World Cup: Argentina player by player
June 1, 2002
Argentina's squad of stars are the favourites to win the title but first they have to master a difficult group section.
World Soccer News
GOALKEEPERS
GERMAN BURGOS
The first choice who has experience and poise in goal. Good technician who has positional sense and good kicking ability to match his decisive taking of crosses and shot stopping.
PABLO CAVALLERO
Cavallero went to France in 1998 but did not play. There is the chance that he could get some action as coach Marcelo Bielsa has swapped his goalkeepers around in the last few months to try and keep Burgos sharp. Good season just past with Celta Vigo and a good shot-stopper.
ROBERTO BONANO
The second choice behind Burgos. He has done reasonably well at Barcelona in his first season and it is not an easy club to play for behind an inconsistent defence but Bonano has coped well to retain his place in the Argentine squad. Not the first choice but above-average for the national team.
DEFENDERS
ROBERTO AYALA
A fast and able defender who can also pass the ball well out of defence. A good header of the ball and a good tackler too he saved his career with a move to Milan.
MAURICIO POCHETTINO
He deputises for the mighty Walter Samuel and is well behind the Roma star in the rankings but he has done well this season for PSG and is a good all-rounder without Samuel's bite and tenacity.
WALTER SAMUEL
A defensive great in the making and the sort of player on which World Cup campaigns are based. Rave reports from Argentina two years ago saw Roma spend heavily to sign him and he repaid them with the leadership of their title-winning defence last year. Tidy passer who can direct play but he is a very hard defender to beat with great anticipation and timing.
JOSE CHAMOT
A regular for AC Milan which few expected him to be after signing two years ago. Rugged veteran who is volatile and vicious at times in his dealings with opposition strikers but his levels of concentration are high and he can be used at right back and to fill-in central positions.
DIEGO PLACENTE
Up and coming star for Bayer Leverkusen whose excellent season with the German club has brought strong interest from Juventus. Links play very well and positionally sound as he contributes to the attack. Alongside Sorin the only really new faces introduced by Bielsa in his last two years after the controversial rejection of Javier Saviola from the squad earlier this month.
MIDFIELDERS
JAVIER ZANETTI
Impressive ball player in midfield for Internazionale where he combines well with Simeone, Zanetti also makes strong runs into the attacking third but he usually heads out to the left flank where his delivery of the ball can be exceptional. Tireless runner and technically excellent he stands to emerge as a true force in the Argentine side this summer.
ARIEL ORTEGA
Great things were predicted of Ortega but he has not performed with any sort of consistency for some time not be the certain finisher he was predicted to become and his squat muscular style may again be restricted to wing play where he contributed in 1994 in the USA.
DIEGO SIMEONE
The midfield rock for Internazionale and a high class performer for his country he could well be the best defensive midfielder on show in the finals. He tackles with real intent and is a good passer of the ball. He has a pronounced attacking dimension to his game and he can run at speed out of defence to join an attack late on. Because if this he is rarely effectively marked and he gets regular shots at goal. Simeone will drive on the Argentine challenge this summer.
CLAUDIO HUSAIN
He has again failed to lift SS Napoli out of Serie B but his strong attacking tendencies through the middle can be a late option for Bielsa if other tactics have failed to work.
MATIAS ALMEYDA
Midfield organiser who should be one of the stars of the competition. Set to leave Parma AC after a surprising exit from SS Lazio's title-winning side but some major bids could come in for him after the finals if he maintains the form he showed against Germany in a May friendly. Wins everything in midfield and knits the play together well. He is often left out to make way for Diego Simeone but offers more to the team.
PABLO AIMAR
He was brilliant for River Plate and is now back to his top form after doodling on Valencia's wing for the past eighteen months. He is not longer a regular goal scorer but his best form helped Valencia win the title in Spain and he may be more than a bit-playing substitute in June.
MARCELO GALLARDO
Constructive play maker whose patchy form for Monaco has failed to get him into the top ranks of players his talent arguably deserves. This will be his third World Cup finals but he is often anonymous when he should be dominating the action.
JUAN PABLO SORIN
A new introduction by coach Bielsa and already snapped up by SS Lazio for next season. All-action midfielder who can make late runs to support the attack and finish moves. He became a first choice during qualifying matches and he is now a great option for the coach through the middle of the team where his unselfish support play and ball-winning are close to vital for Argentina's expected success at the finals.
JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON
Arguably the best player in the world alongside Zidane but he is unsettled at Manchester United after a difficult season. Veron can control a game with his passing range and great decision making. A player of awesome energy and determination, he influences every part of play from defence to creating goals. He got to know Crespo very well at Parma when the pair played well together and he will help the new star striker to settle. He plays in the 'Redondo' role most of the time in the league where he collects the ball from in front of the defence and dictates the tempo of the game. Veron is developing into a true master of midfield with excellent stamina and good tackling ability.
STRIKERS
KILY GONZALEZ
Tricky winger who combines flash touches with dogged defending and ball-winning. Thus he is a certain starter for Bielsa. Great touch and vision who works very hard up and down the left wing. He is often used as a third attacking choice and was obviously preferred to the options offered by Saviola.
CLAUDIO CANIGGIA
Veteran and reformed drug addict who starred for the Argentines on their way to the 1990 World Cup final. He is fast and enjoying a revival in his career after good spells at Dundee and now Rangers. An important player for the Scottish clubs whose invention and trickery has not dimmed over the years. he was heading for oblivion four years ago and is now back at the greatest tournament.
GUSTAVO LOPEZ
He can be used in attack or in midfield where he concentrates on going forward to good effect but not a certain starter despite a strong finish to the season with Celta Vigo.
HERNAN CRESPO
Crespo was the most expensive player in world football for five weeks at £37 million before Real Madrid decided to add to that summer's money pit with their Luis Figo purchase. Ironically Madrid now want him to drop his wage demands to move to them in July. The affable Argentinian lacks the intensity to be too disturbed by the price tag. He knew Parma kept asking for more and more money over the course of nearly six months of negotiations and has seen Madrid and Lazio fail to resolve several matters regarding his possible move. He scored 26 goals in his first season for Lazio and hit that mark for Parma in three of his last four seasons for them which justifies a large price tag. He is still young and a good trainer who has spent much of the past four seasons learning how to play his way around the defences of Serie A for his goals, many of which are hard earned and he can contribute well to build up play by holding the ball up. Ostensibly he will take the place of Simone Inzaghi and Marcelo Salas in the first team selection and is on another level to that pair as far as scoring league goals in Italy is concerned. Less brilliant for the national team and set to start as reserve behind the veteran Batistuta.
CLAUDIO LOPEZ
A very fast runner with a great left foot who will be able to fit into any of coach Bielsa's plans for the finals. He can be used in a wide role or as a deep-lying striker but is not a great finisher for the national team but can link play well.
GABRIEL BATISTUTA
The great hope of Roma led Fiorentina through the last nine seasons and stayed with the Florence club through a relegation season six years ago. Still the 33 year old - who had a statue built in his honour SIX years ago by the Florence fans - has decided to move on and Roma paid out £22 million to head off intense interest from Inter in May 2000 to secure him. At such an age and after many long and hard seasons with Fiorentina where the club failed to find a partner to help with the work load, Roma took a risk but were repaid with 22 goals and the Serie A title. Batistuta's scoring record compares well with anyone in Serie A's history and his power in the penalty area is not easy to defend against. The record goal scorer for Argentina and likely first choice striker.