FIFA World Cup 2010
Argentina
 argentinaArgentine Football Association (Asociación de Fútbol Argentino) Confederation: CONMEBOL Head coach: Diego Maradona Captain: Javier Mascherano Top scorer: Gabriel Batistuta FIFA ranking: 7 World Cup Appearances: 14 Team Colors: Best Results
World Cup Winners 1978 and 1986 Copa América Winners, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993 Confederations Cup Winners 1992 Olympic medal record Gold 2004,2008 |
The Albiceleste team arrives at South Africa having won 2 World Cups, one in 1978, the other in 1986.
These awards are just part of the argentines impressive curriculum. They have won 14 Copa America, two gold medals in Olympic Games of 2004 and 2008, and six U-20 World Cup Championships.
The Argentine team merges with the experience of players, who have already experienced the pressure and excitement of playing in a World Cup. The team combines this experience with the dynamism of younger players that have much talent to exhibit in the World Cup.
Argentina is coming to this World Cup after not having their finest moments in the qualifying rounds for South Africa World Cup 2010. Yet they are still expected to do well.
The team of The 10, as some people called it due to its coach, Diego Maradona, reached this World Cup hoping to win the title after 24 years. Maradona can choose among some of the players that reached the quarter-finals in Germany 2006 and he is putting together a new squad that stands out with the participation of Golden Ball and Barcelona striker, Lionel Messi.
Qualifying Stage
During the qualifying rounds, Argentina was having a difficult time. The team had suffered six defeats and four victories.
The Albicelestes suffered a 1-0 loss against Chile, then they lost against Bolivia 6-1, and in top of these the team lost at home against Brazil in the South American Classic. It seemed that the only hope for the Albiceleste to reach South Africa was to go to playoffs against the fourth place of the CONCACAF area.
However, Argentina won key matches against Peru (2-1) with an exciting goal by Martin Palermo and then beat Uruguay 1-0 to add 28 points and just make it to South Africa. These victories returned the hope to the fans, which will see their national team playing in the World Cup 2010.
Players
The Argentine national team has many followers and fans inside its own frontiers and out of them. Much is expected of the squad in every game. And there is no doubt that players such as Juan Sebastian Veron (the Brujita), experienced midfielder who seeks for revenge; Javier Mascherano, the captain and player of Liverpool; Carlitos Tevez (the Apache), Manchester City’s striker and top-notch scorer in the Premier League, all make up for the hype. They have a roster of players that any other team in the world would wish for.
And the best for last. We can not forget the Pichichi, the exceptional Lionel "La Pulga" Messi, who is the Golden Ball of 2009 and the super star of Barcelona. The talented Messi has won six European Cups in 2009 alone. Messi is undoubtedly the figure which Argentina and the world will have their eyes on in this World Cup.
These are just a few of the key-players summoned for the team to debut against Nigeria in Group B.
Head Coach
Diego Armando Maradona is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time. Now he is trying to consecrate himself as coach. Hailed by his fans, famous for his hand in the World Cup of 1986, Maradona is currently the head coach of the Albiceleste team.
The controversial coach, made decisions on and off the pitch that earned him many critics and detractors. Among these, the decision to leave out Juan Roman Riquelme, who also stated the dissatisfaction with the way that Maradona developed and thinks inside the pitch.