Since they came in second place in the very first World Cup finals played back in 1930, the Argentine National Football Team has been struggling to assert some form of dominance on these most coveted fields of play. All in all, it seems as if Team Argentina has been on a wild roller-coaster ride courtesy of some bad luck and plenty of tough competition.
After taking second in 1930’s inaugural games, the Argentines didn’t get to the finals again for several decades. Then, in 1966, they made it as far as the quarterfinals before facing elimination. Four years later they failed to qualify to participate in the 1970 World Cup tournament.
Then, the roller coaster started back up again, and in 1978 they won the tournament on their native soil. Still, on the upswing, they picked up yet another win in 1986, defeating West Germany in a thrilling final match. Since then, the roller coaster seems to have stalled.
This year’s Argentine squad is looking to give that thrill ride a little forward momentum. With a strong squad, featuring great talent and a superstar in the person of Lionel Mess, arguably one of the best footballers in the game today, the team expects to reach for and attain new heights.
Realistically, the odds are probably not that strong in Argentina’s favor this year. While they do possess a truly talented squad of athletes and now call one of soccer’s greatest and most eccentric names, Maradona, their coach, this teams less than stellar qualifying performances has fans and bookmakers a bit nervous about backing them. Still, Argentina knows what it feels like to be the dark horse that comes unexpectedly from behind to win, and they certainly feel they have the talent.
The national football team of Argentina has been very successful and currently ranks sixth in FIFA world rankings.
Here is a peek into their performance at FIFA World cups:
• Nickname: La Albiceleste
• Football association: Argentine Football Association
• Head coach: Diego Armando Maradona is their present coach
• Captain: Javier Mascherano is going to lead the Argentine team at the FIFA World Cup 2010
• Top scorer: Gabriel Batistuta has been the top scorer and he scored a total of 56 goals
• Home kit color: White shirt with blue stripes and black shorts
• Away kit color: Dark blue with blue stripes and white shorts
• Playing world cup since 1930
FIFA World Cup record
• Won FIFA World Cup: Twice, in 1978 and 1986
• Total matches played in World Cup: Argentina has played 65 matches in the world cup until now
• Total games won: The total number of games which Argentina has won is 33.
• Games drawn: Argentina had 13 matches drawn in all during the world cup
• Games lost: In all, Argentina lost 19 games at the World Cup
• Goals scored: 113 goals have been scored by Argentina so far in the World Cup events.
Argentina in World Cup 2010
Argentina is going to play in the FIFA World Cup 2010 in group B along with the teams of Nigeria, the Korean Republic, and Greece. Argentina is one of the favorite teams at the moment, so all eyes are going to be on them.
The big South American team that was expected to make it easier to the 2010 world cup struggled in the qualifying stage and finally, they ended their qualifying campaign on a positive note when they ended up at fifth place in the South American qualifying table after Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Even though they ended up as the second-best in continental tournaments in 2005, they always failed to capitalize on talent and failed to produce the results expected by everybody. Under the guidance of Jose Perkiomen, they went on to win group matches and defeated Serbia by the margin of 6-0. But, their run ended in the race of last eight at Berlin on the hands of hosts Germany.
The guide of the Argentinean team to the 2010 world cup was their former favorite player, Diego Maradona who eventually helped the team to reach the world cup berth. The football team Argentina is placed under group B where they will fight out with South Korea, Greece, and Nigeria.
They have the real advantage in the group to reach to next level but it’s not sure. The team has the strength of 2009 player of the year Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez who can score goals frequently. Juan Requeleme also has ended up as the highest goal maker from Argentina in the qualifying stage. Argentina did not reach the semi-finals of the 2010 Football world cup. In 2014, the Argentina team played the Final but came out runners up.
