Bleacher Report - Articles by Tim Sturtridge

FIFA Bans Peru From Playing Football

Tim Sturtridge — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:40:59 -0500

Football’s world governing body has dished out a ban forbidding Peru from taking place in international competition.

FIFA’s president Sepp Blatter warned last week that unless a long-running feud between the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) and the nation’s government was resolved then drastic action would have to be taken.

“The problem in Peru is there is political intervention in the organization of football.” Blatter said.

He added, “The situation hurts me. It always hurts when FIFA has to intervene because of political actions.”

A butting of heads between the government and the FPF led to a statement from the South American Football Confederation (CSF) yesterday stating Peru had been temporarily expelled from international competition.

“FIFA has suspended Peru from all activity.” CSF secretary general Eduardo de Luca told reporters outside his organizations’ headquarters in Paraguay.

The dispute between Peru’s law makers and its football federation centers on FPF president Manuel Burga. Alan Garcia’s government believes Burga’s election was irregular.

This led to Peruvian government’s Institute of Sports (IPD) stepping into FPF affairs. The IPD have stated that they kept their interference to a minimum but had to act in the interest of their people.

“There is absolutely no intervention by the government. What there is, is respect for Peruvian law. He [Burga] cannot be director.” IPD president Arturo Woodman said.

He added, “If Burga’s position is going to remain the same as before… this is a dialogue of the deaf.”

For his part Manuel Burga is equally defiant that the blame for Peruvian football’s current plight should not land at his door.

“I want to apologize to the Peruvian people for the situation which we are going through. The principle problem is that Peruvian law is not compatible with FIFA statutes, and so anyone who was in my place would be in the same situation.” Manuel Burga said.

The laws which Burga refers to are FIFA’s complete non-acceptance of a country’s government flexing their muscle over its football association. A similar situation came to a head recently in Poland.

FIFA had threatened to withdraw Poland from international competition when the Polish government appointed an administrator to oversee the running of their football association (PZPN).

With Poland staring down the barrel at losing their right to co-host the 2012 European Championships the government and the PZPN worked together to hold a transparent election for a new president of the football association.

The election of Grzegorz Lato appeased the government, the PZPN and more importantly FIFA and allowed Poland to continue their qualifying campaign for South Africa 2010 and plan for their share of the 2012 European Championships.

FIFA made it clear that it would not stand for anymore funny business from the Poles and stated, “Football’s world governing body will work closely with PZPN for the good of the game in Poland.”

Peru on the other hand has already been stripped of their right to host the 2009 South American under-20 Championship as a result of the Burga saga.

This cautionary tale is the latest twist for Peruvian football which has been on the slide since the dizzy heights of Cubillas, Chumpitaz and co. Peru reached the quarter-finals of Mexico 1970 and featured again in 1978 and 1982. Sadly they have not qualified for the World Cup finals since they were last held in Spain.

Presently Peru sit bottom of the 10-team South American qualifying group with little to no chance of reaching the finals in South Africa. They will however be reinstated to compete in the remaining games and their current suspension is a mark of the tactile political game FIFA are capable of playing.

Peru’s next qualifying game does not take place until March and that gives time enough for the whole mess to blow over. Indeed Eduardo de Luca is confident the issue will be resolved at FIFA’s next executive committee meeting which takes place in Tokyo in December.

In the meantime there were blanks next the Peruvian teams in today’s draw for the 2009 Copa Libertadores (The South American Champions League).

The country’s top players also remain at loggerheads with the nation’s press and public. This harks back to an incident involving four players, including Claudio Pizarro and Jefferson Farfan, behaving with indiscipline at the team hotel following a home game.

Even though their ban has now passed, coach Jose Del Solar is yet to recall the four players to the national set-up. If English players think they have it bad with the press they should spend some time in Peru when the differences between the have and have-nots is as acute as anywhere in the world.

If a problem with bad attitude wasn’t enough, Peru has also fallen foul of having bad altitude.

Peru was dismayed at a FIFA ruling last year which prohibited games being played at more than 2,500m (8,200ft) above sea level. Peru has pulled off some remarkable results in World Cup qualifiers in Cuzco which stands at 3,400m (11,154ft) above sea level.

