In recent years, the rivalry between France and Argentina has emerged as the pre-eminent rivalry in international football. Having split the matches in the 2018 World Cup’s round of 16 and the final of the 2022 World Cup, the two powerhouses’ Olympic squads were now set to go head-to-head in the quarterfinals - this time on France’s home turf.
The home side came out on top by a 1-0 scoreline. Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early header was enough to ensure that Les Bleus’ under-23 unit would advance to the semifinals. As for Argentina, on the other hand, their bid to claim a third Olympic title ended here. While there were multiple figures who could easily have been singled out as being particularly at fault, one player who certainly deserves his share of the smoke is centre-forward Julián Álvarez.
The Manchester City player, selected as one-third of La Albiceleste’s overage trio for the tournament, seemed almost non-existent in this match. This really has been the case throughout the entire tournament - “La Araña” has looked a shadow of the player whose performances were vital in helping Argentina claim the 2022 World Cup title. This is undoubtedly a clear indictment against the player who one would ordinarily have expected to have been among the best, if not the single best, players in this Olympic tournament.
Is it possible that fatigue caught up to Álvarez after he’d just been part of the squad that won the Copa América less than a month ago? That’s certainly not out of the question; however, it also has to be noted that for the majority of the Copa, Álvarez was overshadowed by Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martínez - the player who he’d consigned to the bench during Argentina’s victorious World Cup run in Qatar. This latest showing in France against what are ostensibly easier opponents could only have hurt his case.
At this point, Álvarez has become one of the more overrated players in world football today; he still largely seems to be living off the reputation he developed during Argentina’s World Cup triumph. Even in his two seasons thus far at the Etihad Stadium, Álvarez has been somewhat underwhelming. This is especially true of last season, his second with the Citizens and his first as a regular starter. Álvarez scored just 11 league goals - a somewhat pedestrian return considering the fact that City found the net 96 times on their way to clinching an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title. With this figure, Álvarez also significantly underperformed in comparison to his xG of around 14.
On the surface, Álvarez seems close to having it all. He’s a high-level playmaker and dribbler as well as a capable set-piece taker; his pressing skills are also somewhat underrated. However, so far the story of his time at City has been “the sum of the parts is less than the whole” - he just hasn’t been able to put it all together except during the World Cup almost two years ago.
Recently, Pep Guardiola, who’s about to begin his final season coaching City, said in an interview that he remained uncertain about selecting Álvarez in crucial matches and that there were many other players wanting to play in them, not just Álvarez. While Guardiola’s comments were indirect as expected, they were clearly not anything like a ringing endorsement of Álvarez or his future at the club.
Thus, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that City are supposedly looking into moving on from Álvarez. Atlético Madrid are now reportedly considering bringing him to the Spanish capital for €60 million; however, with all due respect to Atlético, this would be quite obviously a step down for Álvarez. It’s starting to become clearer and clearer that though he might not be a scrub by any means, Álvarez is just not at the level which City need if they are to win the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
While at just 24 there’s still time for Julián Álvarez to turn it around, it’s becoming less and less likely that there’s a place for him in Manchester City’s long-term plans. For all we know, he might not even be a City player at all by the time City begin their Premier League campaign against Chelsea in two weeks’ time.
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