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| Diego Maradona and Daniel Passarella |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Argentine-born players capped by other national teams
Argentina World Cup 1946
Angels with Dirty Faces with Di Stefano in the WC 1958
Argentina All-Time Team before 1978,
Argentina All-Time Team After Maradona.
Provincia de Córdoba, Argentina All-Time Team
Provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina All-Time Team
The City of Buenos Aires
Argentina All-Time Team without players from Santa Fe, Cordoba and Buenos Aires
This is my selection of all-time 23 member team for Provincia de Buenos Aires in Argentina. I did a separated blog team for the city of Buenos Aires. This team is based on birth places. The number 23 is chosen because this is the same number of players selected in a World Cup Finals.
The Province of Buenos Aires (Provincia de Buenos Aires)is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province and the province's capital until it was federalized in 1880. Since then, in spite of bearing the same name, the province does not include Buenos Aires proper, though it does include all other parts of the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The current capital of the province is the city of La Plata, founded in 1882.
The Province of Buenos Aires (Provincia de Buenos Aires) has numerous professional soccer teams. Club Atlético Independiente and Racing Club de Avellaneda are the most famous. Outside the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires, Estudiantes de La Plata, and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata stand out.
Note: I do not think that this team should be taken seriously. The City of Buenos Aires and the adjacent 24 partidos (districts) in the Province of Buenos Aires are considered to be one metropolitan area. It is hard to separate players within Greater Buenos Aires (Spanish: Gran Buenos Aires, GBA) from the city itself. I created separated teams for the city of Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires Province, largely because 18 of my Argentina All-Time team came from either the city of Buenos Aires or Buenos Aires Province. So it is not interesting to do a combined City/Province team.
Team
GK: Ubaldo Fillol (San Miguel del Monte)
Ubaldo Fillol was considered one of the greatest Latin American keeper. He was the 1978 WC winning goalkeeper for Argentina. He also went to the WC Finals in 1974 and 1982. In 1977, he became the first keeper to win the Player of the Year award in Argentina. For his club career, he started with Quilmes. He played mainly for River Plate. He also had spells with Racing Club, Flamengo, Atletico Madrid, etc.
GK: Sergio Goycochea (Zarate)
Goycochea was the substitute for Nery Pumpido both in River Plate and in the national team, and got his big break in the 1990 World Cup. When Pumpido broke his leg Argentina's second group game against the Soviet Union, he took over and helped Argentina to reach the Final. In total, he played 44 times for Argentina. For club football, he played mainly in Argentina, but also played in France, Brazil and Paraguay.
GK: Hugo Gatti (Carlos Tejedor Partido)
Hugo Gatto was nicknamed El Loco (The Madman). At the club level, he won three national championships, two Copa Libertadores tournaments, and one Intercontinental Cup with Boca Juniors. He would frequently leave the penalty area to function as an additional field player. He also played Atlante, River Plate, Union Santa Fe and Gimnasia. He was voted Player of the Year of Argentina in 1982. He earned 18 caps. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1966.
CB/RB: Jorge Olguín (Dolores )
Jorge Olguín started his career at San Lorenzo in 1971, where he won three trophies (1972 Metropolitano, 1972 Nacional and 1974 Nacional). In 1978, Olguín was included in Argentina's world cup squad playing as a rightback. He was sold to Independiente after the World Cup. In 1984 Olguín was sold to Argentinos Juniors, where he helped them win their first and only Copa Libertadores title.
RB: Enrique Wolff (Victoria)
Enrique Wolff began his career with Racing Club in 1967. He played for the club until he was transferred to River Plate in 1972. In 1974, Wolff was transferred to UD Las Palmas in Spain, and 3 years later he joined Spanish giants Real Madrid where he was part of the championship winning sides of 1977-1978 and 1978-1979. He also played for Argentinos Juniors and Tigre. He was capped 27 times. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1974.
CB: Daniel Passarella (Chacabuco)
Daniel Passarella was one of the best center-backs ever played the game. He captained Argentina when it won the World Cup in 1978. He also went to the WC Finals in 1982, but he was forced into have a non-playing role in 1986 after a row with Diego Maradona. He was also known for scoring over 140 goals in his career, very high for a defender. His career was associated with River Plate. He also played for Fiorentina and Inter Milan in Italy.
CB: Roberto Perfumo (Sarandí)
Nicknamed El Mariscal, Roberto Perfumo is considered as one of the best Argentine defenders ever. At club level, Perfumo played for Racing, River Plate and Brazilian team Cruzeiro. He was a legend with Racing Club in Argentina winning the Primera title, the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup. He was considered their greatest player. He had 37 caps for Argentina. He played in 1966 and 1974 World Cup Finals.