South American heavyweights Argentina and Brazil have both fallen foul playing at high altitude, where the thin air hands an advantage to the home side accustom to the conditions. In a kowtow to these giants of world football Blatter imposed a ban saying, “To play at above that altitude is not healthy or fair.”

However, this ban was overturned in no small measure to a 47-year-old Diego Maradona having a kick about with Bolivian president Evo Morales at an ear-popping 11,811ft above sea level in La Paz.

Evo Morales compared the ruling to a “football apartheid” but will he still be able to count on Maradona’s support when Diego arrives in Bolivia next March for his second competitive game as Argentina boss?

River Plate Ship Goals But Can't Be Sunk

Tim Sturtridge — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:15:18 -0500

A return to winning ways for Primera Division title holders River Plate proved to be short lived as they suffered a 2-1 reverse at home. The defeat to Argentinos Juniors on Sunday sees Los Millionarios stay rooted to the foot of the table.

This was a game which highly rated left-winger Matias Abelairas pinpointed as a must win game after his team recorded only their second victory of the Apertura (Argentina’s championship running from August to December) last week.

“When we look at the position that we occupy on the table we can’t be happy. We have to keep improving, and to think of Argentinos Juniors, our next opponents. We have to claim the three points to escape from this situation, which nobody likes.” Abelairas said.

While Abelairas’ wish was not granted the midfielder continues to attract interest from Europe. This sizing up of their best players is just one of the anomalies of the current predicament facing River Plate.

Along with defender Gustavo Cabral, fancied by Atletico Madrid, Abelairas could be the latest player to fall off the River Plate conveyer belt and into the lap of a top European team.

This is the same production line that has sprouted Champions League finalists Pablo Aimar, Hernan Crespo and Roberto Ayala amongst others in recent times.

The saving grace for the current River Plate team is that relegation from the Primera Division is decided by an average of final league placings over the previous three seasons. This measure was first introduced when the Buenos Aires team found themselves second bottom some 25 years ago and remains a system heavily criticised for saving the skin of big clubs when they have a dodgy season.

It is akin to Tottenham Hotspur getting off to a bad start in the Premier League but having no sense of urgency to move away from the bottom, as they can rest assured that come the end of the season they will not go down. This seems to have been the case with River Plate’s indifferent term.

Earlier this year River Plate won the Clausura (Argentina’s championship running from February to June). With former crowd favourite Diego Simone at the helm it seemed to herald the beginning of a new age for the side who had not won a league title for four years.

However, a few months down the line Simone was waving goodbye to the Estadio Monumental de Nunez as he bowed out a fortnight ago against Huracan. The level of support at this match for the outgoing boss who had taken them to bottom of the league table was unprecedented.

Simone, known as el Cholo to the River faithful, was cheered as songs were sung and banners waved in his honor for the full 90 minutes. River Plate found themselves 3-0 down within 35 minutes in the match but the setbacks resulted in the support of el Cholo becoming more and more intense.

The first half implosion was followed by three second half goals which secured River Plate a point from the game and encapsulated the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Simone’s team. Capable of winning the league one season and then propping it up the next.

I find it hard to believe the celebration of Simone’s time as player and manager would have been quite so fervent should River Plate be facing the conclusion their lacklustre season justifies, relegation.

As a side note, a minority of River fans let their passion for the club get the better of them last week when they hijacked a bus in Avellaneda, a southern suburb of Buenos Aires. It appeared the fans were a touch overeager to see new coach Gabriel Rodriguez’s first game in charge.

Sixty fans were held by police after the bus driver was bullied into driving faster in an effort to make kick-off. As it turned out none of the fans made it to the game in which River Plate beat Independiente 1-0.

Their actions gave Argentina it’s second football related bus hijacking in less than a week.

English Premier League's South American XI

Tim Sturtridge — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:02:30 -0500

Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari - (Chelsea/Brazil)

Runners-up in the Premier League and the Champions League hardly sounds like a club in crisis, but when Big Phil took the reigns from Avram Grant at the start of the season he had it all to do.

