of the scorer is telling. For large periods of the game Di Maria had been an ineffective, if not a downright damaging presence in the Argentine attack. Switzerland had done their homework; they knew that defending deep and with bodies behind the ball, as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran showed, would blunt an all-star forward line.
Give the likes of Messi and Di Maria any space at all, and they will punish you. Nigeria can attest to that fact, despite a fine 90 minutes against the South Americans. But if La Pulga, and especially the Madrid star, are starved of room to operate, the game begins to change.
Sabella experimented with Di Maria in places across the pitch. He popped up on the left, cut in from the right-hand side and through the middle, all with a similar effect. Fideo was dangerous enough to constantly battle with the attentions of two Swiss markers, but his final delivery and overall distribution made for painful watching.
Twenty-one of the winger's 57 passes went astray, for a shoddy completion ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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