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History Revisited

History Revisited


Lionel Messi news

Argentina scrape past the Netherlands to set up a Final tie with Germany; a rematch of the Mexico '86 and Italy '90 Finals. Facing the might of an all-conquering German team, Lionel Messi and Co. carry the weight of the entire South American continent on their shoulders in the home stadium of their spiritual nemesis, Brazil.



In the end, it was fitting that South America had a representative in the Final of the World Cup. Their presence in the Final means that for the first time in 12 years, the title will be decided between two great nations from separate sides of the Atlantic.

The last time these two countries met in the Final, it was 1990 in Rome. At the time, a late penalty by the then West German team crushed the Argentines who had tasted victory four years before in Mexico after a showstopping performance by Diego Maradona over the course of the tournament.

Both teams have evolved considerably since then, but have kept remnants of their old selves.

For most parts, many will argue that Argentina are still very much a one-man team (I for one am quite guilty of that), with Lionel Messi the focal point as captain and chief playmaker.

Whisper it, but some even conjecture that he is the one dictating tactics as well; insisting that he plays in a front three, or off a central striker - Gonzalo Higuain.

Be that as it may, you can't say that it hasn't bred results, as that approach has carried them this far; though only by the skin of their teeth.

Argentina endured a gruelling goalless encounter in the Semis last night against the Dutch who recognized the threat of Messi enough to revert to their 5-3-2 defensive shape for most of the match; only turning up the pressure late in the game to exploit the tired limbs of the Argentinians.

However, the Argentines were also grateful to Sergio Romero and Javier Mascherano; the latter of which produces several key blocks to deny Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben.

Romero would take most of the plaudits considering his penalty heroics; but really, we feared for the worst watching Ron Vlaar stepping up for penalty no. 1.

Ahead of the Final at the Maracana this weekend, Argentina would be looking to get Sergio Aguero back to full match fitness after his injury scare earlier in the tournament; and possibly Angel Di Maria who missed the semi-final with a thigh injury.

They will need all hands on deck to take on the mighty Germans in the Final who have been outstanding thus far.

Argentina would look to exploit the lack of pace in the German backline; which fielded four centre backs in the group stages. This contributed to a lack of width and pace on the wings, which prompted Phillip Lahm's switch to full back to alleviate that.

However, recent history is not on the Albiceleste side as Germany trashed Argentina 4-0 in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and beat them on penalties in Germany 2006.

The Argentine defence will have their work cut out to stem the German attack which has been the most potent in the World Cup so far.