Argentina, have come to Germany, to play the home side, and, not only won comfortably, but it could have been a bigger margin.
But it was not the score line that made me happy (of course that helped as well), but the way in which the team played, and functioned.
We have all been saying for a long time that with individual superstars was not enough to win trophies at international level.
Argentina needed a Manager that can form a group, with commitment, team spirit, where they all fight for each other, and do what is good for the sake of the team.
That was the priority. Once you have formed that group, then you need to look for ways to get the best out of the stars.
And Sabella has come in a while ago and has worked on that, and has begun to achieve that also.
I was one that criticised the Manager for some tactics or some things he said before games before, but slowly he is proving me wrong.
I am not getting carried away, and I am not jumping on any bandwagons.
As a football writer, I have to be fair, and say the things the way they are.
Argentina, for the first time in many years, has a sense of team spirit and I like it.
Yes, we still have huge problems at the back, but the way the Manager is working, I think we will improve there as well.
Going forward the National Side has nothing to fear anybody.
The work Alejandro Sabella is putting on shows that he wants dynamic midfielders, quick passing and distribution to exploit the speed and accuracy of the forwards.
Before the game, the German player Reus, said that Germany knows how to mark Messi.
The problem with that sort of statement is that if you base your tactics in how to stop Messi, you are going to have problems.
Lio himself does not know what he is going to do when the ball comes to him, you can’t prepare for the unpredictable.
There may be ways to contain him, make him receive the ball in places where he does not feel as comfortable, but all he needs is an improvised turn, and your tactic becomes a failure.
It was a friendly game. But was it only a friendly? In the stage of development that the albiceleste are at the moment, a victory of that calibre reinforces to the players that “the team over individuals” theory is the right way to go.
So it is moral boosting, a step forward against a world class name, that the last time we met gave us a comprehensive 4-1 hiding.
It was 3-1, it could have been more, but what matters is not the names or the score, but the team, and on that respect, they have passed the test.