FRANCE 98 – Argentina-Japan – Almeyda: “The Japanese posed us lots of problems”

Argentina-Japan – Almeyda: “The Japanese posed us lots of problems”

14.06.98 20h05 CET

Matias ALMEYDA (5)

“The Japanese posed us lots of problems, they are very good players, skilful and quick. One error on either side could have been fatal. That’s why at 1-0 we backed off too much. This style of play doesn’t suit ARGENTINA so to improve our game we’re going to watch the video of the match all next week.”

Ariel ORTEGA (10)

” We started the game badly because we were very anxious, we’d been waiting for this match for a long time. The first match of the competition is the most important, that’s why we wanted to win at any price. The Japanese really wanted to play and prevented us from playing our best football. I hope we will be calmer for the next two games.”

José CHAMOT (3)

“When PASSARELLA put me on after SENSINI’s unfortunate injury, I was very happy. We all know that there are 22 squad members, that’s why I wanted to give everything at the end of this match. However I didn’t think I’d get on the pitch in this game. All week we’ve been discussing with the medical team and we decided that I would be rested against the Japanese. I felt really comfortable as soon as I got on the pitch which makes me very optimistic for the rest of the competition.”