Argentina v Brazil from a Brazilian point of view

The excellent Brazilian magazine Placar made a comparison between the current national teams of Brazil and Argentina.

Starting from what they think is a fact (that both teams will qualify for the next World Cup) they ask the question: "Us or them? Which team is better?"

And then they make a great exercise in which they try to answer that question themselves.

In a sort of X-ray player-by-player analysis, they go through every player in both the senior and the Olympic national teams as well as taking a look at the promising youngsters and the players they consider as the best from both countries (KAKA v RIQUELME; ROBINHO v MESSI and PATO v AGÜERO).

Of course it's in Portuguese, but there isn't much to read. You can navigate with your mouse over each and every players' face and see a score (in the scale of 0 to 10) and you'll see the final score at the bottom of the page.

A surprising result for many. What do you think about this piece?

http://placar.abril.com.br/materias/brasil-argentina/

The Pinoy Who Loves The Albiceleste

Last year I had an interesting chat with my Aussie Rules loving cousin who came down from Australia to visit me and my family here in Malaysia. While we were talking, I’d ask him how much does he know about OUR football, he said just little bit that’s all. Then I ask him whether does he know the great Diego, and much to my surprise he said NO! This was when I realized that since football is not the big thing in down under (though it is growing) but for a typical Aussie like him, it was Aussie Rules, rugby league or cricket.
Later on, I’d ask him does he know anything about Argentina and his answer was “Yeah Los Pumas are awesome”. You see Argentina, as a whole has made a tremendous amount impact throughout world in many different ways.

To share with us another prime example of this, I would like to welcome my friend Halley from the basketball loving country (and not that far from where I live), the Philippines. As always she (I must say this that I was surprise to learn that you are a lady!!!) has been one of Mundo’s loyal reader when it comes to following the Albiceleste in the NBA. And this is her story.

My interests aren’t stereotypical. I know some of you will find it surprising for a lady, yours truly, to be hooked into sports particularly basketball. I actually don’t find it surprising because with basketball, I’m able to share some of my knowledge about the sport and my passion, which is writing, to the people who visit my blog. I’m not an expert when it comes to writing but I know that people understand what I write. Blogging has really helped me to express what’s going on in my head. Most entries on my blog are about the NBA and my favorite NBA team – the San Antonio Spurs. I’ve taken a break from blogging though since the Spurs lost to the LA Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

The San Antonio Spurs is a Southwest Division team and a four-time NBA champion. Despite the previous issues about the Spurs as dirty players, my understanding about this great team never changed. The Spurs don’t play dirty. They just play tough basketball and some people simply misunderstood their ways. With regards to the notion that they’re boring, from my point of view as a Spurs’ critic, people just dislike their stoic aura when they’re on the court. And don’t you think it’s unfair for the Spurs’ 6th Man Extraordinaire, Manu GINOBILI, to be called boring? Boring is definitely not the way to describe the Argentinian player. The best adjective for him would probably be exceptional. Yes, I think that’s the perfect word that would best describe this exceptional player. The exceptional qualities of GINOBILI are proven with the number of honors he’s had like the Euroleague 2000-01 Finals Most Valuable Player, the 2002 Italian Cup MVP player, the 2004 Summer Olympic Games MVP, and a lot more. But with his greatness comes a weakness that shows whenever he plays back-to-back games. I have not seen any NBA to play the way GINOBILI does and it often becomes scary every time he makes acrobatic moves to the basket. That just shows how tough he is and how passionate he’s become when it comes to playing basketball – that’s what we all love about him.

Aside from GINOBILI, who’s had great success in coming to the NBA, his fellow Argentinian player Fabricio OBERTO also made a huge impact in the roster of the Spurs. Fab OBERTO may not be as skillful as GINOBILI when it comes to scoring but his ability to rebound and pass has been a huge factor for the Spurs. OBERTO, who has dual citizenship just like GINOBILI, has made the Spurs a tough team to beat and what made think highly of other Argentinian players. Yes, I know about Luis SCOLA – Houston Rockets, Andres NOCIONI – Chicago Bulls, Carlos DELFINO – Toronto Raptors, and Walter HERRMANN – Detroit Pistons. They’re all great NBA players. And I know that if you fuse them all in a single unit, they’d be very tough to beat and that fusion my friends is about to t happen this upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The reason for my liking about the Argentinian team isn’t completely about GINOBILI and OBERTO. I like the Argentinian team because I know they have what it takes to win the gold medal in the Olympics. So what if Pau GASOL is on the Spanish squad and Andre KIRILENKO in Russia and Kobe BRYANT in the USA, the Argentinian team will rise and will conquer the gold in Beijing. Not winning the NBA Championship was like a blessing in disguise for both GINOBILI and OBERTO – I’m not saying I’m glad they lost, because they were given enough time to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympics along with their fellow NBA-Argentinian players. Keep the faith.

Vamos Argentina!!!

MESSI To Barca: I'm Going To The Olympics

Finally we can all take a deep breath and be happy to hear this wonderful news. Thanks P2BN with sharing it with us. After months of speculation from various resources, it is confirm that Lionel MESSI will go to Beijing. Here is article that I've copied from Goal.com.

The Albicelestes did not concede a goal four years ago as they claimed gold virtually unopposed while Paraguay took the silver and Italy were forced to settle for bronze.

The team from Athens boasted the likes of Roberto AYALA, Gabriele HEINZE, Javier MASCHERANO, Lucho GONZALEZ, Javier SAVIOLA and Golden Boot winner Carlos TEVEZ – and their squad for Beijing is no less formidable.

Premier League stars TEVEZ (now where did they got this news from?) and MASCHERANO are set to defend their medals, while the likes of Sergio AGUERO and Real Madrid duo Gonzalo HIGUAIN and Fernando GAGO will join MESSI among Argentina’s La Liga contingent.

Barcelona have attempted to block the 20-year-old from going to China as the Olympics coincide with the opening of the European season, meaning he would miss the club’s first Champions League fixtures.

But MESSI is determined to represent his country, and insisted he is looking forward playing alongside AGUERO and co this August.

"I am going to the Olympic Games whatever may happen," MESSI said. "The truth is though that I do not know how we can resolve things, but there is no doubt that I will be there.I have really high hopes with the Olympic squad. I am very pleased that Sergio AGUERO is joining us and I am looking forward to playing alongside him."

I've always said in the past, I want Lionel, Kun and all our best boys to go to Beijing and bring us the gold. It's the only we have after such long long time.