He was expected to deliver the attractive football demanded by owner Roman Abramovich, even as the Russian tightened the purse strings. He has succeeded in transforming a turgid Chelsea side into a free-flowing and free-scoring team that look set to scoop some major honors come the end of this term.

The World Cup winning coach is just the man to lead these Latino lads into battle.

Goalkeeper: Heurelho Gomes - (Tottenham Hotspur/Brazil)

It looks like this team might be finished before it starts! Nowhere is confidence more important on a football field than for the man between the sticks. It is also true that great players do not become bad ones overnight.

A catalogue of howlers may have Spurs fans putting their heads in their hands every time a cross comes into the box but with a few magical words from Harry Houdini hopefully this custodian can put his season back on track.

After all, Gomes had his detractors when he first arrived at PSV. That was before he went on to win four consecutive Eredivisie titles and keep clean sheets in 60% of those games. He was also instrumental in PSV reaching the last four of the Champions League.

Right Back: Rafael da Silva - (Manchester United/Brazil)

With Gary Neville fading from view a new force is emerging in the right back berth for Manchester United. If you looked up "Brazilian full back" in the dictionary you would see a picture of young Rafael.

While defence may not be his strongest suit he adds another dimension to United’s already formidable attack. His recent goal in the defeat at Arsenal is surely just a taster of what’s to come from the lad. Also look out for his brother Fabio, a left back, who is also on the books at Manchester United.

Left Back: Julio Arca - (Middlesbrough/Argentina)

In at left back comes a man with almost more Premiership experience that the rest of the team put together. The former Argentina U-21 captain was brought over by Peter Reid, then manager of Sunderland.

Julio established himself as a crowd favourite with his all-action style of play and deadly accuracy from free-kicks. He dispelled the myth in England of South Americans being work-shy show ponies on the look out for a payday with his performances in Sunderland’s Championship winning side of 2004-05.

A series of injuries has niggled him throughout his career but at 27 Julio Arca still has a lot to give to the Premier League.

Centre Back: Alex - (Chelsea/Brazil)

Chelsea first got their claws into Alex back in 2004 but proceeded to loan him to PSV for three seasons. Whilst in the Netherlands Alex led solid a defence in front of countryman Gomes that set the platform for PSV to restock the trophy cabinet.

He was brought to Stamford Bridge at the beginning of last season and ensures Chelsea never look in danger of missing John Terry or Ricardo Carvalho when either of their first choice centre backs picks up a knock. His blistering strikes from deadball situations earned him the nickname "The Tank" while at PSV.

Centre Back: Fabricio Coloccini - (Newcastle United/Argentina)

Suring up the central defence with Alex is Newcastle’s summer recruit Fabricio Coloccini. The Argentinian demanded a transfer fee in excess of £10 million when he arrived from Deportivo.

Whilst in Spain he had established himself as one of the toughest tacklers in La Liga. Impressive performances for his club brought him into the Argentina team for the 2006 World Cup. Coloccini has his work cut out if he is to stem the flow of goals that have seen Newcastle plunged into the relegation places early in the season.

Holding Midfielder: Javier Mascherano - (Liverpool/Argentina)

The Monster Masch is the perfect fulcrum to keep the attacking talent around him ticking over. Recently given the armband by Diego Maradona, his tough tackling and intelligent distribution make him a shoe-in for any team in the world.

He has the ability to get on with job in an understated and workmanlike manner, scrapping around the centre circle and launching attacks with the right pass. Occasionally he can lose his head but still has youth on his side and will in time collect the medals his talent deserves. Captain.

Central Midfield: Anderson - (Manchester United/Brazil)

In full flight Anderson can ghost past opposition players as if they are not there. He holds his own in United’s midfield which in itself is no mean feat given the talent on offer to Sir Alex Ferguson.

He first made his name at the 2005 U-17 World Cup when he was rewarded with the Golden Ball, the award for the best player on show at the tournament. After Manchester United had their fingers burnt with Kleberson a few eyebrows were raised when David Gill sanctioned the £18 million transfer fee for Anderson.

