ESPAÑA-ARGENTINA: International Friendly
Looks like today’s friendly between Diego Maradona’s albiceleste and La Furia Roja will be taking place at the Vicente Calderon in Madrid today. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has Iker Casillas in goal as expected. In defense, he placed Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos on the right, the Barca duo Carles Puyol, and Gerard Piqué in the middle, and Villareal’s Joan Capdevila rounding it out. Xabi Alonso will play the holding role just in front, and as expected, Xavi and Iniesta will partner to duplicate their roles for club and country. David Silva will likely play on the left of them, but rather than bring in Alvaro Negredo to partner David Villa up top, del Bosque has countered with another midfielder in Arsenal’s captain Cesc Fabregas. I won’t make the mistake of calling it a more defensive line-up with 5 midfielder’s because really it’s not. Look at what they’re facing.
AZ Alkmaar’s keeper Sergio Romero starts for Argentina. Out of form Newcastle Utd. defender Fabricio Coloccini will play along with Bayern Munich’s Martin De Michelis (he may be in Louis van Gaal’s doghouse but not in Don Diego’s apparently). Evergreen Gabriel Heinze of Marseille will start on one side of them, and as usual, Diego has given an international debut to an uncapped Argentine by picking Rubin Kazan’s fullback Cristian Ansaldi to partner the ex-Real Madrid castoff as favorite son Jonas Gutierrez of Newcastle is hurt. Four in the middle as expected with Javier Mascherano of Liverpool and Fernando Gago starting for his country when he can’t regularly for Real Madrid. Benfica’s Angel Di María is a diamond in the rough and Atleti’s Maxi Rodriguez is the polished real-deal. Lionel Messi partners Pipita Higuaín at the point of attack.
Diego Maradona’s squad is small, they play a controlled and varied possession game that El Pibe de Oro prefers, and Spain’ll need that extra midfielder to control them and hit them on the counter. Argentina’s defense is for the most part slow to react and lacks the pace to stay with Spain’s attackers who like the ball with space in front of them. De Michelis is struggling to find a place in Louis Van Gaal’s side and Coloccini plays in the English second division. I think Villa and Silva will both thrive in this match and on the opposite side, Messi and Higuain have yet to click as a partnership.
My prediction? An easy Spain victory 3-1 at home.
