2010 FIFA World Cup: The Argentine Delegation Open Their Doors to the Press

2010 FIFA World Cup: The Argentine Delegation Open Their Doors to the Press

On a day when other World Cup candidates are "tuning up" with competitive friendlies, the big news in the Argentine camp is that, at the University of Pretoria's HPC, the doors have finally opened for the media. Reporters were able to watch the last 15 minutes of practice today, and then mingle with the Argentine players. There has been quite a fuss regarding "la selección's" non-compliance with the press over the last few days. Although most of the complaints were aimed at Maradona, some have hinted at the possibility that it might have been the players themselves who asked to be locked up. The Argentine media is not the kindest, after all. Today the players did their best to ease minds; they appeared quite content and in good spirits, with no signs of tension. Messi, in particular, seemed radiant and smiled broadly as he answered questions. He said he was happy that the group was finally together and that he felt much more comfortable now. In other news, Diego Milito had to leave practice early due to a sprained ankle. It doesn't appear to be anything too serious, but he'll be joining Ariel Garcé at the infirmary for now. Although Diego has given no indications as to his starting 11, from the practices we can infer that he is still searching for new alternatives. He seems quite intent on playing Téves a bit further back and toward the right, almost like a winger. When asked about this, Carlitos responded that although he is used to playing closer to goal, he's happy in that position too

Another variant Diego has shown interest in is a partnership between Messi and Pastore. Although Pastore usually plays for the subs in the practices, Maradona seems to be frequently switching Messi over to that second team in order to watch them play together. In conversation with "Un Buen Momento" (daily radio show), Pastore mentioned today that he's willing to play on the right side of the midfield, if that's where there's room for him. Although we all know that Pastore is more comfortable playing down the middle, it seems Diego might be considering him as an option toward the right side of midfield. Also, in confirmation of what now seems a given, Jonás Gutierrez mentioned that he doesn't mind playing as right-back if that's where he can be most useful. So, if any conclusion can be drawn from all this, it is that Diego seems to be searching for more attack-oriented alternatives to be used in the first-round matches. But with one week to go, there is still far too much to be said, and even more to be decided.