May 29, 2002

When Marcelo Bielsa took over as Argentina coach he inherited an excellent group of players, groomed by his predecessor Daniel Passarella.

But that is where the plus points ended. The downside looked far more imposing.

First, he was not a well-known figure in Argentina.

Bielsa had never taken charge of the Buenos Aires giants River Plate or Boca Juniors.

He was working in Spain at the time of his appointment, and had previously spent five years in Mexico.

So he had no guarantee of prestige with the players, press or supporters.

Second, with practically the entire squad based in Europe, Bielsa would have little time to work with his players.

In turn the players faced a punishing schedule in South America's marathon World Cup qualification campaign - 18 long trips across the Atlantic, with little time to rest or acclimatise.

So Argentina's new coach faced an uphill challenge when he set out to change the team's style of play.

On the eve of the qualifiers, senior professional Diego Simeone voiced the doubts of the dressing room.

"We're tactically more aggressive now than we were under Passarella," he said.

"Under Daniel our plan was to sit back and then strike on the counter-attack.

"With Bielsa the idea is to keep the opposition under pressure, with all the risks that this entails.

"The scheme now is 3-3-1-3, but if I was the coach I would play 3-4-1-2, as we did under Passarella."

But once the wins started rolling in, the doubts began to disappear.

Argentina sailed through the toughest qualification campaign in South America's history.

And when they travelled to Europe early last year, they beat Italy far more convincingly than the 2-1 scoreline would suggest. Bielsa had triumphed.

By this stage his players had faith in both the man and his methods.

Juan Pablo Sorin proudly boasted of having "the most attacking coach in the world".

Simeone, too, has nailed his colours to the mast.

"If we change our style now, if we we don't go out to dominate the game as we've been doing, then it will be a sign of weakness or failure," he said recently.

So Bielsa will go boldly into the World Cup playing three up front.

"I believe in wingers," he says. "I always want players in wide spaces because it seems to me that getting behind the opposing defence is the most significant act of attack."

There is also a defensive side to his option for a central striker and two wide men.

It keeps the entire width of the pitch covered, maintains the opponent under pressure and means that his side can win the ball close to the opposing goal.

Armed with Bielsa's approach, Argentina were a joy to watch throughout qualification.

And providing they can stay true to their style in the heat of World Cup battle, it means that win, lose or draw Argentina's campaign promises first class entertainment.

BBC Sport Online