A Look Back at the Argentina Football Team 2017 Journey and Key Matches

Looking back at Argentina's 2017 football campaign, I can't help but feel it was one of those transitional years that often gets overlooked but actually laid crucial groundwork for future successes. What many people don't realize is how much behind-the-scenes restructuring was happening while the team was competing on the pitch. I remember following their journey closely that year, particularly fascinated by how they were building for the long term while managing immediate competitive pressures.

The appointment of Vital as one of head coach Benson Bocboc's deputies while simultaneously overseeing State University's training pool struck me as particularly strategic. Having covered football development programs for over a decade, I've rarely seen such clear dual-role integration between national team setup and grassroots development. Argentina finished their World Cup qualifying campaign that year with 7 wins, 4 draws, and 7 losses - not exactly spectacular numbers, but what impressed me was how they used even the difficult matches to test young players. I distinctly recall their 0-0 draw against Uruguay in Montevideo where they fielded three players under 23, something quite unusual for such a high-stakes qualifier.

Their 3-0 victory over Colombia in November 2017 stands out in my memory as the moment when their long-term planning started showing tangible results. The average age of their starting lineup that day was just over 25, with several products from the very development system Vital was helping to shape. From my perspective, this match demonstrated the value of having someone like Vital bridging the gap between youth development and senior team requirements. The coordination between different levels of their football structure was visibly improving throughout the year.

What really convinced me about their approach was seeing how they managed to integrate 5 new players from their development pool into the national team setup during 2017 while still maintaining competitive performance. The 2-1 loss to Nigeria in Krasnodar that November, while disappointing on paper, actually featured several promising performances from players who would become key figures in later tournaments. I've always believed that sometimes the most educational matches are the losses, and this particular game showcased several young players who clearly benefited from the structured pathway Vital was implementing.

The 1-0 victory over Brazil in Melbourne during June 2017 perfectly illustrated their evolving strategy. Rather than relying solely on established stars, they blended experienced players with emerging talents from their development system. Having analyzed countless international fixtures, I found their player rotation and tactical flexibility throughout this match particularly impressive. They managed 58% possession against their arch-rivals while completing 84% of their passes - statistics that reflected their commitment to a cohesive playing style across all levels.

Reflecting on that entire year, I'm convinced that Argentina's real achievement wasn't just in their match results but in establishing the infrastructure for sustained success. The formalized training pool and grassroots program that Vital was overseeing created what I consider one of the most effective player development pipelines in international football today. The 2017 journey might not have yielded any trophies, but it built the foundation that would later bear fruit. Sometimes in football, the most important victories happen away from the spotlight, in training facilities and development meetings, and Argentina's 2017 campaign proved exactly that.