With Copa America 2011 kicking off in Argentina on July 1st, the hopes of the host nation will undoubtedly rely on the shoulders of Lionel Messi. The Barcelona man’s trickery and clinical finishing will definitely be key to unlocking defences if Sergio Bataista’s side are to lift the cup on home soil but a look at Argentina’s provisional squad suggests they have plenty of players with the ability to beat an opponent.

Messi may set the standard with 5.6 Successful Dribbles per game but the following five Argentina players come into the tournament having shown in the previous season that they, too, have the necessary skills to make a difference:

Javier Pastore 2.6 Successful Dribbles per game
The much-sought after 21 year old was top scorer for Palermo last season, grabbing 11 Goals from an average of 2.3 Shots per game. Pastore was joint second for Assists, with 5, meaning he played a part in more Palermo goals than any of his team mates in 2010/11, as his team earned an eighth place finish in Serie A.

Pastore made 34 appearances, starring alongside Josip Ilicic behind a single striker in a 4-3-2-1 system and it’s clear Palermo are heavily reliant on his trickery to make things happen; Pastore’s 2.6 Successful Dribbles -similar to Lllie’s Eden Hazard, with 2.7- is easily the highest for his club side, with Ilicic next best on 1.0.

His eye for a pass is highlighted with 2.23 Key Passes per game (a total similar to Franck Ribery‘s 2.2), only beaten by Ilicic, with Pastore averaging 73% Pass Accuracy. The playmaker was awarded Man of the Match on 2 occasions and with a match average of 7.16, was second only to Ilicic’s 7.28.

Ezequiel Lavezzi, 2.3 Successful Dribbles per game
Perhaps not a household name like some of his team mates, Lavezzi shone in Serie A last season, with 12 Assists the second highest in Italy’s top division. Alongside Marek Hamsik, he played behind a lone front man in Napoli’s 3-4-2-1 and was a major part in propelling his side to a third-place finish last season.

He made 29 starts, scoring 6 Goals from an average of 2.5 Shots per game and his above-mentioned 12 Assists came from an eye-catching 2.39 Key Passes, the highest of our featured home players, and is on a par with Rafael Van der Vaart (2.39 Key Passes) and Nani (2.36) in Premier League terms.

Lavezzi’s 2.3 Successful Dribbles is comparable to the likes of Nani (2.5), with his Pass Accuracy an impressive 77%. He picked up 3 Man of the Match awards last season and with a match average of 7.25, was second highest for Napoli, behind Edinson Cavani of Uruguay.

Sergio Aguero, 2.2 Successful Dribbles per game
Having announced his intentions to leave Atletico Madrid, Aguero will find himself in the shop window this July. With 20 La Liga goals last season, he finished third top scorer in Spain; only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi scored more.

While Atletico switched between formations (they played 4-4-2 16 times, 4-1-2-1-2 10 times and 4-2-3-1 on 9 occasions) Aguero was positioned up front and grabbed his 20 goal haul from just 32 games, enough to earn himself a place in our La Liga XI of the season. With Diego Forlan struggling alongside him -the Uruguayan scored just 8 in 32- Aguero averaged 3.3 Shots per game, similar to Robin Van Perise (3.4).

Aguero picked up just 2 Assists but with 1.22 Key Passes per game, creativity is not his strong point. Aguero is tidy in possession though, with a 77% Pass Accuracy and his 2.2 Successful Dribbles was just behind team mate Jose Antonio Reyes (2.4). Aguero picked up 6 Man of the Match awards in the previous campaign and with an average rating of 7.32, was his side’s more crucial player in a season that saw Atletico finish fifth in La Liga.

Carlos Tevez, 2.0 Successful Dribbles per game
The word “talismanic” sums up Tevez’s performances for Man City last season; playing as the lone forward in a 4-2-3-1, he finished joint top scorer in the Premier League with 20 Goals, thus guiding the club to their first ever Champions League finish.

Unsurprisingly, Tevez was City’s main goal threat with an average 2.8 Shots per game, and he also picked up 6 Assists from 1.71 Key Passes, second behind David Silva as a creative force for his side. Tevez, therefore, played a part in 26 of City’s 60 Goals, or 43%, highlighting just how important he is to Roberto Mancini‘s side.

With 2.0 Successful Dribbles per game, he was on the same level as Gareth Bale (2.1) and was the most impressive of the five in distribution; his Pass Accuracy was 83%. Tevez also picked up a fantastic 8 Man of the Match awards for his devastating displays and with a rating of 7.48, he took his place up front in our Premier League XI for last season, with only Nani bettering his ranking, on 7.52.

Angel Di Maria, 1.9 Successful Dribbles per game
Playing predominantly wide right in Madrid’s 4-2-3-1 system, Di Maria had a fantastic debut season for Jose Mourinho’s side as the Spanish giants chased Barcelona all the way in La Liga before ultimately finishing second.

Only Mezut Ozil made more Assists (17) than Di Maria for Madrid, with his total of 11 equal to Cristiano Ronaldo and, from an average 1.6 Shots per game (double that of Ozil), he bagged 6 Goals. Di Maria was better creatively than Ronaldo, managing 2 Key Passes per game, and had a Pass Accuracy of 76%.

Di Maria managed 1.9 Successful Dribbles per game for Madrid, just behind Ronaldo (2.2) and Marcelo (2.3) and picked up 4 Man of the Match awards, more than any team mate bar Ronaldo, on his way to a match rating of 7.28.