Just a season and a bit down the line the value is there for all to see as the Brazilian continues to make his presence felt in this latest incarnation of Manchester United.

Central Midfield: Geovanni - (Hull City/Brazil)

What a revelation Hull have been to the Premier League this season and central to their impressive results has been Geovanni. Both Barcelona and Benfica shelled out big bucks on the Brazilian with little reward, before Sven brought him to Eastlands.

Undoubtedly the highlight of his time with Manchester City was scoring the winning goal in their home derby against United. Even with legendary status this assured him in the blue half of Manchester he was released at the end of the season.

Since rocking up at the KC Stadium Geovanni has scored two goals in wins in North London with a combined yardage of 60-plus yards. He has also bagged at Old Trafford and helped his Hull City team to nosebleed territory in the Premier League.

Right Wing: Robinho - (Manchester City/Brazil)

As bizarre as his deadline day transfer deal was it heralded the arrival of one of football’s greatest talents to the Premier League. How long he will stay with Manchester City and what he will achieve while there remains to be seen.

He has the talent, as his hat-trick against Stoke showed, to achieve all he wants in the game. His attitude has been questioned by Pele and even more severely in a parting shot from Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon. Despite all this the Premier League’s record signing makes the starting eleven.

Left Wing: Jonas Gutierrez - (Newcastle United/Argentina)

There’s not been too much to cheer at St James’ Park this season. However, the sight of this Spiderman obsessed winger bombing down the left wing has been one bright spark for the Geordie faithful.

His build is stockier compared to your usual wing wizard but this frame makes him ideally suited to riding the robust challenges found in the Premier League. A wise signing indeed. Injuries have already restricted his starts for Newcastle this season but hopefully his present clean bill of health can continue and he can help his team away from trouble.

Centre Forward: Roque Santa Cruz - (Blackburn Rovers/Paraguay)

Not many expected too much from Santa Cruz when he arrived in Lancashire from Munich. He failed to reach double figures in any of his eight seasons in the Bundesliga.

It was soon apparent though that his combative style was ideally suited to the English top-flight as he bagged 19 goals for Rovers in the league plus four in other competitions.

Signing a new four-year for Paul Ince has failed to stop speculation of a move for Roque to a "bigger club". He is also no slouch when it comes to international football, helping Paraguay build up a useful lead over Brazil and Argentina in the current qualifying group for South Africa 2010.

Substitutes

Diego Cavalieri - (Liverpool/Brazil)

Liverpool’s number one makes it onto the bench. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know too much about this fella but I’m no Neil Warnock and like to have a ‘keeper on the bench. This Brazilian glovesman came to Anfield in the summer after playing over 100 games for Palmeiras.

Juliano Belletti - (Chelsea/Brazil)

Chelsea’s versatile defender/midfielder can provide cover in a number of positions. Capable of scoring from range the Brazilian is the proud owner of 2002 World Cup winners medal.

Elano - (Manchester City/Brazil)

This playmaker was instrumental in Sven’s successful start as Manchester City boss last season. Opportunities have been limited this term but he is still very much in national boss Dunga’s thoughts as his recent goal against Portugal showed.

Carlos Tevez - (Manchester United/Argentina)

Carlos seems to be enjoying his time on the bench at the moment and sadly that’s where he fits into this set-up. An exceptional talent, capable of creating a goal from nothing as he showed when scoring crucial late strikes for Manchester United’s title winning side last season.

Jo – (Manchester City/Brazil)

Big, strong and able to hold the ball up in attack he’s an ideal replacement for Santa Cruz. Jo would benefit from a regular run in the City team as he has all the attributes to score lots of goals in the Premier League.

Gallas Guns For Arsenal's Youngsters

Tim Sturtridge — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:00:21 -0500

It’s a bad time to be a 25-year-old at the The Emirates as club captain William Gallas lifts the lid on the dressing room flare up which occurred during Arsenal’s recent draw with neighbours Tottenham.

Gallas said of the player responsible, “I’m 31, the player is six years younger than me.”

