Messi unable to carry team on his shoulders


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Kazan: In the end, Lionel Messi may not have been the man Jorge Sampaoli thought he was and the fault lies squarely with the Argentinian coach.


It was the truth his country perhaps knew deep down but never wanted to admit. Afforded the luxury of arguably the greatest player ever, they had long since abandoned structure and become solely reliant on their number 10.


No more chances: Lionel Messi, left, Ever Banega, center and Gabriel Mercado stand dejected after being eliminated from the World Cup.

No more chances: Lionel Messi, left, Ever Banega, center and Gabriel Mercado stand dejected after being eliminated from the World Cup.


Photo: Ricardo Mazalan

In what will surely be his last World Cup match, Messi, alone, was made to carry his team in their 4-3 round of 16 defeat France as Argentina’s legion of attacking stars were relegated to the bench.


It finally explained the absence of Muaro Icardi from their entire squad as the Serie A’s top scorer was left at home. It made the sight of Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Sergio Aguero languishing on the bench hard to stomach.


This bitter truth was all the less palatable when served by a coach bereft of ideas. In his fourth game at the World Cup, Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli deployed a fourth different game plan. In his final attempt, he denied the team of any tactics whatsoever, starting without Higuain, Dybala and Aguero and simply looking to an old saviour.


Article source: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/science-a-strange-omission-from-ramsay-centre-s-study-of-the-west-20180625-p4znix.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

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