We need Diego’s divine inspiration
Two years after Maradona’s death, Argentina are seeking another saviour for must-win clash
HE’ll be looking down on us,’ said Argentina coach lionel Scaloni yesterday, when asked about the second anniversary of diego Maradona’s death coming on the eve of the team’s must-win second group game against Mexico. ‘we want to give him something that would make him smile.’
The proximity of the anniversary, an injury scare for lionel Messi, crowd trouble between Mexicans and Argentines in the build-up to the game, and the fact that Mexico are coached by an Argentine have all added spice to what feels like the world Cup’s first all- or-nothing encounter.
Argentina have been here before. They were beaten by Cameroon in the opening game of the 1990 world Cup but recovered to reach the final. The nation’s media yesterday revived some of the colourful, perhaps slightly apocryphal, stories around that tournament.
Then-coach Carlos Bilardo is said to have been in tears in the post- match team meeting at Italia 90, telling his players if they went out of the world Cup playing this badly it would be ‘better if the plane taking them home went down before it reached Argentina’.
The story goes that Maradona piped up, taking the tension out of the meeting, saying that if that were to be the case he would appreciate being told beforehand so he could take a different flight.
Messi cannot talk the talk as Maradona did but so long as he leads on the pitch, Argentina’s huge travelling support inside the lusail stadium will be happy.
He is fit, despite having treatment on a tight calf after the opening game. Scaloni dismissed rumours that Messi had missed a training session because of it, saying: ‘I don’t know where the story came from. There was film of him training. He is fine. we are in good shape physically and mentally, too.’
when questioned over the team’s capacity to get over that shock opening defeat, he added: ‘The next day is the worst but it’s behind us now.’ The coach could make three changes, with Enzo Fernandez or Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister coming into midfield for Papu Gomez, Gonzalo Montiel replacing Nahuel Molina at right back and Manchester united’s lisandro Martinez a candidate to replace Tottenham’s Cristian Romero.
Argentina are not expecting the same aggressive intensity that they failed to cope with against Saudi Arabia. There will be no Herve Renard in the opposition dressing room screaming at his players for not pressing Messi. ‘why not grab your phone and take a selfie with him?’ he bawls at one with the help of an interpreter as shown by a
video taken inside the saudi dressing room at half-time.
Mexico coach Gerardo ‘ tata’ Martino is an argentine and someone who coached Messi for one season at Barcelona in 2013.
‘I don’t think Mexico will change the way they play just because they are against us,’ said scaloni of his compatriot’s plans.
Mexico have a huge following at this World Cup, too, and there is a strong rivalry between the two teams — argentina knocked Mexico out of both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.
the rivalry is friendly for the most part, although there have been isolated outbreaks of violence between the two sets of supporters in Doha in the days leading up to an 80,000 sell- out — with insults about Messi often the first spark to fly.
‘he can decide a game in a matter of minutes,’ said Martino of the argentina captain.
When asked about his own divided loyalties, he added: ‘ We want Mexico to win.’
he is the only argentine in Qatar who does.