Maradona, Bilardo, and doctor Donato are all in Madrid. Sergio Aguero y Jonás Gutiérrez are both injured and they’re not sure if they will be able to play. What do you all think? Can we do it? Or is Argentina futbol in trouble? I just think there are ups an downs and this is just another one of those downs. It’s not the first time this has happened. It happens with all great futbol countries.

Game time is:

21:00 UK
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
Spain v Argentina

Porteros: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, NED) y Mariano Andújar (Catania, ITA).

Defensas: Gabriel Heinze (Olympique Marsella, FRA), Martín Demichelis (Bayern Múnich, GER), Cristian Ansaldi (Rubin Kazan, RUS), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle, GBR) y Nicolás Pareja (Espanyol, ESP).

Medios: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, GBR), Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, ESP), Ángel Di María y Pablo Aimar (Benfica, POR), Jonás Gutiérrez (Newcastle, GBR), Esteban Cambiasso (Inter, ITA) y Maxi Rodríguez (Atlético de Madrid, ESP).

Delanteros: Sergio Agüero (Atlético de Madrid, ESP), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City, GBR), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, ESP), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Nápoles, ITA) y Gonzalo Higuaín (Real Madrid, ESP).

But before we completely shift our focus towards ‘09, let me take another opportunity to thank all of you again for making this site so successful. In looking at the traffic stats for the month of December, the Argentina blog was the second most popular site on the World Cup blog network, with nearly 9,000 total visitors. When you include Christmas and New Year’s, when traffic traditionally dips, that makes those numbers even more impressive.

In fact, the Argentina WCB has consistently finished in the top 5 most visited blogs on the site, with huge jumps in traffic during the qualifier against Brazil, the Olympics, and during the naming of Diego Maradona as NT coach.

What does that all mean? It means that Argentina, both on the national and club level, is as popular as ever, and that Argy players across South America, Europe, and even the U.S., are an integral part of the modern footballing world. Thus it seems that everyone out there has something to say, and thankfully for us, the WCB is for many the de-facto stop on the web to add to the discussion.

I realize this blog is far perfect, and over the past year there have been bumps along the way. The inactivity, the lack of posts (or in some cases, too many), the ever annoying trolls, and the occasional arguments that tend to get out of hand.

But I still see the same names who were here at the beginning of year still coming back every day, leaving comments, starting discussions, and making this site what it is. And I can’t express just how important their contribution is to this blog, and how we are all better off for it.

So whether you’re a daily visitor or the occasional reader, thank you again for your continued support. Let’s hope for a great year for your club, favorite player, and of course, the National team. And as promised, here’s my list of top moments from 2008, as well as some of yours as well. Enjoy.

*Best Game
The Olympic Final. The match against Brazil was arguably better and more exciting for obvious reasons, but it would have meant nothing without the gold.

* Worst or Most Disappointing Game
Take your pick – any of the 4 consecutive WCQ draws, or the 1-0 loss to Chile in October.

* Best Individual Performance
His red card in the United – Liverpool derby aside, I saw no better individual player over 2008 then Javier Mascherano.

* Best Goal
Sorry, you won’t be getting any objectivity from me here. Diego Buonanotte’s two goals in the Clausura final that gave River their 33rd league title.

* Breakout Player Award
Higuain, Di Maria, and Ricardo Noir a distant third

And for 2009:
*Predict What the Biggest Storyline Will Be
Without question, how will Maradona improve the national team through 8 rounds of qualifying. When will Tevez leave United? And can Messi stay healthy for the year to make his case for World Player of the year?

*Who Will Be the Next Big Player from Argentina
Again, Noir, though Buonanotte could be a revelation in Europe, assuming he isn’t a moron and goes to Qatar.

* Which Player Will Have the Most Impact
Messi no doubt, although if Tevez leaves United his absence will make a huge dent in United’s title hopes. Back in Argentina, Riquelme may be on his last legs with Boca, and rumors persist on Ariel Ortega’s return to River.

Here were some of yours:

Golazo

* Best Game
Argentina vs Netherlands in the olympics

* Worst or Most Disappointing Game
Argentina 0 – 0 Brazil for disappointing game
Ecuador 1 – 1 Argentina or Belarus 0-0 Argentina worst game

* Best Individual Performance
Mascherano in pretty much every game.

