Angel di Maria has gotten used to proving people wrong.
Suddenly thought to be surplus to requirements at Real Madrid following the September arrival of Gareth Bale, the attacker made himself vital to Los Blancos’ 4-3-3 formation and went on to enjoy the finest season of his club career.
No player in La Liga came close to matching the 26-year-old’s 17 assists in 2013-14, and in all competitions he tallied an eye-popping 24 helpers to go along with his 11 goals. Previously used as a winger, he was shifted to the centre of the park by Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti (the move was largely inspired by the Italian’s assistant, Zinedine Zidane), and in a mostly linking role between a defensive midfield and high-octane attack he put in a memorable campaign.
That he was already accustomed to the position from his time with the Argentine national team only made his Real Madrid alternation smoother, and to that end Ancelotti and Zidane owe Albiceleste manager Alejandro Sabella their gratitude.
But Argentina stand to benefit from Di Maria’s treble-winning season as well. What Sabella will be expecting of the midfielder stands to be similar to what Real Madrid hoped he’d achieve after switching from the wing, and it could be argued that no single player will be as important to the two-time World Cup winners as the former Rosario Central and Benfica man over the coming weeks in Brazil.
Not even Lionel Messi.
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As a matter of fact, Messi’s form is more a subject of concern than reason for optimism in the Argentina camp at the moment. Having just completed a club campaign that was largely seen as underwhelming (by his high standards, the forward is now being counted on to slot into an international setup that has never seen him at his best.
And he won’t be helped by the monumental pressure under which he finds himself. Nothing short of the World Cup will suffice, and then there is a personal legacy that requires international success in order to be considered among the greatest footballers of all time alongside the likes of Pepe and Diego Maradona.
Sabella, to his credit, has done his best to make Messi comfortable in the Albiceleste strip, going so far as to cocoon the 26-year-old in a squad designed to accommodate him.
“There is a team which must help Messi,” the manager said as his side began its World Cup preparations. “He feels sheltered by his teammates.”
Di Maria, for his part, is already familiar with an arrangement devised to best make use of a particular player. Real Madrid, after all, look to spring Cristiano Ronaldo whenever possible, and the 4-3-3 was largely put in place to get the best out of both he and Bale.
That it succeeded was due in no small part to Di Maria’s contribution—to his shiftiness, his speed, his creativity and his willingness to help out on the defensive side of the ball.
In Fernando Gago and Javier Mascherano, Argentina already have a pair of ball-winners in the centre of the park, so it follows that Di Maria’s function at the World Cup will be one of distribution, just as it is at Real Madrid, where Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric operate from deeper in midfield.
Ahead of him, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Messi will be arranged in a sort of side-ways triangle rather than a flat front three. It is all intended to work the ball forward, along the ground, to the trio of talented attackers. But it begins with Di Maria, and over the course of the tournament much of what Argentina create in the final third will have his fingerprints all over it.
Few players possess the tactical nous for making the sort of mid-season relocation that was required of Di Maria, and next to none could have done it as so high a level.
But that he did was a major factor in a historic spring for Real Madrid, and if he continues at the same level it could be a similarly historic summer for Argentina.
Jerrad Peters is a Winnipeg-based writer. Follow him on Twitter.