Copa Libertadores Final First Leg – The Albiceleste Made Their Presents Felt

Sorry incase if you find that this posting might just a bit too late but I just felt that I needed to write something. After being crashed and burned with work for the past few days finally I had a moment to lay back. The first I did was to watch the repeat of the Copa Libertodores first leg. My oh my, what a game it was. I’m not sure about the rest of you but I say this match was way better than the Champions League Final.

From start to finish it was just pure South American infested flair football from both teams. The best part of all, the way it just took off with an Albiceleste bang.

Claudio BIELER started it off with a superb finish after receiving a low cross from Joffre GUERRON. Then comes Dario CONCA, just as what my friend Jon mentioned in our preview post, he curled in a 30 meter free kick to level the score Fluminense.

LDU then went on to strike three more goals which sent everyone in the La Casa Blanca into ecstatic mode.

The second was courtesy of a rebound from GUERRON after Dario MANSO had his shot saved by Fernando HENRIQUE. Jairo CAMPOS made 3-1 with near post header. MANSO was also involved in the fourth from which his corner kick that Patricio URRUTIA headed home.

Tiago NEVES pulled one back for the visitors but then it was a little too late for them. Overall it was a real good game to watch that even my Dad was captivated by the Ecuadorean team.

As an underdog supporter I had my wish seeing LDU winning, not to mention very convincingly indeed. Now as a fan of football, my wish for the second leg is to see Fluminense making a great comeback.

Other Sports News

Tennis – The Wimbledon Champiosnhip

Though we have just finished Day 2 of the competition, things don’t look that good for the Albiceleste Army with further casualties in the first round.

Much of my expectation was place on Guillermo CANAS and Eduardo SCHWANK but neither have manage to win their tie. Willy did maange to get a better start against his opponent, Germany’s Tommy HAAS winning the first set 6-3, only to loose the next three 4-6, 4-6 & 4-6.
While playing against sixth seeded Andy RODDICK was just too much for SCHWANK as despite pushing the American ace in two tie breaker, he lost in straight sets 5-7, 4-6 & 6-7.

Only Agustin CALLERI and Martin Vassallo ARGUELLO did prevail in their respective tie. CALLERI did had some trouble overcoming unknown South African Kevin ANDERSON, winning 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 & 6-1. ARGUELLO on the other hand neeed five sets to beat Czech’s Ivo MORNAR, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6, 6-2 & 6-2.

So does the second round have in store for our boys. CALERRI will have to battle with Frenchmen Gilles SIMON while ARGUELLO will take on Nicolas KIEFER from Germany. Should latter win that game, chances are he will be up against Rafael NADAL in the third round.

Hockey – Men’s Champions Trophy

Thank you Pablo for bringing up about hockey, something that I haven’t covered for a while. What a shame as the last few months has seen some great moment for our hockey team, both Men and Women.

The ladies or shall I say, Los Leonas recently won the Women’s Champions Trophy that was held recently in Germany. In my opinion, they do stand a good chance of winning gold in Beijing.

While the men’s team was recently in Malaysia for the Sultan Azlan Shah and they played brilliantly against India in the final. And now they will try to emulate just what the ladies has achieved in their Champions Trophy tournament.

Well what can I say about the guys? So far they look fantastic. In their first game they manage to hold reigning World Champions Germany to a 2-2 draw. Next up, a 2-1 win against Athens gold medallist Australia.

Most recently, the home team Netherlands became their latest victim after losing 1-0. Currently they are sitting on top of the table. Later on they will take on Spain.

It’s a real surprise to see they the men are playing. I’ve only wish if they had the same kind of form during the Olympic Qualifier in New Zealand earlier of the year.

Copa Libertadores Final Preview - Courtesy Of Mauro & Jon

We had one our reader giving us his taught about his beloved football club prior to the Champions League. I’m sure all of us agree, what amazing piece of write up was that.

Now here comes South American equivalent, the Copa Libertadores. Unfortunately this time, we won’t be having any clubs from Argentina. Instead an historical moment as both teams that will play are will win the trophy for the first time in their colourful history.

Firstly to talk about the much surprise Ecuadorian side, I would like to introduce my friend Mauro, an avid supporter of River Plate who writes for The Offiside – Copa Libertadores to speak about this team fantastic journey, with a little help from a trio of Albicelestes.

After beating quite a few of South America's big names in this year's Copa Libertadores, LDU Quito has made it to the big dance at the end for the first time in their club's history. They've won their local tournament three times since the turn of the century and were on track to pick up their fourth this season but their fantastic run in the continental tournament forced them to save their best players for the decisive midweek matches therefore, relinquishing their stranglehold on the Ecuadorian league.

LDU Quito caught my eye early on in this competition when, in their group 8 matches, they held Wednesday's opponent Fluminense to a draw in Quito and then handily beat Libertad of Paraguay, to draw at the top of the group with Flu. Of course it wasn't only the results that caught my eye but rather the style with which those results were achieved. They played a wonderful, entertaining and attacking brand of football, one in which they played the ball along the pitch in a very particular way and fielded a team built around a central column of three players that grew up living and breathing football and all three from the very cradle of our beloved Argentina. Now while they are not all the marquee players for their squad, they are all very important for the team and strategy to function properly.

Breaking up plays in the midfield and initiator of the offensive game, Norberto ARAUJO marshalls the defensive holding midfielder role alongside Patricio URRUTIA. ARAUJO has the best view of the offense from his spot on the pitch and can easily spot one of many offensive midfield options like, Luís BOLANOS, Joffre GUERRON, and Damian MANSO. I believe that it's due to his good defensive duties that URRUTIA is able to project himself forward and add his name to the scoring tally as often as he does.
Despite being born in Rosario, the 29 year old ARAUJO started his career in Argentina's second division, as so many of our countries youngsters do, all the way across the country at Club Atlético Aldosivi of Mar Del Plata in 1998. But after one short year at Aldosivi, he transferred to Arsenal de Sarandi in 2000 but shortly thereafter logged some time with Racing de Córdoba in 2001. Unable to find the first division football he longed for, the 26 year old left Argentina in 2002, in search of greener pastures as many of our younger boys do. But this search did not lead him across the pond to Europe, instead somewhere much closer, on the same continent, in the Peruvian first division with Sport Boys.

But it wasn't until 2004 when he transferred from Sport Boys to the bigger and much more storied Peruvian club, Sporting Cristal where he began to have a much more profound role. WIth Sporting Cristal, he won two back to back Peruvian league cups in 2005 and in 2006. It was in 2007 where he caught the eye of Argentine coach Edgardo BAUZA who was in charge of LDU Quito and had him brought over to Ecuador. He pulled on the LDU Quito white jersey and contributed to bringing the club the Ecuadorian league title in his first season with the club.

