The
Argentine Under 23 Team
and
Javier Mascherano
are angry.
What seemed like a clear victory against
Venezuela
on the first date of the final quadrangle of the
Pre-Olympic
and half a ticket to
Paris 2024
, ended in a bitter draw, which left the team compromised, now forced to go against
Paraguay
and
Brazil
with a decimated formation.
The penalty by
VAR
sanctioned in the last minute of added time, the result of a very questionable infraction, was the controversy that filled the patience of the national delegation, which had already been silently tolerating some of the many absurdities of the organization of the tournament, charge of
Conmebol
.
The first, the pathetic state of the playing field that Argentina had to deal with in the first phase, in the city of Valencia.
Something that ended up costing
Bielsa's Uruguay
more expensive , the other team that was betting on playing "from below" and at a different pace.
The other zone, which classified Venezuela and Brazil, was played in Caracas, the venue where the final home run is taking place, with a grass more in line with what players who are valued
at tens of millions of dollars
deserve .
The other issue, of course,
was the refereeing issue
, with strange appointments (some announced at the last minute, like against Venezuela) and with the use of the VAR only in the final home run, causing the four matches of the previous phase to have had errors between incomprehensible and unusual, and almost always against the Argentine National Team.
❌🟥CONTROVERSIAL CRIMINAL AND RED FOR LUJÁN!
On the first day of the VAR, the referee was called to review this alleged foul by the Argentine full-back.
Follow it LIVE on the @TyCSports screen and https://t.co/6eSENGb6G0 here 👉 https://t.co/VLKMiuzvG1 pic.twitter.com/cF21xrlgMe
— TyC Sports Play (@TyCSportsPlay) February 6, 2024
"It just so happens that of the five games, in four the decisions did not favor us," said Masche after the 2-2 in one of the phrases that paint the mood of the National Team.
What did the Little Chief refer to with such precision?
The debut against Paraguay was the night of Nicolás Valentini's stupid penalty and Luciano Gondou's agonizing equalizer, well enabled even though the angle seemed to have him in an advanced position.
In addition to the goals, that night there was a rough and strong-legged match that favored the Albirroja kids, who went all out.
From all that flurry of kicks, pushes and untimely arrivals, the DT was marked by a hit that Pablo Solari received, River's star who since receiving that hit became one more, perhaps affected by the ailment.
For the referee it wasn't even a foul.
This was Viera's hard entrance to Solari.
🇦🇷🇵🇾 Argentina and Paraguay, 0-0 for CONMEBOL #PreolímpicoEnDSPORTS.
pic.twitter.com/OpuPYErJdZ
— DSports (@DSports) January 21, 2024
Then came Peru, a match that was resolved in the second half with a clear 2-0 for the Argentine boys but that in the first stage had a couple of situations of those that are not even seen in the YouTube videos that show curiosities of the game. Regional Football.
Argentina was not given a penalty that was equally childish but much harsher than the one they had given to Paraguay a few days before.
And if not, it is worth remembering the kick on
Joaquín García
, a penalty for everyone except the referee and his assistant, located a few meters from the play.
🗣️ "THE OTHER PARTY CHARGED THE PENALTY FROM ME AND I DIDN'T EVEN TOUCH IT, AND THIS ONE DID NOT CHARGE IT... GIVE IT"
Valentini's claim, in the ET against Peru, for the penalty against García that they did not charge Argentina for.
pic.twitter.com/Svh2pLwbHK
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) January 25, 2024
But the most ridiculous thing about that night was the goal that that same assistant disallowed for Argentina, when
Santiago Castro
, another player from the Fortín, pushed a ball dropped by Solari into the net.
In the replay you can clearly see that the former Colo-Colo attacker was a couple of meters away from a Peruvian who had become hooked at the bottom.
Amateur level nonsense.
WHAT DID YOU CHARGE?
SCANDALOUS GOAL CANCELLED TO ARGENTINA!
😡
Santi Castro made it 1 to 0 for the National Team but the referee, at the request of the lineman, invalidated the action due to a NON-EXISTENT offside.
Still 0 to 0. #PreolimpicoEnTyCSports pic.twitter.com/nmFRZbaw2I
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) January 24, 2024
Then
Chile
arrived and the 5-0 made it obvious any shortcomings that the referees of that match may have shown, and lastly it was
Uruguay
, a team that also had its "interferences" with the men in black (Bielsa received two yellow cards for protesting and did not was able to lead in the third match).
From that chaotic and almost honorable game that ended 3-3 and closed the qualifying phase (Argentina was classified and Uruguay was eliminated) what is impossible to forget is
the penalty that they did not give to Argentina
when there were just a few minutes left for the game. final.
Panchito González
went to look for a center back and the kid Mateo Ponte appeared to bring him down when he was about to hit the winning right hand.
Penalty!
What did the referee charge?
Gondou's hand, which failed to push her and bounced off her arm.
Must be seen to be believed.
WAS IT NOT CRIMINAL?
🤯
❌ Panchito González anticipated Mateo Ponte who lowered him.
For Ospina it was nothing.
Opinions?
🤔
🎙️ @giraltpablo and @jpvarsky#PreolímpicoEnDSPORTS |
#CONMEBOLPreolympic pic.twitter.com/MDKKdKYbOv
— DSports (@DSports) February 3, 2024
This is how we reached Caracas and the final home run, now with VAR and Argentina more "comfortable" with the feeling that the whistles were finally going to have to be more judicious when it came to sanctions.
The Ecuadorian Aragón, almost always with a bad face, had no compunction to condemn with expulsion
Valentín Barco
's childish act of throwing the ball in the face of a rival and he showed the red card to both the former Boca and the poor Venezuelan who reacted the same way.
For the Argentine coaching staff, everything was resolved with a couple of warnings, always remembering that they are youth categories.
At the end came the 2-2 score that was already talked about and all the Albicelestes still regret.
We will have to turn the page: we will have revenge against
Paraguay
this Thursday from 5 p.m. and a few days later the classic against
Brazil
will arrive , on Sunday at 8 p.m., with the hope that this adverse Pre-Olympic will end in a happy ending.