After battling their way to a fifth World Cup final in the country’s history, Argentina narrowly fell to a superior Germany team on Sunday night and, while they can be proud of their progress, the class of 2014 will by no means be remembered as a vintage side.
Having been beaten 1-0 in extra time by Joachim Löw’s men, Argentina showed the impressive levels of commitment and defensive organisation that have typified their campaign. After nearly going all the way in Brazil, however, they could now be heading into something of a transitional period.
While reaching a World Cup final remains a great achievement for any team, the Albiceleste never truly convinced the watching world this summer as they pushed pragmatic football to its very limits.
Though few would argue with coach Alejandro Sabella’s desire to build his side around the mesmerising Lionel Messi, his main man flitted in and out of the tournament in the knockout stages and it is a testament to the grit and determination found throughout the rest of this side that they got as far as they did.
Now that the dream of glory is finally over, the bigger picture hints at tough times to come.
Having arrived in Brazil with the oldest squad of any nation, with an average age of 28.9 and eight players over the age of 30, this was a side designed with the sole aim of completing the job this summer.
With their youngest player, 24-year-old Marcos Rojo, only slightly younger than the average age of the entire Ghana squad (25.44), the nation will look ahead anxiously as the dust settles on 2014’s carnival of football.
A quick glance through the Argentina squad will tell you that goalkeeper Romero has time on his side at 27 but there is little cause for optimism elsewhere. At the back, Hugo Campagnaro and Martin Demichelis are coming to the end of their careers while the impressive Ezequiel Garay and Pablo Zabaleta are already peaking.
In midfield and up front it is a similar story with the excellent Mascherano, Messi and co. all arguably at their peak and Angel Di Maria, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Inter’s Ricky Alvarez coming closest to providing the side with any semblance of youth at 26-years-old.
Beyond the 23 in Brazil, meanwhile, aside from a few exciting youngsters like Erik Lamela and 20-year-old Leandro Paredes there are no real standout prospects threatening to burst into the fold and set the world alight.
One final cause for concern is the question of who will lead this side post-Brazil. Having taken Argentina to their first World Cup final in 24 years, Sabella announced shortly before the match that he would be stepping down from his role regardless of the result.
While history will remember another run to a World Cup final, Argentina never fully convinced throughout this tournament and, if it wasn’t for the brilliance of Messi in the early stages – with four man-of-the-match awards and four goals in his team’s first four games – their overriding focus on substance over style could well have ended in much less flattering circumstances.
Ultimately, the ends very much justified the means and Argentina’s progress remains a victory for pragmatic football as well as a testament to playing to your strengths. On a more general level, however, the footballing world should be quietly happy that their limited play didn’t result in World Cup glory.
With wholesale changes now on the horizon, it could well be a while before Argentina come this close to tasting international glory again.
Follow Joseph Lambert on Twitter: @jaltranslation
