More Maradona Madness

Not content with leaving Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti out of his provisional World Cup squad, Diego Maradona has gone one further in his single-minded attempt to prove to the world that he is, frankly, as mad as a box of frogs.

Yesterday, Maradona announced his twenty three man squad and -bizarrely among those to make the final cut - were old time and frankly rubbish striker Martin Palermo as well as 30 year old one cap wonder, Ariel Garce.

Better yet, Maradona's car managed to run over the leg of a nearby cameraman ahead of the announcement.

Maradona's response to this unfortunate accident:

"What an asshole you are. How can you put your leg there where it can get run over, man?"

Honestly. You can't make this stuff up. What would the footballing world be like without Diego Maradona?

Danny Shittu vs Lionel Messi

Danny Shittu. He plays for Nigeria, you know. He also sits on the bench for Bolton Wanderers.

Lionel Messi. He plays for Argentina, you know. He also wins Champions League titles with Barcelona.

No contest, right. So, it is with great joy, that I draw your attention to this interview with Shittu in The Daily Telegraph where he says, and I quote, "It is about going out there, having a good time and making something of yourself, so I am looking forward to it."

I'm not sure that playing in the World Cup Finals is really about "having a good time", but I suspect it will be Messi not Shittu that has a good time in the Argentina v Nigeria Group B opener.

See: I managed to get through that whole post without making any snide references to Shittu's last name.

Sorry, Raphael, I Don't Think So

I came across a piece on CBC Canada that suggested this world cup will won by an individual or individuals with outstanding skills.

This may have been written in haste, in reaction to the unbelievable performances put in by Lionel Messi in the past few weeks, I don't know.

The thing is: the argument doesn't really stack up. And it appears that the author, Raphael Honigstein (a man who usually talks a lot of sense) knows it.

World Cups are won by teams not individuals. Honigstein points to Maradona's Argentina team in the '86 World Cup as an example of an individual inspiring his team to victory. However, it is instructive that this is the only example he provides. I would suggest that this is because: this is the only example there is and it is very unlikely ever to be repeated.

Italy's victory at the last World Cup is a far better indicator of how big trophies are won - a well organised collective playing effective football.

You Shall Go To The World Cup

In a display of mind boggling stupidity, the Argentine government is set to allow several hundred well known football hooligans (called the 'Barras Bravas') to travel to the 2010 World Cup Finals.

This, apparently, is their reward for openly supporting the incumbent Prime Minister, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner ahead of next year's elections.

The justification for this piece of idiocy? It will, apparently, "help integrate fans who were previously alienated".

Words cannot describe the foolishness of this idea, particularly when tensions between England and Argentina are at the highest level since the Falklands War.

Needless to say, Argentine police - 20 of whom will be attending the World Cup Finals in order to identify potential troublemakers - don't think this is a very clever move.

Still, if it helps win Mrs de Kirchner another election, who cares about a little bloodshed and violence. All is fair in love, war and politics, right?

Argentina 1 England 0 And More World Cup Thoughts

Good to see Carlos Tevez and Gary Neville doing their bit to improve Argentina - England relations. No love lost between the two countries, either in the football sense or politically, but I have to say that Carlos Tevez certainly came out best in that little contretemps.

Speaking to ESPN Argentina, Tevez is quoted as saying:

"He [Gary Neville] acted like a complete boot-licker when he said I wasn't worth £25m, just to suck up to the manager. I don't know what the hell that idiot is talking about me for."

Let's be honest, we've all thought the same about Neville at one time or another. 1-0 to Argentina, methinks.

Back in the 'ridiculous World Cup bid ambassadors' file, we have the news that David Ginola is backing England's 2018 World Cup bid.

Has no one noticed that Ginola is, er, French?

Players Who Really Shouldn't Be At the 2010 World Cup...But Just Might

You'll hear ex-players, with their cushy jobs as 'state-the-bloody-obvious' media pundits, bang on and on about needing experienced players in national squads who know what to do when the team is up against it.

