I was playing mysterious here. I was telling you I had some big news coming regarding Argentina and it’s time for me to deliver and finally give you this information.

You all remember that friendly match we played against Angola (May 31st in Salerno, Italy). You all know we won with Maxi RODRIGUEZ and Juan Pablo SORIN scoring our goals in a 2-0 result.

But what none of us knew back then was that it was going to become the most important Argentina friendly match of all times!
Why? Because amongst the crowd there were a few men that were ready to sing a contract that is going to determine the future of our national team during the next four years.

Viktor Feliksovich VEKSELBERG is the third wealthiest man in Russia (behind Mikhail KHODORKOVSKY and Chelsea’s owner Roman ABRAMOVICH). He owns a number of companies related to the steel production and oil refinery in Russia and recently he bought a Gustav KLIMT’s painting for a record fee of 107 million euros (beating the record fee ever paid for a painting –a Picasso one-).

Guillermo TOFONI (picture here to the left of FIFA President, Sepp Blatter) is a former Argentinos Juniors’ youth team goalkeeper and the only FIFA agent born in Argentina legally allowed to organise international friendly matches. (http://www.worldeleven.com/ They have an English version on their website)

Julio GRONDONA is the president of the AFA (Argentine Football Association) and one of FIFA’s vice-presidents. He is in charge of the AFA since 1978 and he plans to continue at the helm.

The three of them were watching PEKERMAN’s team defeating Angola but at the same time were finalising the details of this incredible contract that was signed soon after that night.

What is this all about?

VEKSELBERG’s company –Gulgong- (teamed-up with TOFONI’s company –World Eleven-) has bought the rights to organise and distribute the broadcasting of 24 friendly matches that Argentina must play between the recent World Cup and the 1st of August, 2011.

For that privilege, the Russian millionaire will pay a total of 18 million dollars. Nine of them were already paid and the rest will be effective in amounts of 350.000 per game (half before each match and the other half hours after each friendly).

Not only that. There is a clause in this contract that forces the AFA (or the manager that will be in charge of the National Team) to field at least 7 players out of the list that was handed out by VEKSELBERG and TOFONI to GRONDONA.

They created the list before the World Cup and it includes the 23 players that made it to Germany 2006, plus 7 other raising stars.

It was a way that the Russians found to avoid organising a friendly match and realising just before the game that there were no prime-time players taking part of it. By including this clause, they guarantee at least 7 big names.

The 30 players are the following:

Roberto ABBONDANZIERI
Leo FRANCO
German LUX (River Plate – Goalkeeper)
Oscar USTARI
Roberto AYALA
Juan Pablo SORIN
Fabricio COLOCCINI
Gabriel HEINZE
Lionel SCALONI
Gabriel MILITO
Leandro CUFRE
Nicolas BURDISSO
Hernan PELLERANO (Velez Sarsfield – Defender)
Esteban CAMBIASSO
Javier MASCHERANO
Juan Roman RIQUELME
Pablo AIMAR
Maxi RODRIGUEZ
Luis GONZALEZ
Fernando GAGO (Boca Juniors – Midfielder)
Fernando BELLUSCHI (River Plate – Midfielder)
Federico INSUA (Recently bought by Borussia Dortmund, Germany)
Leandro SOMOZA (Velez Sarsfield – Midfielder)
Martin DEMICHELIS (Bayern Munich – Midfielder)
Javier SAVIOLA
Hernan CRESPO
Carlos TEVEZ
Rodrigo PALACIO
Lionel MESSI
Julio CRUZ

You may be wondering…WHAT ABOUT KUN AGÜERO? Well…they thought about it and they decided to leave him out of the list because they presume that KUN will be called up by whoever becomes Argentina’s manager. So they left KUN out of the list to pick another of the players they want to see and give him the chance to be included in the squad.

It sounds incredible and I’ve got two ways of reading this whole thing about this contract.

On one hand, we all know about the struggling economy of Argentina and its football is not something different. This rich contract and all the money coming in will help the clubs and the AFA to survive and invest a little bit more in the infrastructure and the youth systems.

Argentina will play more often and its ‘brand’ will become more popular. The team will become more competitive as all of our players will be used to face International opposition (not only South American). The Russians will manage the broadcasting rights and Argentina could benefit from that because the Albiceleste will reach millions and millions of new homes and more supporters will join us.

But on the other hand, this contract seems to force the new manager to pick the names that are included in a list. That won’t give the manager a total freedom and will probably create a bad atmosphere around the team. I can already see that if one of the players included in the list has a bad game, he’ll be criticised and people will start saying that he shouldn’t have been in the list in the first place. I know it’s silly, but it’ll happen. Take my word on that.