Pulling the strings in the midfield is Damian MANSO. When he started his career in Argentina, I remember he created quite a stir in the league at Newell's Old Boys including talk of being a called up to the national team. Although those predictions never came into fruition, he did not fail to leave his mark on the league. He is small, has a low center of gravity so he is able to turn on a dime and talented enough to make sure the ball is with him on that turn. Since his younger days he's added some positive pounds that have given him a stalky build and he's most likely a lot harder to push off the ball. He is LDU's undisputed playmaker and is in charge of finding Joffre GUERRON or Claudio BIELER up front and linking in the midfield with Enrique VERA, URRUTIA and BOLANOS.
A native of Rosario, he chose to be part of the red and black side of the city. He played 5 years with Newell's before being finally picked up by a European team, SC Bastia. Unfortunately, after two seasons and few opportunites on the starting squad, Manso was forced to come back to Argentina after failing to adapt completely to French football. Newell's welcomed him back with open arms but only a season later, he was transferred to Independiente where hopes were high as the club had put together an amazing team around him (including the young but surging Sergio AGUERO). But the team failed to gel and after a year Damían was back home at Newell's.

This stay in Rosario only lasted one year and was again transferred to Europe only this time his plane landed in Greece. And again, after only one year and trouble breaking into the first team at Skoda Xanthi FC in the Greek Super League, he came back to South America at the beckoning of BAUZA and the promise of a team able to give him the freedom he needed in order to really flourish.

And flourish he has. Displaying adeptness to laying off precise passes that end in the back of the net of the opposing goal-keeper and capable of taking his own shots, even from outside the penalty area, and scoring when necessary.

Leading the way up front is Claudio BIELER, the main threat on the forward line and the destination of most crosses. He doesn't have a large body to beat defenders man on man but he has plenty of speed and can beat them off the ball while having great ball control to boot. His job is to keep an eye on MANSO who creeps around in front of the defenders, BOLANOS, who runs up the left side and also on GUERRON, who charges up the right side. While it's been a few matches since he's scored, his position is still quite important because he is able to keep defenders busy while his teammates work their magic for him.
BIELER was born in Santa Fe and was lucky enough (or good enough) to make it onto the local first division team, Colón de Santa Fe. He made his first division debut with the club in 2005. But at the time, Colón had one of the best strikers in their history on the pitch, Esteban FUERTES and one of the country's young future characters, Germán DENIS, was hot on his heels for a starting spot. Needless to say, the competition for the starting spot was fierce. Seeing the surplus of talent, Colón loaned BIELER out to second division side, Atlético Rafaela, also located in Santa Fe, to give Bieler a chance to settle into a starting position. He played 38 matches and scored 16 goals. Not bad for a player forced to go somewhere and adapt quickly to a new team, teammates, coach and environment.

But as I said before, as many of our youngsters do, BIELER received an opportunity to go abroad to find a place in the footballing world. But he stayed in South America as well and headed to Chilean giants, Colo Colo. At the time, Claudio BORGHI was the coach and revamped the team who had found themselves in quite the rut. BIELER made 21 starts for Colo Colo but failed to set the league on fire with only 6 goals. Despite that, he did win his league title with Colo Colo. The win that qualified them for this year's Copa Libertadores. Shortly thereafter, BIELER was on the short list again, and made a move to yet another Argentine coached club, LDU Quito. So far this season, he's featured 8 times for the club and netted 4 goals.

Edgardo BAUZA has used him up front in many pivotal matches in this run of Libertadores matches and I fully expect to see him suited up and ready to go for the final matches.

While LDU Quito stand to make history, it's not just a credit to these three players, the team as a whole has showed plenty of effort and sacrifice. The historic step they'll take on Wednesday is a testament to the strategic planning and formation on the pitch put together by Edgardo BAUZA and his assistants who found the right elements for each position and have found a way to make this little train that could, storm past South American teams with rich histories. Past opponents include, Estudiantes de La Plata (three time Libertadores winners) and San Lorenzo of Almagro (top contenders this season). LDU Quito also showed the solvency to put away difficult teams like Libertad and Arsenal de Sarandi and get points that one could consider, accessible and decisive when facing tougher opposition.

So, while BAUZA and his boys put on their best dancing shoes for Wednesday night's big party, their dance partner Fluminense Football Club, will be hoping that they can take the music, twist it, turn it and make it more like a Brazilian samba and less like an Argentine tango.

In the same land where once upon a time Carlos TEVEZ and Javier MASCHERANO were crowed kings, comes another Albiceleste that is aiming to put his name on the map. After all it he did played his part in knocking out Johnny’s beloved Boca in the semis. For this part, I was lucky enough to have Jon Cotterill (an Englishman based in Sao Paolo) from Pitaco Do Gringo’s to write to us about this interesting player.

After seven games, Fluminense are currently at the bottom of the league with two points - four goals for and ten against. They have yet to win a game but their position has something to do with the fact that they have rested players before Libertadores games. However, Fluminense will put out full-strength teams on at least two occasions but even they have managed to pick up just one point.

The poor form in the league is a matter of some concern and if LDU score early in the first leg, some of the Fluminense player's heads may drop. Coach Renato GAUCHO has said that Fluminense are fully focussed for Wednesday's game but warned his players that any lapse in concentration could be costly. The Rio side are determined not to concede a goal in Ecuador so may start the game with a slightly more defensive posture than usual.

Dario CONCA has plenty of pace and mobility, apart from that he always makes himself available for others. Add to his already natural talent, he also has ability to strike from free-kicks and you can see why he was so highly-rated in the Brasileiro last year when he was at Vasco.
Coach Renato GAUCHO just knows how to get the best from his diminutive midfielder (he's only 1.67m). It is likely that CONCA will be paired with Thiago NEVES and the two will be the driving force for Fluminense in the middle of the park.

CONCA has already scored twice in the Copa Libertadores campaign – the last one against Boca Juniors in the second-leg of the semis. He has yet to hit the back of the net in the league though but his role on Wednesday will be more focused on setting up chances for the likes of DODO and WASHINGTON.

Before I end this article, I would like to say a BIG thanks to both our guest bloggers at Mundo for sharing with us their passion about football in their respective field. I had a great pleasure reading them.

To Mauro, on behalf of Mundo, our prayers and thoughts goes out to your family. As for Jon, our sincere hope that your daughter will get well soon.

The Inaugural 2008 Mundo Albiceleste Awards

Hopefully we’re not to late to do this.

