It’s hard for international managers to find a balance between their method and their talent.
Every great football team has to be organised. And every great team needs flair. Balancing the two, and blending the personalities involved, is vital to success.
A national coach has to organise and, I think, be pragmatic within narrowly-defined limits. The way each coach one balances his method with his talent varies a lot, but the most successful coaches are the ones who stick most rigidly to their shape and method.
That was my conclusion from seeing Dunga’s Brazil beat Maradona’s Argentina 3-1, watching Capello’s England defeat Slovenia 2-1 in a friendly, and seeing Raymond Domenech’s France miss chances and draw 1-1 with Romania in Paris.
In Rosario, Dunga the pragmatist played rope-a-dope with poor old Diego Maradona.
Argentina swarmed all over Brazil for 24 minutes and the visitors just sat back and soaked up the pressure.
Then it was : two fouls on Kaka in six minutes, two free-kicks, two goals, game over.
When Elano’s free-kick was headed in by the unmarked Luisao, I thought, “That’s it!”, as I watched my Sky+ recording on Sunday morning.
A second goal by Luis Fabiano made it 2-0 after the keeper spilled a low shot, following another free kick.
Maradona got it wrong. If the game was moved to Rosario, where there is no running track round the pitch, and you really need to win, and you know that wary Brazil will sit back early on, he should have gone the whole hog with Aguero and Messi up front, Tevez a few yards behind, and tried to score first using the trickery of three sharp, improvising strikers against the Brazilian giants. If they had scored first, Argentina had a chance. Instead they lost 3-1. He wanted top pick Veron, who is 34 and past it. Veron wasn’t terrible in this game but his age was evident.
Argentina had never lost in Rosario. Now they have.They’ve been thumped there by their biggest rivals. And their greatest footballer was in charge of the team.
RAYMOND DOMENECH is not the right man to win a tournament for France.
It’s a shame because he has some of the world’s finest players.
His match-winners are Ribery, Benzema and, probably, Gourcuff.
But Domenech went 4-3-3 at home to Romania and that means he can’t really use Gourcuff in a Kaka role, roaming and linking from midfield, and finding positions for a shot.
Brazil play with Fabiano as a lone ranger and a five-man midfield.
France should play with Benzema as a lone ranger, and give Ribery and Gourcuff supporting roles in attack built round those three.
However, that trio lack big-time experience, so they need Thierry Henry in 2010. In 2012, he will be gone.
The only remaining World Cup winner from 1998 is Henry and he’s needed for his skill, know-how and finishing ability. He has scored 49 goals in 112 games for France.
This was Domenech’s starting eleven against Romania in Paris: Hugo Lloris (Lyon); Sagna, Gallas, Escude, Evra; Toulalan, Lassana Diarra, Gourcuff ; Anelka, Gignac, Henry.
First half, Gourcuff’s shooting was nervous, I thought, and it was 0-0 at half-time.
In 48, a right wing corner by Gourcuff, Gallas won the knockdown, Henry netted with his left foot from two yards, looked slightly offside, 1-0.
Then Escude miskicked an own-goal in 54 and it finished 1-1.
I’ve got serious doubts about Domenech because of his substitutions. He brought on Ribery for Gignac in 57, and Benzema for Gourcuff in 73. Ribery is a great player but he’s not fit. And Benzema for Gignac would have made more sense, even if Ribery was fit.
Group leaders Serbia lost to France in Paris but the return is in Belgrade on Wednesday night and Domenech has to pick the right team to have a chance in that one.
FABIO CAPELLO was absolutely livid when Slovenia scored with their first shot on target in 84 minutes.
Slovenia showed Capello, and everyone else, that he has no right back.
Can Rafa Benitez and Capello teach Glenn Johnson how to defend between now and June 2010?
Rio Ferdinand’s absence ruined the England back four on Saturday. If the left-footed Upson plays, John Terry has to move to the right side, which does not suit him. If the left-footed Lescott comes on as a sub for Upson, same imbalance.
With Johnson going AWOL and JT uncomfortable, England always looked like conceding down that flank and that’s what eventually happened. England were 2-0 up and it was only a friendly but Capello was furious. He not only wants to win every game, he wants to keep a clean sheet in every game. He gets so agitated. He wants to win friendlies, not draw them. He wants to win friendlies because to him there are no friendlies. He can experiment but he still wants to win and he still craves clean sheets.
The players have discovered that Fabio Capello is a winner, an extremely serious professional, a very demanding character who hates sloppiness. And he is what English footballers need. Because most of them are thick and need to be told what to do.
As Alan Hudson once said, “I need Don Howe shouting at me every morning.”
Fabio Capello’s England have won their first seven qualifying games and play Croatia at Wembley on Wednesday.
VERDICT: Fabio Capello is right for England but Diego Maradona is wrong for Argentina.
Maradona should not have been given the job. He looked ill during the game and after it. Failure will stain his legend and could put him back in hospital.