Every team needs "The Spark", according to Zinedine Zidane. In the stylistic Adidas viral, World Cup legend Zidane sets about looking for "The Spark" to make the ultimate 11, that player turned out to be Lionel Messi. Yes, every team needs The Spark but at the moment, only one team has him and that team is the Albiceleste.
Messi was excellent for Argentina against Korea Republic. He architected two of the Albiceleste's goals and was a constant threat throughout the game. He is really enjoying his football right now in Maradona's system. The mental block he suffers whenever he pulls on the blue and white of Argentina looks to be over and that will boost Argentina prospects in trying to win the World Cup for a third time. Messi is looking as awesome playing for Argentina as he does playing for Barcelona.
Diego Maradona and the Argentinian national team arrived at Pretoria very early ahead of the World Cup 2010. Clearly he has learned a thing or two about high altitude acclimatisation from that horrible 6-1 Bolivia bruising back in May 2009. Argentina will be my pick to lift the World Cup in South Africa. But the road to ultimate glory will not be easy, at least not until the quarterfinals.
I ran the Castrol Football Opponent Predictor and these are Argentina's likely opponents in the knockout stages. In short, Spain and Brazil are the two teams clearly better than Argentina so with a bit of luck, Argentina have a very good chance. After all, any team with Messi, Aguero and Milito have a better than 50% chance of lifting the World Cup trophy.
On the most emotional night in Argentinian football history, Diego Maradona celebrated Argentina's direct qualification for South Africa World Cup Finals 2010 with a sexually provocative and profanity loaded outburst towards media critics and doubters alike.
This is what Maradona let fly during that now-famous TV interview,
“To those who did not believe in us, and I apologise in advance to the ladies present, they can go and suck my c*** and they can keep sucking it,” he said.
He added, motioning to the journalists: “You people take it up the a***. You treated me like dirt, but now you have to accept that we are going to the World Cup.”
Maradona was even more ambiguous: “I am sorry to those I offended and I am sorry to the women, including my mother, who heard that language, but those who spoke out against us are anti-Argentine and I’m not going to forgive them. My words were directed at them and I don’t have to apologise to them.”
If that was the end of it, it wouldn't be the Maradona we know, would it? Hence, this video merely adds more legitimacy to public opinion that the once footballing genius is definitely mentally unstable and should not be allowed to continue as coach of the two-time World Cup champions.
For me, Diego Armando Maradona the manager is just a disastrous gamble and the players are basically suffering from "circus" that surrounds Maradona. Perhaps the time is now right for Argentina to have a top-class foreign coach who could bring back some organization and sanity back to the team. Out of respect for Maradona (and his fragile self-esteem), he should still travel with the squad to South Africa as a father figure and source of inspiration for the side.
Which reminds me of another famous personality who broke down in the heat of battle and was never the same again. Once an up-and-coming English manager, his infamous "Love it" rant and intense title tussles with Sir Alex Ferguson left Kevin Keegan psychologically and emotionally scarred. Keegan's managerial career will only be remembered for his times at Newcastle United.
Diego Maradona's tenure as Argentina coach must come to an end, either willingly or forcefully. If only to preserve his status as a hero in the eyes of Argentina. Hardly a person with emotions in check, his tirade is a sign of an impending nervous breakdown.
Argentina boss, Diego Maradona in his desperation has called up Martin Palermo into his Argentine squad for the crucial World Cup qualifier against Peru and Uruguay. The last time Palermo was called up was ten years ago, when he was 25. To say this is a waste of national caps may be too judgemental but I would have thought that there could be better alternatives to Palermo as replacement for the injured Diego Milito.
Even then, Martin Palermo is a larger-than-life personality and perhaps that is needed to bring some spark and enthusiasm back into an Argentine national team lacking in cohesion and confidence.
Check out this 40-yard headed goal by Palermo from Off The Post.
Also his infamous three penalty misses in a single match!
Hopefully, Argentina gets back to winning ways as the World Cup 2010 will be so much poorer without the delightful skills of Messi and Aguero.
Some thought provoking pictures to illustrate the beauty of team spirit. Some oldies but goldies.
These pictures demonstrate how close and attached team mates, both international and domestic players can become as they strive and compete towards a common winning cause.
The WC2010 qualifying rounds came and went by. I was looking at the various results trying to find the stand-out ones. I thought there wasn't any (though Belgium-Bosnia was very close to being the one), and then there it was.....Bolivia 6 Argentina 1. Totally unimaginable! Playing at high altitude clearly has advantages. Eurosport has this report... Oxford University researcher Patrick McSharry trawled through the scores of 1,460 international matches played at different altitudes in 10 countries in South America spanning more than a century. Altitude difference had a major impact on performance, McSharry found. Teams that were used to playing at altitude scored more and conceded fewer goals as the height progressively increased. Each additional 1,000 metres (3,250 feet) increased the goal difference by half a goal. McSharry found that in the case of two teams from the same altitude, the probability of the home side winning averages 53 percent. But this rose to an astonishing 82 percent for an altitude difference of 3,695 metres (12,008 feet). But it fell to just 21 percent when the altitude difference was minus 3,695 metres (minus 12,000 feet). Coaches can help their side by factoring in a player's individual susceptibility to altitude sickness when making their selection, says McSharry.
Without a doubt, coach Maradona did not think about altitude sickness and acclimatisation before the game. How else do you explain the fact that the Argentines arrive two hours before kick-off???
I searched further for more proof that Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador (all minnows!) fared better when playing at home. Bolivia won 3 out of 6 at home but none away. Both Peru and Ecuador have only lost once at high altitude. All three teams have scored about four times more goals at home than away. Bolivia has beaten Paraguay and Argentina, two powerhouses of South American football. Ecuador has drawn with Paraguay and Brazil. Similarly Peru has drawn with Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. Clearly this altitude factor is a formidable advantage. And to think FIFA wants to take this advantage away. I think that this natural Earthly advantage only serves to make South American qualifiers extra interesting. Besides, what's stopping the visiting team from acclimatising 3 days before a match?
Elsewhere, David Beckham came on as a sub to collect his 110th cap as England overcame the Ukraine 2-1. The family was there to watch him contribute to goal no. 2. image from eurosport
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