For top players, the first five minutes of any game are crucial – or so said Txiki Begiristain, the current director of football at Manchester City, who had the same role at FC Barcelona for seven years. Why? Because, they explore the space and seek a position accordingly. At the highest level, that may be somewhat self-evident, yet, at the Mineirao on Thursday, those opening minutes offered a fascinating insight into a defining subplot in the game: the duel between Brazil’s Fernandinho and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
After two minutes, Messi forced a free kick from a Fernandinho fault. He hit the wall, but in the fifth minute, the City player was booked for getting his elbow into the face of the diminutive Argentinian. Messi squealed in agony, clutching his face and his melodramatic reaction ensured, rightfully so, that Fernandinho received a yellow card.
Before the 20th minute mark, Messi demanded a second booking for Fernandinho – as the number 10 broke away, the Brazilian fouled him. For a player, who has excelled in serial fouling and got away with it in both the Premier League and the Champions League, Fernandinho was perilously close to a catastrophic red card. Overly zealous, he seemed to drown in a web of Messianic footballing excellence, or more precisely, pressure.
Messi threatens, Brazil answer
Fernandinho is not a genuine holding midfielder – he was deputising for the injured Casemiro from Real Madrid. He was positioned deepest of Brazil’s midfield trident. In possession, Fernandinho drifted somewhere between Gonzalo Higuain and Messi. When Argentina had the ball, he shadowed Messi. But notwithstanding help from both Renato Augusto and Paulinho, and disciplined tracking back from both Neymar and Coutinho, Fernandinho was chasing the Messi who had brutally exposed him in FC Barcelona’s 4-0 victory over City in the Champions League. The ghosts of the Mineirazo – the 7-1 against Germany – were haunting Fernandinho again.
Much of the build-up to Brazil-Argentina had centred on a single question: how were Brazil going to deal with Messi? At first, Brazil coach Tite indicated that his team would not enact a special plan to halt Messi, then, he admitted to devising a plan to do just that. With Fernandinho unsettled, the visitors were the better team, but, bar a half-volley howitzer from Lucas Biglia from just outside the box, Argentina did not threaten much.
Instead, first half goals from, first Coutinho, in the 25th minute, and then, Neymar, in the 45th minute, rendered Messi’s danger academic. They scored after ingenious assists. Neymar provided Coutinho with a daft touch that almost surprised the Liverpool player, who quickly scampered forward, cut inside, and, reducing Nicolas Otamendi to a conspicuous cone, drove home into the top corner. In the Coutinho cosmos, the goal was of a textbook craftsmanship.
A frustrated and inept Albiceleste
Gabriel Jesus was next to provide a goal. Neymar picked up Jesus’s dainty and well-camouflaged through-ball and his subsequent goal – his 50th in the Brazil shirt – was testimony of an excellent partnership between Jesus and him. The former allowed Neymar to play his Barcelona role. They had an understanding, both in terms of movement and swapping positions. The duo has blossomed under Tite. Argentina’s defence was ridiculed, a time-lag causing slow-mo reactions from the visiting rearguard.
At the half time interval, Argentinian coach Edgardo Bauza reacted by bringing Sergio Aguero for Enzo Perez. Argentina switched to a 4-3-3 formation with Angel Di Maria shuttling. The Albiceleste were injected with life – for the briefest of moments. They showed forward intent, but left space at the back. Brazil were ruthless – Brazil, the merciless. Paulinho, who displayed a surprising functionality during the match, scored the hosts’ third goal after Emmanuel Mas had missed his interception in the Argentine box.
Tite sprinted in maniac Mourinho fashion down the touchline to congratulate his midfielder. Paulinho has been one of the coach’s favourites in spite of his club commitments with Guangzhou Evergrande in China. This was vindication for his preferred midfield lineup. His counterpart Bauza had the expression of a condemned, with deep facial lines punctuating his grimace.
Messi was shell-shocked too. In the 71st minute, he hit his third free kick of the match straight into the hands of Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson. A well-organised and efficient Brazil had eclipsed the Barcelona player. Argentina were frustrated and inept. On the night, they would have even struggled to draw with Sunderland. This form, and Peru’s unexpected away win at Paraguay, further congesting the World Cup qualifying table, is a veritable danger to Argentina’s Russia prospects.
