Argentina

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Argentina

Current FIFA Rank: 1

Copa America Record: Winners (Fourteen times)

Manager: Gerardo Martino

Overview:

Argentina FIFA Ranking

Argentina has been one of football’s most successful international team since it’s early rivalry. Producing some of the most dynamic and skilled players to play the game and some great matchups and rivalries, they enter the Copa America as the number 1 ranked FIFA team and a favorite to win the tournament. Argentina’s impressive resume includes two World Cup championships and fourteen Copa America championships amongst other notable results. Recently they have been the king of second place with a runner-up finish to Germany in the 2014 World Cup and a loss in the finals of the 2015 Copa America to Chile. In the Copa America they have had three second place finishes since 2004, having not won since 1993. Lionel Messi still does not have a premier international championship on his resume so he and Argentina will look to start building up his trophy case this summer. There is still some lingering doubt as to whether Messi will play due to some recent financial controversy that he seems to always be embroiled in, but it is likely he will do everything in his power to be there and get this win to finally try to step out of the shadow of Maradona.

Argentina has been an exceptionally consistent team throughout its history and even in recent times with only two losses in 2015 to Ecuador and the Copa America final to Chile. In 2016 they have already beaten two of the members in their group with wins over both Chile and Bolivia. Argentina has a strong roster that has both heavy international experience and top level club experience so it is no surprise that they are favored to get out of Group D in first place, anything else would be a severe disappointment for the Albicelestes. In the end, to the Argentinian fans and football team anything other than a first place finish to end the 23-year drought would be a disappointment as surely this is there year to win it all.

Players to Watch:

Javier Mascherano:

Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano playing for Barcelona

Along with Lionel Messi, Mascherano is one of two Argentine players that play for the Spanish giant Barcelona. Mascherano has the current highest number of caps for the Argentinian national team and all time is second with 123. In 2008, when Diego Maradona was appointed manager, Mascherano got one of the greatest honors from one of the best of all time when he was made captain of the team, replacing Javier Zanetti, the all time appearance leader for Argentina, until 2011 when Messi took over. His experience on the national team as a former captain, as well as synergy with Messi, the captain, due to their time at Barcelona together makes him one of the key leaders on the team. He was a key player of Argentina’s 2014 World Cup run, amassing 30 tackles and playing every single minute in every game, even on the 10-man shortlist for the Golden Ball award. Argentina will look to his consistency to have a big presence in the midfield in their quest to win an international title.

Manager:

Gerardo Martino

Gerardo Martino coaching at Barcelona

Gerardo Martino followed up a disappointing stint at Barcelona by coaching once again the world’s best player, Lionel Messi. This time, however, they paired up for more success than in Spain with a second place finish in the 2014 World Cup to the stronger German side followed by an ultimately disappointing second place finish in the 2015 Copa America. But for Argentina, who boasts the world’s very best player, second place is starting to get a little stale, especially as they hope to conquer at least one title while Messi is still playing. While losing in the World Cup is one thing, losing to other South and North American teams is a disappointing result if they ever hope to win it all. There is a lot of pressure on Gerardo Martino after losing to Chile last year and he could really use a win at this Copa America to solidify not only Argentina’s number 1 FIFA ranking but also his job as manager. He will be looking for a strong group stage to overcome the hurdle that is Chile early. A poor result here could very well spell trouble for Martino especially as this year he likely wouldn’t have the excuse of losing to the host nation.

Works Cited:

“Maradona Named as Argentina Coach.” BBC News. BBC, 04 Nov. 2008. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7701071.stm>.

“World Cup 2014: Fifa Announces Golden Ball Shortlist.” BBC Sport. BBC, 12 July 2014. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28274011>.

Kalinic, Dejan. “Martino Calls for More Messi Support at Copa America.” Goal.com. N.p., 21 Feb. 2016. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/3297/argentina/2016/02/21/20590832/martino-calls-for-more-messi-support-at-copa>.

Myson, Chris. “Gerardo Martino: I Taught Lionel Messi Nothing at Barcelona.” Goal.com. N.p., 29 Dec. 2014. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2014/12/29/7499842/martino-i-taught-messi-nothing-at-barcelona>.

Vickery, Tim. “World Cup 2014: Argentina Rescued by Javier Mascherano.” BBC Sport. BBC, 12 July 2014. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28275448>.

Willoughby, James. “Barcelona Confirm Gerardo Martino to Leave His Role as Coach.” Goal.com. N.p., 17 May 2014. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2014/05/17/4824541/gerardo-martino-to-leave-barca>.

“World Cup Brazil 2014 Football Statistics.” Yahoo Sport. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2016.

How to Cite this page:

“Argentina” Written by Arjun Jain (1 May 2016), Copa America Centenario 2016, Soccer Politics Blog, Duke University http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/tournament-guides/copa-america-centenario-2016-guide/copa-america-centenario-2016-team-guide/argentina/ (accessed on (date))