Argentina Places World Cup Hopes on Messi Shoulders
After barely making the World Cup qualifying rounds, Argentina's team landed in South Africa to pursue the title for the first time in 24 years.
It will be an interesting journey for the volatile Argentineans who have been experiencing disappointing matches under the leadership of the impulsive coach, Diego Armando Maradona.
Maradona may be one of the football world's greatest players of all times, but his coaching skills have come under an incredible amount of criticism, extending to his choice of players for the World Cup team.
Maradona replaced coach Alfio Basile and managed to get the team to scrape through to the qualifiers after an uneventful defeat over Uruguay.
But this was not before being humiliated time and time again on the field by losing to Chile for the first time ever, to Bolivia 6-1, and to Brazil in a home qualifying match.
Maradona's World Cup team consists of a lot of raw, young talent, including the player who is considered the best in the world right now, Lionel Messi.
But while Messi has produced startling performances for Barcelona, he has not been brilliant as a player for his national team.
It is hoped that the more experienced Juan Sebastian Veron will support Messi and the other young players, as well as Captain Javier Mascherona.
Maradona's World Cup experience should not be ignored either. He played in four successive tournaments from 1982 - 1994, which could be enough to see the Argentineans make their way significantly up the table.
