365 Interview by Gavin Willacy
Violence Would Destroy England Trip, Says Spurs Star
ENGLAND would not be safe playing Argentina on the South American's home soil because their fans would be out to lynch David Beckham and Co. That's the verdict of Tottenham's Argentinian defender Mauricio Taricco, who fears that Kevin Keegan's team would not have escaped Buenos Aires in one piece if the friendly had been arranged there rather than at Wembley.
"This is always a big game for the people," he told Football365. "They have been looking forward to this game. I think it's better to play it here than in Argentina because it would be very furious in Argentina with all the history. All the people would be very worked up for it and it could be dangerous. Even though they would have security and all that, I am assuming that there would be problems. Here is more civilised, not that we are not, but some people aren't."
Hooliganism is still a major problem in Argentina, where most major stadiums still have huge terraces which are populated by the hardcore fans. As viewers of Argentinian league football on Channel 5 in the UK will know, large groups of hooligans still congregate and indulge in missile-throwing and running battles, just like English football in the 1980s. Many of them are still excited by the tempestuous meetings between England and Argentina since the Falklands War in 1982 and would take the opportunity to get at the players and fans if they were to have played in the South American country.
"I was asked how England got rid of the hooligans," said Taricco. "You go to a game here and it's nice there are children and women and it's safe. In Argentina it is like it used to be in England. But when I came here it was already nice so I didn't know how they did it. There is a lot of violence on the street in Argentina, not just in the football grounds, so given a game like Argentina-England, to hold it there with so many angry people well I wouldn't do it."
Since the Falklands conflict, England were beaten by Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal in a fantastic encounter at the 1986 World Cup, and were unfortunate to lose on penalties at France 98 after competing superbly with ten men after David Beckham was sent-off for kicking Diego Simeone. These are the only two competitive meetings since Argentina captain Antonio Rattin was sent-off at Wembley in the 1966 World Cup quarter-final.
In between have come four friendlies, only one of which England have won with three draws, the last an entertaining 2-2 at Wembley in 1991. England beat the reigning World champions, augmented by Diego Maradona, 3-1, under the twin towers in 1981. England have only ever played twice in Argentina in 1953 (abandoned after 21 goalless minutes due to a rainstorm) and in 1977 (Trevor Cherry sent-off after having two teeth knocked out by a punch!).
Indeed, England rarely play the big guns of world football away from home, and avoid difficult trips to South America like Harry Kewell has avoided a barbers of late. Of their 45 meetings with the top four world powers since 1966 Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina England have won just eight and lost 22, an appalling statistic when you consider that most of the friendly meetings have been at Wembley.
England have not played in South America since the pre-World Cup tournament in Mexico in 1985. Since then, Brazil have played four times at Wembley and will visit for a fifth time in May Chile, Uruguay and Colombia twice each, and Mexico once. Two generations of England players have had no experience of playing in one of football's great heartlands and that lack of experience showed when Manchester United flopped at the Club World Championship in Brazil.
The FA will claim that it is for financial reasons that England have not been to South America of their own free will for 15 years. But Holland have played in Brazil twice recently, while Wales went there in 1997, and surely the money could be raised in South America to take England to Brazil or Argentina for prestigious friendlies.
Instead, all experiences of playing against the best in the world are on either neutral or English territory, which merely indicates that our record against the South American super-powers could be even worse.
