Football

World Cup 2022: Arrigo Sacchi names Argentina star as his ideal striker

World Cup 2022: Arrigo Sacchi names Argentina star as his ideal striker

Former AC Milan and Italy Coach, Arrigo Sacchi has said that Argentina striker, Julien Alvarez would his “ideal striker”. The Manchester City forward has enjoyed an excellent World Cup, netting on four separate occasions to help his nation to the World Cup final. 

With Alvarez still in the running for the Golden Boot, Sacchi has said in an interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport that Alvarez deserved to take Lautaro Martinez’s starting spot after the Inter Milan forward struggled in Argentina’s opening two games of the competition. Sacchi said:

“Alvarez runs more than Lautaro and given that Messi doesn’t do it, Scaloni (the Argentina boss), needs somebody who runs a lot even without the ball. Alvarez would have been the ideal centre forward for me.”

Sachhi and Wenger in agreement about Croatia

Sacchi watched the semi-final between Argentina and Croatia alongside former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger. In the same interview, Sachhi commented that both he and Wenger were in agreement about Croatia and their captain, Luke Modric. 

“I was sitting close to Arsene Wenger and after 30 minutes, we thought the same thing. As a team, Croatia were better than Argentina and watching Luka Modric is always a pleasure. 

“Mateo Kovacic surprised me, but Croatia had played extra time in the previous two games. In modern times, it’s like playing one game more. They could not repeat the perfect match against Brazil. They conceded a goal with a counter-attack, they lacked a shield in front of the defence.”

Despite believing that Croatia were the better team, Sachhi still believes that Argentina have a chance of lifting the World Cup trophy on Sunday because of Lionel Messi. 

“They have experienced players with a superior mentality and are solid defensively. A lot will depend on Messi who knows how to be loved. I haven’t seen him blame a teammate yet.”

messi and alvarez

Sachhi on France

If Messi is to get his hands on the World Cup trophy on Sunday then he and his teammates are going to need to overcome the current World Champions, France. Didier Deschamps’ side are going for the remarkable feat of winning back-to-back world cups, something no nation has achieved since 1962. 

Sachhi believes that they “strongly rely on Kylian Mbappe” despite having other players who can also inflict damage on their opponents. The Italian legend unsurprisingly reserved special praise for two AC Milan players. 

“Griezmann has been extraordinary, he hasn’t gotten a game wrong. Adrien Rabiot has done well too and France felt his absence against Morocco. 

Theo Hernandez respects his left-back duties more with France. When he is at Milan, it’s difficult to understand if he is a defender, a winger or a striker. Giroud is an amazing professional and he deserves this satisfaction.”

Reliability over quality 

In true Italian style, Sachhi ended his interview with Gazzetta Dello Sport by saying that he would always pick “reliable men before good footballers” when he was a coach in reference to the sides which have disappointed him at the World Cup.

Going into the World Cup final on Sunday, France and Argentina will both be hoping that they can find the perfect blend of reliability and quality in order to come out on top.


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