Inspired by Sam “HEGS awards” (http://hastaelgolsiempre.com), Seba and I have decided that we at Mundo Albiceleste, would like to have our own annual voting contest for the best Argentine player during the course of 2007/08.

After a couple of brainstorming sessions, we have decided to go by four different categories, which are “Best Goalkeeper”, “Best Defender”, “Best Midfield” and “Best Forward”.. Each of these categories will have five nominees, as selected by us at Mundo Albiceleste.

So all you need to do is to select one name from each category and as always the one with the most number of votes WINS.. Not only that, for each player, which you choose it’ll be a great addition if you would like to drop us a line or two on why did you pick that particular player. Chances are, that your acknowledgement for that player will be published once we unveiled the results.

So without further introduction, here are the nominees for the inaugural 2007/08 Mundo Albiceleste Awards.

Best Goalkeeper
Roberto ABONDANZIERI (Getafe)
Leo FRANCO (Atletico Madrid)
Juan Pablo CARRIZO (River Plate)
Mauricio CARANTA (Boca Juniors)
Mariano ANDUJAR (Estudiantes de La Plata)

Best Defender
Gabriel HEINZE (Real Madrid)
Ezequiel GARAY (Racing Santander)
Martin DEMICHELIS (Bayern Munich)
Fabricio COLOCCINI (Deportivo La Coruña)
Javier ZANETTI (Inter Milan)

Best Midfielder
Javier MASCHERANO (Liverpool)
Esteban CAMBIASSO (Inter Milan)
Lucho GONZALEZ (FC Porto)
Juan Roman RIQUELME (Boca Juniors)
Maxi RODRIGUEZ (Atletico Madrid)

Best Forward
Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)
Sergio Kun AGÜERO (Atletico Madrid)
Fernando CAVENAGHI (Bordeaux)
Carlos TEVEZ (Manchester United)
Lisandro LOPEZ (FC Porto)

Send your votes via e-mail to sivanjohn@yahoo.com or argentina.correspondent@gmail.com and we will compile all of them. Please do not use the comment section to cast your vote, as your vote will not be counted.

This contest will run for the next one month, which means the final result will be out somewhere in the third week of July (around the 19th or 20th). We will publish a reminder on our blog every now and then just in case we have new readers that may have missed out earlier.

SO LETS GET THE VOTING STARTED!!!

The Championship, Wimbledon – Would The Grass Be Greener For Us This Time?

With Grand Slams event already completed, there is still no sign yet of seeing an Argentine player taking home at least one of the major crown. I had some high expectation for the French Open but overall it was real disappointment.

Now comes the grass court season, and as expected the whole world will only have its eyes on the two main characters. Roger FEDERER's dominance is pretty much on the wane and with NADAL triumphing in Queens last week, there is high possibility of seeing the table turning within the top two players in the world.

But as always, it is my hope to see an Argentine player creating that upset in what could be the toughest surface for any of our top players.

Please bare in mind, that it was only six years ago when David NALBANDIAN lost in the final to Lleyton HEWITT. In his first round fixture, he will face wild card qualifier Canadian Frank DANCEVIC. In the recent Queen's tournament he did manage to make it to the semis before self destructing against Novak DJOKOVIC. Still, he remains our best hope for a Grand Slam honours.

Our best player at Roland Garros, Eduardo SCHWANK will have a huge test in his match against the powerful serving, Andy RODDICK. The other player that has an outside chance could be either Guillermo CANAS and Agustin CALLERI. “Willy” will open his first round tie against Germany's Tommy HAAS while “Gordo” will take on Kevin ANDERSON from South Africa.

Here are all the other first round fixtures in the Men's Single involving the Albiceleste Army.

Carlos BERLOCQ vs. Albert MONTANES (ESP)
Juan Martin DEL POTRO vs. Pavel SNOBEL (CZE)
Brian DABUL vs. Feliciano LOPEZ (ESP)
Sergio ROITMAN vs. Mikhail YOUZHNY (RUS)
Martin Vassallo ARGUELLO vs. Ivo MINAR (CZE)

Argentina stop Dunga's curse but can't get 3 points

First thing first: We didn't lose to Brazil again.

It was like a curse we had whenever we face DUNGA and his team. The record so far consisted in 2 wins for the Brazilian manager with 6 goals scored and none conceded (after that 0-3 result in a London friendly -first match for BASILE in his second spell as Argentina manager- and that 0-3 Copa America final).

The key? I think it was Brazil failing to score inside the first 5 minutes of the game. They've done that through ELANO in London and Julio BAPTISTA in Maracaibo and those early goals really changed the rest of those games. Argentina were forced to chase the game and were hit heavily on the counter-attack.

That's the game that suits DUNGA to perfection! Well...he was out-coached on Wednesday as BASILE finally seemed to have gotten his number.

If only he could pick a decent centre-forward so we can score goals against Brazil!!!!

That was another of the keys. I understand the idea of having a tower of a centre-forward to go along with a bunch of small geniuses so you actually have a variety in your game and you can hit rivals with powerful headers inside the box or have someone to hold up to the ball and give the little fellows a rest every now and then.

But CRUZ??? CRUZ has proven that he can't play for Argentina. As simple as that. CRESPO in one leg is 10 times better than him and BASILE should use Hernán or simply try other options. Such as CAVENAGHI or even Lisandro LOPEZ for that matter (who is a smaller player than CRUZ but surely has more speed, a great header and can shoot with both feet).

That said, here are my bullet-points with the things I think were the most important or relevant of the game on Wednesday:

• BASILE played a great wild-card by including Jonas GUTIERREZ. He was immense, top3 in my Argentine man-of-the-match shortlist (along with GAGO and MASCHERANO. I can't decide who was the best of those three but it doesn't matter, they were superb!). Jonas, also known as EL GALGO (which means THE GREYHOUND) surely did his job in keeping MAICON's run to a minimum. Not only that, he also contributed offensively and had a few runs of his own. Including one in which he sent a perfect cross for CRUZ and we all know what happened: easy one for the keeper.
• MAD MASCH and Fernando GAGO can really work together as a terrific holding midfielders duo. My friend Johnny pointed out that GAGO should work on his lateral moves when going forward and he'll be extremely dangerous and I've got to agree with that. I think his ball-winning performance on Wednesday and his running-all-day showing were World Class. MASCHERANO was his usual self and he completely dominated that part of the field. What a player!
  
• I'm quite pleased with our back three. They looked shaky at the beginning (specially BURDISSO) but they did a good job overall.
  
