FRANCE, ARGENTINA IMPRESS ON DAY 4
GEORGE JOHNSON RIO DE JANEIRO — With thousands of them singing and swaying in the stands, exhorting their heroes on in the ancestral home of their greatest, most bitter rival (the Stadio Maracana turned 64 years old Sunday, by the way), the baby-blueand-white clad Argentinian supporters certainly brought their A game.
A pity, then, that the objects of their undying devotion couldn’t reciprocate.
By halftime, the cacophony of sound died away, with only a own goal to show and a Bosnia-Herzegovina side growing in belief and influence by the minute, laryngitis had them by the throat.
Lionel Messi, the man who sets it all to music, helped them find their voices again.
Yet there will be scant joy in the song. Not if they’re being honest with themselves. This 2-1 Group F victory by mighty Argentina was more of a fortunate escape than a bold statement. This is a nation rich and deep in skill — Sergio Aguero, Max Rodriguez, Javier Mascherano, Angel di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain — determined to enter the belly of the Brazilian beast, end the Messi World Cup hex and, in doing so, help him plant his flag atop the football Everest alongside the legendary Diego Maradona.
When all else fails, look to Leo.
He’s their ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card.
For a full 63 minutes, Messi had been shackled, muffled and double-teamed. Ridden out, bundled over, turned away. Each and every trademark foray towards goal, those choppy steps, the short, quick bursts of pace and power, had met with failure. Too often coming back deep because a lack of service up front, he wound up running into more roadblocks than Bonnie and Clyde. Early on, Bosnia- Herzegovina midfielder Muhamed Besic clattered into the record five-time Ballon d’Or winner, sending him arse over teakettle, as if to say ‘Not tonight, son ...’
But the wee feller is nothing if not a stubborn cups.
“Bosnia are a good team and we have things to improve, but the important thing is to start with three points,” Messi told reporters afterwards. “In the first half we were too deep and that hampered us in attack.
“The second goal was a relief for everybody and ensured the three points, it was special for me because of the game that I had.”
By the time Messi fired a Roman Candle up into the night sky, slaloming past three defenders after exchanging passes with Gonzalo Higuain, trademark route right to left before pulling the trigger as he has on so many important occasions before, Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella was running short of card tricks to play. He’d already switched formation from his preferred 5-3-2 to the 4-4-2 more to Messi’s liking and thrown on Higuain for Rodriquez. The nerves were showing. And the confounding part is that La Albiceleste could not have stumbled into a more fortuitous beginning, gifted an early lead on a stroke of extraordinary luck.
Leaping to meet an inswinging free kick, Argentinian defender Marcos Rojo failed to get a touch but in the thicket of bodies the ball glanced off Bosnian Sead Kolasinac and past ’keeper Asmir Begovic’s clawing lunge.
Ahead, after three minutes. Surely such a fortunate happenstance would snap them to attention and a right old pistol-whipping was in the offing for the World Cup debutantes. Turns out, surely not. More and more, Bosnia-Herzegovina pulled themselves into the game, inspired by the influential Miralem Pjanic in midfield. They narrowly missed going level before the intermission, towering defender Senad Lulic getting his head to this ball, lofted in on a corner, forcing Argentine ’keeper Sergio Romero to a smart diving punch save at the near post.
So there always seemed the possibility that the underdogs might nick one, especially with Man City hit man Edin Dzeko leading the line. One chance is all that was needed.
But then, as he’s done so often, just in the nick of time the greatest player of at least this era struck for a 2-0 lead.
Even at that, though, Bosnian substitute striker Vedad Ibisevic got one back, chipping a shot off Romero and in on 84 minutes. Seems the Argentinians could do precious little right on this night.
Doubtless, Sabella and Co. will argue that it’s only one match, of course, and the first one at that. Yes, a way was found a way to pull it out but that doesn’t mask the flaws.
Those thousands of baby-attired supporters, who arrived in the belly of the Brazilian beast to witness something they’ve waited a long 28 years to see again, might be happy with the result but won’t be buoyed the performance.
“The Maracana,” said Messi of the atmosphere, “was great, I had no doubt it would be like that, and we keep working toward the dream.”
There’s much work still to be done, obviously. The dream, for now, is just that. Against another opponent on another, more important day ...
There are only so many ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ cards in a game, or a tournament. Even if the one-and-only Lionel Messi happens to be your Monopoly banker.