Argentina were left stunned by Paraguay's furious second-half comeback in Saturday's 2-2 draw
LA SERENA, Chile -- The media's analysis of games is usually a far cry from the interpretation of those who participated in them, whether due to an extremely results-based approach or a mistaken perspective from the outside, or sometimes due to a lack of self-criticism from players and coaches.
Of course there are exceptions. What happened after the agonizing 2-2 draw between Argentina and Paraguay on Saturday is one of them. Listening to the opinion of the various members of the Argentine national team gives a clear enough picture of what happened.
"We began second-guessing everything," admitted Argentina head coach Gerardo Martino during his post-match news conference. "Tata" explained that they were lured in by the offensive formation of a Paraguay in need of goals during the second half, with Nelson Haedo Valdez and Roque Santa Cruz on the inside. It was the coach himself who expressed concern regarding the "two extremes" that characterized the team's play in their Copa America debut. The loss of control during the second half was very obvious.
The forwards stopped exerting strong pressure, the team lost possession of the ball, play deteriorated into a back-and-forth, the team become strung out because they didn't drop back well and that fragility resulted in Lucas Barrios' goal to tie the game late on.
"We were too hasty and wanted quick results from each play," summarized Lionel Messi, who scored the second Argentina goal on a penalty kick. In the first half, while Paraguay was playing conservatively, the Albiceleste got a 2-0 lead through patience, passing and the connection of Javier Pastore, and most of all Ever Banega, with the forwards. That is the way forward. Argentina were left stunned by Paraguay's furious second-half comeback in Saturday's 2-2 draw.
"We let down our guard in the second half. We can't have the euphoria of always moving downfield," said Sergio Aguero, who scored the first goal. The substitutions of Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain may have exacerbated that vertical play. And Lucas Biglia's entrance, 10 minutes from the end of the game, did not provide the desired balance.
"We have to improve a lot. A lot," said an exasperated Javier Mascherano, who also underscored the problems mentioned above before leaving the stadium.
The two facets were very obvious. Calm, performance and results prevailed for Argentina during the first 45 minutes. In fact, the loudest noise in the stadium was the players' yells, as if it were a training session rather than a Copa America match. It was quite striking.
The story changed in the second half. While the Albiceleste had many more attempts, they weren't effective. Goalkeeper Antony Silva shut down his goal and Paraguay rose to the challenge of changing the outcome of a match that seemed to have long since ended.
A slap in the face at this stage could prevent worse consequences later on. Everything is not lost. At least Argentina was not a disaster, as it would claim, and its players and coaches drew good conclusions from the tie.
This time all one had to do was listen to their voices to understand why it happened.
Nicolas Baier is senior editor based in Buenos Aires at ESPN.com/ Latin America. Nico is in charge of coverage of the Argentine National Team. Follow him on Twitter @NicolasBaier