CB: José Ramos Delgado (Quilmes)
Born in Argentina of the Cape Verdean ancestry, he started his playing career in 1956 with Lanús. He moved to River Plate where he played 172 games in 7 seasons with the club. After a short spell with Banfield, he moved to Brazil's Santos, where he played alongside Pelé. He continued playing for Santos until the age of 38, making a total of 324 appearances and scoring one goal. Capped 25 times. He went to the 1958 and 1962 WC Finals.
CB: José Salomón (La Plate)
Salomón started his career in 1934 with Talleres before moving to Racing Club in 1939. Salomón had 44 caps for Argentina including 21 in the Copa América a national record he shares with Oscar Ruggeri. He was part of two Copa América winning teams but his career was ended in the 1946 edition of the competition by a Jair Rosa Pinto tackle, sparking a riot and pitch invasion and fueling the Argentina and Brazil football rivalry.
LB: Alberto Tarantini (Ezeiza)
Alberto Tarantini had 61 caps between 1974 and 1982 for Argentina. He was the starting leftback for Argentina in 1978 and 1982, where Argentina won their first WC in 1978. For his club career, he played for River Plate, Boca Juniors and Talleres de Córdoba, River Plate, and European teams SC Bastia, Toulouse and FC St. Gallen. He was infamously known for his career in England with Birmingham City where he only lasted 28 matches.
LB: Jorge Carrascosa (Valentín Alsina)
El Lobo (The Wolf) started his career in 1967 with Banfield. He was signed by Rosario Central, where he was part of the squad that won the Nacional 1971. n 1973, he joined Huracán where he won a second Argentine championship in his first season, the Metropolitano was the clubs first championship since the professionalisation of Argentine football in 1931. He was a member of the 1974 World Cup squad.
CM/DM: Antonio Rattin (Tigre)
Antonio Rattin played his entire career with Boca Juniors. He was remembered for getting send-off against England at the World Cup Finals in 1966, in which he refused to leave the field. This incident, and others surrounding the same game, arguably started the long-lasting rivalry between the national teams of Argentina and England. He earned 34 caps and also went to the World Cup Finals in 1962.
CM: Fernando Redondo (Ardrogue)
Fernando Redondo played his first game in the Primera División at only 16 for Argentinos Juniors, and remained five years with the team before moving abroad to CD Tenerife in Spain. He joined Real Madrid in 1994, where he would become one of the best central midfielders in Real Madrid's history. He won two Champions' League with them. For the national team, he only picked up 29 caps because he had issues with various managers.
CM: Antonio Sastre (Lomas de Zamora)
Antonio Sastre played most of his career for Club Atlético Independiente and São Paulo of Brazil. He formed a forward line with Vicente de la Mata and Arsenio Erico with Independiente. He is one of the 24 players inducted into the Argentine Football Association Hall of Fame. He was an all-round midfielder who could play well almost anywhere on the pitch due to his intelligence and versatility. From 1933 to 1941, he was capped 34 times, winning the Copa América in 1937 and 1941.
LW: Félix Loustau (Avellaneda)
A member of River Plate's "La Máquina, one of the greatest team in the history of South American football. He won eight national titles during his time at the club. He usually played as an outside left and he is considered to be one of Argentina's greatest wingers. Because the peak of his career was during the 2nd World War, his international career was very limited. Nevertheless, he played 28 times for Argentina scoring ten goals. He won three straight Copa America in 1945, 1946, and 1947.
FW/LW: Raimundo Orsi (Avellaneda)
Orsi was considered one of the greatest forwards in Argentina's history. He started his career with Indpendiente in Argentina before lured away to play for Juventus. he won 5 league titles with Juventus. Later in his career, he would play in Brazil and Chile. He was capped by Argentina 12 times winning a silver medal at the 1928 Olympics. He switched to play for Italy in 1929. He was a star player as Italy won the WC in 1934.
AM: Ricardo Bochini (Zarate)
Ricardo Bochini was Diego Maradona's idol. He was a legend at Independiente. He joined the club during the middle of the club's 4 straight Copa Libertadores victory. In 1984, Bochini would lead them to another Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup. He never got his opportunity with the national team. In 1986, Maradona insisted the inclusion of then, 32 years old Ricardo Bochini. He only played 5 minutes against Belgium in the semi-final.
