Alejandro Sabella was quickly appointed manager of the Argentine national football team following Argentina's debacle at home in Copa America 2011. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)
When Alejandro Sabella answered the Indian media questions in English, their Argentine colleagues were delighted. The headlines wrote themselves. At one stage they were concerned that the new national team coach was veering into the murky waters of spanglish, but they ought to have had more faith in Sabella. He wants ‘equilibrium.’ The squad may be top heavy in terms of attacking talent, but his mission is to build a team.
In front of the players assembled in Kolkata ahead of the first two matches of the new era, Sabella sent the same message in private that he delivered publicly when he was presented as Sergio Batista’s replacement last month. He spoke of the greater good, and of working together to create an identity.
After the disappointment of the Copa America, where Argentina were knocked out of the tournament they were hosting at the quarter final stage, the consensus was – once again – that the national team was lacking personality. There were no clear ideas, there was no leadership, and there was no ‘team.’
Sergio Batista’s position was untenable after the defeat to Uruguay, but the choice of Alejandro Sabella as coach raised a number of eyebrows. "I don’t know why they chose him," said 1978 World Cup winning coach Cesar Menotti. "I don’t know what his project is," he told Radio Cooperativa.
Menotti is not the only one to have asked this question. Sabella has just over two years experience as a coach in his own right. After years as an assistant to Daniel Passarella, including the 1998 World Cup, Sabella went solo in March 2009.
His career as coach, however, started with astonishing success. With Estudiantes, Sabella won the 2009 Copa Libertadores and the 2010 Apertura, before leaving in February of this year after differences with the board. Perhaps it is a coincidence since his departure, the club has been in freefall, currently on a run of one league win in 17 games.
In terms of his vision, he is something of an amalgamation of two contrasting schools of thought. "I was born at River Plate," Sabella has said many times, "but adopted at Estudiantes."
Historically, River Plate's mantra is 'ganar, gustar y golear'; play well, score lots of goals, and win. In more recent years, Sabella's first club has done none of the three, but as a classy playmaker in the 1970’s, he was part of a side that did just that.
At Estudiantes, Sabella was schooled in the mistica of the club - the sense of identity forged by the legendary side of the late 1960’s that won Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup. Famed for its unscrupulous tactics, that side's legacy at the club is one of commitment, pride and unity rather than of an aggressive style of play.
For a national team that has struggled to find its identity in recent years, Sabella’s focus on team spirit and identity points to one compelling reason for his appointment.
Leaving to one side the innumerable provisos - quality of the pitches, the heat, the amount of time available to train together, jet lag - there were a number of positives from the first two matches under Sabella.
First of all, they won both games. While there were defects in both performances, defeating Venezuela 1-0 and Nigeria 3-1 immediately silenced any immediate doubts, criticisms, and negative press.
There were mixed opinions over some the recalls; Lucho Gonzalez, Martin Demichelis and Nicolas Otamendi are such players returning to the squad. Nonetheless, Sabella brought in new faces who will form part of the squad in the coming World Cup qualifiers and over the next few years. Inter Milan's Ricky Alvarez started against Venezuela, while Jose Sosa replaced Alvarez against Nigeria. Napoli's Federico Fernandez made late appearances in both games.
In the two friendlies, Sabella showed his tactical flexibility and the willingness to adapt to game situations. Against Venezuela, he opted for a 4-3-3, although the midfield three of Javier Mascherano, Lucho Gonzalez and Ricky Alvarez didn't operate as hoped. Versus Nigeria, he chose a back three in defense.
Sabella's decision to designate Lionel Messi as captain received 'mixed reactions' in Argentina. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)
While he experiments with his preferred formation, there was another important change under Sabella, and it is one that will define his Argentina team: the captaincy. "It felt like the right time," said Leo Messi after accepting the armband. While Messi confirmed that Mascherano encouraged him to take over the role, the decision received mixed reactions.
Arguments continue about whether Messi has the character to be captain, many believing him to be too quiet to lead. But his first two performances at the helm, the side demonstrated just how much the team looked to him for guidance.
Messi’s fabulous pass for Gonzalo Higuain’s goal against Nigeria, and the astonishing run - leaving 4 Nigerians in his tracks - that resulted in Di Maria’s tap in for the second goal, demonstrated just how central he is to Argentina’s success. He didn’t score in the World Cup or in the Copa America, but his role for his country is not the same as it is for his club. It is, perhaps, time to put to rest the argument and accept that the Barcelona Messi and the Argentina Messi are just as valid and valuable as the other, and enjoy them both.
Handing Messi the captaincy is a clear message from Alejandor Sabella and tell us what type of team he hopes to create. But he only has a month to find the balance or, as he put it, equilibrium, before the real challenge of the tough World Cup qualifiers begins.
