Analysis by Peter Coates
Gerardo Martino named his preliminary Copa América squad this week and unsurprisingly there were few surprises among the list of thirty. With relatively little time since the World Cup and a real pressure on Argentina to end the 22-year trophy drought since lifting the Copa América in 1993, a conservative approach to this squad selection was always on the cards. If he does end the wait for international honours then the selection will be fully vindicated but there are some corners who feel that Martino could have been a little bolder in his selection.
Certainly one of the younger players unfortunate not to be included and the one omission that caused most surprise is Real Sociedad goalkeeper, Gerónimo Rulli. The 22-year-old has been outstanding since making his Estudiantes debut at the age of 20 and has comfortably carried that form to the much grander stage of the Spanish top flight.
Rulli was in the most recent squads for the friendlies in the United States and it seemed his excellent club form had earned him his backup spot. While the youngster is undoubtedly still viewed as a future number one and will be used in 2016, for the Olympics perhaps, would it not have been more useful in the long term to allow him to gain some valuable tournament experience and become integrated into the squad.
Sergio Romero remains Argentina’s first-choice and despite his difficult club situation, his heroics in Brazil have earned him the jersey. Nahuel Guzmán is a solid goalkeeper, who Martino knows well from Newell’s and fits the model of being good with his feet to play the ball out from the back.
However, it is difficult to argue for the third and fourth choices selected over Rulli. Agustín Marchesín is relatively young for a goalkeeper and has always been a safe pair of hands while at Lanús and now in México with Santos but the choice of 31-year-old Mariano Andújar is a little more perplexing. As a third choice in the final 23 it would seem more prudent to have someone who could learn from the experience and offer the national side something in the years to come: Rulli fits this description, not Andújar.
The one notable surprise inclusion came in an otherwise unsurprising defence where Martino went back to his old club, Newell’s Old Boys to call left back, Milton Casco. Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo is still expected to be first choice in the position but in the four most recent friendlies, Argentina have given opportunities to a couple of different options.
Valencia’s Lucas Orbán retained his place in the squad after the recent friendlies but Tata appears to be keeping his options open and will not need to see much of Casco in training to make up his mind. The 27-year-old has been one of the top full-backs in Argentina for a number of seasons now and usually provides an attacking outlet down that side. This is his first call-up to the national side and even though he will be one of the favourites to miss out on the final 23, his inclusion over some other European based players can be considered one of the few unexpected picks.
Elsewhere in defence it is largely as predicted, with the in-form Nicolás Otamendi likely to take a starting berth and Martín Demichelis providing experienced back-up. One criticism of the selection is the lack of pace at the centre and certainly the serious injury to Mateo Musacchio forced a rethink. The Villarreal defender looked likely to be named until his season was ended and it seems Swansea City’s Federico Fernández is the beneficiary. It is a second chance for Fernández, who looked out of his depth at the World Cup and can perhaps consider himself fortunate if he goes to another major tournament.
Messi might just make the cut
The rest of the squad is very familiar indeed. The lack of youngsters and in particular attackers, Paulo Dybala, Luciano Vietto and Mauro Icardi create some headlines but in truth their inclusion at this point would have been more of a surprise than their omission. Martino is very aware of them and their achievements in Europe and has earmarked them for the future but not the Copa.
In theory, Tottenham’s Erik Lamela can consider himself fortunate to be in front of the trio after a forgettable time at White Hart Lane but his place in the final 23 is far from certain and does not create the clamour that having one of those three mentioned in the 30-man squad would have done. Lamela takes over from Marcos Rojo as the youngest member of the squad which perhaps highlights the lack of youth in the group but again Martino has mentioned his long and short-term plans and any younger players will be given their chance.
One player who could perhaps be having his last chance for Argentina is Carlos Tevez. His inclusion is no longer the point of discussion it was when Sabella left him out of the World Cup squad or when Martino first drafted him back in but it is time for Tevez to prove his worth internationally. The 31-year-old has almost always proved himself to be an elite level forward when playing for his club sides and his extensive collections of winners medals from every country he has played in is evidence of that.
However, he has rarely, if ever, reproduced this for Argentina. A strike-rate far worse than that of Agüero or Higuaín and supposed attitude problems in the past have counted against him. With that behind him, a remotivated Tevez in the squad should be a huge asset and a positive performance in Chile would cement his place as El jugador del pueblo.
Supplementing the squad, Martino named three more domestic players in addition to Casco: Fernando Gago, Maxi Rodríguez and recent debutant, Federico Mancuello. Out of the three it would probably be Gago, the most likely to remain in the final squad. Martino is a fan and the Boca Juniors midfielder has somewhat rediscovered his form in 2015. The 29-year-old remains injury prone and performs a necessary but limited role in the centre but is still a fine passer of the ball and crucially has always maintained an excellent relation with Lionel Messi. His role as the number five who quickly transitions the ball out from defence and into Messi was central to Sabella’s success in World Cup qualification.
The thirty then brought few surprises and even those most harsh critics would still have to admit that it is a very strong selection. Once it is trimmed to the 23 that will fly to Chile, it is in fact stronger than Sabella’s World Cup squad and if Martino can get them to perform then finally recapturing the Copa América is a very realistic goal.
Argentina 30-player preliminary squad
* denotes who I predict will be cut
Goalkeepers
Sergio Romero
Nahuel Guzmán
Mariano Andujar *
Agustín Marchesín
Defenders
Pablo Zabaleta
Ezequiel Garay
Martín Demichelis
Marcos Rojo
Nicolás Otamendi
Facundo Roncaglia
Fede Fernández *
Lucas Orban
Milton Casco *
Midfielders
Lucas Biglia
Javier Mascherano
Javier Pastore
Ever Banega
Fernando Gago
Roberto Pereyra
Federico Mancuello *
Enzo Pérez
Forwards
Lionel Messi
Gonzalo Higuaín
Sergio Agüero
Carlos Tevez
Angel Di María
Ezequiel Lavezzi
Nico Gaitan *
Erik Lamela *
Maxi Rodríguez *
