Argentina: World Cup 2010 Team Profile

Published by William | Filed under Fifa World Cup South Africa 2010, World Cup 2010 Team Profiles

Argentina legend Diego Maradona looks to further cement his legacy in his home country.

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Argentina


Group B: Argentina / Nigeria / South Korea / Greece
FIFA World Ranking: 7
Manager: Diego Maradona
Captain: Javier Mascherano
World Cup Appearances: 15
World Cup Winners: 1978, 1986


After making their entire nation sweat through a gut wrenching qualification campaign, Argentina is booked for South Africa and certainly has the talent to make a run at their 3rd World Cup. Led by Barcelona’s evil genius, Lionel Messi, Argentina boasts one of the most potent attacking forces in the world that is comprised of, along with Messi, Carlos Tevez, Gonzolo Higuaín, and new Manchester City addition Sergio Aguero. The 4 combined for 96 league goals this season and assuming they can find some rhythm, expect El Abilceleste to score lots of goals. They are followed by a rock solid midfield that is led by captain Javier Mascherano and veteran Juan Sebastian Veron which leaves one remaining question mark in the backline. The defense is comprised of several credible names, such as Champions League finalists Walter Samuel and Martin Demichelis, however awful showings during qualification such as a 6-1 loss to Bolivia and a 3-1 home loss to rivals Brazil has to make Diego Maradona uneasy. Speaking of Maradona, he may truly be the X-Factor for Argentina this summer as he goes for another World Cup, this time as a manager. His methods and “playboy” attitude have been consistently questioned by Argentine fans and if they don’t make a run into at least the quarterfinals, don’t expect Maradona to be around in upcoming summers.


Roster:


Defenders: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon); Nicolas Burdisso (Roma), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield), Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes), Ariel Garca (Colon)


Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Javier Pastore (Palermo)


Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Diego Milito (Internazionale), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona).


Group Stage Fixtures:


6/12 14:00 GMT vs Nigeria – Odds | Stats


6/17 11:30 GMT vs South Korea – Odds | Stats


6/22 8:30 GMT vs Greece – Odds | Stats


Prediction:


In what I would consider one of the easier groups in this Summer’s World Cup, Argentina should win the group in flying colors. Assuming they did so, they will be pinned against either Mexico, Uruguay, or South Africa (assuming France wins group A), which in my opinion are all extremely dangerous clubs considering 2 are South/Central American rivals and the other is the host country. If they escape that, they will likely be facing either England or Germany en route to the finals, also extremely difficult opponents. However, I think with this robust attacking force, Argentina will make it to the semifinals only to be outdone by Spain.