The 5 remaining spots to complete the WC Qualifying squad are now official.
Basile selected the following players who will report tomorrow morning to the national team training grounds in Ezeiza.
GK - Juan Pablo Carrizo
M - Juan Roman Riquelme
M - Juan Sebastian Veron
M - Sebastian Battaglia
F - Rodrigo Palacio
The only surprise on the list, to me, is Battaglia. The current squad has Mascherano, Gago and Banega to cover the central midfield spot. I don't see the need for another player in that position but Battaglia has been playing well, in the domestic league and especially in the Copa Libertadores.
There were some rumors circulating that Martin Palermo would receive a callup but Basile chose to go with Palacio instead.
Juan Sebastian Veron has returned once again to the national team.
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2 comments:
Welcome Back ! I am disappointed that Basile chose to include Veron and another GK...a waste of space on the roster.
Is it me or did the bunch look uninspired without Messi vs the Americans the other night ? Sweltering heat aside, there seemed to be a massive void in the middle - Gago is not a realistic solution. The Olympics is a needed tuneup for the Messi - El Kun combination.
I am also disappointed in the Veron callup.
I don't think that there is a need for him on the team and besides that, there is currently no place for him on the team.
Riquelme is Basile's only preference in the playmaker role and he is not willing to replace Riquelme with any other player in that spot. As long as he is not injured Riquelme will be in the starting eleven for all the important games.
And as we saw in the recent USA tour, without Riquelme in the lineup Basile chose to go with a 3-4-3 setup, which obviously meant not having a playmaker in the lineup. Without Riquelme in the lineup Basile prefers to change the setup rather than select another player in the playmaker role.
I think that in the previous Copa America, Veron did not play well and the partnership with Riquelme just did not work.
The only other scenario that I can think of, is Veron playing in the central midfield spot but that is not his natural position and he did struggle playing in that spot in the Copa America. Besides, with Mascherano & Gago, there is no need to have Veron in the lineup.
In the game against USA, I think the team was not as aggressive as in the first half and just consciously slowed down. The weather conditions were definitely a factor.
There's no need for another GK, like you said it is a waste of space on the roster. Basile will most likely remove one of the GK's from the squad and it'll probably be Romero.
I actually like the Masche/Gago partnership in the central midfield spot. I thought they played well together, were in tune with each other and they both gave a strong balance to the midfield.
I really hope Basile continues to use them in that role.
Thanks for checking in and for your comments.
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