* Best Goal
buonattoe free kick

* Breakout Player Award
Angel Di Maria

Question I would like to post

*Most Underrated player
Maxi Rod

*Most overrated player
Cavenaghi

*Most essential
Mascherano

And for 2009:

* Predict What the Biggest Storyline Will Be
Tevez future

* Who Will Be the Next Big Player from Argentina
Brain Sarmeinto returning from loan to play for Racing

* Which Player Will Have the Most Impact
Garay

I would like to add

*Player to have break out seasons next year
Higuain

*Player to fade away next season
Riquelme =[

*Best player next year
Messi

*Surpise player to pop out of no where
Matías Delgado

————

MaxiLopez

*Best Game
ARG 3-0 BRA (without any doubts)

* Worst or Most Disappointing Game
ARG 1-1 Ecuador (all Basile games in general)

* Best Individual Performance
Mascherano

* Best Goal
Maxi Rodriguez (ARG-SCO)

* Breakout Player Award
Di Maria

And for 2009:

* Predict What the Biggest Storyline Will Be
Maradona trying to bring coordinated movement to our team

* Who Will Be the Next Big Player from Argentina
?

* Which Player Will Have the Most Impact
Mascherano

————

ajNYHC

*Best Game
ARG vs Netherlands – Messi’s through pass tore open the defense – like literally sliced open 6 players.

* Worst or Most Disappointing Game
ARG Vs Chile – We were decimated that game.

* Best Individual Performance
Riquelme in the earlier qualifying campaign with his amazing play and free kicks. But consistency goes to Mascherano.

* Best Goal
Any of Riquelme’s free kicks and/or Messi’s individual goal against Columbia.

* Breakout Player Award
Di Maria – no questions.

And for 2009:
* Predict What the Biggest Storyline Will Be
Tevez moving to Inter/Aguero moving to Barca.

* Who Will Be the Next Big Player from Argentina
Lucas Viatri – if he doesn’t end up in prison.

* Which Player Will Have the Most Impact
Messi.

————

Albo

I think that in 2008 Argentina didn’t merit any “best” tag in any field, except maybe their play during the olympic games and the excellent work of Javier Mascherano.

————

Debasish

* Best Game
Argentina 3 Brazil 0. I do not care about anything else. Have been waiting for too long, for that scoreline. As a matter of fact we also played a great tactical game.

* Worst or Most Disappointing Game
0-2 against Chile. I did not even make me sad. It looked we are standing up to get whipped.

* Best Individual Performance
Messi & Mascherano.

* Best Goal
Maxi Rodriguez against Scotland

* Breakout Player Award
Gonzalo Higuain

And for 2009:
* Predict What the Biggest Storyline Will Be
Tevez transfer & MESSI. Messi will rule 2009.

* Who Will Be the Next Big Player from Argentina
?

* Which Player Will Have the Most Impact
MESSI

————

Rune

* Best Game
-Argentina-Brazil 3-0(in the olympics)

* Worst or Most Disappointing Game
-Chile-Argentina…One of the worst games EVER

* Best Individual Performance
-Messi, by far

* Best Goal
-Messi against Columbia

* Breakout Player Award
-Angel Di Maria

And for 2009:
* Predict What the Biggest Storyline Will Be
-Maradona resigns and Messi’s injuries

* Who Will Be the Next Big Player from Argentina
-Viatri

* Which Player Will Have the Most Impact
-Mascherano

————

toddutah

* Best Game
-Argentina-Brazil 3-0 Sweet

* Worst or Most Disappointing Game
-Chile-Argentina… On a positive note it got basile out.

* Best Individual Performance
-Messi, Messi, Messi

* Best Goal
-Di Maria in Final Nice chip and most important

* Breakout Player Award
-Angel Di Maria

And for 2009:
* Predict What the Biggest Storyline Will Be
-Messi as the clear leader of Argentina and Riquleme not starting

* Who Will Be the Next Big Player from Argentina
- Lavenzzi on the NT level will becoem very important

* Which Player Will Have the Most Impact
-Messi Messi Messi

2009 will be the year of Messi and Barcelona. By the end it will be clear that messi is the dominant player of his generation.

