Defence in chaos as Argentina lose their breath in Bolivia

When experienced Argentina captain Javier Zanetti tried to dribble his way out of his own box, only to lose possession and concede a penalty, the explanation for La Seleccion’s Bolivian 6-1 massacre became clear.

In all forms, however, Zanetti was not the sole reason why Argentina suffered their worst loss in over sixty years against a brilliant Bolivia in La Paz.

Argentina were a shadow of the side that had achieved terrific victories against the French and Venezuela.

Yesterday morning, they suffered one of the worst defeats in their history against a Bolivia team who were rooted to the bottom of the South American World Cup qualifying zone.

Prior to the start of the match, coach Diego Maradona opted for a more controlled approach instead of the offensive vertigo that his side used to destroy Venezuela in Buenos Aires.

Martin Demichelis found himself in Argentina’s back four, while FC Porto midfielder Lucho Gonzalez replaced the suspended Jonas Gutierrez. Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez beat Kun Aguero for a spot alongside Lionel Messi in attack.

But it was to no avail.

The game that Argentina tried to play against the Bolivians literally fell into the abyss. Maradona’s men became claustrophobic, not only because of the altitude, but the willingness of a rival that pressured each and every Argentine in all sectors of La Paz.

When Argentina finally crumbled from Bolivia’s repeated blows, Marcelo Martins scored the opener for the home side after just eleven minutes of the first half.

Indeed, Argentina’s will to turn the match around was destroyed by their apparent lack of energy – something Maradona hoped to avoid playing in the rugged climate of Bolivia.

Although Lucho Gonzalez equalised against the run of play for Argentina, the short burst of stamina in the side was diminished when Zanetti conceded a penalty to gift Bolivia a 2-1 lead.

From there, Argentina’s road to redemption became too steep, and Bolivia made the climb even more difficult. Argentina were forced to defend in desperation and could only hope that they went into halftime only a goal behind.

This was not to be though as Da Rossa scored from a clinical header to put the Bolivians up 3-1 and finalise a game not even Maradona himself could inspire his troops to come back from and win in the second half.

Instead, what followed was a catastrophe for Argentina, as Benfica midfielder Di Maria was sent off, leaving La Seleccion with ten men that were spilling blood all over La Paz.

It was here that Boliva were allowed to feast on an Argentine side that had its defensive structure destroyed by a team not known for its attacking prowess.

Botero completed his hat-trick for Boliva in the midst of the home side’s celebrations.

As fulltime sounded, one could excuse Maradona for jumping off an altitude of 3,000 metres. His beloved Argentina took a massive step backwards after previously taking three small steps forward prior to the Bolivia massacre.