Argentina-Brazil: Diego Maradona Overshadows Players

Since Argentina were defeated away to Ecuador in June, Diego Maradona has been concentrating only on playing Brazil.

Since then, Maradona has seen his Brazilian counterpart, Dunga, quietly lead his team to the Confederations Cup crown while letting his players do the talking. Maradona has done nothing of the sort and has been the center of every discussion surrounding the game.

The controversy began when Maradona criticized the playing surface at River Plate’s Monumental Stadium and claimed that the site of the crucial qualifier had been moved. Maradona also cited the running track around the field as an issue for the players were not able to hear the crowd.

Although few can debate the validity of Maradona’s claim, his timing was less than ideal. The fact that he is a diehard Boca Juniors fan (the archrival of River Plate) has sparked an ongoing dispute between El Diez and River Vice President Julio Manchi, after the latter claimed Maradona was not qualified to lead the National Team and should undergo a mental evaluation.

With ties between La Seleccion and River severed for the moment, Maradona has moved the game 200 miles to the North in the city of Rosario and the Stadium of Rosario Central, El Estadio Gigante de Arroyito. Although the new venue is smaller with a capacity just over 41,000, the crowd will be closer to the field and should create an intimidating atmosphere for the Brazilians.

Interestingly enough, El Gigante de Arroyito hosted all three of Argentina’s second round matches during its successful 1978 World Cup campaign (including a 0-0 draw against Brazil), but the move does show a bit of desperation from Maradona. Why should a manager with arguably the most talent in the world have to rely on the crowd?

When Argentina last played a huge match in Rosario back in 1978, Rosario Central legend Mario Kempes was the star of the show.

Although Kempes was born in the Cordoba Province and began his career at Instituto de Cordoba, the local fans treated him as one of their own when he played for the National Team and scored two goals against Poland and two more against Peru, helping Argentina book a place in the final.

This time around, a true Rosarino, Lionel Messi, will take center stage. Messi grew up playing for and supporting Newell’s Old Boys, the archrival of Central. The fact that Messi never played a senior match for Newell’s should help his cause to receive full support from the crowd.

After all, even though he supports a different club, the people of Rosario will be proud to have their most famous son back at home playing his first official match in his city.

After the venue switch was confirmed, the attention probably should have turned to Messi, but Maradona continued to grab the headlines. He ranted to the media about how his side’s friendly in Moscow against Russia on Aug. 12 was a waste of time. Then, after Maradona saw two substitutes score just seconds after coming on in his team’s 3-2 win, he was quick to claim all the plaudits.

Shortly before the Russia game, Maradona ran into a certain Gonzalo Higuain at the airport in Madrid. The two had a very brief encounter in which Maradona asked El Pipita about the two goals he scored in a friendly against DC United.

After the meeting, some speculated that Maradona would call up the neglected star, but Higuain was once again left out. Maradona’s squad left out other big names such as Lazio’s Mauro Zarate and Villareal’s Gonzalo Rodriguez.

When the squad finally met up at the AFA headquarters in Ezeiza, Maradona again took the headline away from his players. Maradona reminded the media that he won a poll against Pele as the best player of the 20th Century. He also rehashed his sending off against Brazil in a 1982 World Cup Match, stating that his kick was meant for Falcao, not Batista, the man who received the blow.

Maradona also tried to play up a personal rivalry with Dunga, who played against Maradona in the memorable match between the two South American giants at Italia 1990, when Maradona’s magic saw the Brazilians crash out. El Diego said he wished he was 20 years younger so he could play, a motivational tactic that also displays Maradona's inability to settle as a manager. 

Dunga dismissed the rivalry in his conversations with the media, instead trying to direct the focus on the players. This exchange paints the perfect picture of the two men. For Maradona, it is all about him.

For Dunga, his team does the talking. There has been little speculation all week about who will start for the 1994 World Cup winner, as he has been able to build a cohesive unit that not only won the Confederations Cup, but also beat Uruguay 4-0 in Brazil’s first ever competitive win in Montevideo.

While Dunga’s team effectively picks itself through strong performances, Maradona relishes his power of choosing the team, which forces the press to hang onto his every word.

As the entire country turned its focus to the match, Maradona shocked the world when he called up 35-year-old Boca Juniors legend Martin Palermo as an injury replacement. While Palermo is Boca’s all time leading scorer in the professional era, El Loco is better known outside of Argentina for missing three penalties in a single match playing for Argentina at the 1999 Copa America against Colombia.

Maradona also called up 36-year-old Rolando Schiavi of Newell’s Old Boys and Rodrigo Brana of Estudiantes de La Plata as more injury cover.

At first, there was speculation that Palermo was called up to partner Messi in Argentina’s attack, but Maradona made another shocking move, calling for Carlos Tevez to start up front.

Tevez has been sent off twice (both times in the first half) during this qualifying campaign, costing Argentina points in both occasions. Tevez’s misery in the Argentina shirt continued against Ecuador in June when he hit a pathetic penalty, allowing Ecuador to stay in the game and eventually win.

Overall, Tevez has only scored eight times in 50 games for his country, hardly the scoring record of a reliable striker.

The choice to play Tevez is even more puzzling considering the form of the other strikers in Maradona’ s camp. His son in law Sergio “Kun” Aguero scored a great goal for Argentina in Russia, and has also been on target in back-to-back game’s playing for Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Lisandro Lopez also scored in the Russia match, and has been in fine form for his new club Lyon, scoring six goals in his first five games for them (including a hat trick in Champions League Qualifying). Diego Milito has also been fantastic for his new club Inter, opening his account for them in a 4-0 win in the Milan Derby.

Milito also pitched in two assists in that game. Even Palermo scored a thunderous header to give Boca all three points at the weekend against Lanus. Tevez has only scored once this season, and it came against a second division English side in the Carling Cup (a competition Tevez thrives in, while he rarely scores in the English league itself).

Tevez has also never scored a goal when he and Messi play as a front two without another striker.

Regardless of the outcome, Maradona will grab the headlines. If Argentina lose, the decisions to play in Rosario, to not call Higuain, to play the inept Gabriel Heinze at left back, to play Tevez, and to call up Palermo will all fall on Maradona’s shoulders.

If Argentina win, it will most likely come from a bit of magic from Messi or Juan Sebastian Veron, but Maradona will find a way to steal the glory.

Probable Lineups: Argentina: Andujar; Zanetti, Dominguez, Otamendi, Heinze; Maxi, Mascherano (c), Veron, Datolo; Messi, TVs

Brazil: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio (c), Juan, Andre Santos; Ramires, Melo, Gilberto; Kaka, Robinho; Luis Fabiano.

Prediction: 1-1