FOOTBALL IS COMING HOME » Argentina

Gracias Dieguito!

Peter Alegi — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:07:14 +0000

Diego Armando Maradona’s charges are doing their exquisite best to keep South Africa 2010 from matching Italia ‘90 as the dullest World Cup in terms of quality of play. Argentina’s performances so far have been better than Germany, Uruguay, Brazil, and better than those of their likely semifinal adversaries: Spain.

Gracias Dieguito for quenching our thirst in a desert of scientific catenaccio. Maradona’s side produces a organized, attacking, flowing game. Gonzalo Higuain is the tournament’s leading scorer, with Carlitos Tevez close behind (what a strike against Mexico!). And, of course, King Leo is always eager to please ‘beggars for good football’ like me (Galeano docet).

One regret: Germany’s 4-1 victory yesterday in Bloemfontein denied us the pleasure of seeing Maradona take on England in the quarterfinals.

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The Goal of the Century?

Sean Jacobs — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:48:20 +0000

Is Lionel Messi’s second goal (above) of his hat-trick against Real Zaragoza in Spain’s La Liga an early contender for Goal of the Century?

The goal will have to compete with one he scored another Spanish club, Getafe, last year:

I like the goal against Zaragoza better. Messi strips the ball from a midfielder, beats a defender and leaves him stranded, then breaks the ankle (in basketball speak) of another defender and shoots pass another before beating the goalkeeper.

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Pot Observations

David Patrick Lane — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:38:38 +0000

TEN POT OBSERVATIONS.

1. FIFA got the seedings right. Pot 1 seeds earned their ranking. France did not. France’s final appearance was four years ago.

2. Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay have come out of the pot alignment better than most. Each of the smaller South American nations will avoid the big five African qualifiers in the 1st Round.

3. Argentina and Brazil cannot avoid the African qualifiers from Pot 3. The seeds for two potential Groups of Death have now been sown. Has FIFA put Brazil at risk for an early bath?

4. The most frightening Group of Death would be: Brazil, Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire and Portugal.

5. The dark horse of Pot 2 is Honduras.

6. The tournament’s top scorer will probably find his country drawn against New Zealand in the 1st Round.

7. Slovenia will not be the dark horse of Pot 4. Slovakia might be.

8. South Africa need the luck of the draw more than most. The hosts will hope to be grouped with both New Zealand and Slovenia. So will every other team from Pots 1 and 3, for that matter.

9. Algeria could draw both France and Germany. The Desert Foxes will appreciate the luck of being thrown into that particular garlic and beer feed chicken coop.

10. Italy could renew some old acquaintances. North Korea can beat Italy, again. And Chile can beat Italy up, again.

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Subcommandante Maradona

David Patrick Lane — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:30:46 +0000

Paraguay have qualified. Chile can choke. Ecuador too. Argentina are at home to Peru next. Uruguay have superior goal difference. Venezuela are lurking. Colombia cannot be ruled out just yet.

There are so many permutations, yet it is difficult to discuss without getting drawn into the Argentine drama.

Argentina are in no more precarious a place than France or Germany. While the Fatherland could find themselves facing the Czech Republic in November, all Argentina may have to contend with is a collapsing Costa Rica.

Subcommandante Maradona said it best after the recent defeat in Paraguay, “We’ve qualified via the playoffs in the past and nobody died.” And if I remember rightly, it was Maradona himself who made sure a looping Australian deflection crossed the line in Buenos Aires in 1993.

The leader knows every inch of the terrain.

Yet, it would be remiss not to admit my affection for Argentina and Maradona could be clouding my judgment. I like to dream. In my dreams, there is always a blue sky, a few bright white clouds and Argentina stringing passes together and stinging shots towards goal.

The reality is different after Paraguay. Argentina is limping along the River Plate and is surrounded and being pursued by the Achilles, Ajax, Exeter and Cumberland of the South American battle group. It’s a long way to Costa Rica. Coming Soon….The Battle of the River Plate?

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When the Boot was on the Other Foot

David Patrick Lane — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:16:38 +0000

Argentina losing at home to Brazil was not so extraordinary. It had happened before. It was actually more noteworthy when several months earlier Uruguay lost a World Cup qualifier at home to Brazil. That had never happened before.

South American World Cup qualifiers are ultimately predictable affairs, the current Argentine drama notwithstanding. Earlier in the qualifiers, bigger questions hung over Brazil.

After 8 qualifiers more than a few Brazilians feared this would be the year Brazil failed to qualify. Four draws, three of them 0-0, including an embarrassing night in Rio de Janeiro, when Bolivia secured their first ever World Cup point in Brazil. It was more humbling than Brazil’s earlier defeat in Asunción

Somehow Dunga survived.

If Brazil had not beaten Venezuela in San Cristóbal last October, I doubt Dunga would have found himself shaking Maradona’s hand in Rosario last Sunday night.

It’s Venezuela, Brazil’s opposition that night, that now promises to be the story of the South American qualifiers.

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Argentina in Good Company

David Patrick Lane — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:49:07 +0000

Klaus Fischer’s famous bicycle kick.