• ABBONDANZIERI deserves all the credit for an outstanding performance. That one-handed, pure reflexes save against ADRIANO in the first half was incredible. He also felt very comfortable to perform those long services in such a big pitch and he was very safe overall (I remember a free-kick and a flying volley by BAPTISTA being well-controlled by Pato). The only scary moment was that one-on-one against ROBINHO and that almost-a-penalty-for-Brazil move by Pato that in the end finished in nothing (because ROBINHO did everything wrong!).
  
• For all of what's been said on the press before the game, I think RIQUELME and MESSI worked quite well together. Not to perfection. Not to a standard they are perfectly capable of reaching, but they can co-exist in the field. BASILE needs to work on their relationship ON THE FIELD (I don't care that much if they really hate each other off it, as long as they deliver the goods on it). Everyone knows BASILE loves both players and they are the backbone of his team. That's why they need to interact a little bit more and they need to exploit their abilities to the maximum. RIQUELME should hold on to the ball a little bit more and MESSI should receive it with a little bit of space in front of him so he can make the most of his speed and lightning dribbling ability. They've been doing it quite the opposite for most of the match and the team felt it.
  
• ZANETTI had an off game. Probably more focused on not allowing GILBERTO to run forward on his wing.
  
• CRUZ should have done better with the chances he had and should have worked a little bit harder when he was dispossessed instead of walking next to the Brazilian defenders without even bothering to chase them just a little bit.
  

Overall, a good performance marred by the lack of power up front and with that lack of luck in that final play in which MESSI had a golden opportunity to put the game away and give Argentina a classic win in Brazil.

What would have happened if he falls to the floor following that tackle by MAICON just before he shot wide? Would the ref had given a penalty? We never know. So I think it was a good thing for him to try and get the ball, stay on his feet and try his luck with a powerful shot.

The best thing of the night for me?

Seeing MESSI being replaced with the whole crowd (Brazil supporters!) chanting his name and giving him a standing ovation! Granted it may come as a gesture against DUNGA and his team, but nevertheless, they gave one of our stars a standing ovation!

That's priceless!

Next stop? Paraguay in Buenos Aires (around September 6) and Perú in Lima (roughly September 10).

Bring back Carlitos and let CRUZ stay in Milan!

Brazil v Argentina : 2010 WCQ (Match Highlights)

Brazil v Argentina - Match coverage

OK, less than an hour to go and the secret that's been Argentina's lineup is believed to be over.

Here's the probable lineup Olé, the only sporting newspaper of Argentina, is giving on their website:

ABBONDANZIERI; BURDISSO, COLOCCINI, HEINZE; ZANETTI, MASCHERANO, GAGO, Jonás GUTIERREZ; RIQUELME; MESSI and CRUZ.

So...our worst nightmares are becoming a reality with CRUZ starting tonight and AGÜERO sitting on the bench.

A back three to defend in one of the world's biggest pitches is also a concern for me, especially as our back three is not formed by the fastest men alive. So I imagine ZANETTI and Jonas GUTIERREZ tracking back a lot, along with MASCHERANO.

I'm also guessing we'll send a lot of crosses for CRUZ instead of betting on speed and dribbling ability that Kun could have given us.

I'm not going to continue talking a lot about a lineup that is not officialy confirmed.

Brazil will have ADRIANO starting up front with ROBINHO. I'm shaking already!

Here are some links to the game's live web broadcasting:

http://myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=13522&part=sports

VERON: I don't think RIQUELME is a complicated man

Juan Sebastián VERON stayed in Argentina because of an injury and he'll miss out on the match against Brazil tonight.

Watching TV today, I've seen him in a very long interview with TyC Sports (a sports TV channel). He was asked about this problem between MESSI and RIQUELME and he said: "We need them both, we need every player to play for the team".

I didn't hear a clear denial of those rumours suggesting MESSI and RIQUELME don't get along and don't like each other.

He said: "I don't think RIQUELME is a complicated man or a bad guy. He is shy. He is a very introverted".

In one of my previous posts I said something about a corner kick in which MESSI and RIQUELME stood there in front of the ball without talking to each other and VERON arrived there and talked to both of them.

VERON said: "I didn't say anything related to these rumours. I just told them things about which play were we going to choose in that particular moment. I wasn't going there to talk about other things that have nothing to do with football".

This is the first voice we hear from someone that's inside the group of players and the way I see it, he is trying to stop the rumours from really having an impact in the future of this team but I think there is no doubt there is something going on between MESSI and RIQUELME.

MANU a doubt for Beijing

I didn't think I would post something off topic from the all-important Brazil v. Argentina for the WC Qualifiers.

But...this is surely something that I can't wait to post as I'm watching Manu GINOBILI on the TV and he says he is in doubt for the Olympic Games.

The reason? An ankle injury that's bothering him since the start of the playoffs with San Antonio Spurs. He says he will have another tests in three weeks and see how his ankle ligaments heal or improve but there are no certainties on whether or not he will be making the trip to China.

A huge blow for our national team and this really is a big problem because this is not a personal decision. This is an injury problem and we all have to hope he heals and recovers 100% so he can have the chance to go to Beijing and try to defend the Olympic gold medal.

VAMOS MANU! We need you!

A rift between RIQUELME and MESSI leaked

And once a rumour (a version, or a certainty) leaks to the press and there are a few evident signs that suggest it could be true, there's no stopping it.

That's what happened just the day before of the key clash against Brazil and it involves, arguably, the best two players in our team.

Apparentely, RIQUELME and MESSI can't stand each other.

Great! Just what we needed! Right?

A big article in Olé Wednesday edition tells the story of how Lionel and Roman won't talk to each other and how MESSI almost leaves the team a few days ago because he is mad at how RIQUELME thinks he is like MARADONA.

RIQUELME tried (not very successfuly) to deny those versions yesterday at a press conference and he was asked: "Why there are always versions of fights or clashes involving you? Why did that happen at Villarreal, at Boca and at Argentina?". He said: "It must be because there are people who invent these rumours because they don't like me".

But he didn't say: "Everything's cool with MESSI. I have no problems".

It's obvious these rumours have some truth in them.

But what will BASILE do with two players he considers as key first team stars?

I remember been told by a fellow journalist who is a close friend of mine and was in Germany working during the World Cup that it was true that RIQUELME wouldn't pass the ball to CRESPO because they didn't get along.

"Is that possible?", I thought. And I was having that impression watching Argentina in the World Cup but I choose to ignore that conspiracy theory and opted to believe what happened was just a coincidence.

But watching Argentina v. Ecuador on Sunday, I couldn't help to notice a corner kick in which both, RIQUELME and MESSI went there to take it and they spent a full minute without talking to each other, without looking at each other. VERON went there and talked to both of them. Olé's article also talks about that situation.

