Bielsa and co back in Argentina

June 16, 2002

Report from Christine in Argentina

Back to the point....Bielsa gave a long press interview in which he said the team had failed although they had played good football and were the best team in the group. They'd had bad luck and the inability to score goals had been their downfall (very insightful!!!). As always he was very calm and very precise. He defended his decision not to use Bati and Crespo together saying that there were plenty of scoring opportunities that went to waste (reading between the lines this seemed to be saying that it was all the attackers' fault).

There is no decision about his future yet, and he has until the end of the month when his contract expires. The head of the Arg FA has said he can stay on although there is the unresolved matter of Bielsa's contrct originally negotiated in US$s but which has to be converted into Pesos. It will, therefore, be a much less attractive package.

The armchair analysts have got started in earnest and it's not pretty. In fact it's too depressing to write about in detail and it just reinforces what I loathe about the game: players are either heroes/gods one day or useless, overpaid planks just 24 hours later. Bielsa is being blamed for going with Bati to start instead of Crespo and for taking the 35 year old Canniggia and leaving Saviola ('their Michael Owen')at home. Well, it's done. What's the point of what ifs and if onlys. These grumpy old men should shut up - they're giving the whole country a headache.

And finally. Can you BELIEVE that USA ae through to the next round and Argentina, France and Portugal aren't? If anyone had told me that would happen I'd have sent for the men in white coats. It's a funny old game.

Christine