May 28, 2002

NARAHA, Japan (Reuters) - Diego Simeone, the only Argentine to have broken the 100-cap barrier, takes his appearance at his third World Cup as a bonus.

"Six months ago I was swimming (for exercise), I was fighting for this chance (to be at the World Cup finals). Now I am embracing it, grabbing it with all my strength," the tough Argentine midfielder said.

Simeone's World Cup hopes looked slim when he needed surgery on a cruciate ligament injury in September which he suffered playing for his Italian club Lazio.

But the man who captained his country to the 1998 World Cup quarter-finals in France is back looking for another shot at winning the trophy that also eluded him in the U.S. in 1994 when he was part of a brilliant midfield that also included Diego Maradona and Fernando Redondo.

He said he could have done with a few more games after coming back at the end of the Serie A season to improve his fitness "but training with Bielsa is almost as intense".

A team man, Simeone nevertheless says that just being in Japan for the tournament starting on Friday is wonderful, whether he plays five minutes or the full 90 in Argentina's group F opener against Nigeria in Ibaraki on Sunday.

"Matias (Almeyda) is recovering and (Claudio) Husain is playing well, whoever plays will do the job," he said of team mates who can fill the midfield anchor role for coach Marcelo Bielsa.

"This is an interesting squad of players with very little to chose between them." More than half Bielsa's players were part of a young squad under Daniel Passarella at France 98.

"In 94 we had a great team, but his one has more options and less possibilities of error. Whether you choose Bati (Gabriel Batistuta) or (Hernan) Crespo, the mistake (you could make) is minimal," he said referring to a delicate choice Bielsa has to make to spearhead his attack.

"It's a team with more kilometres (than France 98), we're better prepared in terms of psychology, experience, matches," said Simeone, who has 104 caps and last played for Argentina in their 2-1 home win over Brazil in a World Cup qualifier in September, days before his injury.

DANGEROUS GAME

Simeone said Argentina were just one of several teams that could win the tournament and that talk of favourites was a "dangerous game".

"When we were going to play Brazil in (a friendly) in Buenos Aires (in 1999), we said Brazil were the best team in the world. It was a way of making them relax, then we won 2-0. There are many who want to do that to us too," he said.

"At all World Cups there are seven or eight teams that start out with chances of winning, but this doesn't mean we're sure to reach the final. We've already got a quite difficult group.

"Nothing's going to be decided until the third game (against Sweden). The first game is going to show the way, but the zone will be decided in the last fixture. We're going to take points from each other. From June 2 we'll think about England," Simeone said.

Argentina meet in their second group F match in Sapporo on June 7. They meet Sweden in Miyagi on June 12.

Simeone said Nigeria were an unpredictable side and "you don't know when they're going to explode".

He said he already knew French referee Gilles Veissiere who will be in charge at Ibaraki.

"He's very precise. He plays the advantage rule a lot and we're going to have to be alert because he'll mark the (refereeing) approach (for the tournament)."

Simeone gained notoriety in 1998 in England after a clash with David Beckham which led to the midfielder being sent off. England eventually lost on penalties.