Brazil reach new nadir as Argentina revel in historic win،
RIO DE JANEIRO – History was made at the Maracana Stadium on Tuesday evening, when Nicolas Otamendi’s towering header from a corner gave Argentina a 1-0 victory and, in doing so, inflicted Brazil’s first ever defeat on home in World Cup qualifying.
To make matters worse for the hosts, the Last Fortress fell in one of the worst matches of Lionel Messi’s 18-year international career. The Argentina captain looked far from fit and spent part of the first half receiving treatment on the touchline. The 36-year-old displayed an unusually conservative peripheral figure, dropping deep to terminate early passes before being substituted 15 minutes from time.
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The Argentine talisman’s ineffectiveness, unfortunately, was somehow fitting for the match, as the evening was not worthy of the joyous artistry that an in-form Messi provided for so long. This flagship event in South American – and world – football left a bad taste. The early evening scenes were brutal and dangerous.
It all started with the sound of the national anthems. This reportedly led to scuffles between rival groups of supporters. Things escalated when local police launched a baton charge against Argentina fans, and the situation quickly spiraled out of control. Yellow seats flew through the air as fans fought back. There were fans with blood streaming down their faces and as the Argentinian fans retreated, some Brazilians who had nothing to do with the fighting were caught up in the confusion and dove over the security barriers and entered the field to escape the conflict.
The Argentine players watched from the halfway line. They went to take a closer look at them and, after closely observing their compatriots at the end of such harsh policing, Messi took them off the field.
At this point the game was in doubt. In the previous campaign, during the COVID pandemic, Brazil’s home match against Argentina was interrupted by health authorities in the fourth minute. Tuesday’s clash might not even go that far.
It would surely have been better if the police, instead of launching their charge, had simply maintained a line separating the Argentine fans from those of Brazil. But it’s really surprising that they are so close to each other, because separating fans is a common practice at the Maracana. The visitor support is usually placed high in one of the corners, with the seats below left vacant to ensure adequate separation. None of this happened on Tuesday. The Argentinian supporters were therefore behind one of the goals, right next to the organized group of Brazilian supporters. Anatorg, the Brazilian association of organized supporters, warned before the match that it was an error. Their words were not heard.
The match started 27 minutes late, in an atmosphere inevitably contaminated by scenes of violence. And that added even more fury as Brazil approached.
After two unprecedented consecutive defeats in the previous rounds, Brazil was expected to appear like a wounded beast in front of their home crowd. And this was further underlined by the approach taken by interim coach Fernando Diniz. With a front line of four players (Raphinha, Rodrygo, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli) and only two men in midfield, there was little chance of a patient build-up, foot-on-the-ball type of football. If anything, there was rhythm and fury to their pressure.
Certainly, there were occasional glimpses of Diniz’s trademark footballing style: gathering players on one flank then launching a big change to the other. Raphinha on the right was the target and he worried the Argentinian defense. But the main idea was to press relentlessly on Argentina’s possession, force the error and then go full speed ahead.
And with Messi so off-color, Argentina struggled to prolong the match and play behind Brazil’s high defensive line. Coach Lionel Scaloni switched to a 4-4-2, with Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernández in the center and Giovani Lo Celso and Alexis Mac Allister wider. But that may not have brought out the best in the latter two, who lacked half a yard of pace in tight spaces. Mac Allister drifted and left a lane to attack left-back Marcos Acuña, who caused a strange moment of alarm.
Brazil, however, had the best of the few chances the match left. Raphinha’s free kick hit the wall and went just over. His corner was saved by goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who was then saved by Cristian Romero, who diverted Martinelli’s shot off the line. Gabriel Jesus burst past the defense and set up Martinelli for a shot well blocked by Martinez – then came Otamendi’s historic moment. This is the second time in four matches that an Otamendi goal from a corner has earned his team maximum points. This one, rather than last month’s victory against Paraguay, is the match that will remain etched in Argentina’s collective memory, even if it would be tinged with a certain sadness if an exhausted Scaloni decided it was time to step down, as he hinted in the post-match press conference.
And what about Brazil? They finished the match without a clear plan or organization and were down to 10 men. Substitute Joelinton was sent off for pushing De Paul away. The referee was surely harsh, even if Gabriel Jesus, on a yellow, was a little lucky to stay in the first half. Predictably, the Maracana crowd turned on the home side, calling them a “shameless team” and adding salt to the wound by greeting the Argentine passes with an “Ole!”
Brazil sit sixth in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table and will spend a lot of time watching this unwelcome spectacle as the campaign doesn’t resume until next September. The Brazilian federation is confident that by then, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will be coaching the team. Bringing in a foreign coach will always prove controversial, but if it happens Ancelotti’s welcome will be made a little warmer by the memories of Tuesday’s terrible night.
