08/26/2021 18:19
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 08/26/2021 6:19 PM
A few days ago, when the announcement of the squad list of the Argentine National Team was delayed for a special FIFA date with three matches, the magnifying glass and concern were placed on the various injured who could be left out, among them Mauro Icardi, Sergio Agüero, Lucas Alario, discarded, and Lautaro Martínez, who got on the payroll with just enough.
But at the moment in which the surnames of the 30 mentioned were known, nobody imagined that the problem would be much greater.
A week after the first game, everything is unknown.
What will happen if the European leagues remain firm in their position of not giving in to the footballers?
What position will FIFA take, beyond the warning that has yet to bear fruit?
Will there be room to suspend the matches?
Or will we have to activate a plan B and make a new list?
Lionel Scaloni must already be displaying an unprecedented Great DT in his head.
Forced by the situation that marks the pandemic, the geolocation must point to nearby latitudes.
Along the same lines is Tite
, who, according to Brazilian media, has already designed, indoors, a list of local championship players to be ready if the emergency warrants it.
# SelecciónMayor List of summoned 📝 by @lioscaloni for the next three matches of @Argentina 🇦🇷 in the # EliminatoriasQatar2022.
pic.twitter.com/XXoyrW5KlV
- Argentina National Team 🇦🇷 (@Argentina) August 23, 2021
So far, the Premier League, which took the initial step, LaLiga of Spain, Serie A of Italy and in the last hour the Primeira Liga of Portugal was added,
they refuse to allow their players to travel to South America
to play with their national teams. because they consider that the region continues to go through a critical stage in relation to coronavirus infections. If more European football organizations are not added,
Argentina should discard 22 of the players that Scaloni put on the original list
for the games against Venezuela and Brazil, visitors and Bolivia at the Monumental.
The 9 who play in Spain:
Gerónimo Rulli and Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Gonzalo Montiel, Alejandro Gómez and Marcos Acuña (Seville), Germán Pezzella and Guido Rodríguez (Betis), Rodrigo De Paul and Angel Correa (Atlético de Madrid).
The 8 who play in Calcio:
Juan Musso (Atalanta), Nahuel Molina (Udinese), Lucas Martínez Quarta and Nicolás González (Fiorentina), Nicolás Domínguez (Bologna), Lautaro Martínez (Inter), Paulo Dybala (Juventus) and Joaquín Correa (Lazio).
The 4 of the Premier:
Emiliano Martínez and Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa), Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur).
And Nicolás Otamendi
(Benfica) the only one of those summoned who is in Portugal.
Only 6 -for now- of those who play abroad could stay:
Lionel Messi
, Leandro Paredes and Ángel Di María, from Paris Saint Germain, from France;
Lisandro Martínez and Nicolás Tagliafico (Ajax, The Netherlands);
and Exequiel Palacios (Bayern Leverkusen, Germany).
But if the rudeness continues adding links and includes all the main leagues of the
Old Continent
, there the cut in the search must inevitably be limited to nearby lands: Argentine soccer, South American leagues, Mexico and the MLS would contribute their pieces for the new payroll.
So, Scaloni, to play the Great DT.
Rojo and Izquierdoz, the leaders of Boca.
There are two first immovable in that hypothetical scenario:
Franco Armani and Julián Álvarez
, who have already been summoned. River could offer other pieces:
Milton Casco and Matías Suárez
were already called up once by Scaloni,
Enzo Pérez
could have his first chance and
Braian Romero
is a good option in attack. Another of those who sounded but will not be available due to injury is Fabrizio Angileri.
Marcos Rojo
was already called twice in the cycle, he played 135 minutes between the friendlies against Mexico and Germany in 2019, and now that he has consolidated behind Boca, he should be a fixture in this game on the local payroll. His partner in the background,
Carlos Izquierdoz
also asks for a clue.
Cristian Pavón
was another of those who played in two friendlies in this cycle, against Guatemala and Colombia in September 2018.
And what could the rest of the teams contribute?
From Independiente
Fabricio Bustos
could appear
as an option on the right side, Vélez has a great youth on the other side,
Francisco Ortega
, who like his teammate
Thiago Almada
comes to wear the Argentine shirt at the Olympic Games.
The same as
Tomás Belmonte
, an area-to-area player who stands out in Lanús and Pedro de la Vega.
Indelible memory: the Pulga Rodríguez was summoned by Diego Maradona in 2009. Photo: REUTERS
In Banfield,
Giuliano Galoppo
stands
out
, another
"box to box"
that will surely last a short time in Argentina and could enter the orbit of the selected team.
Facundo Farías
, the jewel of Colón,
enters this category
.
