Head coach of the Argentina National side, Diego Maradona, has chosen his 30 man preliminary squad for the FIFA 2010 world cup in South Africa.
The major surprise in the Argentina squad is that, Inter Milan duo Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso are not in the squad which will go South Africa.
This is not the first time Zanetti has endured the pain of not being included in a World Cup competition.
The 36-year-old veteran footballer who is currently playing for Inter Milan, and having one of the best seasons of his carrier, had also been controversially axed by Jose Pekerman for the 2006 World Cup.
Cambiasso is also a big surprise though the 29-year-old has not been included in the Argentina squad since the World Cup in 2006 held in Germany when defensive midfielder, missed a penalty in the quarterfinal against Germany.
Cambiasso is particularly a big surprise considering the players success with Inter Milan, with the team already winning the Italian Cup, one match away from winning the Seria A and also in the Champions League Final.
Gabriel Milito, Barcelona’s defender and Fernando Gago the Real Madrid midfielder have both been taken out of the Argentina squad and replaced by Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez who have had a key role in Newcastle’s Championship success this season.
Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez and Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez were all also included in the Argentina squad.
Diego Maradona, who captained Argentina in the World Cup triumph of 1986 would be proud of his side which arguably have the best striking force in the competition with the likes of Player of the year Lionel Messi, Real Madrid goal machine Gonzalo Higuain, Atletico Madrid young gun, Sergio Aguero and Manchester City ace, Carlos Tevez.
Argentina who are in Group B of the World Cup 2010, will face Nigeria, Korea Republic and Greece
Argentina’s preliminary squad:
Goalkeepers: Mariano Andujar (Catania), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Diego Pozo (Colon)
Defenders: Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes), Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Juan Manuel Insaurralde (Newell’s Old Boys), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Ariel Garce (Colon)
Midfielders: Sebastian Blanco (Lanus), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Jesus Datolo (Olympiacos), Jose Sosa (Estudiantes), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Juan Mercier (Argentinos Juniors), Javier Pastore (Palermo)
Forwards: Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli)
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