Hear
ATLANTA (Special Envoy).- The weather has a deceptive bias in Georgia’s capital. When you think that the heat will be pleasant, the temperature steps on the accelerator and the sun dominates until it transforms the drowsiness into something overwhelming. This is what it’s like to live in this city invaded by Argentines and fans with different passports but with a common passion: Lionel Messi. This is how he is downtown from Atlanta, where the team resides in a hotel that seems to never end if you look up. Among the majority who are not interested in soccerthe homeless that swarm on every block and in an opulent car park – few locals walk the streets – are those who wear Argentine t-shirts and shout in search of complicity. “Has it been long since they came?” is the question that is repeated. Everyone wants to see the national team, everyone wants to be close to the heroes, who have barely been seen during the transfer to training, in the run-up to the Copa América 2024.
The Westin hotel, where the delegation resides, is taken over by Argentines. Outside, with drums and chants, they forced a mini police operation to allow traffic to flow. Inside, an anthill of albiceleste shirts walking in search of something, although no one knows what. Because the footballers are isolated. The feeling is that people feel part of it just by hanging around the lobby, the bar or the escalators of the mass that houses the team. There is even a sort of stampede when Dibu appears from an upper floor.
Nobody wonders “how they form”, “does Lautaro or Julián play”, “will there be four in the middle or will there be attackers on the sides”. The question of the formation and their proper names is more due to journalistic anxiety than to the feelings of the sympathizer. The fan already seems to blindly trust Lionel Scaloni’s final decision. If he puts one and not the other, there is a reason. It is a security that the coach has earned through his decisions. For some reason it is the process that has perhaps had the least questions in public opinion in terms of calls or players who have been left out. In this case, Scaloni is assisted by the reason given to him by the sympathizer.
The biggest novelty in the formation lies in the pair of central defenders who will face the debut against Canada, from 9:00 p.m., at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. There Scaloni was encouraged to give a change of direction of which he had already given indications in the last friendlies. The departure of Nicolás Otamendi, the central defense commander who reaped the successes of the cycle, and the entry of Lisandro Martínez, whom Manchester United considers essential for his talent and, above all, for his character.
In this way, Scaloni builds the defense of the future, placing Lisandro to the left of Cuti Romero, already immovable and with performances in which he always shows remarkable technique and timing. With the central duo confirmed, the formation to face Canada will be as follows: Draw Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cuti Romero, Lisandro Martínez and Marcos Acuña; Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes and Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez and Ángel Di María.
It is a bet with no official history in the cycle, since the only time that both were starters at the same time, in the quarterfinals of Qatar 2022 against the Netherlands, but in that case Scaloni put together a line of three defenders that included, for of course, to Nicolás Otamendi.
Before and after, they only formed the central duo once, and it was the warning of what was to come: they were the starters in the friendly against Ecuador, in Chicago, a few weeks ago.
They are both class 98 and have known each other for many years. They are very close friends and in every practice you see them joking and then uploading those stories to their networks. They shared the youth team when Fernando Batista called them up for the Under 20 team – two other current teammates were on that team: Nahuel Molina and Lautaro Martínez. However, they barely shared the defense as starters in an informal preparation match against Japan in December 2016. And a little later in a U23 friendly against Colombia.
In England they are great rivals. At the beginning of the year, when Martínez returned after an annoying and long injury, sparks were raised in the Tottenham-Manchester United duel. But after the game, Cuti posted an endearing photo of both of them and a good message for the return of his friend.
Nothing indicates that this marks a generational passing of the baton, since Nicolás Otamendi continues to play at a high level. However, it is the sign that two of the best defenders in the world individually can become the duo of the future for the Argentine team. The space, there is no doubt, is very well covered.
