Messi steps up as Argentina’s chief creative force

Lionel Messi

CORDOBA, (Reuters) – When Lionel Messi plays for  Barcelona he is the goalscorer supreme but when he represents  Argentina the responsibility carried by FIFA’s world player of  the year is far greater.

After Monday’s emphatic 3-0 win over Costa Rica in the Copa  America in which Messi ran the show, the real tests lie ahead in  the knockout phase of the tournament.

Hosts Argentina, second in Group A, will learn later on  Tuesday who they will meet in the quarter-finals on Saturday  when one of three teams in Group C will emerge, also in second  place, from among Uruguay, Peru and Chile.

Lionel Messi

“We had a change of mentality and game above all, we were  more mobile, Messi brilliant and I’m satisfied with the  commitment and play of the team which is what we’re looking  for,” coach Sergio Batista said.
Batista is aware Costa Rica were not the same kind of test  as Colombia who should have beaten Argentina in their second  group match which ended goalless with their own fans booing  Messi and the team.
But Batista told a news conference: “We have players to face  any national team.
“We did it against Costa Rica who until a short while ago  were (considered) a fantastic team who played very well (in a  2-0 win over Bolivia) but you also have to look at Argentina,  because what they did was very good.”

PERFECT PASSES
Critics said Batista had lost his way with his team choices,  including three holding midfielders, when he preached a game  similar to that of European champions Barcelona.

They might have lost his first competitive match in charge  when Argentina opened Group A with a 1-1 draw against Bolivia in  La Plata on July 1.

Messi has gone 15 competitive matches for his country  without scoring a goal, a remarkable statistic for a player who  has netted 180 for Barcelona.

This did not matter on Monday night when Messi laid on a  string of chances, threading perfect passes through a packed  defence to the forwards and Argentina could have ended with a  bigger winning margin.
Perhaps good results and performances in friendlies blinded  Batista to what might happen against well organised defences  looking to snatch points on the counter-attack.

“Today we changed our tactics a bit giving Lionel the right  side (of the pitch),” said Batista referring to Messi’s  preferred flank for Barcelona where he can start diagonal runs  at and across the defence.

“We bet on three forwards and it worked, we got our  organisation sorted and we played the game we want.”