Argentina vs France (World Cup Quarter Final)
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 52,000
Starting line up: Gonzalo Maidana — Sergio Garcia, Fabio Ortiz, Nicolas Otamendi, Fernando Pereyra — Marcos Fernandez, Gustavo Iglesias, Ismael Fischer — Leandro Velasco, Juan Pablo Yavar — Lucas Cuello
Team Talk: For the fans!
We couldn’t have wished for a better start to be honest: the players were quite nervy at the start of the game and the first one to crack was French midfielder Moussa Sissoko, he made a stupid two-footed tackle just 10 seconds into the game and he was justly sent off! With the numerical advantage on our side it was quite easy to dominate the game, we were in control of the ball but the French side was defending in numbers and it was quite difficult to find a breach. They were not doing anything upfront though, I was quite calm until… until Sanogo struck! I don’t know how he scored that goal, he did everything by himself and put France ahead on 43 minutes! I was incredibly frustrated because two minutes later Cuello was denied by the post! But luckily the same player eased my concerns during stoppage time as he scored a marvellous goal: he dribbled past two defenders before passing it into the back of the net! At that point I was sure that we were not going to lose the game.
Half time score: 1-1
Half time team talk: Pleased
Half time substitutions: Claudio Vicente for Yavar
Our domination continued, the second goal seemed just a matter of time but the clock was ticking and we were unable to find the breakthrough. Velasco had a chance on 65 minutes but he was denied by an amazing save from Hugo Lloris and then France survived until full time. The game went into extra time and things got even worse for France as one of their centre backs had to leave the field on 94 minutes, they had already made all three substitutions so they were reduced to 9 men and a very «attacking» 5-3-0 formation! We were pushing forward in numbers and redemption finally came on 104 minutes when centre back Ortiz headed home on a Velasco corner kick cross. There was no reaction at all from France, they were down and out and Ortiz made sure of the result with another corner kick header two minutes from time.
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Fabio Ortiz
Flop of the match: Ismael Fischer
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
Match Stats
One more down, two more to go! I was secretly hoping that Uruguay would beat England to meet us in the semi final and that is exactly what happened, I was quite pleased! The other semi final had Italy taking on Germany, I had no preferences there but I was surely thankful that Italy had knocked out Brazil in the quarter finals :)
Now let me explain why I was happy to meet Uruguay. We had met them three times since I took charge of the team, first we beat them 2-1 in the Copa America semi final but then we thrashed them in the World Cup qualifying matches. I knew their squad all too well and I was very confident before the game. Unfortunately we had an injured player after the match against France, left winger Yavar was the victim of the rather harsh French tackling and the World Cup was over for him…
Uruguay vs Argentina (World Cup Semi Final)
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 80,000
Starting line up: Gonzalo Maidana — Javier Godoy, Fabio Ortiz, Nicolas Otamendi, Osvaldo Rufino — Marcos Fernandez, Gustavo Iglesias, Ismael Fischer — Leandro Velasco, German Pacheco — Lucas Cuello
Team Talk: For the fans!
I was so confident that I even decided to make some changes in the starting eleven in order to «protect» the players that had been booked in the previous games. And things went even better than expected in the first half: we broke the deadlock after just three minutes through Cuello and then the Vauxhall striker went on to complete a fabulous hat-trick before the break (the second goal was stunning)! Moreover, my lads wasted four clear cut chances before half time, if this was a boxing match the referee would have stopped it long before the second half! :)
Half time score: 3-0
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Franco Zuculini for Fernandez, Claudio Vicente for Pacheco, Sergio Araujo for Cuello
The second half was equally pleasing as three central midfielders managed to score: Iglesias, Zuculini (a beautiful shot from distance) and Fischer. Uruguay did score a consolation goal but I didn’t really care, all I wanted at that point was for my players to stay clear of injuries and have a good rest before the final. Oh, and one more thing: this Manchelona tactic is just brilliant! :)
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Lucas Cuello
Flop of the match: Claudio Vicente
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
Match Stats
So, we were through to the final, we exceeded the FA expectations, but now we want to win the darn thing! Italy will be in our way and that’s not good, they are one of the favourites and a very strong teams as far as I know.
