HEGS has lost a little of its news value lately due to diminishing spare time on my part, so as of
today I'm going to try and remedy that slightly. As Thursday turns into Friday at the start of each
round from now on, I'll be giving a quick rundown of some of the main [...]
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Argentina were thoroughly outclassed by the European champions on Saturday night in the Vicente
Calderón, losing 2-1. Xabi Alonso scored twice for the home side, the second a late penalty,
whilst Lionel Messi got a temporary equaliser also from the spot after just over an hour. I wasn't
in the best shape last night, hence [.
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Argentines Abroad is delayed slightly this week by the Monday night fixture bumping the normal
domestic coverage a day on, and the fact I've been writing an article for another site (more of
which later in the week). That's useful in some ways because the Copa del Rey in Spain has ensured
there's action to [.
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On the 14th November Diego Maradona's Argentina will face Spain in Atlético de Madrid's Estadio
Vicente Calderón in a friendly as the first part of their preparation for the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa. On Friday, Maradona named his squad for the match, which will consist solely of
players playing for clubs outside Argentina, [.
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On Saturday one group of Argentines abroad got off to a very good start in a new campaign José
Luis Brown's national Under 17 team beat Honduras 1-0 in the first match of their age group World
Cup in Nigeria. Sergio Araujo scored the only goal of the game. Around the world in the [...]
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On the day that retired ex River Plate, Argentinos Juniors, Villarreal, Cruzeiro and Argentina full
back Juan Pablo SorÃn was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Belo Horizonte (the city he's
lived in three times during his spells at Cruzeiro), FIFA confirmed that another former Argentina
player is held in rather less high esteem.
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It was a mixed week for Argentines in England Pablo Zabaleta was sent off and Carlos Tevez had to
toil on his own up front as Manchester City could only draw 1-1 with Wigan Athletic, and Javier
Mascherano and Emiliano Insúa's Liverpool lost in circumstances which were either hilarious or
exasperating depending on your [.
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Argentina's 2010 World Cup qualification campaign isn't likely be forgotten easily by anyone who
followed it from beginning to end. For anyone who wants to read a little about the likely fallout
from the decision to give the managerial job to a certified nutter, without (too much) mention of
crotch-grabbing in press conferences, you can [.
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It's been a qualifying campaign no-one who followed it from start to finish will ever quite manage
to forget, but eventually, somehow, in spite of their manager, their opponents and let's face it
their own often atrocious performances, Argentina have qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa.
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The moment of truth arrives tonight. At 8pm local time (7pm in Argentina; 11pm British Summer Time)
Argentina will take to the pitch in the Estadio Centenario, the site of the first ever World Cup
final back in 1930. They need a result against their oldest rivals to secure qualification for
South Africa 2010.
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Not I. Oh, heavens no. The heavens opened over the Estadio Monumental on Saturday night and, in a
frantic finish, a substitute chosen by D10s himself scored the winning goal to keep Argentina just
on track for qualification to South Africa 2010. MartÃn Palermo has waited ten years for the
chance to atone [.
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Argentina's starting XI for the crucial World Cup qualifier against Peru kicks off at 7pm on
Saturday (11pm UK time), and the starting eleven is exactly the same as the one manager Diego
Maradona has used in training for most of the week. Newcastle winger Jonás Gutiérrez is at right
back due to the injury [.
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Argentina's practice session on Wednesday produced a possibly glimpse into the mind of Diego
Maradona. Although a frightening place in which Jonás Gutiérrez is worthy of a place in the team
at right back, there were also one or two more lucid thoughts flitting about. In a kickabout
against Sergio Batista's Under 17 side, this [.
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Ahead of the World Cup qualifying double-header which kicks off against Peru on Saturday, Diego
Maradona did his bit for team harmony amongst the under-pressure Argentina squad by telling the
press that he wasn't sure whether he'd continue as manager if the team qualify for next year's
global extravaganza in South Africa.
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As the selección converge on Ezeiza from all corners of the world (well, western Europe) for the
final, must-not-balls-up-this-time double-header of World Cup qualifiers against Peru (Saturday in
El Monumental) and Uruguay (a week on Wednesday in Montevideo's Estadio Centenario), it's
heartening that some of them have had more auspicious weekends than Carlos Tevez, who [.
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One of the matches on Wednesday night featured a 'national' team playing Ghana in Córdoba. MartÃn
Palermo scored both goals and, as a result, has convinced everyone in the press that he'd be ideal
to play as the number 9 in the World Cup qualifiers against Peru, ahead of Diego Milito and Gonzalo
Higua'in.
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Argentina's full selección may be struggling to stagger across the line in the race to qualify for
the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but one country who are already there will take on a
locally-based B team in Córdoba on Wednesday night. The starting XI isn't being reported as I type
this up, but [.
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Diego Maradona has announced a list of just eighteen Europe-based players for Argentina's final two
World Cup qualifying matches at home to Peru and away to Uruguay. There are numerous big-name
casualties of Diego's refusal to consider that any part of the defeats to Brazil and Paraguay might
have been his fault.
