Boca Juniors forward Carlos Tevez cannot compensate for the absence of Barcelona striker Lionel Messi in the Argentina squad because the two are different kinds of players, said Argentina coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino.
Messi is sitting out the Albiceleste’s first three 2018 World Cup qualifying matches due to a knee injury sustained last month. Argentina were already upset by Ecuador, 2-0, last week and face Paraguay on Tuesday night.
Martino is also missing Sergio Aguero, who now faces a month on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury during the loss to Ecuador.
“Carlos can’t replace Lionel Messi and I don’t say that because of [Messi’s] category, but because of his role,” said Martino on Monday. “Because Leo starts as a No. 7 and I don’t see Carlos going to the wings. If the situation presents itself, but never from the start, but it would depend on the match situation, maybe it could happen, but as the match develops, it is never in our best interest to have him on the wings and that is why we are thinking about the middle.”
Martino said Tevez can play in the position he did at Juventus or how he now plays for Boca.
Lazio midfielder Lucas Biglia is out against Paraguay with a thigh strain and Ezequiel Garay left the squad because his wife gave birth on Monday.
“The team that steps onto the pitch will be up to the task. The amount of players missing isn’t an excuse for us,” Martino said.
“We called 28 players, we saw the problems that we could have, and more appeared.”
Argentina beat Paraguay 6-1 in the second of their two meetings at the Copa America.
“I find it very difficult to think about winning without a good performance. The match is very important,” Martino said. “From the beginning I have noticed resistance to this style of play. I thought that Copa America was going to be the starting point to its acceptance. And I am not referring to that of the players and the coaches, but rather to the football media, all of you.
“The idea is not negotiable. It is very difficult to have the courage to present a new style of play to a group of players to whom we have presented one way to them and suddenly we change it drastically,” he said.
“There is an idea we are trying to accomplish and that idea has solutions to the problems.
“We don’t negotiate on our style of play. You can have modifications according to the opponent. For instance, there is a solution to the damage from Ecuador.
“The two Copa America matches with Paraguay were similar. I imagine we will take charge of the game.”
Paraguay beat Venezuela 1-0 away to get their campaign off to the perfect start. Martino coached Paraguay at the 2010 World Cup.
