ORTEGA back in the national team at 35

It really is getting desperately horrible now at Ezeiza.

MARADONA spent 11 days in a clinic in Italy, where he hardly did any work (I'm thinking if you don't have the players around you to work with them, at the very least you could be watching some videos, meeting your coaching staff...I don't know. Doing some of the things you are supposed to be doing and you're getting paid for).

When he comes back, Argentina have a completely meaningless friendly match against Ghana. A 'C' side from Ghana, with no ESSIEN, MUNTARI or any of the other established international stars they have. They'll bring a squad fully formed by players from their domestic league (ranked 64th in the world, by the way), so it comes as no surprise that we are fielding a 'C' team too.

Ariel ORTEGA (35), Martín PALERMO (36), Rolando SCHIAVI (36), Esteban FUERTES (36) all made the squad for the match in Córdoba.

Then...it's just a bunch of players that are either too young to capture the eyes of the European clubs or simply not good enough. They'll do OK against a C team from Ghana, but none of the players he called up are likely to have a decisive role in the World Cup Qualifiers, let alone the World Cup.

The list is below, but first, a statement from MARADONA.

"The last thing I'd stand is to be imposed of something from somebody. I won't even accept a suggestion to call up a player. I never got imposed of something. Not when I was 15, let alone now that I'm 48. There is nobody around me who can decide on a player call-up other than me. GRONDONA can't decide on the players I choose. BILARDO can't either. Not even MANCUSO or LEMME. And I take full responsibility of any possible outcome and of anything that could go wrong".

MARADONA said he's got the list for the double round of WCQ v. Perú and Uruguay ready and he will announce it tomorrow (Friday).

Rumour has it, Gonzalo HIGUAIN will finally feature.

The list for Ghana? (there are a couple of River Plate players, by the way and it's worth to mention that no Velez Sarsfield, Lanús or San Lorenzo's players were eligible because of their Copa Sudamericana fixtures. Hence why no PAPA, OTAMENDI, DOMINGUEZ, SALVIO, BLANCO or LEDESMA, to name a few, are nowhere near this list).

Goalkeepers:
Diego POZO (Colón de Santa Fe)
Cristian CAMPESTRINI (Arsenal de Sarandí)

Defenders:
Matías CARUZZO (Argentinos Juniors)
Ignacio CANUTO (Argentinos Juniors)
Rolando SCHIAVI (Newell´s)
Juan Manuel INSAURRALDE (Newell´s)
Cristian VILLAGRA (River)
Fabián MONZÓN (Boca)

Midfielders:
Rodrigo BRAÑA (Estudiantes LP)
Enzo PÉREZ (Estudiantes LP)
Leonel VANGIONI (Newell´s)
Federico INSÚA (Boca)
Jesús MÉNDEZ (Rosario Central)
Mario BOLATTI (Huracán)

Forwards:
Gabriel HAUCHE (Argentinos)
Martín PALERMO (Boca)
Ariel ORTEGA (River)
Luis RODRÍGUEZ (Atlético Tucumán)
Esteban FUERTES (Colón de Santa Fe)

A couple of Estudiantes midfielders but no VERON. That doesn't mean MARADONA doesn't like VERON. Maybe he does and he doesn't need to see how he does against Ghana C and thinks it's best to have him rested and prevent the risk of injury.

You'll find a million explanations on the media on how great the call-ups of PALERMO and ORTEGA are for Argentina (of course, they are the darlings of Boca Juniors and River Plate supporters and therefore the media will always praise them in order to keep the majority of their readers happy and loyal to them). The truth is that if Argentina goes to a World Cup relying on those two to provide the goods, we'll be bound for disaster. And the fact that they are instant ticket-sellers is perhaps a better way to explain what these two are doing wearing the Albiceleste in 2009.

I'm in panic now. What if the two of them have a great game v. Ghana? Will MARADONA realise it's not the same to play in Córdoba against a bunch of players from the domestic league from Ghana that wouldn't probably care that much? Will he think that if they perform against Ghana they will surely have an impact against Perú and Uruguay?

I don't want to think about it too much because I'll go crazy and because I fear the manager will misjudge that and will blame the lack of results on an apparent lack of determination from our players, when clearly, what's lacking is a gameplan. An idea of how a team should play. The continuity that some players need to grow in confidence and the proper utilization of the footballers that are rocking the world every week, rather than those who will score against weak and inexperienced defensive units in the Argentine domestic league.

Until MARADONA realises of that, we'll continue to live in danger.