My eye is back on Argentina and los Albicelestes.
| Squad | ||||||
| NUM | NAME | POSITION | HT | WT | DOB | |
| 21 | Mariano Andujar | Goalkeeper | 6’4″ | 192 lbs | July 30, 1983 | |
| 1 | Diego Pozo | Goalkeeper | 6’0″ | 179 lbs | February 16, 1978 | |
| 22 | Sergio Romero | Goalkeeper | 6’4″ | 183 lbs | July 22, 1987 | |
| 4 | Nicolas Burdisso | Defender | 5’11″ | 179 lbs | April 12, 1981 | |
| 12 | Ariel Garcé | Defender | 5’10″ | 157 lbs | July 14, 1979 | |
| 6 | Gabriel Heinze | Defender | 5’10″ | 159 lbs | March 19, 1978 | |
| 15 | Nicolás Otamendi | Defender | 5’10″ | 163 lbs | February 12, 1988 | |
| 3 | Clemente Rodriguez | Defender | 5’6″ | 143 lbs | July 31, 1981 | |
| 13 | Walter Samuel | Defender | 6’0″ | 179 lbs | March 22, 1978 | |
| 5 | Mario Bolatti | Midfielder | 6’2″ | 179 lbs | February 17, 1985 | |
| 2 | Martín Demichelis | Midfielder | 6’0″ | 172 lbs | December 20, 1980 | |
| 7 | Ángel Di María | Midfielder | 5’11″ | 165 lbs | February 14, 1988 | |
| 17 | Jonás Gutiérrez | Midfielder | 6’0″ | 161 lbs | July 5, 1983 | |
| 14 | Javier Mascherano | Midfielder | 5’10″ | 170 lbs | June 8, 1984 | |
| 23 | Javier Pastore | Midfielder | 6’2″ | 165 lbs | June 20, 1989 | |
| 20 | Maxi Rodríguez | Midfielder | 5’11″ | 174 lbs | January 2, 1981 | |
| 8 | Juan Verón | Midfielder | 5’11″ | 172 lbs | March 9, 1975 | |
| 16 | Sergio Aguero | Forward | 5’7″ | 152 lbs | June 2, 1988 | |
| 9 | Gonzalo Higuaín | Forward | 6’0″ | 165 lbs | December 10, 1987 | |
| 10 | Lionel Messi | Forward | 5’7″ | 148 lbs | June 24, 1987 | |
| 19 | Diego Milito | Forward | 5’10″ | 172 lbs | June 12, 1979 | |
| 18 | Martín Palermo | Forward | 6’3″ | 183 lbs | November 7, 1973 | |
| 11 | Carlos Tevez | Forward | 5’6″ | 148 lbs | February 5, 1984 | |
It is a team with many stars. The question is will Diego Maradona help or hurt them as their coach? Coaching is very different from playing. Many say he was the best soccer player ever. In a documentary recently I saw Pele, the great Brazilian player say he thought Pele (note: he was speaking in the third person) was better than Maradona. Maradona on the same program said, “My mother says I am the best”.
The World Cup is rich in stories about Argentina:
- In 1978 Argentina hosted the World Cup. It is a time difficult for many Argentinians to discuss because of the military dictatorship that ruled the country and the “Dirty War” that took place and los desaparecidos (the disappeared ones). Some say there was extra pressure put on the team to win. Some say Argentina got into the final over Brazil because their high scoring defeat of Peru was fixed. Some say the Argentinian-born goalkeeper of Peru (yes, Peru) helped Argentina win. Whether the Peru game was tainted or not, Argentina was good enough to go on to win the final over The Netherlands.
- In 1986, Maradona’s famous “Hand of God” goal against England was actually an illegal hand ball that was ruled a legal header (and goal) by the officials. His second goal where he dribbled from midfield past five defenders and scored was voted “Goal of the Century” on the FIFA website. Argentina went on to win their second World Cup final that year against West Germany.
- In 1990, Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 with a goal from Claudio Caniggia after a pass from Maradona. A Brazilian player named Branco accused the Argentina training staff of giving him a bottle of water laced with tranquillizers while they were tending to an injured player. This came years after Maradona revealed the news on an Argentine television show. The Argentinian Football Federation denied that the “holy water” incident ever took place. Although Argentina did not win the World Cup that year, some say beating arch rival Brazil was almost as satisfying.
That’s all history. Now there are fresh horses including Lionel Messi…and some of his fellow players may be more dangerous than he is…we’ll see.
I can’t wait to watch.
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