Pressure on Brazil, says Sabella

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella believes playing in front of their own fans could be a burden for Brazil in the 2014 World Cup.

Argentina have made a positive start to CONMEBOL qualifying, with a loss to Venezuela the only blemish in four games which have yielded seven points and earned a share of the lead with Uruguay.

Brazil have no need to qualify from South America as hosts, something Sabella said could be both a positive and negative for their continental rivals.

“Home advantage can be a double-edged sword and it all depends on the character of the players. Brazilian players are very special and possess tremendous technique. If they hit their stride they can destroy you, wipe the floor with you, thrash you,” the coach told Fifa.com on Monday.

“They’ll also be under pressure though. They’ll have the obligation of having to win and we’ll have to see how they handle that. They’ll be big favourites, of course.”

The former Estudiantes man does not believe in self-criticism, once more repeating Mao-Tse-Tung’s famous quote that: “It is a symptom of weakness. There’s something in that because it is a weakness when taken to an extreme.”

“Reading that helped me because I’ve always been critical with myself.”

Sabella admits, however, that defensive frailties remain a concern.

“Overhauling the defence is taking a bit more time, that’s true,” he said.

“We need to stay grounded about it but when you’ve got strikers of the quality of Messi, Higuain and Aguero, I don’t think people should be offended by anyone saying the backline is proving to be a bit more of a headache.”

Argentina resume their qualifying campaign in June at home to Ecuador.