Gerardo Martino feels Carlos Tevez cannot replace the injured Lionel Messi

Argentina coach Gerardo Martino feels Carlos Tevez will be unable to do the job usually completed by Lionel Messi for his country, insisting he can only play in a more central role.

A knee injury has ruled out the Barcelona star until at least next month, with Messi missing several important World Cup qualifiers for his country, and with Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero also side-lined through injury, the Argentine attack looks thin.
However, coach Martino admits Boca Juniors forward Tevez cannot replicate what Messi is able to do from the wings, saying he will only be able to deploy him from a more central position for Tuesday’s clash against Paraguay.
"Tevez cannot do Messi's role because Lionel plays like a number seven and I do not see Carlos playing there," Martino said.
"For Carlos it does not suit him at all to go to the wings. He can play in the position that he did at Juventus or how he does now at Boca."
With Lucas Biglia missing through injury as well and Ezequiel Lavezzi having left ahead of the birth of his child, the World Cup and Copa America runners-up are severely depleted, yet their manager is unconcerned.
"The team that steps onto the pitch will be up to the task. The amount of players missing isn't an excuse for us," Martino added.
"We called 28 players, we saw the problems that we could have, and more appeared."
Having lost to Ecuador in their opening qualifier last week, Martino knows it’s vital to grab all three points on offer against Paraguay on Tuesday.
"I find it very difficult to think about winning without a good performance. The match is very important," he said.
"There is an idea we are trying to accomplish and that idea has solutions to the problems.
"We don't negotiate on our style of play. You can have modifications according to the opponent. For instance, there is a solution to the damage from Ecuador.
"The two Copa America matches with Paraguay were similar. I imagine we will take charge of the game."