No Kick Left for Mexico
Marcelo Bielsa, Argentina’s national soccer coach, came to the Coliseum Wednesday night knowing that the odds were stacked against his team in its game against Mexico.
For one thing, there was the crowd. The estimated 70,000 on hand were cheering overwhelmingly for Jorge Campos and company at the stadium that is virtually Mexico’s home away from home.
For another, Bielsa didn’t have starting goalkeeper Roberto Bonano of River Plate in the nets, nor did he have a single one of his usual starting back line of Nestor Sensini, Roberto Ayala and Walter Samuel.
In other words, Argentina’s defense was a makeshift affair.
It didn’t matter.
The Argentines, keeping the ball on the ground, passing it in fluent fashion and taking full advantage of the fast break, shut out Mexico, 2-0, on goals by Santiago Solari in the 14th minute and Luciano Galletti in the 82nd.
It was a deserved victory and left Mexico in the rare situation of having lost consecutive games at the Coliseum. It lost loss to the U.S. by the same score in October.
Mexico had two or three scoring chances, but squandered them all. Its offense clicked only when Jesus Arellano was brought on in place of Francisco Palencia in the 70th minute. It was too little, too late, although the lively Arellano did hit the left post with a shot in the 87th minute after beating three defenders.
“From my point of view, we didn’t have a good game, but it leaves me in a good position for the future,” Mexico Coach Enrique Meza said. “We lost a lot of balls in the middle. They deserved the victory.”
Arellano’s ability to get through the defense underlined the main problem Bielsa faces.
Ranked third in the world compared to Mexico’s 11th, Argentina is certain to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, but the question mark that continues to hang over the team is its ability to prevent goals, not to score them.
“I think the key for Argentina to have any success [in 2002] will be how good the three defenders and the goalkeeper are,” said Andres Cantor, who broadcast Wednesday night’s game for Telemundo.
“Defense is probably the weakest part of the team. They have only allowed eight goals [in 10 World Cup qualifying matches], less than a goal a game, but they haven’t been tested really thoroughly.”
When they are tested, Cantor said, “they get scored upon and they don’t look rock solid.”
But they looked solid Wednesday night.
Bielsa brought five defenders to California in an effort to find one or two who might be able step up and reinforce Argentina’s back line when qualifying play resumes in March.
He started a back line of Nelson Vivas at right back, Diego Crosa and Gabriel Milito as centerbacks, and Diego Placente at left back. Of the four, only Vivas had taken part in World Cup qualifying play so far.
In the nets was goalkeeper German Burgos, an on-and-off starter with the national team but a player who has been unable to break into the lineup at Mallorca in Spain.
The four defenders seldom put a foot wrong, however, making it an easy night for Burgos.
Mexico was missing offensive standouts Ramon Ramirez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco, but it fielded most of its top players and still looked poor.
On paper, Meza’s first team, minus a player or two, should easily have been able to handle what was, in effect, Argentina’s third team.
The Argentines might have felt they were in for a long night when they were booed coming onto the field to warm up and were pelted with debris as they were leaving it. And that was 30 minutes before the game started.
They also had to deal with a threadbare field painted a hideous shade of green after being chewed up by two-a-day XFL tryouts.
It didn’t matter.
Barely 13 minutes into the match, Marcelo Delgado passed to Lucas Castroman, who floated a cross into the goal area from the right wing. Solari leaped to head it past the orange-clad Campos from close range.
Argentina secured the victory with eight minutes to play when Galletti’s angled shot beat Campos inside the left post.
