- by Allison Norris, writing from Taylorsville, Utah
With names like DiMaria, Higuain, Tevez and Messi, it seems a bit bizarre that Argentina didn’t glide through the group stage. The competition against Uruguay put the Albicelestes to the test. Argentina came out strong in the opening minutes, taking a chance toward goal right away with a pass from Sergio Aguero to Gonzalo Higuain. Diego Perez of Uruguay set the tone for the night when he wound up with a yellow card in the fifth minute for a tackle on Javier Mascherano.
Just when the crowd thought Argentina would have control of the opening minutes, a foul from Gabriel Milito gave Diego Forlán a chance for one of his deadly free-kicks, made famous in the 2010 World Cup. A bad clearance from the Argentine keeper sent the ball straight to Perez whose strike on the ball gave the Uruguayan his first international goal. Argentina’s Zabaleta would have the second yellow of the evening in the eighth minute.
Lionel Messi, who always has received heavy amounts of criticism for his performances while wearing the uniform of Argentina, spent the first half patrolling midfield in order to make those precise passes for which he and his club team, FC Barcelona, are so well known. He often tried to find Aguero waiting up top and their connection came close to putting it away a couple times. In the eighteenth minute, Messi received the ball out on the right flank and slid past his defender in order to send a mighty left-footed pass over the Uruguay defense. It was likely he could not see Higuain waiting at the far post, but the ball went straight to the striker’s head and into the back of the net. The match was now level and would stay that way for the rest of the ninety minutes.
There were many good chances for both sides. In the thirtieth minute, Messi again sent a free-kick up top to Higuain who sent in another header—almost identical to his previous goal—though it was ruled offside. Four minutes later at the other end, Forlán’s free-kick went to the head of Andres Scotti but it bounced off the post. Jose Martin Caceres sent in the rebound but was similarly called offside.
Just before half, Uruguay was becoming very physical in their defense. They picked up two more cautions. Perez gave one tackle too many and was shown a second yellow in the thirty-eighth minute, though it can’t have come as a surprise. Argentina tried to use their advantage and continued their strong attacks but to no avail before the half.
Uruguay was at a pretty low point coming back onto the field. Aguero was booked early in the half and Argentina seemed to be slowing down. Messi continued to drive the midfield and send the ball forward, but the Uruguay defense did their job. Argentina’s substitutions, including Javier Pastore for Angel DiMaria and Carlos Tevez for Aguero, seemed to say they would not relent in their attacking mindset. The game changed again in the eighty-sixth minute when Javier Mascherano, Argentina’s skipper, received his second yellow of the night, making it ten against ten.
Extra time provided many chances, but none of them fulfilled. Messi kept up his pace, picking up on those small plays in the way only he knows how, but his efforts always fell short. Toward the end of extra time, the little maestro got the ball in the box and it seemed he was three feet away from the line. The entire nation of Argentina probably gave a sigh of relief, but it was premature as the ball was deflected and Messi denied. Any other day, the game would have been won in that instant. Messi very dramatically fell face-down to the earth, obviously feeling the pain of what could have been a game-saving moment.
Still 1-1 at the end of extra time, penalties would decide the winner of the Copa America quarter-final match. Messi was given the captain’s band and took the first penalty for the team as though to get it out of the way. Argentina struck first and the anxiety began. Forlán put his away in the top of the net. Then came Burdisso and Suarez. All four had gone in so far. Tevez stepped up to the spot and Muslera, the Uruguay keeper, got a hand on the low-flying ball. The next three went in and it was 4-4 as Caceres took to the spot. Argentina’s chance of advancement was gone in an instant, as Uruguay celebrated one of their greatest victories in recent years.
Looking back, perhaps Argentina should be grateful for making it out of the group stage. Their performance against Costa Rica was promising and while the result against their rivals, the Uruguayans, was not desirable, it was a well-fought fight. Argentina was a strong side but lacked those final touches that put away goals. Forlán and his side were equal to the task of keeping Messi contained, first of all, and creating chances of their own. Finishing in fourth place last year in the World Cup is nothing to be laughed at after all. Perhaps it is not a great astonishment that Uruguay has advanced ahead of the competition’s hosts, though both teams proved equal in skill.
After this match, the criticisms of Lionel Messi appear unfounded. His role on Argentina is obviously different than that of Barcelona. It is usually the little moments that change the game, and those moments are where he excels. He still sees the game in the same way, still runs the same way and passes the ball in the same way only with different purposes. He makes a difference for Argentina even when he isn’t pointing to the sky in celebration of a goal. Unfortunately his style of play is too well know and therefore a target for the opposing side.
Uruguay will go on to play Peru in the semi-final, obviously as the favorites in that match-up. However, Peru’s advancement to the semi-final after beating their own rivals Colombia, 2-0, shows that all things are possible in this competition.
The game giveth and the game taketh away. Argentina was on the downside of this statement and though it is heartbreaking for a team who was expected to accomplish great things, the match was certainly an exhibition of all the skills present in South American teams. The game is always unpredictable and unforgiving, but if they didn’t like to face the consequences, they wouldn’t play.