Papers, podcasts and blogs are full of the demise of Argentina. Maradona makes good press. His Anglo detractors remain bitter. The Argentine domestic game is bankrupt. Yet, despite the noise, Argentina remain poised to qualify. The competition in South America is that stale. A home win against lowly Peru in October should almost certainly seal their South Atlantic passage.

Argentina’s poor form has somehow detracted attention from the failings of some of Europe’s marquee performers.

It may not be so obvious yet, except perhaps in the case of France, but Germany and Italy are also not yet assured of group success, and other notables such as Portugal have been missing in action. Germany and Italy may currently lead their respective groups, but both nations are responsible for some seriously disjointed football and a second place playoff remains a possibility for those three European football superpowers. Argentina is in good company.

Meanwhile, Africa’s Black Stars are shining bright, her Elephants are thundering South, her Indomitable Lions have been aroused and are hungry again, and her Desert Foxes are executing an cunning plan.

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Diego Maradona and the decline of Argentina

Editor — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:53:40 +0000

Yesterday Brazil beat Argentina 3-1 in Rosario, Argentina. Brazil qualified, but Argentina is just about holding onto the fourth automatic qualifying place for South Africa 2010. (The fifth placed Conmebol or South American team will face CONCACAF’s 4th placed side in a home-and-away play-off. The Americas could provide a tasty appetizer for South Africa: Argentina vs. Mexico anyone? Or get the popcorn out for the USA against Venezuela!)

Argentina has some tough qualifying games ahead (particularly Paraguay, and a trip to the Centenario in Montevideo). This could be the first time they fail to qualify since 1970. They are coached by one Diego Maradona, God to some Argentinian (and all Scottish) fans. And some observers and the country’s fans (this is sacrilege of course) think he (gasp) is the problem.

A Test of Faith in Argentina.

Dios Mio! Argentina in Trouble.

Critics round on Diego Maradona after Brazil twist knife against Argentina

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Fruity Finals

David Patrick Lane — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:59:30 +0000

[Charged with breaking down the European qualifiers, David Patrick Lane takes a moment to tell us what he really thinks. Next Group 7. Serbia, France, and yes, our Austrian friends will soon make an appearance.]

The 1970 World Cup was a watershed moment for the modern game, if for no other reason than it was broadcast in color. Color TV sets were a newfangled invention then, though many folks have continued to watch World Cups as if they were taking place in snowstorms.

There have been 10 World Cups since 1970. That’s 40 different semi finalists. Yet only four have come from outside Europe.

Argentina, Brazil, South Korea and Uruguay.

The beautiful game. The global game. Call it what you will. It is all of the above. But World Cup finals do tend to be very European affairs. They may be not as white as the World Swimming Championships, but they could certainly do with a little more fruitiness.

Nine African and South American places at the 2010 World Cup is not fair and balanced.

Such limited access has not stopped black or mongrel nations from winning or producing the greatest players. Brazil has won more World Cups in this period than any other nation. And who can imagine football without Maradona? Yet the B Roll continues to be dominated by Europe.

I am not looking to discount the great achievements of perennial powerhouses like Italy and Germany, the marvelous contributions of the Dutch or French or the plucky performances of the likes of Poland and Sweden, but I fear I would rather watch paint dry than most of the likely 13 UEFA qualifiers in this World Cup. Spain do have the promise of an Almadovar script. And England, for once, also look like they’ll be an exception. You won’t find anyone anywhere more Mongrel than Wayne Rooney!

Let’s hope the switch from Analog to Digital that seems to be cascading around the world will herald some real color from South Africa in 2010. I am close to being bored of brutal looking European center halves hoofing long balls forward while being blankly cheered on by their fellow country folk with their crucified face-painted national symbols. It’s time we had millions of Algerians, Hondurans and Zambians pixilated across our screens cheering as their teams tackle the commanding heights of the football world. It’s time we had some fruity finals.

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Did Stephen Colbert play himself?

Sean Jacobs — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:22:48 +0000

The Colbert Report

Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Is it Time to Care About Soccer?

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Jeff Goldblum

Like a number of other US commentators, comedian Stephen Colbert, who plays a faux-Bill O’Reilly on his show, had to discuss the future of football in the United States. As he describes soccer in the video, above: “.. The sport that [Americans] are the world champions at ignoring.” The US’s success in the Confederations Cup (against all expectations they made it to the final where they lost, after leading 2-0, to Brazil on Sunday), leads Colbert to mock-ask: “Is it time to care about soccer?” What follows is a send-up of American caricatures of football: rioting, David Beckham and warm beer. It’s satire after all. But then Colbert asks his producer to show some “thrilling soccer highlights” and we see video of players of a team in blue passing the ball around sort of aimlessly. The camera then cuts back to Colbert snoozing.

The thing is, unless Colbert or his producers (and his audience?) were in on the joke, they made fools of themselves with that clip as they missed one of the greatest goals of all time: a 25-pass move that resulted in a goal for Argentina against Serbia in the 2006 World Cup in Germany:

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