There have been countless moments in soccer when a player, who was about to sit outside before the match, luckily got an opportunity to play and made history by preforming brilliantly; this is something that happened with Argentina national side in Copa America quarterfinal against Colombia. Actually, match finished its first ninety minutes without a score on the card hence match entered into penalty shootout where Carlos Tevez scored the decisive spot kick to take his side into semis. But now, it is being revealed by the national coach Gerardo Martino that they were earlier planning not to allow Tevez take the penalty as they were fearing he may miss the shot as he did in 2011 Copa America against Uruguay. But luck was with striker that day and he made history by scoring the winner for his side. Talking about the critical moments when team think-tank was discussing about who should take forward line to fire the penalty shots, Martino said, “Football is like that sometimes. I didn’t put Tevez in among the first five penalties because he had missed in the previous Copa America.
“We tried to prevent him having to go up and take one but eventually it came around to him. That’s football, and tomorrow’s headlines will all be about redemption.”
Talking about their dominance in first ninety minutes when they enjoyed the ball possession more than their opponents, 52-year-old added that they had almost missed the advantage when both of their shots were leveled by the Columbians and it was 31-year-old who did not disappoint them this time, he said, “We bossed the 90 minutes. I think we neutralised them in the way we pressed. I remember Colombia having a headed chance from a corner and that was about it.
“David Ospina was the main figure on the pitch, but there have been many games in the past like this one. Sometimes you don’t get what you should for dominating, and I cannot imagine what it would have been like if we were sat here now talking about a defeat. If there was one failure today it was that we didn’t score, but that’s part of the game. But the fact we have played like we have is a positive.”