Super mega Albiceleste post to start a key week

The day after Martín DEMICHELIS lifted the Bundesliga shield whilst Lio MESSI and Gonzalo HIGUAIN scored the go-ahead goals for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, more Argentine players put their hands on some European silverware; one striker kept on scoring and another received a prestigious personal award; MARADONA made a TV appearance and the Argentine Clausura saw one of the players that will surely make it to the World Cup, lose his head.

ALBICELESTES FLYING WITH EAGLES

It was coming for Benfica. After we witnessed the end of a dynasty in France, with Olympique Marseille taking the title from the other Olympique, after the Lyonnais had taken home the last seven editions of Ligue 1, this time it happened in Portugal. With Lucho and Licha gone from Porto, Benfica took advantage of their very own Albiceleste and South American contingent to win the league after the four consecutive titles won by the Dragons.

Pablo AIMAR (4 goals in 29 matches), Angel DI MARIA (6 in 30) and Javier SAVIOLA (12 in 31) and to a lesser extent José SHAFFER (who played in 4 matches before moving on loan to Banfield back in Argentina) have helped Benfica obtain their 32nd league title in Portugal.
But while DI MARIA represents a safe bet to make it to the World Cup, SAVIOLA has never been called up by MARADONA and it'll be a major shock if he is named in the list of 30 and Pablo AIMAR seems to be behind Javier PASTORE in Diego's consideration, though he still has chances of making it.

CUCHU PRESSURING MARADONA. MILITO DOING HIS THING

In Italy, Inter flirted with clinching their fifth consecutive Serie A title by beating Chievo Verona 4-3.

Esteban CAMBIASSO sent them ahead 2-1 with an exquisite first-time left-footed volley and he refuses to stop fighting for a place in Diego's heart.



Diego MILITO, in the meantime, doesn't have a big media campaign on his side or a company to ask him to score from one building to another, but he keeps doing what he does best and he keeps forcing MARADONA to call him up. Very quietly and with a low profile that could turn out to be his undoing, he keeps banging in the goals and if I said CAMBIASSO's volley was exquisite...what's the adjective for MILITO's chip?



Roma defeated Cagliari 2-1 with a late brace from Francesco TOTTI and both teams will have everything to play for next weekend. Whatever happens, the Serie A trophy will be touched by Argentine hands as Inter has four first team starters and Roma has Nicolás BURDISSO.

AWARD FOR LICHA

The other striker I mentioned in the first paragraph that has won a personal award is Lisandro LOPEZ. His Olympique Lyonnais side will be fighting for a place in next season's Champions League next week. But on Sunday he was voted by his fellow footballers as the best player in Ligue 1 this season. Lisandro beat midfielder Eden HAZARD (Lille), forward Marouane CHAMAKH (Bordeaux on his way to Arsenal) and striker Mamadou NIANG (Olympique Marseille)



Lisandro had already won the Portuguese League Player of the Year Award in the 2007-2008 season.

Ignored by MARADONA since that double-header v. Brazil and Paraguay, I read today in Olé that apparently he could be considered at least for the list of 30 players that will be announced on Tuesday. Whether that's true or not...we just need to wait and see.

Lisandro himself said: "My chances are very slim. I don't expect to be called up".

THE LIST OF 30 TO BE OUT ON TUESDAY

Diego MARADONA made an appearance at a very popular TV show (not related to sport) and he spoke about many things, but the one that touched me was when he said: "Ten days ago, it's been 6 years since I last did drugs".



It was an emotional moment and it was sincere and honest.

I've said it many times. I love MARADONA, even though sometimes he makes me furious with some of the things he does or says as a manager, and I only want good things to happen to him. So this is a great achievement for him, perhaps the most difficult one he managed in his life.

Diego referred to the day in which he was left out of the 1978 World Cup squad by César Luis MENOTTI. He was 18 at that time and he said he cried all the way from the training ground to his home. He can't forget (or forgive) that moment and he said (very rightfully so) that he knows what is going through his players' minds.

"These days, it's very difficult for me to choose between all the players we've got. They are all playing very well" said Diego and concluded, "We've got the players, I've got the desire to work with them. And after beating Germany in Germany, things changed. Everybody knows that you can't underestimate Argentina".

MARADONA also said him and his players will start working on May 20 ahead of the friendly at the Monumental (May 24) v. Canada. He will give the players a couple of days off after the Canada match and then they'll fly straight to Pretoria in South Africa.

VERON LOST HIS HEAD. DID HE LOSE THE TITLE TOO?

Last, but not least, the title race in Argentina is on fire. Estudiantes de La Plata got to the penultimate week of the season with a one-point advantage over Argentinos Juniors and five points clear of Godoy Cruz and Independiente.

Juan Sebastian VERON, Clemente RODRIGUEZ and José SOSA, all players very much in Diego's mind for the list of 30 (and quite possibly the World Cup squad of 23) could have given Estudiantes the league title with a win combined with a defeat for Argentinos Juniors. Marcos ANGELERI was on the bench and Diego hinted his chances of making it to the World Cup has been all but destroyed by the serious injury he suffered a few months ago (knee ligaments). Is this great news for Javier ZANETTI?

Argentinos were trailing 3-1 at home to Independiente (with a goal from a corner-kick included) after leading 1-0 and there were only 15 minutes to play, but Estudiantes were showing no signs of scoring the single goal that would have given them the title. It was a bad afternoon for the team from La Plata as Juan Sebastian VERON saw the red card for a hit on Martín RIVERO's face in front of referee Federico BELIGOY.



The draw for Estudiantes was not that bad a result considering Independiente had all three points in the bag against Argentinos, but then...this was what happened (check out the result on the top-left corner and have in mind that ST means 'Segundo Tiempo' (Second Half) and I apologize for the horrible commentator who annoys me to no end!)



The guy who scored the last goal for Argentinos is Matías CARUZZO, who has been called up several times for the 'Domestic Argentina' and he scored against Adrián GABBARINI (who Diego said was playing for a place in the World Cup squad in these Clausura last two matches). Would CARUZZO be considered by Diego after this? And what about GABBARINI, conceding three goals against Boca Juniors last week and four v. Argentinos Juniors on Sunday? Before these last two weeks, he had kept nine clean sheets and conceded only 11 goals in 16 matches. Alarms all over him right now.

One player that did his best to stay with chances was Juan MERCIER who had a monster game in midfield, especially in those dying minutes when Argentinos Juniors were pushing for a miraculous comeback.

As it stands, Argentinos Juniors are in the driver's seat and top of the table with 38 points to Estudiantes' 37 with only one match to go (Argentinos visit Huracán and Estudiantes will travel without VERON to Santa Fé to face Colón).

One curious note? MARADONA was in attendance for this match played at the Diego Armando MARADONA stadium! But he left early, before Argentinos Juniors, his maiden club, made that remarkable comeback in those dying minutes.