We’re going to have to wait and see if this contract proves to be beneficial or disruptive.

There are a lot of rumours around the AFA stating that PEKERMAN is actually leaving because he does not want to be conditioned by an investor designing who should play or not.

I don’t know how much those rumours are true, but it make sense if they are.

True rumours or not, the official word is that the first friendly will be against South Africa and will take place somewhere in Africa (still to be determined) the 16th of August (yes, in a month!). Then on November 15th, we’ll play against Turkey at Dortmund, Germany. They want to make the most out of the great number of Turkish leaving in that area to guarantee a sold out. Plus with Federico INSUA now playing for Borussia Dortmund, some of their fans will be attracted by him and will also attend to that match.

Here are some other aspects covered by the contract:

The Russians will take care of the travel and accommodation of the players and
the staff before each match. They will pay for 35 plane tickets and 4
daily meals.

They will give the AFA 100 VIP tickets to distribute
at will (protocol, fans’ contest to win the ticket as a prize, sponsors,
etc.)

After each game, there’ll be 2 players attending the
press conference. One will be chosen by the AFA and the other by the
Russians.

Out of the 24 friendly matches contemplated in the
contract, 10 should be category ‘A’ (as FIFA determines each friendly depending
on FIFA Ranking or simply the status of both teams), 7 should be ‘B’ rivals and
7 ‘C’.

Are you happy with this ‘Magical Mystery Argentour’?

It’s time to talk about what everybody was waiting for. Yes, there was some interest to know the names of our future defensive unit or our midfield core, but let’s face it: goals are the engine of football, its heart and soul. Even though this World Cup and the previous Euro (won by Greece in 2004) were clear examples of the predominance of the defensive game, people are far from falling in love with teams like Greece in 2004 or Italy in 2006. Fans all over the World (thank goodness) still lose their sleep dreaming of skilful players scoring those impossible goals and becoming legends.

Argentina has a history to respect and the best way to honour that glorious past is by keep on generating more exciting talents with only one objective: to burn the net!
As we saw during the recent World Cup, we’ve got some powerful attackers and a solid base to start working on for South Africa 2010.

Let’s take a look:

Carlos TEVEZ: There is a commercial ad decorating the streets in Buenos Aires. It has Carlitos’ picture and a sentence that says it all: ‘Nacido en Fuerte Apache, querido en todas partes’ (‘Born in Fuerte Apache (a poor and marginal neighbourhood in Buenos Aires), loved everywhere’. That’s what stands out more about this immensely talented young man. Never in the past an Argentine was beloved in Brazil like he is ever since he went to play for Corinthians. There were some Brazilians supporting Argentina because of CARLITOS! Believe me, that says a lot!

He had a great World Cup and I think he was the best player (along with AYALA) in our game against Germany. He will surely sign a big contract sometime in the near future for a big European club (hope it’s not Chelsea!) and he will become a real star for our National Team. He is irreplaceable!

Javier SAVIOLA: Some where saying this was his last World Cup and I hope they are wrong! He is about to sign a contract for Arsenal to play alongside Thierry HENRY after being incredible neglected by FC Barcelona (AGAIN!). He always scored. No matter where he played.

I still remember the first time I saw him. He was 16 and made his debut in the first division for River Plate against the tricky Gimnasia y Esgrima Jujuy. He came in with a few minutes left in a difficult away match and he scored. He never stopped. Had a great World Cup too (specially the first two matches). Faded out a little against Mexico (not making the most in a couple of crucial chances) and then he didn’t play against Germany. But he will still be playing in Europe’s elite and will have great experience come South Africa 2010. I expect to have him in our team.

Hernan CRESPO: Well…I think that was it. A ‘Silver Shoe’ award for being the second placed striker (ahead of RONALDO only because CRESPO played less minutes) will come as a consolation prize I’m sure he rather not have and would exchange it for a better placement by Argentina.

But there went his third World Cup. First as a starter but I think also the last. He will continue to play in our National Team (I believe so) but I’m sure he won’t be making it to South Africa, his age being the main reason.

Julio CRUZ: I feel sorry for the guy. People think he was the obstacle we had from being able to watch MESSI those last minutes against Germany. But the truth is that CRUZ was always committed to the cause. He had no problems to travel the whole world with no previous notice and always declared ready to play only to be benched again and again by BIELSA, PEKERMAN or whoever was in charge.

He never complained. He is a serious hard worker and has shown in more than one occasion that he can score. He will continue to do so for Inter (or maybe somewhere else if Inter signs Luca TONI) but I’m afraid he won’t be playing for Argentina anymore.