While his latest outburst puts Emmanuel Eboue and Bacary Sagna in the frame, it is understood that Robin Van Persie was the player causing the rumpus. You may think that by now Gallas would know better than to throw stones in glass houses, but in an explosive interview with L’Equipe he pointed more fingers than you can count on both hands.

“I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I’m taking it all. It’s very frustrating."

"We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us, who are not scared to take us on at our place, and this is becoming dangerous for Arsenal,” forewarned the Frenchman.

The two time Premier League winner has a reputation for being a smoking gun and this episode is the latest in a long line of whistle blowing antics.

Another time Gallas was gracious enough not to name names but instead use cryptic clues was in the retelling of an incident from the French team bus which occurred during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

He identified a team mate as “S” and this swine had all the attributes Gallas despises in the youth of today, “they seem cheeky, very sure of themselves. They think they know everything but they know nothing.”

So what advice could Gallas offer this youngster who was shooting his mouth off as Les Blues cruised along an Autobahn in Germany?

“Are you speaking to me?” said Gallas, ever the man of maturity, “Who do you take yourself for? You’re only 20... I'm not your friend.”

Imagine the scenes when the other player in question, Samir Nasri, rolled into Arsenal’s London Colney training complex to report for pre-season training?

What these whippersnappers don’t seem to understand is that Gallas was in their shoes once and when he was he knew his place. Enlighten us William:

“I too was 20 years old once. I would never have allowed myself to speak in such a way to a player older than me. We respected the veterans. We shut our mouths. They [young players] don’t have to work as hard as I did. It might not be their fault but it is wrong.”

So what advice does Gallas offer the Arsenal young guns who he leads into battle, week in and week out?

Well, surely William must be pretty high up on Fabio’s Christmas card list after his words of encouragement have given England a galvanised Theo Walcott. Do you think that hat trick in Zagreb would have happened without these pearls of wisdom given last March?

“He [Theo] must be less predictable and more focused. He can also take too long on the ball.”

For all his moaning, William Gallas does highlight the issue of young players suffering a loss of hunger for the game and the issues they appear to have being motivated. Even his on pitch protest at Birmingham last season, though heavily criticised, did show support for teammate Eduardo who was left picking his bones up from the St. Andrews turf.

Three summers back when William Gallas and Ashley Cole swapped shirts and Arsenal pocketed £5million it looked like Arsene had pulled off yet another successful transfer coup.

Granted, the deal itself was precipitated by a bun fight between Gallas and Chelsea. The defender had refused to play in an FA Cup semi-final, failed to report for Chelsea’s training camp in America, and even threatened to score an own goal if he was selected in the first game of the season.

Despite all this it was reported John Terry and Claude Makelele were upset by the loss of such a consistent performer from the Chelsea ranks.

Then Ashley Cole was forced to view the halfway line as an electric fence under Jose Mourinho and lost the buccaneering instincts which made him the most highly rated left-back in the world. While over in North London Gallas was adding that much needed steel to Arsenal’s youthful and lightweight outfield.

Sadly for Arsenal, that steel has buckled once too often already this season while over at Stamford Bridge Scolari has restored Ashley Cole’s mojo.

A lack of calm and assured leadership on the pitch has been central to what looks like another pointless season for the Gunners. Sporadic performances from Arsenal’s big number 10 have left fans wondering which Gallas will turn up on any given day. Gallas did , however, look at his imperious best in the recent home win over Manchester United.

“Against Manchester it was the whole team that fought for victory,” Gallas said. “But when you stop fighting together, there comes a time when the midfield will sink, the defenders, unfortunately, can also sink. That’s what happened against Villa.”

Sacking William Gallas is not an option for Wenger. Arsene knows this latest indiscretion will pass and he will deal with it a private manner seemingly alien to Gallas.

The worry for me is that it will go down as another black mark against Arsene and will contribute to his ousting from The Emirates.

It will be a sad day for English football when Wenger goes. Arsene will become football’s Brian Jones and while I hope he can steer clear of the swimming pool, Arsenal will steady the ship with a Mick Taylor before going on to a more regulated version of success under their Ronnie Wood.

