Messi Magic Mesmerizes Maracana

ARGENTINA 2-1 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

After Barcelona teammate Neymar got off to a wonderful start for Brazil, the pressure was on Lionel Messi to help fire Argentina to the perfect start at, the home of their rivals, the Maracana Stadium. Messi and co were up against an unknown entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina who were making their debut performance in a World Cup. Speaking of debuts, Bosnia’s didn’t get off to a good start. After less than two minutes Argentina were awarded a free-kick on the left side of the Bosnia penalty area which Lionel Messi then whipped in to see it flick off the head of Argentine wing-back Marcos Rojo, and then deflect off of Bosnian left-back Sead Kolasinac and into the defender’s own goal.

The early goal for Argentina sparked a reaction from the European side as they then began to put pressure on their opponents. Opportunities came for Bosnia with a free-kick needing to be cleared by defender Ezequiel Garay which was then immediately followed by a corner kick that Romero, in the Argentina goal, had to punch away. What followed after was probably one of Bosnia’s best chances of the game, as a perfectly timed ball over the top of the Argentine defense led to winger Izet Hajrovic poking the ball towards Romero’s goal, but unfortunately for the Bosnian the goalkeeper was sharp enough to push the ball away from danger. Argentina tried to get themselves going again but runs into the Bosnian penalty area from Aguero and Messi were dealt with comfortably, allowing Bosnia to dictate play, for the time being, as again Argentina struggled to deal with a cross from another free-kick that almost allowed Bosnia to score.

Things at this stage were not going well for Argentina as it was clear to see Bosnia were dealing with the threat of Messi well, but the South American side continued to look for their main man to make something happen. Smart and patient build-up play did lead to a chance with midfielder Javier Mascherano shooting straight down the throat of Bosnian keeper Begovic who saved comfortably. Although Bosnia continued to break through the Argentine midfield as a good in-swinging corner from Misimovic was headered towards the near post by winger Lulic and Romero managed to save well. The corner was then shortly followed by a shot similar to Mascherano’s as the goalkeeper saved it with ease. Just before the half-time whistle blew, a glimpse of the Messi everyone in the Maracana wanted to see finally appeared, as Di Maria broke on the halfway line, sprinting clear past two Bosnians to the center of the pitch, he passed the ball to Messi who then danced around two defenders and tried to selflessly cross the ball low across the box to Aguero but it was magnificently snuffed out by a defender. The whistle blew leaving Argentine players and coach Alejandro Sabella feeling fairly frustrated despite their early goal lead.

The South Americans then returned a much changed side with both midfielder Maxi Rodriguez and defender Hugo Campagnaro taken off for a second striker in Gonzalo Higuain and holding midfielder Fernando Gago. Sabella also went with a changed formation with two forwards in Higuain and Aguero keeping defenders occupied, the hope of the Argentine coach was that it would allow space for Messi to work in. Things didn’t go to plan as the half started, with Bosnia continuing to make chances through Hajrovic who’s free-kick fell comfortably into the arms of Romero shortly followed by another attempt by the same man who again tested Romero after a good run from midfielder Lulic. A short time later, things were beginning to change as the tempo of the game began to pick up and the game became more end-to-end. Messi began to find free space to run into as he played the ball wide to Rojo who fired a low cross into the box which the Bosnians dealt with well, however, the Europeans were still managing to scrape together opportunities as Hajrovic cut inside on the right to fire an out-swinging cross in towards the six yard box, which again Argentina struggled to deal with as their last man in defence, Federico Fernandez, had to deal with it.

Another small glimpse of Messi then appeared as a Bosnian player sloppy ball back towards his defense was intercepted by Messi who then darted forward towards goal, but was forced to look wide to Sergio Aguero who’s shot at goalkeeper Begovic was tame at best. Then finally the moment had arrived that thousands inside the Maracana had waited for. Fernando Gago picked up the ball inside the center circle to then pass to striker Higuain who dropped deep in order to play a pass to Messi who then suddenly sprinted forward ten yards and looked to return a pass to Higuain who had raced forward after passing to him. Higuain then flicked the ball into the path of Messi who was already sprinting forward past Bosnian players expecting the flick, he then darted forward along the edge of the area shifting past two Bosnian defenders who collided with each other. He then finally, inside the penalty area, guided a shot in off goalkeeper Begovic’s right hand side post to the eruption of noise from the thousands of Argentina fans who made the trip to the Maracana.

After the brilliance of Messi, Argentina were in full flow with chances falling for Aguero, who had stretched out to reach a diagonal ball across the box only for the strikers shot to almost drop into the goal at the backpost. A fantastic first touch from Aguero minutes later led to him creating an opportunity for himself which ended in him firing wide. Finally, Argentina managed to hit Bosnia on the break in a three-on-three attack with Messi rushing forward then playing the ball wide to Aguero who then looked to return a pass to Messi who had continued his run into the penalty area only for it to be stopped by a Bosnia defender who had managed to anticipate Messi’s run. However, Bosnia then began to get themselves back into the game with only ten minutes remaining of the ninety. Small chances led to a run from substitute Vedad Ibisevic around the Argentine defence being picked out perfectly by a through ball from midfielder Senad Lulic which then allowed Ibisevic to poke the ball under the body of Romero which left the ball to roll into the empty goal. The remaining ten minutes were nervy for Argentina, but they managed to sustain all pressure from Bosnia and even almost had another chance to score as Messi had a run blocked off in front of goal that forced him to fire into the side netting. This was then shortly followed by the final whistle and it was job done for Argentina.

My Thoughts On The Match: Apart from the early goal for Argentina, which only happened due to the unfortunate deflection of a Bosnian player, the first half was a pretty poor start to the match because Argentina’s movement and build-up play was slow which allowed Bosnia to defend with ease and actually led to Bosnia becoming a force throughout the match. It did take a short while for coach Sabella’s changes to take effect but when they did they brought out a thirty minute performance from Argentina that was what exactly what everyone now wants to see from them throughout the rest of the tournament. Bosnia tested Argentina very well and I now tip them to go through with Argentina from Group F.

My Man Of The Match:Personally, I’d like to give the man of the match to Argentina’s coach, Alejandro Sabella, for identifying his sides problems at halftime and having the guts to make a double substitution which undoubtedly helped Argentina to play much better in the second half. However, it has to be a player and it’s going to be Messi, simply for his key role in the move that led to the second goal, which he finished, as it was simply brilliant and hopefully he will now go on to score many goals throughout the rest of the tournament, which for me is a certainty with the likes of Iran and Nigeria still to come for Argentina.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi as he strikes the ball into the Bosnian goal.