Sergio Batista: The Argentine with Spanish Flavor?

By Gordon Fleetwood, writing from NYC

It was in the latter part of the sixteenth century that the infamous Spanish conquistadors colonized most of South America. Spanish colonialism on the continent lasted until 1824 when the independence movement led by Simon Bolivar and José de San Martín freed the colonies from the control of the Iberian nation. In this summer’s Copa América, Spain will be involved in an attempt to conquer South America once more. However, this conquest will not by military means, but through an ideal, a method of playing football - specifically, Barcelona’s interpretation of the beautiful game. Sergio Batista’s Argentina will be the physical medium for this conquest. A meld of Argentine talent and Barcelona’s style is the coach’s master plan to lead his nation to glory on home soil.

Batista’s decision to shape Argentina’s play in the mold of Barcelona’s seems to stem from a feeling necessity rather than stylistic admiration - although that’s not to say the latter is not a factor. The choice was driven by a need to get the best out of the mercurial Lionel Messi. The essence of the idea was that recreating his club environment on the national stage would bring out the best of the little maestro for La Albiceleste. Batista’s replica does have the potential to imitate the original.

In the 4-3-3 system that is used, the talent pool of Lavezzi, di María, Tévez, Higuaín, and Agüero is  an excellent group to choose two wingmen for Messi in the attack. It’s an arsenal of quite devastating quality. The options for the midfield three, though maybe not as impressive, is more than adequate. The likes of Banega, Mascherano, Cambiasso et al. are all talented players. The focus will especially be on Banega. He is the natural candidate to form for the link with Messi for Argentina that La Pulga has with Xavi at Barcelona. If Messi is to set the competition on fire for the home side, Banega will have to provide a significant portion of the oxygen that feeds the flame. 

The ink on the copy begins to get distorted at the defensive end. In theory, the names are there to form a solid defense, but as always, reality tends to deviate. The return of Javier Zanetti to the squad is crucial in this respect. His expertise and leadership qualities will be crucial to the functioning of a well-oiled defensive line. Argentina’s goalkeeping is also looking a bit bare. Sergio Romero may be the best Argentina has to offer, but he is far from the completed article. These are the men who will be tasked with added to Argentina’s history of success on this stage. 

La Albiceleste are tied with Uruguay as the most successful team in the history of the Copa América. However, the last of their fourteen titles came in 1993. They came close to the fifteen triumph in the previous two tournaments. However, Argentinean dreams were thwarted by their archrivals Brazil at the last hurdle on both occasions. Confidence should be high going into this edition of the competition. After all, Argentina’s record when the Copa América is held in their own country stands at an impressive six wins out of eight. Of course, there is also the pressure that this home field advantage brings that should be taken into consideration. From the first game onward, the weight of expectation will only increase.  Progression beyond the group stage seems to be a formality for Batista’s men. Colombia are the only other big nation in a group rounded out by Bolivia and the Costa Rican U23 team. The knockout phase is where Argentina will truly be tested. That is where Batista’s alloy will endure, or be exposed for its brittleness. Argentina’s journey begins on Friday against Bolivia in La Plata. The entire nation will be hoping that this is the first step towards their team becoming conquistadors of the Copa América.