I hate these cat fights and I think they could be our team's worst enemy down the road.

Will these two stars leave their egos in the dressing room before they jump to the field in Belo Horizonte tonight? Or will we have to play against eleven Brazilians and against 2 of our own players too?

In a way, the fact that BASILE is the manager, gives me a little bit of hope in that he can probably lock himself down in a room with the two players and make them leave their differences behind.

Will everyone of them understand that our national team should be put before their own and over inflated egos?

I'm sure we all do!

Do Brazilians want to lose against Argentina?

Before I explain what I mean in this post, I'll just say: MAD MASCH (Javier MASCHERANO) should be fine and ready to play in Brazil (I can breathe again now!). Juan Sebastián VERON, on the other hand, could miss out after picking up a knock near the end of the match against Ecuador.

Now, back to the original idea of this post.

I know this could sound crazy if you only read the headline. Why will Brazilians want their national team to lose against Argentina?

Well...I think they could. In fact, I'm sure there are a lot of them that will be VERY happy if Argentina beat them on Wednesday in Belo Horizonte.

Why? Simple. They don't like their manager (Dunga) and they feel this could be one of the last chances for their FA to sack him in the aftermath of a heavy result against him.

But it's not like they hate him because of not winning things (in fact he won the Copa America with a comprehensive win over Argentina in that dark 3-0 in the final). They simply don't like his style. He is too defensive for them. He is too stingy in their eyes.

I can tell you, without naming names, that I've already received an e-mail from a very good friend (Brazilian) that used to work with me when I lived in Rio de Janeiro and he only said:

SUBJECT: A FAVOUR
MESSAGE: Please, Seba, beat us on Wednesday. Beat us big time by three or four goals.

I think that says it all, doesn't it?

But...will some Argentines wish for the same thing? Will some Albiceleste fans that are lined up against BASILE wish that Brazil get a heavy win over Argentina so COCO gets the boot?

Will he get the boot if that happens?

One thing is for sure for me. I will never EVER EVER wish Argentina to lose. It doesn't matter if the manager is someone I really don't like.

Therefore, I want to make my Brazilian friend a big favour and I WANT TO BEAT THE FELLOWS IN YELLOW!

So I have a message for you, Coco. DON'T SEND CRUZ TO THE PITCH! Please! Listen to me and to all of Mundo Albiceleste's readers!

PALACIO comes out of nowhere to rescue COCO

It was a busy Father's Day in Argentina, followed by a holliday on Monday (Flag's day is coming on June 20th but the government moves the hollidays to the earliest Monday to make long weekends -as they are called-). Anyway. It's time for me to recap the match between Argentina and Ecuador and see which lessons can (and should) be learned from it.

First of all, a big THANK YOU for choosing Mundo Albiceleste as your place to exchange comments on the game and be in touch with fellow Argentina fans around the world. That means a hell of a lot to John and to me. I enjoyed the comments and the various opinions. It's always great to get your views on everything related with our national team.

I won't do a full match report this time. It'll be more like last time around, when I did a quick easy-to-read bullet-point list.

So, here I go:

• CRUZ should stay in Milan with his Inter's black and blue shirt. They like him there. He does the job for them there. I don't want to see him again playing for Argentina.
  
• Coco BASILE is getting to my nerves. I used to like him a lot. I still like his offensive, attractive style, player-friendly approach to football. But he is letting his stubbornness rule the show and he is becoming a little bit too arrogant when talking to the press (which provide us with the only way we have to hearing what he has to say).
  
• His CRUZ in for MASCHERANO substitution was a little bit too much if you ask me. I know we already had GAGO in (he came in to replace an anonymous Maxi RODRIGUEZ) and I know we needed to score, but I think by taking out MASCHERANO, we lost our balance. I'm not saying the goal was GAGO's fault, but there is no doubt, with VERON, RIQUELME (plus MESSI, AGÜERO and CRUZ) we only had GAGO and perhaps ZANETTI as holding midfielders and tracking back was a little bit too difficult.
• Adding up attacking players, doesn't necessarily translates into scoring goals or even creating chances. It can work or it can really mess up everything. We were a lot closer to ending up seeing a complete mess than of seeing good things.
• VERON played a great first half (when he played deep in our own half and launched a lot of great long passes) but faded in the second when COCO sent him closer to our strikers.
  
• RIQUELME was on an off night. He didn't even take his free-kicks in a good way. He even played short passes to the sides when he had all the tall heading specialists lurking for the ball in the Ecuadorian box. He didn't take control of the ball and he needs it to have an influence on the game.
  
• MESSI is in a different class. I still think he is trying too hard to have a great game in Buenos Aires. I don't think he ever played at the Monumental up to the standard he is capable of showing. Maybe that's playing against him and he is too anxious. He showed some great moves but couldn't create chances for himself or the others.
• AGÜERO tried hard and you have to give him credit for winning that ball in the air and making that assist for PALACIO.
• ABBONDANZIERI? I don't think he is to blame in Ecuador's goal (which was a beauty of a goal, by the way).
  
• DEMICHELIS saw the yellow card and he'll miss the big game in Brazil (Jonathan BOTINELLI has been called up by COCO to replace him but I don't think he'll be anywhere near the starting lineup this Wednesday).
• PALACIO did what he failed to do at Boca as of late: HE SCORE THE 100% OF HIS CHANCES! Boca fans are very critical of PALACIO's inabilitiy to finish, but he sent the only one he had in his three minutes of action on Sunday and he kept Argentina's unbeaten run of 30 WC Qualifiers in Buenos Aires (the last one? Yep, you guessed it right! It was with COCO on our bench. That famous 0-5 against Colombia in 1993).
  

Argentina v Ecuador : 2010 WCQ (Match Highlights)

Argentina host Ecuador thinking of Brazil

With the clash against Brazil next Wednesday in mind, Argentina will host another kind of fellows who will be dressed in yellow. It's Ecuador coming to Buenos Aires and unfortunately, I won't be either at the match or anywhere near a computer to provide you with comments and updates.

But here's the space for you to share your views on the game and support Argentina from the corner of the world you're living at.

The probable lineup looks to be the one I published a few days back. Here goes again:

ABBONDANZIERI;
BURDISSO, DEMICHELIS and HEINZE;
ZANETTI, MASCHERANO, MAXI RODRIGUEZ and VERON;
RIQUELME;
AGÜERO and MESSI.

Here's an URL in which a few links to watch the match online will appear closer to kick-off time:

http://myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=13443&part=sports

With Colombia and Perú drawing in Lima and Venezuela taking a point off their visit to Uruguay, Argentina now sit sharing second place with Colombia, one point behind lone leaders Paraguay and just one point ahead of Brazil.

