Lambs to the slaughter

http://origin.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_6248851

San Jose Mercury News columnist Ann Killion wrote a good article about USA heading out to face Argentina with a subpar team in a not so friendly environment. She said it would be a moral victory is they avoid getting routed. Was the 4-1 a rout a disaster?

Watching the game, the USA squad impressed in the first half.
No, they didn’t play well, but they held the favorites to a draw for a long time. They collapsed late, when the subs starting rolling in but couldn’t halt the fatigue of the constant travel and winning the CONCACAF tourny.

Not the morale victory by any accounts, but now a long of these young players can say they will never face a tougher opponent in a tougher environment that what they went through this month. Well… assumming you won’t see the US vs Brazil in a World Cup game in Iran that is.

Argentina 4 - 1 USA

The Gold Cup champions vs the best team in the tournament. All the Che’s were smiling when Mexico surprised Brazil the day before, but they got pretty quiet when Milito went rough over Eddie Johnson in the area.PENALTY!!! For the US!

Now you have Abbondanzieri to beat, one of the best penalty kick stoppers. And you have Veron talking shit in your ear. So what does Eddie do? SCORE!!! 0-1. Shocker.

But it wouldn’t last long. Argentina pressed forward and quickly answered with Crespo and his new haircut scoring the equalizer. Then came some really boring play. With an amazingly talented Argentina not being able to put together any type of play and a lackluster and inexperienced US team killing the tempo of the game.

Halftime. 1-1.

Basile was probably not very happy and he wanted to shake things up a bit. In comes Pablo Aimar. Out goes any hopes for the USA. Aimar dominated and orchestrated Argentina into a world class team. Crespo, GOL!!!! Aimar, GOOOOOOL!!!! El Apache Tevez, GOOOOOOLLL!!! Arg 1 - 1 USA turned into Arg(Aimar) 4 - 1 USA.

Aimar won his starting spot in the team with a magnificent performance. Cambiasso left, Aimar entered and the Argentina we all expected came to life. Messi was excellent. Lightning fast with the dribble, incredible stop-n-go and change of pace. Tevez did whatever he pleased and Crespo’s lack of hair gave him some extra strength on his shots. Keller had no chance against that firepower. Now Colombia, after getting 5 from the Guarani’s must be losing sleep.

The Star

Pablito Aimar. M, Argentina.
Game changer. Brought the high pace and tempo we are used from Argentina. Got on the scoresheets as well.

The Ugly Duckling

Gabriel Milito. D, Argentina.
Bad performance by Gabi, causing a penalty, fouling anybody and everybody around him. Getting the game’s only booking. Luckily his teammates covered up his performance with 4 goals, so the fans in Buenos Aires won’t notice.

Group C

The Group of Death!

Group A is obviously an easy group, and of course Venezuela is in it.

Group B is a tough group with Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador, three teams from Germany 2006. Add a surprising Chile to that mix now.

Group C though is El Group de la Muerte, The Group of Death.

Lets start with Argentina. Unlike the Copa America in Colombia, where they were too cowards to attend, they come to Venezuela with all their star power. Basile is leaving nothing to chance. They are rightfully so the favorites to win, with - in my opinion - the best goalkeeper in the world in el Pato, a world class defense, an incredible midfield and lethal strikers. An amazing team!

Then you have Paraguay, a team who is rebuilding after many years being led by their outspoken goalie Chilavert and an experienced and veteran defense. Everybody expects Paraguay to sit back, put 9 men in the box and then rely on a counterattack. But with a lot of talent in midfield and the incredible Roque Santa Cruz on attack, this is a well rounded team that can challenge anybody.

USA the recent Gold Cup champs comes to Venezuela as an invitee, and as a disappointment to all US fans they don’t bring their top talent, but still bring a promising squad. Not likely to win the cup by any means but they are capable of causing damage.

Colombia rounds off the group, and although they took a beating, they have never been a bottom feeder team. But yes, to the dismay of their fans, the cafeteros havent seen the elite of football in a while.

Four tough teams, all coming into this Copa America with recent wins and momentum. Can Argentina roll through it? I expect them to, but you never know…