Ten Things to Think About For the Number 10

1. Call Ups.

Since he has taken charge of Argentina, Maradona has been involved in a number of controversies surrounding the players he has called up to the National Team.

Juan Roman Riquelme retired from international football following public criticism from Maradona. Since the Boca Juniors star has left, Argentina has failed to generate any play from set pieces.

Maradona also left out Gonzalo Higuain, Real Madrid's top scorer last season.

For no apparent reason.

Esteban Cambiasso, Mauro Zarate, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Pablo Zabaleta, Emiliano Insua, and Pablo Aimar are just a few other names who have been overlooked by El Pibe de Oro despite fine form at the club level.

While those players were over-looked, the 35 year old Martin Palermo—yes the same guy who missed three penalties in a single match in the 1999 Copa America—was called up to the team.

2. Line Up.

Despite leaving out some incredible players, Maradona has still called up a very potent roster.

Sadly, Maradona still manages to pick the wrong guys.

On Saturday, El Diego started with Carlos Tevez up front, a terrible mistake. Tevez has scored only eight goals in 51 internationals and has been sent off twice in the qualifiers.

Tevez was somehow chosen over Lisandro Lopez, who scored against Russia last month and has netted six times in five games for Lyon this season. Sergio "El Kun" Aguero was left out of the starting line-up despite scoring once and setting up two more against the Russians.

Maradona did not even put Lopez on the bench against Brazil, perhaps the most puzzling move. There were no attacking midfielders either. Clearly Maradona never thought his team would fall behind, but how wrong he was.

3. Tactics.

Just like Alfio Basile did in the 2007 Copa America Final, Maradona tried to attack the Brazilians. Even though everyone knew Dunga would sit back, absorb the pressure, and counter-attack, Maradona went right for the jugular. Just like that day in 2007, Argentina had most of the possession, but lost badly.

4. Set Plays.

Brazil under Dunga has been extremely relient on corner and free kicks . Maradona should have done nothing but practice against these types of plays, but apparently he did nothing of the sort.

5. Juan Sebastian Veron.

Veron was immense for Estudiantes as they lifted the Copa Libertadores this past summer, but that game was most likely his last hurrah. Maradona tried to get his team to play through Veron, but that strategy clearly did not work. Seba has never been a classic play-maker like Riquelme, and he has always performed poorly when the National Team relied on him. He couldn't do it when he was at his prime in 2002, so there was no reason to believe La Brujita could carry the load at 34 in 2009.

6. Gabriel Heinze.

Heinze was by far Real Madrid's worst player last season. Anyone who disputes that fact should watch a replay of Madrid's loss at Anfield against Liverpool or their home defeat to Barcelona. Heinze has been equally pathetic for Argentina as of late, with an own goal against Paraguay coming to mind as one of his most terrible moments.

Before Maradona took charge of Argentina, he was very critical of Basile for playing Heinze as a left back, yet Maradona does the same thing time and again. El Gringo has clearly become one of Maradona's best friends, with some speculating that Heinze has advised El Diego to not call up Gonzalo Higuain. Heinze was the one who lost Luisao on Brazil's first goal, which completely turned the momentum towards Brazil after Argentina had controlled most of the early going.

7. Lack of Continuity.

While Dunga has established his starting line up, Maradona has rotated players more than Rafa Benitez. Without cohesion, it is impossible for Maradona to expect the likes of Lionel Messi to perform with Argentina as he does with Barcelona.

8. Captaincy.

When Maradona took charge of Argentina, Javier Zanetti was the captain of the National Team. Maradona stripped him of the armband and forced Javier Mascherano to take up the role of captain. Mascherano was outspoken about the fact that Argentina already had a captain and that he was suited for the role, but Maradona insisted.

Mascherano is a great player, but he is not a captain. Zanetti has won over 130 caps and has lifted many trophies as captain of Inter. On a National Team, it is best for an elder player to be captain. Younger players could unsettle veterans, see Maradona replacing Passarella prior to the 1986 World Cup. Passarella left Mexico, but things worked out. I don't know if things will be as peachy this time.

9. Advice.

Carlos Bilardo won the 1986 World Cup for Argentina as a meticulous planner so consumed in his work that he didn't even celebrate Argentina's triumph over West Germany in the Final because he was so upset that La Seleccion had allowed two goals from set pieces.

Bilardo serves as an adviser to Maradona, but it doesn't appear that Bilardo's influence matters much to Maradona. Bilardo's style wasn't always pretty, but he got results. He dragged an under-manned, injury-ravaged side back to the Final in 1990 with a cynical, negative, yet efficient style. The former Estudiantes boss would never have allowed his team to lose last night.

10. Emotion.

Maradona has not been able to keep his emotions under control as the manager. Having been Argentina's best player, and later the country's biggest fan, Maradona has been unable to see the game from a purely objective way.

At times, he has put out a line up of Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, and Juan Veron, a tantalizing group for fantasy football, but hardly a balanced team.

Playing beautifully is always important, but organization is necessary. Maradona looked on the verge of tears last night. Hopefully, he won't be weeping in Asuncion.