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Well that was a brief road trip. Diego Maradona's and the AFA's protracted falling-out with River
Plate over the state of the Estadio Monumental pitch led to River putting up posters proclaiming
'16 years unbeaten at the Monumental...' in the wake of the 3-1 defeat to Brazil in Rosario last
week. On Tuesday it was [.
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After a week of recriminations for the selección, Diego Maradona travels to Europe to bang some
heads together and break the news to some players that he'll be picking Argentine-based players
over them in future. All the same, there's some food for thought for him ('thought', Diego: that's
'pensamiento' in castellano, a word you might [.
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All of a sudden, after the week that's just passed, 'Diego Maradona's Argentina' sounds less like a
porteño schoolboy's fantasy and more like a sneering insult from Brazilians and Paraguayans
towards their neighbours. If you've not had quite enough of reading (and, through The Enganche
Argentine football podcast)Â about it yet, though, you can click here [.
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We've been here before, and there's not a lot else more to say. In Asunción on Wednesday night,
needing a win to remain in the automatic qualification spots for the 2010 World Cup, Argentina
slumped to a defeat which sees Paraguay qualify for South Africa. Seba Verón was sent off early in
the second half [.
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Argentina travel to Asunción to take on Paraguay later tonight, with the team unlikely to be
announced until very shortly before kick off. Whether Diego Maradona has any idea what it's going
to be himself is anyone's guess. There are some educated guesses to be made, though. There's also
some discussion to be had of [.
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In the wake of Saturday night's humiliation in Rosario at the hands of Brazil, Diego Maradona has
been experimenting with personnel (if not formation) during Monday's training sessions. Whilst the
outfield positions are still up in the air, one position that does look guaranteed to change is in
goal, where Maradona seems set to use [.
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Saturday night saw the big South American clásico in Rosario as Argentina hosted Brazil in the
qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, and Diego Maradona's reign as manager will be marked forever by
the result: Argentina lost a qualifier at home for only the second time in their history. The first
was the 0-5 loss [.
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As you may be aware, Argentina play Brazil later on Saturday (kick off at 21:30 local time, 01:30
Sunday morning UK time) in a qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Brazil don't
need to win but Argentina, if they're going to keep alive realistic hopes of qualifying
automatically, have to.
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One of the most eagerly awaited fixtures on the international football calendar will be staged in
Rosario on Saturday night, with Argentina in need of a win and Brazil no doubt eager to put one
over the on their great rivals and inflict what would be only Argentina's second ever home defeat
in World Cup [.
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You thought you'd read everything worth reading in preview to this weekend's World Cup qualifying
matches, didn't you? Well you're wrong (unless you've already read this). Because this week, in our
second interview, The Enganche have been talking to Mario Kempes, and asking him about making his
Argentina debut at altitude away to Bolivia, what [.
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'Where's my week gone?!' I can hear you inwardly asking. Don't worry you've not been in a coma
since Monday. Due to the upcoming World Cup qualifiers (notably that between Argentina and Brazil
in Rosario on Saturday) the AFA have moved the third round of the Torneo Apertura to midweek.
Rosario Central vs River [.
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Only a quick news update here: there have been a few late call-ups by Diego Maradona for the
Argentine national team as they prepare for their World Cup qualifiers at home to Brazil (in
Rosario, on Saturday) and away to Paraguay (in Asunción next week). This was expected because
Maradona left the door open for [.
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With the new season comes a new website. Don't worry, HEGS readers this blog's not going anywhere.
But Seba GarcÃa, Joel Richards and I have been thinking it's silly of the three of us to run our
own blogs and not collaborate on something. So here it is. My thoughts on the Copa Sudamericana
[...]
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Friday saw the announcement of Diego Maradona's national team squad to face Brazil in Rosario on
the 5th September, which will then take on Paraguay days later in Asunción. Matches between
Argentina and Brazil are always intense affairs, but with so much riding on this game for
Maradona's men in particular, el pibe de oro [.
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Wednesday afternoon saw Russia take on Argentina in a clash of two of FIFA's top ten ranked
national sides in a friendly in Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow. Diego Maradona's men, eager to recover
some sort of dignity and continuity to their play after iffy recent performances and results, won
against another side known for their neat [.
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On Wednesday Argentina play Russia in Moscow in an international friendly, with Diego Maradona's
charges looking to gain some sort of momentum to take into their World Cup qualifier at home to
Brazil in Rosario next month. Argentine sports daily Olé claim that Andrei Arshavin is viewed as a
'hope for the future' in Russia, [.
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His fifteen year career took in ten titles: four Argentine leagues, one Copa Brasil, one French
Cup, one Copa Libertadores, one Supercopa Sudamericana, one Panamerican Games title, and one Youth
World Cup. He was part of the most successful River Plate team of all time, and played for ten
clubs in six different countries.
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