Brazil will travel to Paraguay and a win by them or a draw, combined with a win by Argentina, will mean the Albicelestes will go top of the standings just in time to visit Belo Horizonte to play the biggest match in World Football on Wednesday.

VAMOS ARGENTINA!

Are this the starting XI to face Ecuador (and Brazil)?

Watching the Euro everyday really makes me want to see Argentina in action with something at stake (not those silly friendlies).

The time will come on Sunday.

While we wait, though, there are already some hints as to how the lineup will look like.

One of the certainties (and if you want to bet to anyone, a sure bet) is that RIQUELME will be included.

According to what BASILE did in one of the training sessions, there are a group of eleven men with a slight advantage over the others.

Let's take a look at the probable lineup for Sunday:

ABBONDANZIERI will stay as first choice goalkeeper.

Three at the back with Nicolás BURDISSO, Martín DEMICHELIS and Gabriel HEINZE.

ZANETTI will be used as a midfielder but he could very well switch to a right back position if the match requires so (BURDISSO and DEMICHELIS will be the centre backs while HEINZE will play as a left back).

There's no way MASCHERANO will be left out. He'll own the center of midfield as always and will have Juan Sebastián VERON and Maxi RODRIGUEZ on the flanks with RIQUELME playing a free role right behind La Liga's hottest properties: Lionel MESSI and Sergio AGÜERO.

BASILE will announce his lineup on Saturday but he suggested the lineups that the various newspapers are imagining are correct.

What do you think of this lineup?

Apart from the match against Ecuador, do you think it'll be a good team to travel to Brazil and take on the "fellows in yellow"*?

* Should I copyright this expression to refer to the Brazilian national team? Hahaha! Anyway...from now on, I'm gonna call them that! Fellows in yellow! I quite like it!

A tiny performance in Giants stadium

I took a long time before writing this report but I had to do it.

I couldn't write it before and to be honest, there's an element of really not feeling like writing about that match.

I'm always really excited to write about a win right after we play as much as I'm really fired up to type in a report the second after we lose. But last night, I was without any motivation. It was a friendly. It was Sunday night. And most importantly, it was the most boring 0-0 draw involving Argentina that I've seen in quite a long time.

Perhaps I'm being a little bit unfair with what was a decent first half. I think the optical illussion that this game left me was that of the second half, in which the most exciting thing was to see the crowd going crazy when birthday boy Javier MASCHERANO saw the red card. The home fans were celebrating as if it was an injury time game-winning goal for the USA.

As reflected by you in the comments' box, the main story of the day has to be Julio CRUZ and his entirely unconvincing performances every time he wears the Albiceleste.

On Sunday he had 3 clear chances and he wasted each an everyone of them, shooting straight at Tim HOWARD in more than one occassion and really throwing away those golden opportunities to put the game in the bag after Lionel MESSI provided him with some perfect services.

Not too much to analyze in our game, which was a lot slower than what we showed against Mexico and, of course, a lot less effective.

A header that hit the cross-bar by ONYEWU almost gave the Americans the win and Kun AGÜERO was clearly fouled by HOWARD inside the box but the ref didn't gave the penalty he should have given.

6 days to go to the qualifier against Ecuador and a little over a week to visit Brazil in Belo Horizonte.

COCO called up RIQUELME and VERON today and we now need to know if he is going to make a lot of changes to the starting lineups we saw against Mexico and the USA.

I, for one, will rather have Sebastián BATTAGLIA or even goalkeeper Juan Pablo CARRIZO wearing the number 9 shirt if that means Julio CRUZ does not start again for us.

The return of the Little Witch

The list is out!

Coco BASILE has announced the squad that will represent Argentina in the WC Qualifiers' double fixture against Ecuador and Brazil.

The big news is that with the local league already decided in favour of River Plate and a lot of players with nothing else to play for, Juan Sebastián VERON, Juan Román RIQUELME, Sebastián BATTAGLIA, Juan Pablo CARRIZO and Rodrigo PALACIO will all join the Albicelestes.

I know someone in Malaysia will be over the moon with this news! Right, Alwin!

Those are the five new names in this list and they will join the 20 players that travelled to the tour of the USA along with Esteban CAMBIASSO and Oscar USTARI who were initially in the list to go to USA but had to stay in Buenos Aires because of minor injuries.

It remains to be seen whether if Coco will send one or some of those 27 players home or if he keeps everybody on board.

TEVEZ?

He is suspended for the match against Ecuador and between BASILE and him, they have decided he takes a few days off after a long and hard season with Manchester United. He'll surely be back into consideration when the next round of qualifiers come.

Pumas Catch Brave Scots

As mentioned by all our readers in the previous article comment's section, our football team played one of the most dullest match ever. A goalless draw against USA, just after that sensation win over Mexico. Next up our volleyball team failed to book a ticket to Beijing 2008.

But at least there was some consolation from our heroic Pumas. A brilliant stoppage time try from Gonzalo TIESI enable the Pumas to win 21-15 against Scotaland. Vamos Pumas!!!

Argentina v USA: Team news and match coverage

Welcome to our humble match coverage of the friendly match Argentina will be playing against the USA in a few minutes in New Jersey.

Here is a probable lineup I've read in several Argentine websites but so far, it hasn't been confirmed.

ABBONDANZIERI will remain as the goalkeeper and he'll be behind a back three formed by Nicolás BURDISSO, Martín DEMICHELIS and the return of Gonzalo RODRIGUEZ. There's a chance Javier MASCHERANO will be rested and Ever BANEGA will play alongside Fernando GAGO in the center of midfield. There are doubts on the flanks with a couple of candidates in both the rigth and the left midfielders role. One from ZANETTI or SOSA could move on the right, while
Maxi RODRIGUEZ and Jonas GUTIERREZ could battle for the starting role on the left. MESSI will play and everything seems to suggest that Fernando CAVENAGHI will be handed the goalscoring responsibility and he could be joined by Sergio AGÜERO or Lisandro LOPEZ.

If you want to read a very extense and detailed preview from our rivals' point of view, check out this excellent information from the people at US Soccer:

http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_6619149.html

Who will be out there watching?

Argentina v USA: A chance for El Torito to shine

It's time for the second test of this friendly tour of the USA. After a sensational display against Mexico in San Diego (4-1), La Selección will play this Sunday against the United States at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

With Ecuador and especially Brazil on the horizon, BASILE will continue testing in different areas of the pitch and it all looks set for Fernando CAVENAGHI to have his chance to play up front from the start, replacing Julio CRUZ.

