Argentinian football players such as Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria can be witnessed by fans this year. Although national team coach Sergio Batista has dropped Carlos Tevez from the lineup for tactical reasons.

Argentina National Football Team 2011 Schedule:
July 1-24 Copa America
June 1 -Friendly against Nigeria in Abuja
June 5 Friendly against Poland in Warsaw
June 20 Friendly against Albania in Argentina
August 10 Friendly against Romania in Bucharest
September 2 Friendly against Venezuela in Calcutta, India
September 6 Friendly against Nigeria in Bangladesh

You could hear it in every pub, in every town, on every weekend of the football season: "The formation doesn't matter it's the players that are important." As Jonathan Wilson jokes in his prologue to Inverting the Pyramid, such a comment may lead you to consider that these people shouldn't be allowed to watch football let alone talk about it.

By Chris Wright

Admittedly, you really have to have a decent grasp of foul-mouthed Spanish expletives to fully take in the hilarity of this chap's verbal tirade, but it's fairly safe to say that this elderly River Plate fan didn't take his side's recent relegation to the second tier of Argentinian football particularly well.

Club Atlético All Boys is an Argentine soccer club based in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Floresta. The team currently plays at the Argentina Primera División the top tier of soccer in the country. On Tuesday night, the All Boys Signia 2011/12 home, away and third kits for the Apertura 2011 and Clausura 2012 seasons [.

Recently, I caught sight of news that Manchester United was interested in approaching Juan Manuel Iturbe. "Iturbo" as he is sometimes labelled, is touted as the new "Messi". The successful signing of Javier Hernandez meant that any potential transfer target of Sir Alex Ferguson's will bring about a good amount of scrutiny.

This is Mike (AEK Baltimore). I haven't posted since our 2010/11 Europa League campaign came to an end. But summer's here and its time for some summer reading suggestions for the thinking footballer!

Jonathan Wilson, genius football historian and analyst and author of the brilliant Inverting the Pyramid (yes, I'm a fan), is the editor of a new football journal named The Blizzard.

From Santos to River Plate: Glory and agony on wild night in South America is a post from: Just Football

Roughly 2,050 kilometres separate the city of Córdoba, Argentina, and Santos, the municipality located in São Paulo state, Brazil. Travelling by air is recommended but it is possible by land.

From Santos to River Plate: Glory and agony on wild night in South America is a post from: Just Football

Roughly 2,050 kilometres separate the city of Córdoba, Argentina, and Santos, the municipality located in São Paulo state, Brazil. Travelling by air is recommended but it is possible by land.

By Chris Wright

We've managed to get our hands on a few photos from the second-leg of the play-off between River Plate and Belgrano yesterday, a game to determine which side would be relegated to the second tier of Argentinian football.

With Belgrano 2-0 up from the first-leg, Sunday's 1-1 draw meant that fallen giants River were demoted from the Primera Division for the first time in their illustrious 110-year history a result which, perhaps inevitably, led to widespread disturbances and at least 68 people being injured, 50 being arrested and 15 vehicles destroyed in and around the El Monumental stadium after the final whistle.

For the first time in their history, Argentina's biggest club River Plate have been relegated to the second division after a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Belgrano at the Estadio Monumental.

The result was followed by mass riots as furious River Plate fans set fire to cars and clashed with police outside the stadium.

Liverpool Line Up Uruguayan Pereira

Liverpool's search for a left back has seen them turn their heads towards Porto's Alvaro Pereira, according to reports in Portugal. The reports, which first surfaced in Lisbon-based sports newpaper, A Bola , and have now been picked up by the Mirror , suggest that the Reds are willing to pay the €20M release fee in the Uruguayan's contract.

By Chris Wright

In which Boca Juniors vet Juan Roman Riquelme endures a barrage of close-range gobbage and spitoonery from a goon in the crowd as he tries to take a corner during Boca's 0-0 draw with Olimpo at the tiny Bahia Blanca stadium over the weekend...

Said the Boca legend after the game: "People are used to doing this in our country and nothing surprises you", before going on to complain about the state of the Olimpo pitch which says a fair bit about the current state of Argentinian football right there.

Finding the new Messi in Peru is a post from: Just Football

While the Keys and Gray storm rumbles on in England one of the hidden gems of the football calender the 2011 South American Youth Championships (Sudamericano Sub-20) is quietly going on in Peru. Argentinian football connoisseur Dan Colasimone returns to Just Football to assess the junior Albicelestes.

Finding the new Messi in Peru is a post from: Just Football

While the Keys and Gray storm rumbles on in England one of the hidden gems of the football calender the 2011 South American Youth Championships (Sudamericano Sub-20) is quietly going on in Peru. Argentinian football connoisseur Dan Colasimone returns to Just Football to assess the junior Albicelestes.

River Plate faces a major restructuring after relegation from the top flight of Argentinian football left the club facing a possible 90% drop in broadcast revenues.

River Plate faces a major restructuring after relegation from the top flight of Argentinian football left the club facing a possible 90% drop in broadcast revenues.

The Copa America kicks off today with host Argentina playing against Bolivia. First played in 1916, this is the 43rd edition of the oldest tournament of national teams in the world. The game will be held at the stadium Unico in the city of La Plata, at 8:45pm, with referee Roberto Silvera (FIFA-URU).

Copa America 2011: Argentina continue to stutter and what is wrong with Messi? is a post from: Just Football

So it seems that, in Argentina, even the wind can tackle Messi. Sure, the Barcelona phenomenon may have banged in over 50 goals in all competitions during the domestic season. But in the company of his fellow compatriots the poor guy just cannot catch a break.

Sharing the wealth: Copa America and the Decentralisation of Argentinian Football is a post from: Just Football

Forget the penalties, the 2011 Copa America represents a landmark moment for Argentinian football. Making his debut for Just Football, Tom Barnett explains why:

Though they may have disappointed on the pitch, for hosts Argentina, behind the scenes the 2011 edition of the Copa America is potentially the most intriguing and significant yet.

If anyone missed this, here is Annie Kelly's gripping account of the barra bravas, the gangs that control Argentinian football.

At best its the romantic notion of a fan fighting back to get a piece of a pie that is making everyone else rich. However in a football mad country like Argentina with its huge economic disparities these Robin Hood notions turn out fanciful.

Four games into the new Argentinian football season and a surprise name currently tops the table. Atlético de Rafaela, newly-promoted outfit from the town of Rafaela in Santa Fe province, have started off with three wins and a defeat in the 2011-12 Torneo Apertura and will obviously have to do a lot in order to stay there especially as traditional clubs such as Boca Juniors, Racing Club and defending champions Vélez Sársfield are hanging on their coat tails.