Lionel MESSI: He is a gem for the Argentine football and football in general. ‘A blessing’ as PEKERMAN once said. No doubt he’ll become the nucleus of this new era. He just need to grow up and gain some experience that will only be beneficial for our National Team.

In 2010, he will be the kind of player that can lead a team to stardom. The way I see it, there is no other player today that can make an impact quite like him in four years time.

Rodrigo PALACIO: Yeah, he struggled against Ivory Coast. A little bit because of inadequate shoes (he was slipping all the time!) but also because of inappropriate tactics (he was left alone in our attacking front and had no partners to play with in those horrible last 20 minutes we played in that opening match).

He will use that experience for the future. He will also make the quality leap towards a European league in the near future and if he can emulate his performances for Boca somewhere else, he’ll be one to watch in the future.

So far, so good. You all know these players and I suppose we are pretty much in the same page regarding who of those will make it to South Africa 2010 and who won’t.

I know you, so I will stop going round and round and round and I’ll go straight to what you want to read: our future attackers! Here they are:

Sergio AGÜERO: I remember Jorge VALDANO once said about the great Brazilian legend ROMARIO: ‘That player is a cartoon’s character! The way he plays, there is something fantastic about him’. Now there are two things that relate a lot about that sentence and Sergio: First of all, he was compared to ROMARIO soon after he made his appearance for Independiente. Physically he is very similar, those bent legs, that killing pace…

Secondly, and most incredibly, he has a cartoon’s character nickname! Many of you may be wondering what’s all that about the name KUN. Well…KUN is a Japanese cartoon character from AGÜERO’s favourite anime series when he was a little boy. He loved that character (actually named KUN KUN) so much that very soon everybody started calling him simply KUN. And boy he does play like a cartoon’s character! He is elastic. He’s fast. He’s also tough.

Signed by Atletico Madrid, KUN is already an idol in Spain’s capital and will try and carry Atletico’s flag to the top of La Liga once again. Expect him to be a key member for Argentina starting NOW!

Diego MILITO: He was very close to join his brother GABRIEL in this recent World Cup. He plays for Zaragoza with him and he is a terrific goal scorer. Ever since he made his debut for Racing Club (did I tell you I support Racing? Ha!) I knew he was something special. Had a couple of great seasons here and was soon signed by one of the sleeping giants in Italian football: GENOA.

Diego (what a name he has, right?) became their top scorer and won promotion to Serie A, only for Genoa to be relegated to Serie C after a ‘little bit’ of corruption by their president.

Then he decided to go to Zaragoza and he became very famous after scoring 4 goals in a match against Real Madrid for the Copa del Rey. He also became Zaragoza’s main target man and he continued to deliver. If he maintains his level of performances, I won’t be surprise if he becomes the striker of our future.

Luciano FIGUEROA: Poor LUCHO (same nickname of GONZALEZ). He suffered a leg fracture while playing for River Plate when he was getting ready to join Argentina’s World Cup squad.

Never really showed his real potential when he went to play for Villarreal, but he did great everytime he pulled the Albiceleste at every level. Had a great Confederations Cup and scored some important goals in the World Cup Qualifiers. But had that horrible injury and missed out. If he comes back strong, he should have some chances in the future.

Luciano GALLETTI: In terms of age and experience, he could be making the trip to South Africa. But will he play to the best of his ability in the future? Is he past his prime? He is the only one who can reply to these answers and it all depends on him and how can he perform from now on.

All of these are proven attackers and not risky bets when we are talking of the chances they have to play for Argentina. Below you’ll read some names you probably never heard of. Some young, up and coming talents who could also be in our next manager radar.

But before we get to that, let me throw another name to you. A player that made a bad move in his career and was soon forgotten.

Fernando CAVENAGHI: What a great striker he is! Started playing for River Plate and started breaking scoring records. Sensational instinct and scoring ability.

He was rumoured to move to Italy, Spain or England but instead he (probably ill advised) took the first offer and went on to play for Spartak Moscow. Hardly an exciting team in a hardly competitive league.

Now he is struggling to find his old form and at the same time, he is out of the radar everytime a national manager thinks about the players to pick for a match or a tournament.

Can he put his career back on track? Will somebody take him to the biggest leagues in Europe? Will he come back to Argentina to build up his career once again? If the answer to one of this questions is ‘yes’, then we could add an amazing goal scorer to our team. I hope we do.

Now ‘Los pibes’ (‘the lads’ or ‘the kids’) as we say in Argentina when refering to the young men.

Ignacio SCOCCO: OK, could be a one time wonder but he scored 13 goals in his first season playing for Newell’s Old Boys (yeah…you’ve got it, same team where a certain Gabriel Omar BATISTUTA started his career!).