AM: Diego Maradona (Lanus)
Maradona was considered the second best player in history after Pele. He won the World Cup in 1986, scoring the best goal in the history of the World Cup when he scored against England. He also played in the WC Finals in 1982, 1990 and 1994. For club football, he was best remembered for leading Napoli to break the dominance of the Northern Italian clubs in the Serie A. Napoli won two league titles and a UEFA Cup. He was also considered to be Boca Juniors' greatest player.
SS/FW: Adolfo Pedernera (Avellaneda)
Pedernera was a member of "La Máquina". He is still considered by many to be one of the greatest Argentine players of all-time. He was elected the 12th best South american footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2000. He moved to Atlanta in 1947 and Millonarios in Colombia. Because of the Second World War, he did not play many games for Argentina. He still won the Copa America 1941 and 1945.
SS/FW: Omar Sivori (San Nicolas)
After Argentina won the Copa America in 1957, Omar Sivori joined Juventus where he enjoyed 8 successful years. He was credited with the resurgence of the club. With John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti, he formed "the Magical Trio" with the club. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1961. He also played for River Plate in Argentina and Napoli in Italy. He won the Ballon D'Or in 1961. He played for both Italy and Argentina.
FW: Humberto Maschio (Avellaneda)
With Omar Sivori and Antonio Angelillo, Maschio earned the nickname "Angels with Dirty faces" collectively as a group. In 1957, he moved to Italy to play for Bologna after Argentina won the 1957 Copa America. However, it was in Atalanta where he became a star and earned a bigger move to Inter Milan. For Argentina, he scored 12 goals in 12 games. Later he played twice for Italy.
ST: Hernán Crespo (Florida Este)
Hernán Crespo started with River Plate. He went on to play for many big clubs in both Italy and England. He won three Serie A scudetti, a Copa Libertadores and a Premier League title. At international level, Crespo's career was limited by playing at the same time with Gabriel Batistuta, but he still managed to score 35 goals and is Argentina's third highest goalscorer. He played in three FIFA World Cups: 1998, 2002, 2006.
Honorable Mention
Claudio Canigga (Henderson), José Luis Brown (Ranchos), Juan Sebastián Verón (La Plate), Carlos Tevez (Ciudadela), Juan Román Riquelme (San Fernando), Manuel Ferreira (Trenque Lauquen) Norberto Alonso (Vicente López), Daniel Bertoni (Bahía Blanca), Juan José López (Guernica), Julio Olarticoechea (Saladillo), Herminio Masantonio (Ensenada, Buenos Aires), Miguel Ángel Santoro (Sarandi, Bueno Aires), Manuel Seoane (Avellaneda), Ernesto Lazzatti (Bahía Blanca), Matías Almeyda (Azul), Diego Milito (Bernal), Gabriel Milito(Bernal), Fernando Gago (Ciudadela).
Squad Explanation
-- As mentioned above, the city of Buenos Aires and parts of the Province of Buenos Aires are considered to be one metropolitan area. Moreover, I seriously doubt the accuracy of the birthplace of the players in question. They might be born in the city, but spent their entire life in one of the 24 partidos of the Greater Buenos Aires. So please do NOT take this blog team seriously.
-- For example, Alfredo Di Stefano was born in Barracas, Buenos Aires. It is next to Avellaneda which is a part of the Provincia. Avellaneda used to be known as Barracas al Sur (Southern Barrascas). La Boca, home of Boca Juniors and birthplace of José Manuel Moreno, is also across the river from Avellaneda. They are not on this team.
-- Javier Zanetti was listed as born in Buenos Aires, but he grew up in Dock Sud, outside the city. Anyway, I could never dig into the early life of every single Argentine players. So I stayed with the simple birthplace as the main criteria. He is not on this team.
-- Diego Maradona, Omar Sivori, Roberto Perfumo, Daniel Passarella, Adolfo Pedernera, Félix Loustau, Alberto Tarantini, Fernando Redondo and Ubaldo Fillol are members of my Argentina All-Time team.
-- Only two players Félix Loustau and Adolfo Pedernera were members of "La Máquina". By contrary, the City of Buenos Aires All-Time Team featured 4 players from River Plate's "La Maquina".
-- Hugo Gatti was Boca Juniors' club hero, but his international career was limited as compared to Antonio Roma. Sergio Goycochea had a great World Cup run in the 1990 World Cup Finals, but he was not as highly rated as Roma.
-- José Luis Brown (Ranchos) replaced Daniel Passarella as the starter on the 1986 World Cup team after Passarella left the team. He scored one of the goals in the Final against West Germany. he only made honorable mention.
