With Lionel Messi's recent four-match suspension for swearing at a match official, Argentina's prospects of qualifying for World Cup 2018 have suffered a huge blow. The defeat at the hands of Bolivia in the aftermath showed how much Argentina missed their talisman.
For the first 13 matches including the match against Chile, Argentina's record with/without Messi read as follows:
With Messi:
Played – 6
Won – 5
Drawn – 0
Lost – 1
Without Messi:
Played – 7
Won – 1
Drawn – 2
Lost – 4
With four qualification matches left, 5th-placed Argentina trail 4th-placed Chile by a point, and enjoy only a two-point lead over Ecuador in 6th. The top four directly qualify for the World Cup, while the 5th team has to qualify via a play-off; therefore Argentina needs to chase Chile while also looking over their shoulders at Ecuador.
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Just three years ago, however, it was all different. While Argentina's run to the 2014 WC final did not comprise of a series of impeccable performances, no one could have predicted in the aftermath that this team would struggle to even qualify for the next edition of the tournament. Having finished as runner-up in Copa America as well, Argentina's struggles seemed to revolve around finishing the job off than being eligible for it in the first place.
Also Read: Why Lionel Messi's four-match ban is a disgrace
Therefore, assuming Argentina overcome their current struggles, we examine the 5 things Argentina need to do to win a World Cup. With their last World Cup triumph having been under Maradona in 1986, fans of La Albiceleste have waited long enough for success – and here's how it can return to them:
#1 Give importance to performances not names
In World Cup 2014, Brazil suffered a disastrous exit at the hands of Germany that will go down in footballing history. Two years later, Brazil failed to get past the group stages of the Centenary Copa America, and manager Dunga was sacked as a result. Now, however, Brazil has taken the CONMEBOL by storm, and lead the table by nine points, having scored 35 goals in 14 games.
So what has changed? For the 2014 WC, the incumbent coach Luiz Felipe Scolari left out Philippe Coutinho from the squad, even on the back of his virtuoso displays that nearly gifted Liverpool the Premier League title.
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For Scolari, familiarity and reliability seemed to matter more – players like Jo, Fred and Bernard were selected over the diminutive Liverpool midfielder. Now, Tite has shifted the emphasis purely on performances on the pitch – meaning Paulinho, plying his trade in the relatively lacklustre Chinese League, still gets his fair opportunity.
Argentina can take a leaf out of Brazil's book – and try giving chances to players like Mauro Icardi and Paulo Dybala. Their youthful thrust is perhaps exactly the spark this team is lacking – 15 goals in 14 group stage matches is simply an unacceptable return.
#2 Get Higuain and Aguero firing
On the 26th of July 2016, Juventus ended a month of transfer speculation by finally acquiring Higuain from Napoli for €90 million. With a return of 19 goals in league matches till date, one wouldn't say the transfer fee was too exorbitant either – especially if his presence (or absence in Napoli thereof) ultimately ends up being the decisive factor in the Serie A title race.
Watch Higuain's performances in sky blue for Argentina, however, and all of a sudden you can think of several far more productive ways to spend 90 million.
Sergio Aguero's story is somewhat similar as well – boasting the best minutes per goal ratio in the history of the Premier League, his performances for the national team have been underwhelming. Compounded by persistent injury issues, Aguero has failed to deliver on his early promise as a youngster for the national side.
While Higuain thrived for Napoli as a lone striker, his recent forays with Juventus have bettered his tactical understanding of a two striker system. Aguero is also used to having the likes of Dzeko, Negredo and Tevez as his strike partners over the years.
Therefore, it makes sense for Argentina to try out a 3-5-2 formation, with Mascherano anchoring the midfield and Messi and Di Maria providing the creative base for the strike force. If that can get Aguero and Higuain firing, it could be the single biggest step towards success for Argentina.
#3 Repair relationship with media
Every country seems to think they possess the most frenzied, most demanding, most capricious team of journalists – leading to headlines like, "Can Manager X cope up with the tricky English press?", "Can the incoming Real Madrid manager smoothen the cracks over the relationship with media?" and so on and so forth. However, many of those problems pale in comparison with Argentina football team’s relationship with the media.
A supportive approach from a nation's media can go a long way towards bridging the gap between the players and supporters, uniting the country as one to root for in times of success and distress. The friction between the Argentinian media and players, therefore, is not helping their cause.
Back in November, Lionel Messi led his 25 team mates into the Estadio San Juan press room and announced they would be boycotting the country's media – a decision they continue to adhere to.
It is time for this madness to end. Argentinian players, now more than ever, need the fans by their side – and restoration of media faith is a crucial step towards achieving that.
#4 Sort out managerial uncertainty and speculation
On the back of the 2-0 defeat against Bolivia, a number of news outlets speculated that coach Edgardo Bauza could be sacked. A week later, it does not seem like any knee-jerk decisions will be taken; yet it is clear that Bauza's job is far from secure.
Again, this isn't helping their cause – either the Argentina FA needs to unequivocally back their manager or hire a new manager and place their faith in him. Names like Mauricio Pochettino and Jorge Sampaoli are being mentioned.
While they are ambitious targets, if a deal could somehow be pulled off, it would be a welcome relief for the entire country – leaving the players to focus solely on the task at hand.
#5 Relieve the pressure off Messi
When Messi was awarded the 2014 World Cup Golden Ball, the decision raised a lot of eyebrows. “What about Robben, what about James?”, was the general indignant reaction that greeted the news. Irrespective of the broader question of who truly deserved it, Messi was once again cast in the villain role. There it was, a whole tournament worth of brilliance and playmaking reduced to an afterthought in the wake of the controversy.
Such is the genius of Lionel Messi, that the kind of display normal players would be celebrated for is considered an underwhelming one when Messi produces it. Make no mistake, Messi is Argentina’s best hope to replicate their success of the past.
Also Read: Diego Maradona defends Lionel Messi over lack of international success
Building a team around Messi is a straightforward decision, but restraining the temptation to blame him for everything that goes wrong isn’t.
Take all the unwanted pressure off Messi, perhaps even hand over the armband to Mascherano; then Messi might finally be freed up to do what he does best – delight us with the sheer joy he brings to the game of football.
For every minute Messi enjoys himself on the field, Argentina would be a step closer to success – and he, a step closer to firmly establishing himself as the best of all time.
