Towards the end of his time in charge of Chile, Jorge Sampaoli noted a change in Arturo Vidal. The midfielder had moved on from Juventus a couple of months previously, and Sampaoli could already see an improvement in one particular aspect of his game.
“He positions himself better than he did before,” he explained. “Which is natural considering the team he now plays for.”
The team was Bayern Munich, their coach Pep Guardiola. Sampaoli and members of his coaching staff are admitted admirers and have applied aspects of the Catalan’s approach, so to have a player accustomed to the movements and structure of a Guardiola side was of clear benefit.
Now, with Argentina, Sampaoli looks set to reap the rewards of Guardiola’s work with Nicolas Otamendi and Sergio Aguero at Manchester City.
At club level, Aguero has recently had to get used to playing a role that requires him to drop off the front more often to combine with colleagues, leaving Gabriel Jesus further forward. In the friendly against Russia on Saturday, he demonstrated those same skills for Argentina.
In his first start under Sampaoli, he regularly found space between the lines to receive and linked well with teammates, particularly so on a couple of occasions with Lionel Messi. He scored the only goal of the game and then added to that with another in the 2-4 defeat to Nigeria on Tuesday. A pair of collaborative and goal-scoring displays may well have been enough to move him back to the top of the number-nine pecking order.
Even more impressive was the way that Otamendi performed during the international break. His defensive qualities are well-suited to the three-man defence Sampaoli used in the two fixtures, but it was his work on the ball that truly caught the eye.
Against Russia, the central defender German Pezzella and defensive midfielder Matias Kranevitter were essentially there to draw opponents in and shuffle the ball out to the two wide central defenders so that they could step forward and distribute. Javier Mascherano did that well from the right of the defence, while on the left, Otamendi showed increased confidence and precision in possession compared to his previous outings.
The 29-year-old strode forward when space opened up and produced a number of crisp and accurate passes to receivers between the lines. A perfect diagonal switch out to Eduardo Salvio on the right showed impressive range. He followed that with another similar display against Nigeria, with the highlight being a neat slipped pass into the area for Enzo Perez.
Otamendi has always been solid on the ball, but he is now a player who uses it with more intelligence and conviction. He is willing to take an extra touch to open up space for a forward pass. Guardiola’s mark is clearly visible.
With limited training time, players who can act as building blocks for an identity are valuable resources in international football. Argentina are undoubtedly still a work in progress, as their vulnerability to the slick counters of Nigeria made painfully clear, but Sampaoli does gradually seem to be getting his ideas across. It is a process that will only be accelerated by having players like Aguero and Otamendi at his disposal.