-- Rightback Enrique Wolff was largely forgotten because he played in the 1974 World Cup Finals, where Argentina did not do well. His stint with Real Madrid was also short. The other rightback selected is Jorge Olguín.
-- Leftback Julio Olarticoechea (Saladillo, Buenos Aires) saved an opened goal against England in the famous quarter final between Argentina and England in the 1986 World Cup Finals. The goal would have made it 2-2, and a comeback by England was possible. His name was immortalised in Argentina for that play.
-- Fernando Redondo is underrated. Manager Daniel Passarella did not to call him up for the 1998 World Cup Finals because Redondo refused to cut his hair. He explained: "I was in great form. But he had particular ideas about discipline and wanted me to have my hair cut. I didn't see what that had to do with playing football so I said no again." Redondo only played 29 times for Argentina and most of his caps came between 1992 and 1994.
-- Antonio Sastre can also drop back to the midfield. So I do not need Juan Sebestian Veron.
-- I wrote a blog about Ricardo Bochini. He was Diego Maradona's idol. He was not given much chance with Argentina during his prime, but he was included on the 1986 World Cup team. I took him over Norberto Alonso, who got his spot on the 1978 World Cup team. I was very undecided between Ricardo Bochini and Juan Román Riquelme. In the end, I took Bochini because of his relationship with Diego Maradona. Maradona insisted Bochini to be on the 1986 team.
-- Ricardo Bochini and Daniel Bertoni formed a famous partnership with Independiente. Together, they won three straight Copa Libertadores: 1973, 1974, 1975. Daniel Bertoni (Bahía Blanca) made honorable mention because I already have Omar Oreste Corbatta on the right wing.
-- I thought that Carlos Tevez and Hernan Crespo were about the same, but Crespo scored 35 goals for Argentina while Tevez only got 13. I also selected Crespo over Deigo Milito, Herminio Masantonio (Ensenada, Buenos Aires) and Manuel Seoane (Avellaneda)
-- Humberto Mashio had a 100% scoring rate with Argentina. He scored 12 goals in 12 appearances. He was top scorer at the 1957 Copa America. He is also a member of "Angels with Dirty faces" along with Omar Sivori.
-- Claudio Canigga (Henderson) was well-known because of playing in the World Cup Finals and his long blond hair. He made honorable mention here.
Formation
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Angels with Dirty Faces with Di Stefano in the WC 1958
Argentina All-Time Team before 1978,
Argentina All-Time Team After Maradona.
Provincia de Córdoba, Argentina All-Time Team
Provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina All-Time Team
The City of Buenos Aires
Argentina All-Time Team without players from Santa Fe, Cordoba and Buenos Aires
This is my selection of all-time 23 member team for Provincia de Buenos Aires in Argentina. I did a separated blog team for the city of Buenos Aires. This team is based on birth places. The number 23 is chosen because this is the same number of players selected in a World Cup Finals.
The Province of Buenos Aires (Provincia de Buenos Aires)is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province and the province's capital until it was federalized in 1880. Since then, in spite of bearing the same name, the province does not include Buenos Aires proper, though it does include all other parts of the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The current capital of the province is the city of La Plata, founded in 1882.
The Province of Buenos Aires (Provincia de Buenos Aires) has numerous professional soccer teams. Club Atlético Independiente and Racing Club de Avellaneda are the most famous. Outside the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires, Estudiantes de La Plata, and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata stand out.
Note: I do not think that this team should be taken seriously. The City of Buenos Aires and the adjacent 24 partidos (districts) in the Province of Buenos Aires are considered to be one metropolitan area. It is hard to separate players within Greater Buenos Aires (Spanish: Gran Buenos Aires, GBA) from the city itself. I created separated teams for the city of Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires Province, largely because 18 of my Argentina All-Time team came from either the city of Buenos Aires or Buenos Aires Province. So it is not interesting to do a combined City/Province team.
Team
GK: Ubaldo Fillol (San Miguel del Monte)
Ubaldo Fillol was considered one of the greatest Latin American keeper. He was the 1978 WC winning goalkeeper for Argentina. He also went to the WC Finals in 1974 and 1982. In 1977, he became the first keeper to win the Player of the Year award in Argentina. For his club career, he started with Quilmes. He played mainly for River Plate. He also had spells with Racing Club, Flamengo, Atletico Madrid, etc.
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| Ubaldo Fillol and Daniel Passarella |
Goycochea was the substitute for Nery Pumpido both in River Plate and in the national team, and got his big break in the 1990 World Cup. When Pumpido broke his leg Argentina's second group game against the Soviet Union, he took over and helped Argentina to reach the Final. In total, he played 44 times for Argentina. For club football, he played mainly in Argentina, but also played in France, Brazil and Paraguay.