The Argentine soccer champion also offers dynamic midfielders like
Rodrigo Aliendro and Cristian Bernardi
and a multi-functional defender like
Rafael Delgado
.
Adonis Frías
is a mainstay of Defense and Justice who reached glory.
Fausto Vera
is the young referent of the Argentinos Juniors midfield;
In Workshops,
Nahuel Tenaglia or Enzo Díaz
and Estudiantes recovered his promise
Darío Sarmiento
.
And the list could continue adding applicants in each club: why not
Pepe Sand
, a stainless scorer of those who can not find a replacement?
An award for
Pulga Rodríguez
, owner of a distinctive quality?
Select by America
In action for Atlanta United, former Independiente Ezequiel Barco.
Photo: AP Photo / Brynn Anderson
Beyond all the contributions that may come from local football, there are outstanding footballers who play in other leagues on the continent who are usually overshadowed by the abundant hierarchy that comes from Europe.
Well to the north,
there are 42 compatriots playing in the MLS in the
United States, including none other than
Gonzalo Higuaín
, a man with an extensive blue and white career but who put an end to that cycle.
And there are options of all kinds: the experience of
Diego Valeri
(the best player in the history of his club, Portland Timbers),
Sebastián Blanco
, the former Lanús who plays for the same club;
the class of
Bebelo Reynoso
(Minnesota United), the goals of
Gustavo Bou
, of New England Revolution,
Maximiliano Moralez
, of New York City,
Lucas Zelarayán
(Columbus Crew),
Ezequiel Barco, Alan Franco and Santiago Sosa
(Atlanta United).
Another league that could award national talents is the Brazilian, which is increasingly coveted.
It was evident in Atlético Mineiro's matches against Boca and River in the Libertadores: Cuca's team has two Argentines who shine in its constellation of figures:
Matías Zaracho and Nacho Fernández
.
Matías Zaracho, of a high level in Atlético Mineiro, the same team in which Nacho Fernández stands out.
Photo: REUTERS / Manaure Quintero
Víctor Cuesta
has 16 games this season with Inter de Porto Alegre, which has just added
Gabriel Mercado
and already had
Renzo Saravia
, while
Walter Kannemann
maintains his defensive leadership in Gremio.
Emiliano Rigoni
was consolidated in Hernán Crespo's San Pablo: he arrived in June, already played 13 games and scored two goals.
Scaloni's compass
In the three years that he has been coach of the National Team,
Lionel Scaloni summoned 78 players, of whom 70 had action
.
Leandro Paredes, with 28 games as a starter, three entries from the bench and 2,274 minutes played, is the one with the greatest presence in the cycle.
He is followed by Lautaro Martínez, with 23 matches from the start.
Rodrigo De Paul and Nicolás Tagliafico were in Scaloni's starting eleven in 22 games and Lionel Messi in 21.
At the other extreme, those who played the least were Gastón Giménez and Adolfo Gaich, who entered in the last two minutes of the friendly against Mexico, in Córdoba at the end of 2018, and Iván Marcone, who entered a minute in the friendly against Morocco in March 2019 in Tangier.
The 8 who were summoned and could not take the field: Guido Herrera, Jeremías Ledesma (goalkeepers), Emanuel Mammana, Leonel Di Plácido, Nicolás Figal, Nehuén Pérez, José Luis Palomino (defenders) and Emiliano Buendía (forward).
Adjusted schedule
If the position of the European leagues is maintained and they do not give their South American footballers
the possibility of suspending the qualifying dates it is almost impossible
.
Due to the shifts that the contest already suffered as a result of the pandemic, there would no longer be available dates.
What's more, this urgency led to the need to build a window with three games instead of two as usual.
According to reports from Europe,
the extra game generated discomfort
and was a key point in deciding to stand.
So far, six qualifying dates have been played for Qatar 2022.
Brazil is the leader with perfect scores and Argentina follows with 12 points
.
The calendar is scheduled to be completed from September to March and the last game is scheduled for the 29th of that month, the date on which Argentina will visit Ecuador.
If the qualifying calendar is adjusted to the maximum, the same equation works for the Argentine tournament, which includes five weekdays and will not be stopped by the national team tournament.
At least for now.
It is that if there were to be a massive summons of players from the domestic league, immediately the anger of the leaders will come who will demand to put a pause in exchange for yielding to their figures.
We will have to wait.
Look also
Selection: the Portuguese League joins the blockade and Nicolás Otamendi would be left out
The Spanish La Liga clubs agree not to cede their players to the South American teams
Playoffs: the conflict between the European leagues and FIFA would leave only 9 footballers to Scaloni