With the World Cup Qualifiers now behind us and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the near future, here's a look of what's ahead in the next few months in terms of matches.
November 14, 2009: November 14 is an International FIFA date, which means Argentina will have a friendly to play. And who better to test ourselves against(aside from Brazil) than the European champions, Spain. MARADONA and la Seleccion will be travelling to Madrid for what should be a great match. The last time we played Spain was back in 2006 and it was Alfio BASILE's second match in charge(in his second reign as Argentina manager). The match didn't end our way as we lost 2-1. XAVI and David VILLA scored for Spain and Daniel BILOS was our only goal scorer that night.
November 18, 2009: Another International date, this time versus the team we beat in the final of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Nigeria. Granted it's going to be against a completely different Nigeria side and at senor level. The match will take place in London and we'll have the chance to test ourselves against one of Africa's best teams.
December 4, 2009: A date that you should circle in your agenda. This is where the official Road to the World Cup begins(for the teams that will have qualified). The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On December 4, we'll find out who's in the same group as who and if we'll once again get the Group of Death.
March 3, 2010: We'll get a chance for revenge as Argentina takes on Germany in Munich. Granted it's not a World Cup Quarter Final match and it's in Munich and not Berlin, but you get the point.
As you can see, MARADONA doesn't have that many matches left to test out some players/formations. Of course there's going to be the usual 2-3 friendlys in May, but the dates have not been set yet. At the moment, it looks like our opponents could be England, Italy and Israel. However if any of them are in our group at the World Cup, we'll have to change opponents. Some people might wonder why Israel? Well if you know anything about BILARDO, you'll know why. Argentina faced Israel prior to the 1986 World Cup where Argentina won. BILARDO saw it as some sort of "lucky charm" and Argentina faced them again prior to the 1990 World Cup.
So that's it. That's a look at the matches ahead for Argentina. Are there any teams you would like to face or any matches(or a match) in particular you are looking forward to?
Hey Roy,
ReplyDeleteIs that Germany and Argentina game confirmed? I do not see it on FIFA's pages. Just wondering.
Jack!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEVngjSLWsM&feature=player_embedded
ReplyDeletewish i new the song....
Looking forward to the games thanks for the update Roy...
Also during the press conference Maradona does state he plans on taking Veron and Palermo to the world cup....
Good move or not?....
Lucas..
Off topic-some very telling quotes from Grondona and Veron that should not come as a surprise:
ReplyDeleteGrondona:"Logically, I'm not content with the soccer we're playing, but you can look at soccer from many angles...from the fans' view....from the economic side. There are many factors at play". No surprise, eh !!??
Veron:"There's nothing to celebrate. From Grondona on down, it's all bad. We suffered, we hung in there and in the end we were able to win, but we have much room for improvement. Now the coach can take the time he needs to correct what needs to be corrected, and put together a team for the World Cup. In terms of players we have some of the best, but we are not a team".
Congrats to Veron for being honest about the current situation with the NT, and "congrats" to Grondona for acknowledging that he is as concerned, or more so, with finances, than he is with the team's performance.
fifa is going to investigate maradona's comments yesterday.
ReplyDeleteFIFA have confirmed they will be looking into the incident and if found guilty, they could present him with a five-match ban - something that would significantly disrupt his planning for South Africa.
off topic if maradonas guilty i say to him quit now for the sake of the National team and Argentina
ReplyDeleteoff topic if maradonas guilty i say to him quit now for the sake of the National team and Argentina
ReplyDeleteGrondona is no 2 in fifa after blatter, you never know Grondona might get maradona out of this or not.
ReplyDeleteoff topic
ReplyDeletefifa ranking argentina climb up from 8th to 6th,
At the head of the rankings, Brazil have maintained a slender advantage over European champions Spain, Holland and world champions Italy - who topped Groups five, nine and eight respectively.
Germany dropped one place to fifth while Argentina, who clinched the last automatic qualifying place from the South American zone with a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Wednesday, climb two places to sixth.
Hosts South Africa (85th) and North Korea (91st) are the only teams from outside the top 50 who will be present at next year's event
What exactly did maradona say to the press?
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I can't see the game against Spain being great. I see it as potentially humiliating. Spain looks like it's set to teach us how football should be played. I hope I'm wrong. But the way we're playing, I can't see it as anything but painful.
ReplyDeletecan somebody PLEASSSSEEEE help me!!!I AM LOOKING TO BUY ARGENTINA TICKETS... i am from england and want to go to the spain, and nigeria matches.. i cam mot find any good sites that hav these tickets... if somebody has any info please let me know... much appreciated..
ReplyDeleteSpain, lol. Cant wait to see this massacre. Dont get me wrong, i pray we play great. But compare our statistics to Spain's the past 10 games and you will see a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteMaradonna basically said that -- now that the NT qualified -- everyone who had criticized him could fellate him (to put it politely).