Martino tries with Demichelis and Pinola

Argentina coach prepares for Bolivia clash with two new central defenders

After the 2-1 away victory over Chile on Thursday, Argentina coach Gerardo Martino tried with Martín Demichelis and Javier Pinola as central defenders in yesterday’s practice session for Tuesday’s match against Bolivia at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium in Córdoba in the sixth round of the World Cup South American qualifiers.

The new defenders pair seem to be the coach’s choice to replace Nicolás Otamendi and Ramiro Funes Mori, who played against Chile and both have a one-match ban.

The 35-year-old Demichelis plays for Manchester City. Although he is usually benched, he has been playing a lot for the English team in the last weeks due to Vincent Kompany’s injuries.

The former River Plate and Bayern Munich defender won more support from fans after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where he received a last-minute call by coach Alejandro Sabella to join the Argentine squad and earned a place in the first team during the tournament. Tuesday’s match could be one of his last with the national team.

Pinola was called up by Martino to be part of the team for the second time in his career. The 33-year-old defender played one match with the Albiceleste in 2007, with Alfio Basile as coach.

The former Racing Club and Germany’s Nürnberg player Pinola joined Rosario Central last year and won the attention of Martino due to his fantastic form with Eduardo Coudet’s team. Central battled for the 2015 First Division tournament until the end, reached the Copa Argentina final last year and is now competing for both the Transitional championship and Libertadores Cup, and Pinola is one of the main reasons for those campaigns.

Martino will leave Mateo Mussachio on the bench, as the Villarreal defender has just recovered from an injury.

Apart from Otamendi and Funes Mori, Ezequiel Lavezzi cannot be part of the team either, as he also has a one-game ban.

In yesterday’s practice session, the coach made another change: Javier Mascherano took Matías Kranevitter’s place as defensive midfielder.

Martino fielded: Sergio Romero; Gabriel Mercado, Demichelis, Pinola, Marcos Rojo; Lucas Biglia, Mascherano, Éver Banega; Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero and Ángel Di María.

Meanwhile, Bolivia coach Julio César Baldivieso said yesterday that he is thinking about using a man-to-man defence for Messi in Córdoba.

“We’re thinking about using a man-to-man defence for Messi, but he is not the only one who can make the difference. It’s complicated to face Argentina, a team full of soccer stars,” said Baldivieso in Radio Mitre.

The Bolivian side returned to training sessions yesterday after losing 3-2 at home to Colombia on Thursday and the coach is planning to make many changes due to suspensions and injuries.

“Argentina did not play well against Chile, but in soccer you win with goals, and we did not deserve to lose against Colombia,” he said.

Bolivia will have to make at least three changes. Defenders Edward Zenteno and Leonel Morales will miss the match due to a one-game suspension and an injury, respectively. Midfielder Damián Lizio left the squad for personal issues.

Baldivieso’s job is already in jeopardy due to his tense relation with the federation officials, one of them Walter Torrico, due to the poor results in the qualifiers.

The coach said after his defeat on Thursday that these could be his “last days in charge of the team.” A hard defeat against Argentina could mean the end of his stint as Bolivia coach.

Martino’s men have eight points after five games, while Bolivia has only three.