Argentina's Star Can Deliver in South Africa

Al Dannity isn’t entirely sure what to make of Argentina but he is certain of one thing, Group B in the World Cup will make or break this team.

How they got here
In short, the hard way. A solid record in their opening 10 games of the qualification round saw Argentina pick up 16 out of a possible 30 points, losing just twice along the way. While not delivering dominating performances, qualification still looked a formality at this stage. The appointment of Diego Maradona as manager in late 2008 however saw matters take a dramatic turn.

A home victory over Venezuela in Maradona’s first competitive game in charge was followed up by a 6-1 defeat, the worst in Argentina’s history, to Bolivia on the road. Subsequent defeats to Ecuador, Paraguay. and arch-rivals Brazil saw Maradona come under intense pressure but he turned the ship around. A win over Peru put Argentina in a must-win game on the road at Uruguay in the last round of qualifiers and against the odds they prevailed 1-0 to book their place in South Africa.

Who to watch
Lionel Messi is the latest in a long line of players to be dubbed the Next Maradona but despite his global acclaim, the Bareclona star has not won over his country’s supporters. While Messi has dazzled in the Champions League and La Liga for the past four seasons, he hasn’t displayed the same dominance for his national team. A strong showing in South Africa would go a long way to winning over the doubters and firmly cement his place as the greatest player in the world today. Expect Messi to deliver some joy in World Cup betting in June.

Alongside Messi is a line-up loaded with experience and talent including Javier Mascherano of Liverpool, Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez, and Inter’s Walter Samuel. One veteran with as much to prove as Messi is Juan Sebastian Veron. Having failed to live up to his hype in the English Premier League, Veron has been a revelation since returning to Estudiantes in Argentina. He led the club to the Copa Libertadores title last year, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, and second place in the World Club Cup.

How they will perform
No-one disputes the wealth of talent available to Argentina but there is plenty of cause to doubt this team due to the near disaster that was the qualifying campaign. In one respect such poor form could aid Argentina. Like it was for Italy in 2006 there won’t be as much expectation back home, and we all know how that turned out. In Group B Argentina face three teams they should be able to beat but also teams that will provide different kinds of stiff tests. I’m not saying Argentina will win the World Cup but they will get out of this group and they will do so in good shape to make a deep run in the tournament.

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