Argentina In Trouble

Juan Roman Riquelme. Carlos Teves. Lionel Messi.

If all three don't remind you of Maradonna because of their uncanny skill on the ball, they should at least bear the semblance of being connected to Boca Juniors or Barcelona. Between them, they have more ability than 1.1 million Gary Nevilles. It was a long time since Argentina had a charismatic number 10, but now they've got three in the same mould. Yet, why is it that with all three in the starting lineup, Argentina can't win a game?

Recent 3-2 defeats to England and Croatia must surely put the spotlight on Jose Pekerman's ability to get a mouth-watering first xi playing mouth-watering football. because surely, one look at the starting lineup against Croatia tells you that this team is in every way equal, if not better, than its 1986 incarnation of Valdano, Burruchaga, Maradonna.

Not that any impending criticism would be new. Since his succession of Marcelo Bielsa, Pekerman has been beset by cynics claiming he is only as good a gaffer as a youth team champion gaffer. His step-up into the big arena has been patchy, as his lacklustre surrender of the Confederations Cup to Brazil might testify. His failure to know his best xi, his Svenesque penchant for trying too many players and his overreliance on unestablished Argentina-based players have all been somewhat salient criticisms.

Such is the cynicism in the Argentine press over the present setup that former star Oscar Burruchaga spoke out a few months ago saying that the present team don't dive enough. The world cup winning midfielder expounded on Argentina's weaker qualities, that they get up too quickly after tackles, that they don't fall down easily enough. Argentine players, he claimed, need to wise up and play more dirty.

But does the present Argentina need cynicism? Do guys like Riquelme, Teves and Messi need to fall easy and roll long? Add to the mix Aimar, Crespo and D'Allesandro and surely you have a frontline that can open up any defence, no matter how many times they leak a goal.

Still, Argentina find themselves struggling against on par opposition such that their most recent victory came in the form of a hollow 3-0 against Qatar. Compound their dismal form with Argentina's poor outing four years ago in Japan (i say Japan, not Japan/Korea, because they never left for the second round in Korea), and one can see how the pressure cooker really starts cooking for Jose Pekerman. His stars are likely to be relatively free from the crucifix - not while their respective club form remain so scintilating anyway. So if anyone's head is really on the block, it is the man who needs to prove that winning youth championships is the beginning, not the end, of his illustrious managerial career.

And if he can't get his team playing nice, then maybe he needs to listen to Burruchaga. What does he know? He won the world cup, didn't he? In the true spirit of Argentine football... diving, acting, cheating.

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