Then again, I don’t know too much since I only met them once since I took charge and that was a friendly game. We managed to get a goalless away draw back then but things have changed a lot in the meantime.
Here are the player stats before the final, it’s quite clear that Ortiz, Cuello and Velasco have been the best players so far. It’s normal that two of them are Vauxhall players but I have a confession: Ortiz was a Vauxhall player too! :) I had bought him when he was very young but then decided to sell him at the age of 21 or 22 because he wasn’t good enough to fight for a first team place! I got 7.5 million for him for Sampdoria and, as you can see, he’s a pretty good player! Maybe I shouldn’t have sold him :)
And now, the final! No, no, no, not yet! You see, I haven’t played the final yet although I’m quite eager to do that. But it’s for a good cause I think, I have saved the final for something really special. And that something special is… live coverage, right here on the website! That is right folks, the final will be brought to you live! It’s not a video broadcast, it will be like writing a post live, as it happens, and you commenting live, in real time! Here, let me give you a «teaser». It will all happen in a box like the one you see below, you can connect and we can chat in there for a while this evening, from 20:30 GMT to 21:30!
The final will be live here on the website on Sunday, September 4th, and it will start at 12:30 pm GMT! I will have the game loaded on my laptop and I will be updating you live from my desktop PC, sounds fun! :) Until then, see you in the comments and also in the «live box» for around an hour!
Matt Clark
2 сентября, 2011 at 18:30
Hey Johnny, brilliant world cup so far especially the win against Uruguay though i assume they aren’t as good as my Uruguay team in 2020.
Quick suggestion if you’re going to start a new save use the Romanian team you support.
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2011 at 19:53
Thanks for the comment mate and also for the suggestion. I have already explained that my favourite Romanian club doesn’t exist any more so it would be a bit weird to manage that team in FM.
vaibhavc
2 сентября, 2011 at 19:00
Hey Johnny
Brilliant world cup so far! The Manchelona is brilliant, obviously knowing from Darren’s progress. I don’t think I will join you in the final though, I probably will be out with friends. But good luck! And blame everything on Darren if you lose the final :P
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2011 at 19:54
Hey Vaibhav, thanks for the comment. No worries, you will still be able to see the text after the live session is concluded. It won’t be as much fun but still…
Laxeyman
2 сентября, 2011 at 19:14
Brilliant so far Johnny, fantastic performances from your Argentina side, and they have certainly bettered your expectations :) Cuello has been fantastic and hopefully with his help you can win the final too! Good luck!
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2011 at 19:54
Thanks Laxeyman, I hope you will join us for the «live broadcast».
Michael
2 сентября, 2011 at 19:24
How do i get this tactic the link is broken on the download? It looks amazing?
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2011 at 19:51
The link works just fine, I checked it a few seconds ago. (assuming that you were talking about the Manchelona tactic).
Darren Smith
2 сентября, 2011 at 19:57
Well done Johnny, I’m delighted to see you gain some success with the Manchelona…your side look brilliant and must be favourites for the crown.
Also, congrats on the live update too…that is a fantastic idea IMO. We could use this for short, pre arranged Q&A sessions also. I will be there mate, sitting on my bed with a can of Coke and face full of optimism. :) Look forward to it.
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2011 at 20:01
Thanks Darren. I have already thought about having a weekly or monthly Q&A session using this tool, we’ll discuss more about that via email :)
riggsy
2 сентября, 2011 at 20:14
Well done Johnny great results so far! Looking forward to seeing the live commentary which I will definitely be watching! Good luck for the final!
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2011 at 20:20
Thanks mate, I’m looking forward to the live thing as well since I’ve never done anything like this before :) See you on Sunday then!
Frank
2 сентября, 2011 at 20:15
Hey Johnny
A brilliant World Cup so far and your team seems strong enough to win the finals, the Manchelona tactic has certainly been succesful with your Argentinian team. I will be joining the q & a session ( which is a great idea IMO ) . Good luck with the final :)
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2011 at 20:20
Thanks Frank, the tactic worked great indeed.
