Nickname: La Albicelestes, The White and Sky Blue
FIFA Ranking: 5
World Cup experience: Two-time world champions and 13 appearances
Argentina is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated teams in the world with a lot of football history, but for more than two decades La Albiceleste, as they are known, have failed to set the scene alight on the world stage. Since they reached the final of the 1990 edition as defending championship from 1986, Argentina have failed to go beyond the quarterfinals of the World Cup, reaching the stage three times, in 1998, 2006 and 2010 – a disappointing showing by their standard.
The South American side first played in the World Cup in 1930 and reached the final of the tournament. But they would have to wait for 48 years before they would taste World Cup championship. This, when they spoilt Netherlands’ party, beating the Dutch 3-1 in the finals.
They failed to defend their title four years later in Spain. But led by Argentine legend of all time, Maradona, they won the title again in 1986.
They reached the final of the tournament again in 1990 and that was the end of La Albiceleste’s golden era in the World Cup.
En route to Brazil, Argentina enjoyed 14-match unbeaten record to book a spot in Brazil. Four times world’s best player, Lionel Messi, Marcos Rojo, and Javier Macherano are some of the players to watch out for in Brazil. They have been drawn against Nigeria, Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They should cruise to the Round of 16 with some ease, as they have done in the in the last two World Cup tournaments. It is at least reaching the semifinals that will be expected of them.
Key players: Lionel Messi, Javier Macherano, Angel Di Maria, Carlos Tevez, Marcos Rojo
Known as ‘The Magician’, Sabella has had a successful spell in charge of La Albiceleste, but like any other coach going to Brazil, their worth will be review after their participation in the tournament
Know your coach: Alejandro Sabella
Very few people would know that Sheffield United signed Alejandro Sabella in 1978 after they had decided Maradona, then a teenager, was too expensive. As a result, United turned their focus to Sabella who moved to England. He appeared for the club on 78 occasions and scored 8 goals during that time. In 1980 he left Sheffield to join Leeds United where he didn’t enjoy much success before he returned to Argentina to play for Estudiantes de La Plata. There he won back-to-back championships with the club.
He played for the Argentine national team eight times. In 1989, the 59-year retired as a player.
He started his coaching career working as assistant coach to Daniel Passarella. For years, he moved with Passarella wherever he went to work.
His first stint as a head coach only came in 2009, for his former club, Estudiantes de La Plata, and won the 2009 Copa Libertadores the same year. He quit two years later after the Argentine Football Associations had shown interest in him. A few months later, he was appointed Argentine national team coach.
Known as ‘The Magician’, Sabella has had a successful spell in charge of La Albiceleste, but like any other coach going to Brazil, their worth will be review after their participation in the tournament.
Country Profile
Argentina is the home of the intimate Latin dance “tango”. The country’s capital Buenos Aires is the fourth biggest city in earth. It has some of the popular historical and traditional places in South America. The country is also famous for its discovery of dinosaurs.
Soccer is popular in the country and the biggest teams are rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. Other sports that are popular include rugby, car racing, boxing, basketball and polo. Eighty five percent of the population is of European descent with Spanish and Italians as the dominant group.
Blacks, Indians, and Mestizos are the other ethnic groups found in the country. Spanish is the official language in the country however it is different from how it is spoken in Spain. Italian and English are spoken as second languages.
Argentina was a Spanish colony in the 1700 and became independent in 1815. The country has a long history of military power. About 90% of the population is Roman Catholic. The remaining percentage of the population is Jews and Protestants.
In March the country’s economy contracted for the first time since 2012 as a result of raised interest rates. The Gross Domestic Product fell by 0.9 according to the country’s statistics agency. Argentina has rich natural resources including lead, zinc, copper, manganese, uranium and petroleum. It is one of South America’s largest economies.
• Full name: Argentine Republic
• Population: 41.1 million (UN, 2012)
• Capital: Buenos Aires
• Area: 2.8 million sq km (1.1 million sq miles)
• Major language: Spanish
• Major religion: Christianity
• Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 80 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 peso = 100 centavos
• Main exports: Food and live animals, mineral fuels, cereals, machinery
• GNI per capita: US $9,740 (World Bank, 2011)
• Internet domain: .ar
• International dialling code: +54
– By Sipho Kekana and Lerato Matlala
