Argentina swept aside Mexico without a moment's second though in their round of 16 clash against El Tri. Never mind the offside goal Tevez scored, it was an overwhelming and dominating performance from Maradona's men. But it was not the Argentine display that was the highlight of the encounter but their coach himself.
Maradona has come under much criticism - from myself as well in fairness - throughout his tenure as Argentina coach. The Albiceleste idol has strung up 4 wins on the bounce in which his men have scored 10 goals thus far in the tournament. Maradona's greatest achievement thus far is that he has managed to unite the squad. It is indeed no small feat, especially considering all the high profile players on the team. The Argentina squad seems to be playing without pressure and with a lot of joy. All this is down to the coach and Maradona deserves all the plaudits for it. Maradona seems to have put his arm around each players' shoulders and made them all feel like giants. Nothing seems to be able to scare this team and they play liberated and free of pressure against all their opponents. Even Messi, who seems to be struggling for goals, still performs at a very high level. Indeed it is very different from the likes of Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo who seemed to be struggling for form and failed to perform for their respective countries. In contrast Maradona has managed to keep Messi confident and performing for Argentina, and such man-management skills are the mark of a great manager.
Yes Maradona may not be known as an astute tactician, but he certainly hasn't made any blunders as of yet. I myself heavily criticized Maradona for his squad selection and tactics. The omission of Zanetti and Cambiasso were the main issues of Maradona's World Cup squad. It had also seemed that Maradona did not know his formation or best starting 11 throughout the qualifying campaign. This issue has been settled however and the results are incontestable. Tevez, Higuain, and Messi have linked up effectively. The issue of width in the team has been solved with the inclusions of either [or both] Maxi Rodriguez and Di Maria, and Mascherano seems to do fine by himself in protecting the back-four. This is possible thanks to the high pressing defense Maradona's team applies where Tevez. Higuain, and Messi are the first line of defense. That very same high press was responsible for Osorio's mistake in Argentina's second goal when Higuain pounced on his errant pass and rounded the goalkeeper before firing into an empty net. As a matter of fact this tactical setup is probably the reason why the less mobile Diego Milito has thus far been relegated to the bench.
The most crucial point is that Maradona has kept his squad happy. He has been able to use most of his squad during the three qualification games, something that very few teams have managed. As such all but a few players on the Argentina squad have had an outing in this summer's tournament. This has helped a lot in keeping the squad's overall morale high. Even though Maradona has very little coaching experience, being such a great player, he knows what it is like to be at a World Cup. His past experience is important indeed as he can imparts this onto his player and knows how to manage certain situations better than other coaches. Also the team takes advantage of his charismatic persona which attracts all attention towards him and away from his players. As such the Argentine players can fully focus on their football without the added pressure that the world press and various football audiences may bring. In addition, Maradona seems to have created a sort of siege mentality of "us against them" after most of the Argentine press called for his head during the qualification campaign.
Argentina always possessed the talent and ability to go far in the tournament and indeed to win it all. The question was always: will Maradona be able to bring this group together? It would seem as though Maradona has silenced his critics - me included - and drawn out his squad's immense potential. We questioned his selection, his choices, his tactics and his very appointment as Argentina boss, but Maradona has answered all. Everything is going well for Argentina as of now of course. Consequently Maradona can do no wrong as far as observers are concerned. It will take some time to see how the situation develops but for now, Maradona's Argentina has been in great form. Indeed Maradona seems to have had the golden touch when no one expected it.
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