————

munshi

* Best Game
Argentina vs Brazil – way overdue, made my year

* Worst or Most Disappointing Game
Chile vs Argentina – broke my heart

* Best Individual Performance
Messi/Mascherano

* Best Goal
Di Maria in olympics final – what a relief

* Breakout Player Award
Di Maria.

And for 2009:

* Predict What the Biggest Storyline Will Be
Maradona Messi fallout

* Who Will Be the Next Big Player from Argentina
Facundo Sebastián Roncaglia and Pablo Mouche

* Which Player Will Have the Most Impact
Gago

————

aimar 10

* best game
3-0 vs braazil, i wanted that one so bad

* worst game
losing 2-0 to chile they beat us in every aspect of the game

* best individual performance
definately messi, though macherano is more consistant he has the help of gago or cambiasso in the midfield. messi is more individualistic.

* best goal angel
di-maria against nigeria it is the goal which one us the tournament in those extreme conditions.

* break out player
lavezzi

* biggest story line
messi officially becomes the focal point of our team and not riquelme any more

* the next big player from argentina
i have so say lavezzi this guy has so much potential, he is just a joy to watch, if he can only start winning some trophies.

* the player with the most impact
macherano, maradonna has said he is the player who secured a spot, which leads me to believe he will play just about every game, therefore he will have the most impact.

————

day1star

*Best game for me:
Without a doubt has to be the 3-0 Argentina v Brazil game.

*Worst game for me:
All the matches that we lost in were bad but the Chile game was probably the worst, coz there were no excuses for losing.

*Best Individual Performance:
Hard to pick out one particular player.

*Best Goal:
Another one that’s really hard to pick, there were a lot of good goals scored in the past year. But the most vital was Di Maria’s against Nigeria, which got us Olympic gold.

*Breakout player award:
I think Di Maria, although Lavezzi has also been good.

*Biggest storyline will be:
The rise and rise of Messi, with Aguero following in his footsteps.

*Next big player from Argentina:
There are too many players who may become the next big thing to mention.

*Player who will have the most impact:
I have to say it’s a toss up between Messi and Aguero, it could be either of them.

Let’s just hope the next year is a good one for all our players, and Diego gets a lot of selection headaches.

After Boca’s 3-1 win over San Lorenzo this past weekend eliminated el Ciclon from the 3-team playoff tournament, el xeneize only need a win, draw, or even a one-goal loss against Tigre to clinch their 23rd league title. Boca may appear on paper as the favorites, especially given Tigre’s 2-1 loss to San Lorenzo in their opening match. But they would be foolish to dismiss Tigre, who have been one of Argentina’s most exciting squads since their promotion to the top flight in 2007 under former Boca star Diego Cagna, and Boca will have to deal without Juan Román Riquelme and Fabián Vargas, both out today’s due to yellow card accumulation. Regardless, Tigre must win by at least a 2-goal margin to claim the title.

Who do you think will win? Share your thoughts, as well as any streaming links, below.

The biggest derby in all Argentina will resume once again today, when River Plate host Boca Juniors at the Monumental this afternoon. You can watch live at on Fox Sports Espanol at 2PM ET/11AM PT, or delayed on FSC at 4:30 PM ET/1:30 PM PT, though if you’ve ever heard the announcer who calls those games in English, you may want to steer clear.

Regardless that both teams appear to be out of contention for the local title, that will be put aside for 90 minutes, as one of the world’s most important derbies plays out in front of one of the most intense and wild atmospheres you are likely to see in football.

Even those of you who do not follow the Argentine league, you owe it to yourself to see at least one River-Boca match before you die. And for those of you following the recent coaching change in the national team, be sure to check out River’s Diego Simeone, whose name as been floating around as a possible candidate.

Here’s hoping for a great match, free of violence. One of the great memories of my life was seeing a Superclasico live and in person, and I hope that for all you watching, you experience at least a portion of what I saw that amazing afternoon two years ago.

