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Passarella puts Argentina back on track
Posted: Saturday June 27, 1998 11:16 AM
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Passarella was Argentina's captain in 1978 when it first won the World Cup (Doug Pensinger/Allsport) |
BORDEAUX (Reuters) - Organization was anathema to Argentina's
World Cup teams before Cesar Luis Menotti.
"El Flaco" (the thin one) guided his country to its first title in 1978 and
now Daniel Passarella, Menotti's captain then, is extending his legacy in
France.
Passarella believes tactical organization is paramount in the modern game,
both as a means of controlling the ball and, in defense, to cover and avoid
unnecessary fouls.
After Friday's 1-0 defeat by Argentina, Croatia coach
Miloslav Blazevic said the Argentina defense, yet to let in a goal at the
World Cup, was the best in the world.
"They provoke a lot of fouls by their opponents and that's good. The
midfield can dominate any other midfield in the tournament," former coach
Carlos Bilardo said.
As a player Passarella was noted for his tough tackling, but he is the
coach of young Argentine side that have amassed only four bookings in its
three group matches.
Argentina lacks a hardman in the mold of Passarella or Oscar Ruggeri, the
country's most capped player with 98 internationals and three World Cup
tournaments under his belt.
In coaching terms, Passarella has taken his own line somewhere down the
middle of the Argentine divide between Menotti and his successor Bilardo,
who steered Diego Maradona's team to the 1986 crown in Mexico.
The Menotti school preaches the traditional Argentine short-passing,
attacking game of the 1940s and 1950s when Argentina boycotted the World
Cup for political reasons.
Menotti's concession to the more pragmatic European game was to instill
greater personal discipline and fitness into his players. Their superior
skill would tip the balance, he said.
Bilardo built his team on a European model, a tactically organized
springboard for the supreme talents of Maradona.
The Bilardo side that defended the title in Italy four years
later tumbled back into the Argentine dark ages, picking up red and yellow
cards on a checkered, unpopular journey to a second successive final.
The main achievement of Bilardo's 1990 team was to go further than any
other Argentine side in a World Cup in Europe.
Four years later, following an explosive start that could have carried
Alfio Basile's team to another final, Argentina was shattered by the
Maradona doping affair.
Passarella took charge determined to sweep away the laxity that placed
Maradona out of the control of the Argentine soccer association.
Menotti's class of '78 was in awe of the chain-smoking left wing
intellectual who dared to leave out the teenage Maradona and played its
hearts out for him.
Passarella exerts a similar hold over his squad, via his reputation as a
former world class player and strong discipline, finding a balance in which
no one is indispensable the way Maradona became.
Fernando Redondo and Claudio Caniggia were left behind and in Argentina's
1-0 win over Croatia on Friday, the starting line-up with four changes
played better than the team which beat Japan and Jamaica.
Gabriel Batistuta and Ariel Ortega are the big names in Passarella's team,
but Croatian defender Slaven Bilic spotted who makes it all tick --
midfielder Juan Veron.
"The Argentina team, when they're winning, know how to make the opposing
team run in the same way as the Brazilians. In
Veron, they have a great player around whom they organize all their game."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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