He was unstoppable! He scored with both feet and he is as powerful as he is skilled. So much that he was already signed by the Mexican club PUMAS UNAM. Too soon to call. We need to see if he keeps on scoring in Mexico. One to watch, no doubt about it.

Diego BUONANOTTE: Another fine product of River Plate’s youth system, ‘COTI’ is only 17 years old and 1,60 mts.

Left footed, blue eyed, Diego (what is it with that name?) is yet to make his first division debut but is already raising a few eye-brows. Watch out for him.

And of course you can’t forget the strikers of last year’s Youth World Cup in The Netherlands:

Gustavo OBERMAN (River Plate), Neri CARDOZO (Boca Juniors) and Pablo VITTI (Rosario Central). They are not quite there in the mix, but they are still young and have time on their side.

I like what I see here. There will be a ‘good fight’ for places and that will only make them improve and get better.

Who’s your favourite out of these group?

The place of the most ardent battles in every football match. The midfield is not when you win or lose matches, but it’s the place in which you set up those victories, you build them up and ultimately you sustain them. You will get nowhere if your midfield is weak even if your defense and offense are strong. You need to link them through your midfield men.

Argentina had a strong midfield in this World Cup but in occasions it failed to control the game. Nevertheless, looking forward to 2010, there are a few names that give us reasons to be confident. Young players who performed superbly in Germany 2006 and will have an invaluable experience for South Africa.

Below I’ll talk about those names and I’ll also look somewhere else to try and find the gems that will make us a serious contender next time.

But first, a look at those midfielders who won’t be making it to South Africa 2010.

Juan Roman RIQUELME: He was flirting with retirement even before the World Cup. He said he was probably going to quit football if he was crowned as champion in Germany 2006. He’ll keep on playing now, but I don’t see him making it to our squad in four years time. People in Argentina are somewhat disappointed with his performances in the World Cup and that won’t help him.

Pablo AIMAR: The favourite of the majority of readers who have sent me e-mails during this World Cup, the Valencia play-maker will have a hard time to make it to 2010. He’ll be 31 years old and will have less pace and agility, crucial aspects of his game. Too bad he didn’t have a good chance to show them. That said, it will only depend on him. If he performs these coming 4 seasons and stays out of injuries. Will he?

The following players have a place guaranteed in our next World Cup squad:

Javier MASCHERANO: What else can you ask after what he did in Germany 2006 with only 22 years of age? He looked like a veteran being always in the right place at the right time. I expect him to sign a big contract in the next couple of seasons with an European powerhouse and become one of the best defensive midfielders in the World.

Maxi RODRIGUEZ: 3 goals in a World Cup coming from midfield. Had everything you can ask a complete midfielder and he is now being look after by Inter Milan. But will Atletico Madrid let him go? He’ll be 29 but he has done a great World Cup and the experience he got from it will be a key to get another call. Gracias MAXI!

TOO CLOSE TO CALL

These are a couple of players that have question marks above them. Be it for age reasons or simply for performances.

Esteban CAMBIASSO: For some reason I tend to think he will always be young! It must be because I first saw him when he was 15, playing a South American Under-17 tournament for Argentina. Then he was one of the youngest and he scored a goal in the final of the Youth World Cup in Malaysia 97. Well…for the next World Cup he will be almost 30 and will have to battle it out with a lot of talented and younger players in four years.

Luis GONZALEZ: 29 years old for a midfielder that bases his game on running up and down the left or right flank could be too many. Again, it depends on him. If he continues to impress in Portugal (FC Porto) and he keeps on playing for Argentina (Copa America, World Cup Qualifiers, etc) he might have a chance.

WHO’S NEXT?

Very nice, right? But I know you want to read about up and coming players, those youngsters who can become the next big thing or maybe you’re looking for a replacement for RIQUELME as a playmaker.

Well…I’ve got some answers to that, and just like you, I have many questions!

First thing we need to know is who will be our next manager if GRONDONA fails to convince PEKERMAN to stay.

Because knowing who will be our next manager could help us know what type of players will he be interested in.

Here are a few names that should be considered regardless of the manager:

Pablo ZABALETA: Already settled in an important European league (Spain) and playing a great part in Espanyol’s fortunes. He won the Copa del Rey with them but the highlight of his career so far has been captaining Argentina to The Netherlands 2005 Youth World Cup alongside Lionel MESSI, Sergio ‘Kun’ AGÜERO and Oscar USTARI. He plays on the right and his game is similar to that of Maxi RODRIGUEZ.

