Argentina clinched the final automatic place to South Africa with a win in Montevideo last night to a sense of collective relief, rather than jubilation. It was respite for the nation of Argentina, for the players that had come under great scrutiny in the past few months for their performances, for FIFA (and Adidas) who do not have to contemplate a World Cup marketing disaster, and especially for Diego Maradona, Argentina’s coach, who has been atrociously criticized in the media, sometimes fairly, for Argentina’s qualification struggles. As much as anything else, Argentina’s absence from the World Cup would have constituted an immense personal failure for Diego.
Argentina achieved a basic goal, like passing a grade but just barely. Not a great accomplishment for a supposedly stellar student and the players are certainly aware of this. If Messi is the world’s greatest player, it would have been impossible to know watching last night’s match. His first action came in the 15th minute and for large segments he was anonymous. Juan Sebastian’s Veron’s reaction after the match summed everything up:
“There’s nothing to celebrate. From (Argentina Futbol Association President) Grondona on down, it’s all bad. “There’s no reason to sweep things under the carpet. We’ve got to huddle and do a lot of talking.???
In a tight encounter amidst maximum tension, Uruguay played with tremendous heart, gave everything, but in the end was unable to achieve its goal and will now have to get past Costa Rica to achieve participation in the World Cup. The fate of the match was determined in the first five minutes, when Uruguay did not capitalize on two golden opportunities that would have provided a dream start and put all of the pressure on the Argentines. As it would turn out, the chances would not return for the rest of the match. Forlan must be playing and replaying in his mind the lead pass that would have put Luis Suarez alone, alone, alone with no one but the goal-keeper to beat. It was the last blunder Argentina would make and the last space Uruguay would be able to find for the rest of the match.
“We can´t talk about who deserved what. Argentina scored a goal and that was it. Our game plan didn´t work out. The strategy was to surprise them down the flanks. We couldn´t do this. They never lost patience and they took advantage of the technical ability of their players. We both played poorly.” Those were the words of Washington Tabarez, Uruguay’s coach after the match.
The match could have turned either way. No side dominated and Argentina’s goal came with a bit of chance. But coupled with Ecuador’s loss in Chile, Uruguay maintains a lifeline and should get to South Africa. Uruguay’s fighting spirit was encapsulated by Martin Caceres, the bravest player on the pitch before he was justifiably sent off for a second yellow just before Argentina scored. Caceres’ devastating moment did not detract from his effort, as he established himself as a mega commodity. He is currently loaned out by Barcelona to Juventus.
Diego’s remarks after last night’s match, with no further comment:
“Thanks to my players, today I was consecrated as a coach. We are in the World Cup with full honors.???
“For those who didn’t believe in this national team, for those who treated me like garbage (I say) today we are in the World Cup with all the honours, beating a team like Uruguay.???
“I want to thank the whole squad for having given me the privilege of taking Argentina to the World Cup and the people… who crossed the pond.???
“They can suck it and carry on sucking it. This is for all Argentines, minus the journalists.???
“I also want to dedicate this to the whole of Argentina, to my family too, but there is one group who do not deserve this because they have treated me like rubbish.
“We were careful in this game because there were two results needed, but we won against a great team and achieved our objective.”
“Various players earned a mountain of money because they gave everything for the shirt. Thanks to their endeavors, we have qualified on merit.”
“I don’t usually read the newspapers or listen to sports programmes, but my daughters do and they told me what had been said about me. So, I repeat, to all those that said anything against me, keep eating your words.???
“I am very proud of my players. They made me feel like a real coach because all of what we had planned in dressing room, they did it on the pitch.”
