Argentina's Football Future Relies on the Fantastic Four Forwards

Argentina is never short on talent, especially in its striking department. In the past, Argentina boasted the likes of Diego Maradona, Mario Kempes, Luis Artime, and Ariel Ortega.

In the recent selections for friendlies and qualifiers, current coach Diego Maradona gave many strikers a chance to prove their worth. Julio Cruz, Fernando Cavaneghi, Rodrigo Palacio and even players like Gonzalo Bergessio and German Denis were given a shot on the international stage.

We will now look at the strikers who I think are the Fantastic Four Forwards of Argentina. They are young, and they are good.

Lionel Messi, 21

The player Maradona declared as his successor, Lionel Messi started playing football at the age of 5. He moved to Newell's Old Boys in 1995. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.

In 2000, Carles Rexach, the sporting director of Barcelona offered him a chance to play for his team and agreed to pay his medical bills. Messi made his senior debut for Barcelona on 16 November, 2003, against Porto, at only 16 years old. He scored his first goal for Barcelona on 1 May, 2005, against Albacete, making him the youngest player to score a league goal for Barcelona, a record which was broken by Bojan Krkic in 2007.

He has scored a respectable 72 goals in more than 150 games for Barcelona. Lionel Messi was part of Argentina who finished runner-up in Copa America 2007. He also helped Argentina to its second consecutive Olympics gold medal in Beijing 2008.

Lionel Messi won three consecutive FifPro and FIFA Young Player of the Year from 2005 to 2007. Besides that, he was second in the FIFA Player of the Year 2008, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sergio Aguero, 20

Aguero began his professional football career with Independiente in 2003 and became the youngest ever player to play in the Premiera Division at the age of 15. In 2006, he was transferred to Atletico Madrid for a fee of around €20 million. His nickname, Kun, was given by his former classmates.

Kun has been doing well in La Liga and has scored more than 50 goals for Atletico in more than 120 games. Both he and Diego Forlan have formed one of the deadliest striking partnerships in Europe.

Kun was also a member of the Argentina team that won the gold medal in Beijing Olympics 2008. He has represented his country 16 times, scoring 5 goals in the process.

Sergio Aguero was named Player of the Year of Argentina in 2009.

Gonzalo Higuain, 21

Born in France, Gonzalo Higuain chose to play for Argentina in January 2007. His father, Jorge Higuain, was a professional Argentina footballer, and his elder brother, Federico Higuain, is also a professional football player. Argentina legend Daniel Passarella claimed that Higuain was destined for superstardom during his time in River Plate.

Spanish giants Real Madrid signed Gonzalo Higuain in January 2007, along with Fernando Gago. His made his debut against Zaragoza and scored his first goal in the Madrid derby against local rivals Atletico.

He has represented Real Madrid more than 80 times so far, scoring more than 25 goals. Gonzalo Higuain made his international debut against Guatemala, and he scored 2 goals in his first appearance for Argentina.

Carlos Tevez, 25

Carlos Tevez started his career in Boca Juniors. In 2005, Tevez was transferred to Corinthians and although he stayed there for a season only, he managed to score 31 goals in 53 appearances.

In summer 2006, he was signed by West Ham along with Javier Macherano. One season later, Manchester United signed the Argentina striker on a two-year loan deal. The Red Devils have yet to make the deal permanent.

Although Dimitar Berbatov's arrival in summer 2008 limited Tevez's appearance, he has so far scored more than 30 goals for Manchester United.

Carlos Tevez was part of Argentina in World Cup 2006 in Germany. His only goal of the tournament came in the 6-0 trashing against Serbia & Montenegro. He was also a member of the Argentina squad which won the 2004 Olympics gold medal in Athens, and he grabbed the Golden Boot as well.

It would be great if all four of them are selected to represent Argentina in World Cup next year.