When this happens no one should ever forget the man who started it all in the first place.

Has Argentina Unearthed The Next Maradona?

Tim Sturtridge — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:40:43 -0500

As El Diego trades in his party lifestyle for the white lines of the technical area, I went in search of the people who his appointment will affect the most, the fans.

The beers are flowing in a blue and white corner of West London and everybody is more than happy to talk about "the biggest thing to come out of Argentina since the tango.’" Nobody, however, is chatting about founding a church in honor of Terry Butcher.

Federico Macri sits awaiting the on screen arrival of the man who gave him the greatest moment of his life, when Diego lifted the World Cup in Mexico 22 years ago. No mean feat on Maradona’s part, Federico is only 19.

“He is simply the greatest player the world has ever seen, he was at the centre of a great period of Argentinian football. Winners in 1986 and runners-up in 1990, true moments of glory for our nation.” Gushes young Federico.

Should Diego’s appointment really surprise us? Should anything to do with the pint-sized marvel surprise anyone anymore? His latest post is far more comprehendible to the amassed Argentinian throng than giving a foreign coach the run for the national team. Sebastian Folino explains that while Diego would not have been his first choice, it is a far more palatable decision than hiring a foreigner.

“It’s unthinkable to employ a foreign coach. I try not to judge Maradona but he’s not a great example for the people, I don’t think he is the right person for the job. However, with Argentines in the top jobs in our league there’s plenty of other candidates before going abroad. It’s impossible, it’s like in Italy or Spain, you would not get a foreigner in charge.” That’s me said Folino, mind you if it means beating Germany I’ll live with it for now.

Diego’s press conferences may not have been the circus that many expected but he has still shown that a single gesticulation or raised eyebrow can cut straight through an interpreter to get his point across. No wonder the nation’s press clamour of a piece of him having grown accustom to the dour speculate of Fabio/Steve/Sven dribbling into a microphone for half hour intervals at a time.

The calm assuredness Maradona carries himself gives a nod to the Roy Keane school of management. Whether it be giving simple straight forward answers whilst under provocation to revert to his on-pitch persona, or sitting snug with his arms folded under a Tennants Lager advertising hoarding while the game unfolds.

It was at one of Keane’s old stomping grounds this week that Maradona gave us a rare recent glimpse of him at his eccentric and mesmerising best. Pausing a training session to get down on his hands and knees to help retrieve Fernando Gago’s Saint Christopher medallion. The item was eventually found by 13-year-old Celtic trainee Adam Brown who was hoisted aloft by the same arms that got their hands on the World Cup in 1986. This moment gave Glasgow yet another fond memory of Maradona after the city witnessed his first international goal 34 years earlier.

After the match, in which he twisted up such heavyweights as Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish and John Wark, high praise came from Jock Stein, “He’s 5ft 5in but he’s 12ft tall on talent.”

In his first game as boss, Maradona set Argentina out to play the way they know best, lots of languid passing around the middle of the park before an increase in tempo in the third period and a killer ball. At its best it produces results like Cambiasso’s goal against Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 World Cup. It was from one such move that gave us the only goal of the game.

But the Argentines in the bar were not getting too carried away with the defeat of Scotland and as exiled fan Augustin Martinez put it, the real battles for Diego and his boys are still in the post;

“ Not many back home will be interested in the Scotland game, too many were players missing. The real test is the World Cup qualifier against Paraguay, a tough game for sure.”

Despite being so fond of Maradona, Jose Garcia felt that it will be the player in the shirt worn by Ossie Ardiles at Spain 1982, that will be most important to Diego’s team in the coming months;

“The Goalkeeper is the key position, that is where the game will be won. The team can do better, this was not the regulars tonight. It will be interesting to see how Maradona and Messi work together. Maradona has been a little critical of Messi in past. It’s the master coaching the apprentice.”

Giving a home team’s perspective of the match was Hearts fan Steven McLellan;

“Not too bad, a good result against Norway and the World Cup could be on. Give the lads a bit of time. Good to see the wee man up and about for them, the Hand of God stuff makes him a hero in Scotland. A true football legend, his second goal against England qualified the first.”

