In the world of international soccer, few countries command as much prestige as Argentina, the winner of two World Cups in 1978 and 1986. But as the qualifying rounds for next year's World Cup begin, Argentina is struggling to earn a spot in soccer's most prestigious event.
Currently, Argentina sits in fifth place behind perennial rival Brazil — and surprises Paraguay, Chile and Ecuador. In CONMEBOL, the South American soccer federation, the top four teams automatically advance to the World Cup, while the fifth-place team enters a playoff against the North American soccer federation CONCACAF's fourth-place team.
Argentina's qualifying campaign has been plagued by inconsistent form, especially away from home — where it has lost 6-1 to Bolivia, a typical lightweight, and 1-0 to both Chile and Paraguay. This has led many in Argentina to call for the firing of the national team's coach, Diego Maradona, perhaps the greatest player in soccer history.
Lately, the reign of Maradona has been an absolute disaster. The Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) has come under criticism for appointing him and, with the exception of two short stints as the manager of Racing Club and Mandiyu de Corrientes, Maradona has no prior coaching experience. Under former coach Alfio Basile, Argentina's form was already poor, but Maradona's personnel and tactical changes have left many befuddled and confused. Even Alejandro Veron, the head of the "Church of Maradona," a group of fans that worships the soccer legend, said on public radio, "I look at him badly [as a coach]. He has no strategic or tactical solutions. He doesn't have a system, and the players don't respond to him."
In a country rife with soccer talent, and with numerous stars playing in the top leagues in Europe, Maradona has called up sixty-two players to the national team, of which twenty-nine has either one or no caps. Maradona's selection of such a large group of players for national team duty has disturbed any semblance of continuity, one of the few things he had on his side. Argentina has also been plagued by defensive problems, with Maradona using six different goalkeepers in the search for a true number one in net.
In addition, Maradona has left many Argentine stars playing in Europe off the national squad, ignoring luminaries such as Inter Milan's defensive midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain.
Not only has Maradona made questionable selections for the national team, many of the players have been underachieving as well.
Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona, arguably the best player on the feild, has been criticized for his performance of late. Unlike when he is playing for Barcelona, where he is able to roam freely around the pitch and play off main striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Messi seems uncomfortable in his position on the national team, where he has been criticized for trying to do too much with the ball. In response to his detractors, Messi said, "I alone won't win a match; this is down to all of us who are in the team."
Now with two games to go, Argentina must win both in order to punch its ticket to South Africa and avoid a playoff. The first game against Peru looks, on paper, to be a likely Argentina victory, but the Peruvians have vowed to give the Albicelestes all that they can handle. Argentina's last game of the qualifying campaign will be against Uruguay, currently in sixth place in the standings, in a game that could decide the fate of both the national team and Maradona.
In the lead-up to these qualifiers, Maradona has invoked God, asking him to allow Argentina to qualify. But if God is not on Argentina's side, Maradona will be the first to feel the wrath of the angry Argentines.
