Goodness gracious me, Argentina just lost 6-1 away to Bolivia in La Paz, in a World Cup qualifying match. The result equals the worst defeat in Team Argentina's history - they also lost by the exact same scoreline more than 50 years ago. A completely unbelievable scoreline; it's a tennis score! The phrase "hit for 6" quickly comes to mind. Head coach Diego Maradona said every Bolivian goal was like a dagger to his heart.
As a consequence of the debacle, Team Argentina must surely be the April fool of 2009, hands down. The honeymoon period is well & truly over for coach Diego Maradona. Heck, I'm now not so sure if he should remain in his post after this grand humiliation. Why was he appointed head coach in the first place? I simply don't understand. To be fair, we should acknowledge that Bolivia played a superb game & took full advantage of its chances. But as good as Bolivia were, Argentina were very very poor - well, they didn't show up. It is said that the high altitude of La Paz was a significant factor in the huge scoreline. True it may be, it still doesn't wash, as no Argentinian team should ever lose like that to anyone. And also, Argentina did beat Bolivia 2-1 in La Paz 4 years ago, with a weaker team on paper than the current team. That win 4 years ago was achieved with proper planning by the then-coach who ensured that his players were acclimatised before the match. Maradona, on the other hand, made no such careful planning this time round. He brought his squad to La Paz just 2 hours before the match. That is outrageously amateurish. How can you just turn up to high altitude, without any preparation, a couple hours before a match & expect to win??
Never mind lack of preparation. Maradona's tactical nous & squad selection is questionable. I'm not sure if he knows very much about tactics. He doesn't seem to have a clue how to organise his players, & I'm not sure if he knows what sort of players to select & what players to never call up again. He still picks certain players who are clearly out of their depth & use them in the starting line-up. On the other hand, there are others who Maradona left out, whose form at club level deserve selection in the national squad.
Not that Maradona should take all the blame. The players were also guilty; they were a collective failure. Even if some of the Argentinian players should never have been selected, they should still have been good enough to give a decent showing & get a decent result. Even though poorly prepared, the players should have at least show more intelligence in their play in La Paz, bearing in mind how dangerous Bolivia can be on their home ground. None whatsoever. Bolivia were allowed to pretty much do as they please. So all of the above pretty much paints a bad picture of the team; a sad state of affairs. Thanks to the La Paz humiliation, Argentina's football team are the sick men of Latin American football. A cure is needed - very badly & very urgently. Can someone please step forward with the medicine?
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