24+1

It might be the greatest team goal in the history of the world cup! Argentina, with one goal on the boards, turn the ball over to Serbia Montenegro, but quickly win it back when a player sprints over 30 yards to tackle challenge from behind. His tackle sends the ball to a teammate who one-touches it forward to initiate a counter attack…pass #1. What follows is almost half a minute of straight possession in which Argentine complete 23 additional passes – 24 total passes in and out of pressure. The last is a little back-heal by Crespo as he draws 2 defenders in the box. The pass sets the ball up for Cambiasso to poke it past the keeper with his left foot. Fantastic!

At this point SM are still playing with intensity, attempting to pressure ball handlers or close down passing lanes, but Argentina not only handle the ball too well, they move to new spaces to quickly for markers to keep up. I would call it a text book goal, but no textbook ever written called for 24 consecutive passes, all under 20 yards in length, to both sides of the pitch, including 8 different players, ending with a back heal and a goal!

I’ll tell you this now…if Argentina play this way through the rest of the tournament, not only will they win, but they will forever complicate discussions about the best World Cup side ever.

Want to see what I’m talking about? Watch the goal here:
http://www.punterjon.com/videos/argentina_24-moby.wmv