Argentina & Colombia must remove shackles for a memorable game

As an Argentine managing Colombia, Jose Pekerman couldn’t conceal his envy at those not directly involved in Friday night’s Copa America quarter-final. "It’s attractive," the 65-year-old said on the eve of the game. "It would excite me as a supporter because of the adventure of the two teams, and the individual quality.

"It’s a very attractive and important game. Both teams can play very good football."

That, at least, is the prospect.

The reality has so far been rather different in this Copa America, as Pekerman immediately acknowledged.

“It’s true we have arrived with problems, but we’re trying to find the best possible team.”

That has been the key issue of the campaign for both countries. Although these are possibly the two most star-studded sides in this entire Copa America, neither has yet found a formation that gets the best out of those players.

It’s all the more frustrating with Argentina, because their quality is so obvious. Rather than obliterating teams in the manner they might, they’re only doing the bare minimum.

It’s always as if they’re waiting for one of their stars to produce something wondrous rather than that being the natural consequence of their play. They’re controlling games, sure, but not really taking command of them or killing them. The stats indicate this.

Argentina have averaged the second most possession in the Copa America at 69.7% - behind only Chile on 70.2% - the best pass success rate (87.5%), the joint most shots per game (16.7), level with Ecuador, and the joint most shots on target per game (6), again level with Chile.

And yet, they’ve offered nothing like the freewheeling productivity of Chile. The hosts have scored 11 goals in four games, Argentina just four in three. Worse, Gerardo Martino’s side ended their two wins desperately clinging on.

Given the talent and the style of the two teams, it’s difficult not to imagine how impressive Leo Messi et al could be if they had Jorge Sampaoli - who is one of five Argentine coaches left in the competition - in charge rather than Martino.

This constrained nature of play may be a long-running issue with the side, but the former Barcelona coach does seem to have imposed an additional rigidity that was apparent during his time at Camp Nou.

The question is whether he can find the right configuration - or whether, on this occasion, he will need to.

Because, if Argentina have the more obvious talent, Colombia at least have the more obvious solution to their issue. It's just even more open to question whether Pekerman will move on it. It boils down to this - in order to restore the rousing football they produced during the World Cup, Colombia need to drop Radamel Falcao.

Part of the problem - beyond the player’s drastic drop in form - is Pekerman’s absolute faith that the former Manchester United forward can recover that form, and what is then required to actually get Falcao into the team.

The 28-year-old has never been able to operate as a lone front man, and the consequent move to two up front has removed all of Colombia’s old verve.

The main reason for that is equally obvious. Their main creative player, the brilliant James Rodriguez, has been shunted out wide and Colombia then don’t have the forward players to run off his perceptive passes and dribbling.

It is as if they are trying to always force play, rather than so easily create, as they did in the World Cup. That, again, can be seen in the stats.

Colombia have had more possession than in the World Cup (52.1% to 47.6%), are averaging more shots (15.3 to 11.4), but far fewer on target (2 to 4.4). In other words, their play just isn’t as devastating. With James on the wing, too, it is little wonder they are crossing the ball so much more (23.3 per game at the Copa America to 13 at the World Cup).

It is even less wonder that they looked so much better and productive when Falcao was taken off in both the Brazil and Peru games.

That is why Pekerman's billing of this game may require him to take a big decision. Then again, he may mostly be concerned with just stopping Argentina. In that case, it'll be over to Martino.

Either way, one of these sides is probably going to have to offer something we haven't quite seen yet in this Copa America.

They've got to give us something to envy.