The other story of the day is the chance for Gonzalo RODRIGUEZ to return to the team and have his own personal revenge after suffering a few severe knee injuries that kept him sidelined for a total of 2 years.

Fabricio COLOCCINI had to leave his team-mates and the staff because of personal reasons, so he won't be around.

The team had a difficult trip to New York and they ended up arriving one day after what they have planned. It was because of that trouble that Coco couldn't have a proper training session to test his players and decide on the lineup for today.

What BASILE said is that he will continue playing with a formation with only three defenders.

The names are a mistery so far and we are going to have to wait and see who are the players that will start on Sunday.

Watch it online

There are a number of softwares that allow you to watch live streams from different TV channels from all over the world that offer their content live on the internet.

In order to be able to watch Argentina v USA (and every Argentina international match) you should go to this link and download the applications listed there (as an advice, just download SopCast, TVU, TVANTS and USEE).

http://rojadirecta.com/aplicaciones.htm

Then you simply have to check here:

http://rojadirecta.com/

and here:

http://myp2p.eu/index.php?part=sports

….to get the links to the broadcasts you are looking for.

For Argentina v USA, check this link and a list of broadcasting options will appear shortly before the game:

myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=13268&part=sports

Highlights - Argentina vs Mexico

Copa Libertadores - Boca Could Not Contain The Flu

Well what can I say? Johnny my friend, I can understand how you must be feeling right after your beloved Boca were beaten 3-1 by Fluminense. The result meant that the Brazilian side advance to the final 5-3 on aggregate.

Boca started off brightly with plenty of chances from Martin PALERMO but Flu’s keeper Fernando HENRIQUE was in top form. But PALERMO persistence was awarded in the 58th minute when he headed in to give Boca the lead, courtesy of a cross from Jesus DATOLO.

That led only lasted for five minutes when WASHINGTON curled in a free kick to level the score. Then disaster happen when Hugo IBARRA strikes into his own net after a shot from Flu’s very own Albiceleste, Dario CONCA.

It was time to press the emergency button for Boca as they had to get a goal to level the score 2-2 in order to keep their hopes alive. Plenty of chances fell into hands of PALERMO, Sebastian BATTAGLIA and Pablo LADESMA just to name a few but nothing materialized. Another goal for Flu from Dodo in the dying minutes put the game beyond Boca’s reach.A day earlier in the other semi-final match between LDU and America was also decided by the away goal factor. A goalless draw was in good enough to ensure the Ecuadorian side to march through after both teams finished off with 1-1 draw last week in Mexico.

For both Fluminense and LDU, this will be their first Copa Libertadores Final. Good luck to both of them.

Argentina walk all over Mexico in a 4-1 win

It was an after midnight kickoff in Argentina and I won't be able to give you a match report right now.

I can say is that we saw a brilliant first half by Argentina that finished 3-0. And here are a few bullet-points on the match and our performance:

• MESSI was brilliant with one goal, one assist and also a key role in Maxi RODRIGUEZ's goal.
• AGÜERO played a great game and scored the fourth after a neat pass by MESSI.
• BURDISSO caught a rebound in Mexico's box and opened up the scoring.
• ABBONDANZIERI made a terrible mistake in arguably the only shot on target by Mexico in the entire match. He miscalculated the trajectory of the ball and let it in, basically.
• The back three looked very solid.
• MASCHERANO and GAGO contained Mexico very well.
• Maxi was all over the place, he scored one and he was denied by SANCHEZ in another fine move.
• CRUZ was not up to the job. He did played a nice low cross in MESSI's goal but he looked average, didn't finish quite well and sometimes he looked kind of lost.
  
• A great performance and a sensational display of scoring prowess that is surely the mark of a good team.

Let us know what are your thoughts on the game and vote for your man of the match.

Mundo's choice is Lionel MESSI. Supersonic as always. Very very comfortable on the ball. Unstoppable for Mexico. Great work-rate as well and a total awareness as to where were his team-mates at all times. Good ball distribution too. Impressive stuff from Pulga!

Argentina v Mexico: Team news. Three at the back?

It's been said many times that Coco is still hurt after losing his last two matches against Brazil (0-3 in a friendly in London and 0-3 in that horrible Copa America final). BASILE will probably work on a new formation as an intent of changing that bad run against the classic Argentina rival and he could use both of the friendly matches in the USA (against Mexico and the home team) to see if he can find a system that works for him and his players.

Without RIQUELME (on duty with Boca Juniors that very same Wednesday night in a Copa Libertadores semifinal), BASILE said he won't try to use another footballer to play in Roman's position or to cover his same role.

That said, the most significant changes we'll see could be at the back.

Here's the probable starting lineup:

The goalkeeper will be Pato ABBONDANZIERI and he will be behind a back-three of domestic league champions in Europe composed by Nicolás BURDISSO, Martín DEMICHELIS and Gabriel HEINZE. Javier ZANETTI (another league winner this season) will play a free role joining the midfield line and helping the back three when needed.

Maxi RODRIGUEZ (the scorer of that extra-time screamer against Mexico in the eight-finals of Germany 2006) will play on the left hand side of the midfield while Fernando GAGO and MASCHERANO will cover the middle.

MESSI will play all over the attack but just behind a surprising striking duo formed by Sergio AGÜERO and Julio CRUZ.

What do you think of this lineup? Surprised by Coco's new tactical approach? Any names you don't like or you'd like to see and are not there?

Argentina arrived in USA, ready to take on Mexico

The next World Cup Qualifier match is just around the corner now. But before that, we've got to very interesting friendlies coming on.

The first one will take place on Wednesday (it'll be yet another midnight kick-off for all the fans in Argentina -same as with Guatemala-). Mexico will be our rival in a match that will be played in front of a sold-out crowd in the Qualcomm Stadium of San Diego, home of the Chargers (NFL).
As the Tricolor get ready to announce the appointment of Sven-Goran Eriksson as their new manager, Coco and his muchachos are already training and getting ready to make a tactical change and test it before the double WC Qualifiers fixture against Ecuador in Buenos Aires (15 June) and Brazil in Belo Horizonte (18 June).

Team news and all the related information regarding this friendly match will be coming soon to Mundo Albiceleste.

In the meantime, can I ask if any of Mundo Albiceleste's readers from the USA is going to the stadium?

El Loco Interview

Our Boca Craziness week continues with an interesting interview with Martin PALERMO that I’ve just discovered on FIFA.com. Later on I would like to share my own experience (or feelings you might say) about El Loco, but first is the article that I was mentioning about with the title - IT’S ALL ABOUT INSTICT