Life under new manager Alejandro Sabella has begun well for Argentina, who coasted to a 4-1 win over Chile in their 2014 World Cup qualifying opener on Friday.
In their first non-friendly with Sabella at the helm, Argentina capitalized on Chile's porous defence to intimate that the scars borne from the 2011 Copa America are healing.
What style of football emerges under Sabella remains to be seen, with his emphasis on defence juxtaposing with the attacking talents at his disposal.
But there was plenty to like in Argentina's victory at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, which was marshalled by new captain Lionel Messi and set in motion from Gonzalo Higuain's seventh-minute opener.
Like many of his team-mates in the unpredictable times of former managers Diego Maradona and Sergio Batista, Angel di Maria has failed to consistently display his club form for his country.
But he took just seven minutes of the match with Chile to demonstrate his quality, with his superb long pass on the counter attack finding Higuain to fire past Claudio Bravo in Chile's goal.
Chile were missing injured Barcelona attacker Alexis Sanchez, with Jorge Valdivia handed the responsibility of pulling the strings for strike duo Humberto Suazo and Mauricio Pinilla.
But it was the uncompromising presence of defensive midfielder Gary Medel who La Rioja perhaps missed more, particularly when Argentina carved open La Rioja's defence on 24 minutes for their second of the night.
Jean Beausejour seemed to dampened Argentina's move forward with a well-timed challenge in the area, but the home side immediately regained possession and Higuain had a highway of space in which to put his pass.
It was Messi - handed the armband by Sabella - who glided onto Higuain's ball, needing just one touch to thread his shot past Bravo.
Chile's quality had been evident in patches, though Valdivia struggled to find his passing range and target man Pinilla - on his return to the national team - seemed to have little understanding with his team-mates.
It was no such problem for Argentina, with Ever Banega making the most of his time and space in midfield and di Maria, Higuain and Messi giving Chile's defence plenty of headaches.
Chile did seem to recover their composure before the break, and Valdivia fashioned the first chance of the second half but was unable to beat Mariano Andujar with his placed shot.
The gaps in Chile's defence and Argentina's penchant for exploiting them had not changed, however, and Messi had a close-range shot blocked by Bravo after Higuain had capitalized on Gonzalo Jara's mistake on the left flank.
And it was Higuain again who punished Chile in the 52nd minute, lashing home to make it 3-0 after beginning a move involving Sosa and Angel di Maria.
Absent during the Copa America campaign, signs of surety had appeared in Argentina's defence against an opponent hardly without their own attacking talents.
Chile's consolation goal in the 60th minute, however, intimated that Sabella still has some creases to iron out in his side.
A cross from Eduardo Vargas - a positive substitution for the ineffective Pinilla five minutes earlier - was shambolically dealt with by Argentina's defence, and Andujar's subsequent punch was equally as poor.
The ball fell for Valdivia to lay off to Matias Fernandez, who found the back of the net from just inside the area to make it 3-1.
But it was as good as it got for Chile, who conceded again three minutes later when Bravo's clearance hit the back of Messi and Higuain was able to guide home his third goal of the night.
Suazo and Vargas threatened Asujar's goal as the game ticked towards time, with the latter's energy perhaps raising doubts in Sabella's mind over the readiness of 21-year-old left-back Marcos Rojo at this level.
But there were certainly more answers than questions for Sabella, whose side were able to emerge from a potentially tricky encounter with four goals and a positive start to their qualifying campaign.
by Paddy Higgs
(Paddy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Paddy_Higgs)