The only football legend to lose face at Hampden turned out to be Terry Butcher. In his day Butcher was without doubt an excellent player for his club and his country, but once again came out of a battle with Diego Maradona bruised and battered. Butcher exemplified the double standards which become commonplace when supporting a team.

I’m sure Argentina’s goalscorer Maxi Rodriguez has his own view of the gamesmanship of England’s internationals after he saw his goal at Anfield cancelled out from the spot by Steven Gerrard earlier this month.

Diego rose above Butcher’s playground histrionics by playing out the Dylan line while dealing with unsavoury characters from the past, “It’s easily done, just pick anyone, and act like you’ve never met.”

Throughout his career it seems that Diego has been his own worst enemy. Jose Garcia, a self confessed follower of the Church of Maradona, has this to say,

“Here is a guy with a big heart, lot of passion. People put him down because they are envious and weak compared to him. His background is as tough as anyone could imagine. I believe it gave him strength and a reason to fight.”

Certainly Maradona attributes his upper body strength which fended off so many aggressors whilst playing, to his days carrying water from the tap in his home slum of Villa Fiorito to the house he shared with his parents and seven siblings.

It’s the common censuses in the bar that this is the only job big enough for Maradona. He should not be judged for spells at Racing Club and Textil Mandiyu. It called to mind a player from this island who also scaled the heights and plunged the depths on and off the football field. Surely no one will mention Kettering Town in Paul Gascoigne’s epitaph?

As sobering as it was possible to be by this stage of the evening, talking with the Argentine fans left me with two examples of how big business dominates not only football in this country but also globally. Firstly, the fans were unanimous in thinking the appointment of Diego Maradona was done for strictly commercial reasons. No romance on the part of the AFA’s bigwigs, but moreover the lure of the lucre.

“His appointment is a business decision, he is still a very marketable man.” Sebastian Folino's opinion of the move and his thoughts are echoed by Augustin Martinez. Augustin spoke of Julio Grondona, AFA president and vice-president of FIFA as being the main power broker in the arrangement.

“Grondona has given Diego the opportunity to expose the myth of Maradona, can he achieve anymore for Argentine football? If he can we will all be very happy.”

The second point is that the disappointing qualifying campaign is blamed, not so much on Maradona’s predecessor Alfio Basile but rather on the demands placed on the players. They earn their crust in Europe and have to travel halfway around the world to play in World Cup qualifying games. Augustin Martinez sees this as a major sticking point in Argentina’s progression;

“100% of our best players are in Europe. The talked about picking a team with 50% European based players and 50% from the Argentinian league but the idea went nowhere. It’s like when UEFA talk of their six plus five rule in the Premier League, it just isn’t going to happen. It’s all about money I guess.”

Still it’s not all doom and gloom for Diego’s Argentina. They lie third in their qualifying group and will easily make it to South Africa. They have often qualified ahead of Brazil and fared worse at the tournament stage. Even now they are only one point behind their greatest rival.

However, they can look to solace from their South American compatriots. Brazil limped to the 2002 World Cup like a rabid dog only to buck up their ideas once there, as they won their fifth Coupe du Monde. A repeat performance for the boys in blue and white would be nice. It sounds like a repeat performance is just what Diego has in mind as he made his goals as coach, “First and foremost I am here to win the World Cup.”

Federico Macri gave his insight into the mentality which is roughly translated as "win at all costs" and landed Diego in hot water with the English in Mexico. This was 20 years after Sir Alf told England players not to shake hands with their Argentinian opponents and accused them of behaving like "animals."

“There is no other result than to win, players and managers know this. Not to win is failure. Basile didn’t get the right results , maybe it was the team’s fault but still he had to go.” Federico said, bluntly.

It seems that ever since the 1994 World Cup ended in disgrace for Diego, Argentina has been waiting in vain for the ‘Next Maradona’ to come along. Ortega, Riquelme, Messi and others have all had to play with that weight of expectation. Argentina fans hope they have finally found the "Next Maradona’" who will lead them to another World Cup triumph.