Birdy
2 сентября, 2011 at 21:35
Hey Johnny, nice to see you down here in Australia. In the game were all of the pitches massive ovals? The only rectangle stadium you played at was suncorp as we play AFL and cricket on all of the others. And well done good luck for the final
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2011 at 21:39
Thanks for the stadium info Birdy, I really didn’t know those facts! :) And thanks for the good luck wish, we’ll surely need a touch of luck to get past Italy.
Nathan
3 сентября, 2011 at 00:47
Well at least SI have their head screwed on and have the World Cup in Australia, where of course it should be.
Johnny Karp
3 сентября, 2011 at 08:31
I’m sure that there will be a World Cup in Australia sooner or later, maybe even in 2022 like in the game.
Mariano
3 сентября, 2011 at 08:24
Hi Johnny,
Well done in the World Cup, do you want to manage the Argentinian national team?:)
The live game I think it´s a fantastic idea, to watch you play live, I don´t know if I´ll be able to assist but I guess you will record it.
I believe the best thing to watch you playing live is the posibility to be able to ask you questions about what you are doing and why.
Would be amazing if you could talk by a mic explaining your moves and thoughts about the pre match and the match itself. Maybe I´m asking too much………
I didn´t read your whole post just had a quick look as it´s 4:30 am and I´m going to sleeeeeepppp!:)
Cheers
Johnny Karp
3 сентября, 2011 at 08:33
Hey Mariano, you can talk to the FA and let them know that if they make me an offer I will not refuse :) The live text session will be available to read after the end of the game, no worries. The microphone idea is too much for now but I am considering it for the future ;)
Kevin
3 сентября, 2011 at 09:51
Hi Johnny
Well done on reaching the final and it’s great to see Darren’s tactic working for you. At least he’s safe …for now LOL!
I’ll be there for he final and i’m sorry I missed the live chit chat…too busy at work at that time.
Johnny Karp
3 сентября, 2011 at 10:00
Hey Kevin, I was quite sure that the tactic would work, I studied it a bit before trying it in the first game. See you tomorrow for the final and don’t worry about the chit chat, we might have more of those in the future ;)
Lye
3 сентября, 2011 at 10:32
Hi Johnny,
Well done in the world cup. Machelona should suit the Argentinian team, that’s why the team perform so well. Regarding the live game, most likely i am going to miss it as it is sleeping time here. Good luck for the final and love to read the good news.
Johnny Karp
3 сентября, 2011 at 10:58
Hey Lye, I guess the Manchelona tactic suits any team that has players that can pass the ball. Sorry that you will miss the live game but I hope you will enjoy reading it afterwards.
Sayam Khan
3 сентября, 2011 at 13:08
Well done Johnny, It’s obvious the Argentina team is the best in the competition, they way you have beaten France and other teams. Very wise of you to choose Darrens tactic, and good luck in the final.
Johnny Karp
3 сентября, 2011 at 13:26
Thanks Sayam. I had a look at the Italian team today to prepare the final and they have a few world class players, especially a magnificent striker… It will be tough but I hope we will pull it off.
Mariano
3 сентября, 2011 at 15:40
Hi Johnny, maybe out of topic sorry , but today was published an article on one of the most important newspapers in Argentina called La Nacion about Hagi.
Here is the link:
http://www.canchallena.com/1402542-que-es-de-la-vida-degheorghe-hagi
Cheers
Johnny Karp
3 сентября, 2011 at 15:53
Thanks a lot for the link Mariano, much appreciated! I have just watched a second league match this morning involving Hagi’s academy team, they won 5-1 :) He is doing a great job with that academy and I am impressed with his decision of investing his own money back into Romanian football.
Sears
4 сентября, 2011 at 12:07
Congrats on reaching the final Johnny, looking forward to the live match!
Johnny Karp
4 сентября, 2011 at 12:20
Thanks Sears, it should start in about 10 minutes… :)