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WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010 (an A to Z country-by-country guide)
ARGENTINA: Not so very long ago Argentina would have been viewed as one of the ‘Big Beasts’ of the upcoming World Cup Tournament. Only once have they failed to qualify ( in 1970 ) for the Finals. They have appeared in the latter stages of the Cup on four occasions, including the inaugural one in 1930, where they lost 4-2 to Uruguay. Winners in 1978 and 1986 ( the ‘hand-of-God’ tournament ever-etched on the memory of all England supporters ! ), they lost the 1990 final 1-0 to Germany as a result of a hotly disputed penalty. Along with France, Argentina are the only country to have won both of the other most important FIFA tournaments viz The Olympic Final ( in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008 ) and The Confederations Cup ( in 1992) . In March 2007 they occupied, for the first and only time, top spot in the FIFA World Rankings. As of December 2009 they now occupy 8th place. There are those who maintain that this relative fall from ‘grace’ is in no small part due to the current manager, Diego Maradona. In the qualifying rounds to this upcoming tournament, Argentina only secured the fourth and final spot in the South American group thanks to a late goal from Mario Boletti in a less-than-convincing 1-0 win over Uruguay.
In his playing days Maradona’s name was synonymous with Argentinian football. As manager he has used a record 74 players in the World Cup qualifying rounds, and has pretty much divided opinion both at home and abroad. Senor Maradona is currently seeing out the latter stages of a two month ban from football as a result of his much publicised rant at the media ( and male reporters in particular !). He will however be back at the helm come the Finals in South Africa this June.
If Maradona was the talisman of the World Cup winning side in 1986, there can be no question as to who is the shining star ( and some would say the only star ! ) of the current side. Lionel Messi is the holder of FIFA’s 2009 Player of the Year title, and struts his stuff for Barcelona in La Liga. Although primarily a midfielder, he is quoted by William Hill at odds of 20/1 to be the tournament’s top scorer. Messi’s brilliance is supported in the team by the likes of Javier Mascherano of Liverpool. Mascherano was appointed captain of the national side by Maradona in November 2008 and, as a defensive midfielder, adds much needed steel to the somewhat frail defensive qualities of the side. Slightly less well-known names to look out for are Angel di Maria of Benefica and Sergio Aguero of Athletico Madrid. Sportingbet are quoting Aguero at odds of 25/1 to be the tournament’s leading scorer.
When the draw for the Finals was made on December 4th 2009, Argentina were placed in the same Group (B) as Nigeria, South Korea and the 2004 European Champions, Greece. As the seeded team Argentina are fully expected to qualify for the next round, hence the less-than-attractive odds (of this happening) at 1/9 on offer from Totesport. Slightly more attractive are the odds of their topping Group B, currently 8/15 with Ladbrokes. Their opening match, on June 12th, is against Nigeria where an Argentinian win is priced at 4/6 with Bet365. Should things go pear-shaped here and also on June 17th when they play South Korea, then you might be interested in the prospect of Argentina not going beyond the first round at odds of 11/2 with Skybet.
Such an event would undoubtedly spell the end of Diego’s reign, coupled with a much steeper fall down the FIFA rankings. Their early exit from South Africa is not something the bookmakers expect to happen, hence the team’s position as fourth favourites to lift the Cup. Betfred are offering odds of 10/1 that such an event will happen.
Posted: Monday, January 4th, 2010 @ 08:01 am by Mark
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