Please check my River blog for a very, very biased recap once the game is over, and also visit Dave’s Boca blog.

Carlos Tevez already scored in Manchester United’s 1-2 loss to Liverpool, and Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid, all playing today. Tomorrow, Boca, current leaders in the Argentine Apertura, face a huge derby match tomorrow against an Independiente side who are desperate for a win.

Look for a recap of the Argentine Apertura early next week, and make sure to leave your thoughts on all the club football going on this weekend.

Batista is already looking ahead to the quarters, announcing today that he will rest Juan Román Riquelme and Sergio Agüero, and replace them with Diego Buonanotte and Angel Di María, respectively. Both Riquelme and Agüero are currently holding one yellow card each, and Batista will take no chances with the squad on pace to retain its gold medal.

Who Argentina will face in the next round is anyone’s guess, with the United States, Nigeria, and the Netherlands all still alive in Group B. Look for details soon on where you can watch the game this Wednesday.

Group A, Match 2
Argentina 1 – 0 Australia

Scoring Report:
ARG: Ezequiel Ivan Lavezzi (76)

Argentina Starting XI:
Oscar Ustari
Pablo Zabaleta, Federico Julian Fazio, Ezequiel Garay, Luciano Fabian Monzon
Fernando Gago, Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi, Juan Riquelme
Ezequiel Lavezzi, Sergio Aguero

Substitutions:
Angel di Maria for Aguero (61st)
Jose Sosa for Lavezzi (87th)
Lautaro Acosta for Messi (93rd)

Current Group A Standings and Points:
Argentina 6
Côte d’Ivoire 3
Serbia 1
Australia 1

Back home, the 2008 Apertura kicked off its season, with current champions River Plate looking somewhat shaky in their 1-1 draw with Colón. Rivals Boca Juniors had no such trouble, even with playmaker Riquelme unavailable, as they cruised to a 4-0 thrashing of Gimnasia (J). Racing Club, who were very nearly relegated last season, haven’t seemed to improved after a 2-0 defeat to Lanus, while Rosario Central and Estudiantes played the game of the weekend in a 3-2 match in favor of Central.

2008 Apertura Week 1 results:
San Martín (T) 2 – 0 Huracán
Gimnasia 0 – 1 Newell`s
Arsenal 3 – 0 Argentinos
Rosario Central 3 – 2 Estudiantes
Banfield 1 – 2 Godoy Cruz
Vélez 0 – 0 Independiente
Colón 1 – 1 River
Boca 4 – 0 Gimnasia (J)
Racing 0 – 2 Lanús
San Lorenzo 0 – 1 Tigre

Leave your comments below on who you think Argentina will face in quarters and your thoughts on this past week’s Primera fixtures below.

It’ll be a long summer from here till the next qualifier againt Paraguay on September 9th in Argentina. In the meantime, while we see what changes will come from the NT, we can see what will come of the end of the Clausura season, what Argie players will be shopped around during the off season, and of course the Beijing Olympics.

I look forward to all your input as always.

How likely is that? Well, both Colón and Olimpo are in or near the relegation zone, and River and Estudiantes, first and second in the table respectively, have certainly dropped points against “lesser” opposition this season. And with San Lorenzo just behind in third place, should both teams lose today, it would make for one hell of a final weekend.

The River – Olimpo match will be live on FSC and FSE at 3PM ET, with Estudiantes – Colón at the same time on TyC Sports.

In Santa Fe, things are not going well for River, down to 10 men against Colón, but fortunate to still be tied 0-0. Over in La Paternal, Estudiantes took an early lead off a Veron penalty, yet go into halftime even with Huracan, 1-1.

Meanwhile, San Lorenzo, who are in 3rd place behind the leaders on 31 points, will visit relegation-bound Olimpo, and Boca, in 4th and only 1 point behind San Lorenzo, will host Arsenal.

While I find Argentina’s second biggest clásico to usually be lacking in terms of football, there’s always a show in the terraces, and with the added pressure all on Racing, tomorrow’s fixture could be one to remember.

You can catch the game live this Saturday on TYC Sports USA at 1PM ET, or on various P2P sites. Here’s hoping for a good game, with

no violence

.