Argentina Squad Takes Shape for Saturday

It feels like an eternity has passed since the Argentine national team limped out of Asuncion a 1-0 loser last month. Now only 3 days remain until the must-win match against Peru in Buenos Aires. There is mountains of speculation around any international match Argentina plays and it has been even more hectic this time. Today Maradona put together what will likely be the starting 11 for a scrimmage.

Romero

E. Insua Heinze Schiavi Jonas G.

Mascherano Enzo Perez Aimar Di Maria

Messi Higuain

This line up isn't terrible but it is concerning in some areas. Gabriel Heinze has been willing to leave his natural leftback position when asked throughout his career. Unfortunately that has usually resulted in disaster for his team at both club and international level. Against Paraguay he looked out of his element in the middle of the defense, although he did make a superhuman effort to stop a late insurance goal on a Paraguayan counterattack. Next to him will be Rolando Schiavi, closer to 40 than 30, making his second (2nd) appearance for the national team. This duo doesn't fill me with confidence, especially considering center-halfs like Nico Parejo and Martin Demichelis are in the squad. But at the end of the day if Argentina can't get the job done against Peru at home, the deciding factor will probably not be the central defense.

As far as Jonas playing rightback, I think that is a very flexible rightback, kind of like Dani Alves at Barcelona.

I like Aimar as the 10 and Angel Di Maria is a player I have been very high on going back to his days at Rosario Central. Having him attack wide with the possibility of seeing Jonas bomb forward on the opposite side of the field with the two strikers between them I think is a better approach than a line of 3 forwards like Argentina have used in recent qualifiers.

And as for the strikers, the position that has been the biggest source of contention with this team. Higuain as the 9 and Messi doing what he does alongside him. I like this pairing because they complement each other and because pound for pound I think they are best two available players for those positions.

This is a pretty good place to start from. If Peru clam up and park the bus as most expect them to, the Aimar-Messi partnership might be effective in making quick and short passes with other players making runs alongside them. If at first Peru come out to play, Argentina will have the players to stretch the field with. I can not overstate the importance of having a true 9 out there that adds an air dimension to the attack.