Seven points adrift of Paraguay, Alfio Basile jumped before he was pushed. But who could Argentina turn to?
In a move that literally sent shockwaves (I’ve no way of backing that up really) through the footballing world, the prodigal son, the man of the hour, was summoned. Diego Armando Maradona was unveiled as the man to lead his nation to glory. Well, to get them out of a sizeable hole anyway.
No coaching experience? No problem. By coupling Maradona with 1986 World Cup winning coach Carlos Bilardo, the senior suits at the top of Argentina’s footballing echelons (note to self, look up echelons) felt they had found the mythical ‘dream ticket’.
Maradona returned in a blaze of flashlights and it didn’t take the little maestro long to have a nation eating from the palm of his hand. Was the passion there? Oh yes. The hunger? Oh yes. The drive, we’re on a roll here. ‘The idea’ began El Diego, ‘is to return to the spirit of 1986’. A nation swooned, while more seasoned commentators suspected the panic button of being royally dented.
Maradona. Hungry.
And so it began. With all the right noises being made, a feelgood factor quickly kicked in. Friendly wins over Scotland and France was followed by a comfortable competitive debut victory with Argentina (for Argentina, read Leo Messi) humbling the almighty (ahem) Venezuela 4-0.
Now I’ve no idea how you actually measure a feelgood factor (or a shockwave through the footballing world, for that matter), but if there is such a scale, it’s a fair bet to assume it went quite categorically into the red three days after the Venezuela game. With Velez Sarsfield full back Emiliano Papa starting for only the second time, Maradona’s side were well and truly walloped 6-1 at altitude in Bolivia. With Kuwait based striker Joaquin Botero acting as torturer in chief, El Diego had no choice but to come clean; "There is nothing to say. They beat us well and now we have to start all over again”
And start again they did; but a fairly lame showing in a 1-0 win over Columbia fooled no-one, with Argentina grateful for referee Réné Ortubé’s scant regard for the ‘more than one yellow card and your off’ rule when applying this to Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano.
"Got, got, got, haven't"
Bad went to very worse though and that feelgood factor was little more than a passing memory within weeks. Defeat at Ecuador was followed by a 3-1 home reverse to arch rivals (wanted to use nemesis, but what’s the plural? Nemesises, nemesisi…..) Brazil. The result adding insult to injury as it secured a world cup finals berth for the samba stars. Three games left; a barrel was very much being stared down.
Join me next time dear reader as I continue to relive this tale and fill your head with history. I JUST HAVE TO DO THIS OK!
Clearly an OCD thing……..
2 comments:
Nice blog. OK if I add a few thoughts on the games I saw. I only started watching Argentina's qualifying after Maradona took over.
The Venezuela game was a laboured win. Argentina only looked comfortable because Venezuela didn't attack. They didn't really create much despite the four goals, more defensive mistakes (as I recall) by Venezuela.
The Ecuador game was bizarre. Argentina made mistakes in defence but it was clear the altitude affected them badly. The team did however look more coherent than the Venezuela game.
The Colombia game was my first indication of Maradona's lack of patience. His bizarre substitions left the entire left flank open for Colombia and a better team would have punished them.
The Ecuador game was strangely Argentina's best showing for me. Again a coherent team that worked quite well and should have been leading but for a missed penalty by Tevez, saved by a Goalkeeper who should've been off for a shocking tackle on Tevez. They eventually grew tired in the second half again due to the altitude. Ecuador's first goal was a wonder strike. Having seen Brazil astonishingly draw 1-1 with Ecuador in a game where Ecuador totally dominated and missed dozens of chances, it was clear Lady luck wasn't with Maradona.
The Brazil game was useful for Maradona in a way. They played some nice football. They scored a wonder goal. They also conceded from two setpieces and a counter-attack. All from deficiencies in defence that all could see.
I won't jump the narrative and wait for your updates.
Cheers Khadmas, some excellent cooments there.
Agree totally, and this is exactly why I'm following Argentina.
My ears pricked up when Maradona took over and its been more fascinating with each game, a bit like watching a car crash in slow motion. But then they have all these majestic players and play some brilliant stuff.
I'm totally into Diego's Argentina now, because you have absolutley no clue what is going to happen next, on or off the pitch. Which is just about perfect in my book.
Stick with the blog and I'll look forward to reading your comments in future.
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