Football Update: Messi in the “new” squad of Argentina, Maradona sacked
The Argentinean star Lionel Messi is going to be a part of the Argentinean squad and is the first player of Barcelona who is being called up for International duty. The Argentinean legend, Diego Maradona is not going to be the coach of the Argentinean team anymore, as it was announced this Monday by the Argentinean Football Association. Even though later on Maradona told the press that he was “betrayed” by his own friend, nothing was taken under notice and his contract was not renewed. The Argentinean team was knocked out of the FIFA World Cup 2010 after a humiliating 4-0 defeat against the young European side, Germany.
Argentina found it hard to qualify for the South African FIFA World Cup 2010, as the world cup qualifiers started. Argentina drew a lot of matches and had to go head-to-head with the South American team Uruguay in a play-off. The situation for the Argentineans was a “must-win,” in case they wanted their team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2010. The match started and Argentina scored the first goal to give their side a positive boost. During the second half, Uruguay equalized and the Argentinean dreams of being a part of the FIFA World Cup 2010 were shattered. No one was too sure about them being a part of the final 32 of the tournament, as they won a free-kick right outside the 18 yard box, right when the match was about to end. The free kick was taken inch perfect and the Argentineans scored a goal to make the score-line 2-1, as they won the match and qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2010.
Diego Maradona then started his FIFA World Cup campaign with pre-world cup matches. They played a match against the Canadians and won it with a fair margin of 5 goals as Carlos Tevez and Maxi Rodriguez along with Angel Di Maria, scored goals for their country to show the world what they were made of. The Barcelona-man, Lionel Messi, did not feature in the match because Maradona did not want him to get injured before the FIFA World Cup. After the friendly matches ended, the FIFA World Cup 2010 began.
Diego Maradona was criticized about his defensive choices for the squad he took to South Africa. Players like Javier Zenetti, Gabriel Milito and Cambiasso were not taken into consideration. Diego Maradona however still managed to impress the Argentinean fans, as he helped his team win the first match against the Nigeria. A fine header from Gabriel Heinze was enough for the Argentinean team to win the first match of the group stages. They won the other two matches against Greece and Korea to qualify for the pre-quarter finals. Argentina was the first team which was winning all the matches. They won the match against the Koreans with a 3 goal margin as Higuain was able to complete his first hat-trick for his country. Against the Greeks, they won 2-0, as two late goals helped the Argentineans win the match. During the pre-quarter finals, they had to face the Mexicans. The match looked to be tough for the Argentineans but at the 90th minute mark, the Argentineans were leading with 3 goals to 1, as they managed to qualify for the quarter finals.
In the quarter finals, Argentina had to face the very young European side Germany. The match was “supposed” to be a thriller but Argentina lost the match 4-0, as the whole team could not combine well and could not cope up with the amazing passing of the Germans. This match marked the end of the run for the Diego Maradona’s side, as they came back home with Diego Maradona being in trouble with his trouble.
Recently, Maradona got sacked as the Argentinean Football Association did not renew his contract and Julio Batista was given the opportunity to become the coach of the Argentinean team. Throughout the FIFA World Cup 2010, there was one man who played fabulous football and still did not manage to score any goals, and his name is Lionel Messi. The little magician who was expected to do wonders for his team but he did not manage to score a goal for his country and came back in despair with the squad.
Now Lionel Messi has been called up for the Argentinean friendly match against Ireland on the 11th of August. The match is just 3 days before the match he has to play for his club Barcelona, against Sevilla for the Spanish Super Cup. Lionel Messi is going to return to training on the 1st of August and is expected to make it to the Asian tour which the Spanish team is planning. After the FIFA World Cup 2010, Lionel Messi is definitely a very busy player, as he is already committed to many matches.
Tags: