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On the face of things, Argentina fans have plenty to be happy about following their 2-1 victory over Colombia. The team cut short a run of two matches without a win in the suffocating heat of Barranquilla, in front of an intensely passionate crowd and against a team which have proved themselves extremely capable at the start of this campaign.
Something, however, still does not feel right about this Albiceleste set-up, and until coach Alejandro Sabella finds the remedy, the team will continue to suffer through 90 minutes. That factor, contradictorily enough, is Lionel Messi.
The Barcelona star was once more the key to success for Argentina. After an anonymous first-half 'La Pulga' suddenly burst into life, and not only was the creative force behind the side's equaliser but even had the presence of mind to storm into the area and finish the move himself, after David Ospina had made a mess of Jose Sosa's cross.
He repeated his heroics in the final minutes, having been released one-on-one with the Colombian defence in a passage that was only ever going to have one outcome. Messi shrugged off his marker, glided past the prostrate Mario Yepes and played a delicate through ball to put Gonzalo Higuain through on goal. 'Pipita' may not have been able to beat Ospina, but the rebound fell kindly to Sergio Aguero to drive home and seal victory. Cue unrestrained joy on the pitch and on the Argentine bench, as Sabella leaped up to celebrate an important triumph in his team's quest to reach Brazil 2014.
Apart from the result, there was precious little to get excited about from the Argentine point of view. Playing a side missing no less than four key starters, the Albiceleste spluttered and stumbled through the game and, if not for Ospina's inattention which changed the fixture, could well have been defeated. The chief concern, clear to all observers, is the unhealthy dependence the nation has on Messi to win and save games.
When Messi has space and the ball at his feet, the side is dynamic, fluid and dangerous. When he is deprived of possession, or having an off-day, they look ponderous and pedestrian going forward, and completely toothless. Tuesday's midfield trio of Rodrigo Brana, Pablo Guinazu and Javier Mascherano were honest but offered nothing in the opposition half, while Sosa fails by a long way to convince as an international-class playmaker. There is little impact coming from the flanks, and only when their talismanic No. 10 is surging forward do the Albiceleste look to reach anything near their true potential.
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