And, I concede, it's a fair point. However, what often happens is that managers end up playing safe and picking players that are way past their prime. I expect this World Cup Finals to be no different, and here a few of the players that may end up in South Africa this summer, but really shouldn't be anywhere near the place.

1: Vincenzo Iaquinta (Italy)

Agreed, Iaquinta has scored plenty of goals in a decade long career in Serie A and seems to have had something of a rennaisance at Juve under Claudio Ranieri and Ciro Ferrara. This presumably is why Marcelo Lippi recalled Iaquinta to the Italy squad for the 2010 qualifying campaign.

The thing is, though, he's just not world class. He's scored only 5 goals in 35 international appearances and 2 of those were in a friendly against New Zealand.

At the 2006 World Cup, he got only one goal in five matches and looked out of his depth. Lippi really should say 'thanks, but no thanks' to Iaquinta.

2: Martin Palermo (Argentina)

Argentina have a fine array of attacking talent : Messi, Tevez, Aguero, Milito, Higuain. The names just roll off the tongue.

They also have Martin Palermo. You might remember that Palermo scored the goal that took Argentina through to the World Cup Finals and saved manager Diego Maradona' job.

What you probably don't know is that Palermo is 36 and, until his recent recall to the national team, hadn't played for Argentina in 10 years. The reason for that is: he's not a great player as his time in Spain showed and there are loads of others ahead of him in the queue.

However, who knows what goes through the mind of Maradona? And he did score 'that' goal.

3: Mark Viduka (Australia)

I suspect that Mark Viduka is sitting on a beach in Oz at this very moment, sipping a lager and counting his money. What he definitely isn't doing is playing football, as the 32 year old is currently without a club.

When he could be bothered, Viduka was a great centre forward, but mainly he couldn't be bothered. He couldn't even be bothered to play for Australia when specifically asked by manager Pim Verbeek.

So, it's very, very unlikely that Viduka will get anywhere near the 2010 World Cup, right? Well, answer me this question. Name me three forwards currently in the Australian national squad? No? OK, name me one?

You see my point. Currently, Australia doesn't have a single striker that is known outside of Australia itself. So, if Viduka does decide to play a little soccer again, it's just a very small possibility that the lazy bugger will be recalled for the 2010 World Cup Finals.

4: David James (England)

At the other end of the likelihood spectrum we have David James, currently at Portsmouth and still - when fit - England's number one goalkeeper.

How this state of affairs came to pass is a mystery to me. England used to churn out top class 'keepers like a production line : Banks, Shilton, Clemence, Seaman. There were loads.

Now, they've got a 'keeper whose nickname is 'calamity' and who still, despite a significant improvement in his overall game, makes stupid mistakes on a regular basis.

In an ideal world, there is no way David James should be playing at the World Cup Finals. Unfortunately, unless Joe Hart makes an undeniable case for himself in forthcoming friendlies, he probably will be.

Maradona Not Going To Pompey

No sooner has Sulaiman Al Fahim taken over at Portsmouth, than rumours start linking Argentina legend Diego Maradona with a role at the club.

Al Fahim, you will remember, was the face of the group that took over Manchester City. He was the man that declared City would sign Cristiano Ronaldo for £134m and other similarly ridiculous things. He was soon sidelined by the group behind the Manchester City takeover, ADUG.

So, it's going to come as no surprise that Maradona himself has come out and said it's all nonsense.

To quote the great (and slightly unhinged) man :

"I was watching with my girlfriend and started talking to the TV: "Noooooo, this is not true!" The blood running through my veins is sky blue and white."

"In no way would I abandon ship. I'll say more. I've signed the contract and agreed to coach (the team) at the Copa America in 2011."

Good to see Al Fahim picking up where he left off at City, though. We need more characters in the game and I have a suspicion that Sulaiman Al Fahim is likely to be one of the most colourful.