Messi and Gago – good friends but an even deadlier combination

When Lionel Messi explained in the post-Bosnia and Herzegovina match press conference,”In the first half I was not able to play as I wanted. Things did not go my way. With Gago there is an understanding. When he came on, I moved a few metres ahead“, there was a wide spread nod of agreement. This was just one game, and a special case, given it was a World Cup opener but if Argentine qualification taught us anything it was Sabella’s 4-3-3 with Fernando Gago in midfield is instrumental in getting the best out of Lionel Messi.

Prior to the appointment of Alejandro Sabella, the criticism of Lionel Messi had been that he had never managed to perform at the level that we had become so accustomed to while at Barcelona. A single goal in all previous World Cup appearances coinciding with Argentine failure had led to Messi becoming something of a scapegoat and the suggestion that he could never lay claim to being the ‘greatest of all time.’

However, after the disappointment of the 2011 Copa América, Sergio Batista was replaced by Alejandro Sabella and the 59-year-old, former Sheffield United and Leeds United midfielder decided to build his side around the talents of Messi. Making the four-time Ballon D’or winner his captain and finally settling on a formation that despite being potentially open to attack, played to the strengths of his number 10.

Messi scored his first hattrick for La Albiceleste against Switzerland in a friendly in 2012 and followed it with another in a dazzling performance against Brazil in the USA. Meanwhile in World Cup qualification, other than an early hiccup away to Venezuela, Argentina did what they had failed to do four years earlier and sweep the competition away before them.

Messi was rampant playing in a front three with old friend, Sergio Agüero and Gonzalo Higuaín and Ángel Di María providing the lung-bursting energy from deep. 10 goals in qualification and 20 of his 39 in total for Argentina coming in this free flowing Sabella formation.

However, of equal or perhaps even more importance was the role of Fernando Gago. Teammates from Argentina’s 2005 World Youth Championship winning side and fellow Gold Medalists from the 2008 Olympic games, Messi and Gago share an incredible understanding.

Messi and Gago part of the 2005 Youth Championship winning side

Gago would seem to have a straight-forward enough role in Sabella’s side. Hold the midfield together with Javier Mascherano but importantly get the ball to Messi as quickly as possible and in positions where he can exact the most damage. This all sounds simple enough but several other players in the same role do not have quite the same effect as Gago.

Perhaps his failed spell at Real Madrid and the fact that Gago is now back in Argentina plying his trade for original club, Boca Juniors leads to slightly miscued views of him from Europe but make no mistake of his importance to Argentina.

Without wanting to dwell on Sunday’s World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the mitigating circumstance of the event should be taken into account and Sabella will probably revisit the 5-3-2 during the competition, (for this reason it served a useful purpose of experimentation) it can be used to provide an example as to why the 4-3-3 with Fernando Gago leads to a far more productive and dangerous Messi, and therefore a more productive and dangerous Argentina.

In one of the poorest performances under Sabella during the first half of the match, Messi cut an isolated figure, guilty of giving the ball away cheaply on a number of occasions. In the attacking third, Messi completed only 3 of the 11 passes attempted (27.2%) and had no shots on goal. Dropping deeper to pick the ball up, Messi was unable to make any impact on the game as Bosnia successfully snuffed out any attempt to initiate attacks.

The first game of the World Cup and a wariness of Bosnia’s attacking threat may have led to Sabella naming this initial eleven. Whatever the reason, Messi explained that “he realised we were lagging behind, that there weren’t enough players up front. When Higuaín came on we generated a lot more opportunities.”

At the break Argentina introduced Gonzalo Higuaín and Fernando Gago and reverted to the more familiar 4-3-3 system. Immediately, Messi started seeing the ball in more dangerous positions and in addition to his wonderful winning goal in the 61st minute, he completed 15 of 20 passes in the attacking third (75%).

Fernando Gago completed a hugely impressive 57 of 59 passes (96.6%) and 8 of 9(88.8%) in the attacking third and, importantly, found Messi on 18 occasions. This combination of passes was the most common in the match other than interchanges between Javier Mascherano and Ángel Di María but in just 45 minutes.

The second half performance was far from the best Argentina has looked under Sabella but was a marked improvement from the wayward first half. Not only did Messi look far better but he was able to shake off the rather sizable monkey from his back by scoring his second World Cup goal, 8 years after his first in the 6-0 demolition of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006.

The pressure now lifted off Messi with the goal and off Argentina with the opening three points, Sabella will hopefully be able to take off the shackles against Iran on Saturday. Iran should not be able to expose any defensive frailties that the formation may have and allow Argentina’s attackers to thrive.