Fernando GAGO: Boca Juniors are enjoying while they can get a hold on him. Real Madrid and other big clubs are after this elegant defensive midfielder who has already being tagged as ‘The new Fernando REDONDO’. His exquisite play will be a great asset for Argentina for years to come and I’m already dreaming of a midfield with him alongside MASCHERANO so Javier can recover balls and Fernando can distribute them. Will he move up to become a play-maker? It’s a possibility, but I don’t think he’ll do it. For the record, he is only 20 years old.

Martin DEMICHELIS: He is not a part of the next generation, but he was really close to make it to this World Cup. Maybe next time. If he continues to perform like he is doing it for Bayern Munich he can become a useful member of our team in the next few years and maybe show up as an experienced 30-year old midfielder who can also move back and play in defense.

Juan Manuel TORRES: ‘Chaco’ as he is nicknamed after the province in which he was born, plays for my team Racing Club and I know him very well. He also played for Argentina in The Netherlands 2005 Youth World Cup and he is a key member for Racing for quite a few seasons now, despite his young age. He’s been rumoured to be on his way to Europe soon, but he will stay in Racing at least for one more season. His style is similar to MASCHERANO’s. He is not near MASCHERANO’s level but he has plenty of room to improve. Has to learn how to keep his head cool as he has a tendency to see the red card very often.

Lucas BIGLIA: Another of the Youth World Cup winners last year in Holland. He is a key part of Independiente (Racing’s fieriest rivals!) and he is multifunctional. Kind of a CAMBIASSO’s style of play. The next four years will be a splendid platform for him or could be the end of his quest for a place in Argentina’s World Cup squad. Again, a move to Europe will help his chances.

DARK HORSE:

Leandro DEPETRIS: He is 17 now. He became very famous when he was signed by AC Milan aged 11! He then played for the youth teams for River Plate and he is now playing for Brescia in Italy. He is far from impressing the way he did when he first appear but no doubt he has something and he can burst into the World’s attention in the next couple of years. Very skilled with the ball.

THE NEXT BIG THING?

And I’ll ask you to pay attention to the next name I’ll bring up to the table. This is a very risky bet, but I’m taking my chances here. I’m yet to see him play and he is yet to prove himself at the best level, but from what I’m hearing about him so far, I think he is worthy of a mention and could become (yes…this is what many of you wanted to hear!) our play-maker of the future!

His name is Lucas TRECARICHI.

Who is he?

First of all let me tell you he is only 15 now. But his story is similar to another prodigy of ours: Lionel MESSI. Why? Because just as the ‘Atomic Flea’, Lucas went to Spain being very young (after being incredibly released by River Plate) and started playing there. Not in Barcelona, but Leganes gave him an opportunity and now there are clubs the likes of Arsenal, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are after him! He has a contract with Leganes for the next 8 years and there is already a rescission clause that will be of 6 million euros near the end of that contract.

He is a play-maker and he’ll surely be a part of our next Under-17 National Team. It’s difficult to speak about certainties when the player is so young as Lucas, but nobody can stop us from dreaming, can they?

COMEBACK KID?

Andres D’ALESSANDRO impressed everyone when he first burst into the scene for River Plate and won the Youth World Cup in Argentina 2001 playing with his childhood friend Javier SAVIOLA and with Maxi RODRIGUEZ, amongst others. He was transferred to Wolfsburg in Germany and people lost track on him. A rupture in his relationship with his former manager have paved the way for him to move out of there. A short spell at Portsmouth, when they won the battle to avoid relegation last season, has taken him to Spain. He’ll start all over at Zaragoza this season and will try to recover his old form to gain back a place in our national team. He performed as a play-maker with BIELSA in the last Copa America. Will he come back?

That leaves us with the following midfielders for 2010:

Javier MASCHERANO
Maxi RODRIGUEZ
Pablo ZABALETA
Fernando GAGO
Juan Manuel TORRES
Lucas BIGLIA
Esteban CAMBIASSO, Lucho GONZALEZ or Martin DEMICHELIS (I think one of these three)
Lucas TRECARICHI
Leandro DEPETRIS
Andres D’ALESSANDRO

6 sure bets, 3 oldies-but-goldies who might still have a chances, 1 big bet to the future, 1 dark-horse and 1 come-back kid who wants to return to his old self. That’s the outcome of this little exercise trying to foresee our midfield of the future. I hope you’re happy with it and remember, if I forgot to mention a player you think deserves to be included in this list, just send me your comments.

Oh…and by the way…if there are problems to fill up the midfielders spots available, there is a little lad called Lionel MESSI who can move back a couple of meters and become a speedy play-maker to help them out!