GK: Hugo Gatti (Carlos Tejedor Partido)
Hugo Gatto was nicknamed El Loco (The Madman). At the club level, he won three national championships, two Copa Libertadores tournaments, and one Intercontinental Cup with Boca Juniors. He would frequently leave the penalty area to function as an additional field player. He also played Atlante, River Plate, Union Santa Fe and Gimnasia. He was voted Player of the Year of Argentina in 1982. He earned 18 caps. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1966.
CB/RB: Jorge Olguín (Dolores )
Jorge Olguín started his career at San Lorenzo in 1971, where he won three trophies (1972 Metropolitano, 1972 Nacional and 1974 Nacional). In 1978, Olguín was included in Argentina's world cup squad playing as a rightback. He was sold to Independiente after the World Cup. In 1984 Olguín was sold to Argentinos Juniors, where he helped them win their first and only Copa Libertadores title.
RB: Enrique Wolff (Victoria)
Enrique Wolff began his career with Racing Club in 1967. He played for the club until he was transferred to River Plate in 1972. In 1974, Wolff was transferred to UD Las Palmas in Spain, and 3 years later he joined Spanish giants Real Madrid where he was part of the championship winning sides of 1977-1978 and 1978-1979. He also played for Argentinos Juniors and Tigre. He was capped 27 times. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1974.
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| Enrique Wolff |
Daniel Passarella was one of the best center-backs ever played the game. He captained Argentina when it won the World Cup in 1978. He also went to the WC Finals in 1982, but he was forced into have a non-playing role in 1986 after a row with Diego Maradona. He was also known for scoring over 140 goals in his career, very high for a defender. His career was associated with River Plate. He also played for Fiorentina and Inter Milan in Italy.
CB: Roberto Perfumo (Sarandí)
Nicknamed El Mariscal, Roberto Perfumo is considered as one of the best Argentine defenders ever. At club level, Perfumo played for Racing, River Plate and Brazilian team Cruzeiro. He was a legend with Racing Club in Argentina winning the Primera title, the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup. He was considered their greatest player. He had 37 caps for Argentina. He played in 1966 and 1974 World Cup Finals.
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| Roberto Perfumo and Antonio Rattín |
Born in Argentina of the Cape Verdean ancestry, he started his playing career in 1956 with Lanús. He moved to River Plate where he played 172 games in 7 seasons with the club. After a short spell with Banfield, he moved to Brazil's Santos, where he played alongside Pelé. He continued playing for Santos until the age of 38, making a total of 324 appearances and scoring one goal. Capped 25 times. He went to the 1958 and 1962 WC Finals.
CB: José Salomón (La Plate)
Salomón started his career in 1934 with Talleres before moving to Racing Club in 1939. Salomón had 44 caps for Argentina including 21 in the Copa América a national record he shares with Oscar Ruggeri. He was part of two Copa América winning teams but his career was ended in the 1946 edition of the competition by a Jair Rosa Pinto tackle, sparking a riot and pitch invasion and fueling the Argentina and Brazil football rivalry.
LB: Alberto Tarantini (Ezeiza)
Alberto Tarantini had 61 caps between 1974 and 1982 for Argentina. He was the starting leftback for Argentina in 1978 and 1982, where Argentina won their first WC in 1978. For his club career, he played for River Plate, Boca Juniors and Talleres de Córdoba, River Plate, and European teams SC Bastia, Toulouse and FC St. Gallen. He was infamously known for his career in England with Birmingham City where he only lasted 28 matches.
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| Alberto Tarantini |
El Lobo (The Wolf) started his career in 1967 with Banfield. He was signed by Rosario Central, where he was part of the squad that won the Nacional 1971. n 1973, he joined Huracán where he won a second Argentine championship in his first season, the Metropolitano was the clubs first championship since the professionalisation of Argentine football in 1931. He was a member of the 1974 World Cup squad.
CM/DM: Antonio Rattin (Tigre)
Antonio Rattin played his entire career with Boca Juniors. He was remembered for getting send-off against England at the World Cup Finals in 1966, in which he refused to leave the field. This incident, and others surrounding the same game, arguably started the long-lasting rivalry between the national teams of Argentina and England. He earned 34 caps and also went to the World Cup Finals in 1962.
CM: Fernando Redondo (Ardrogue)
Fernando Redondo played his first game in the Primera División at only 16 for Argentinos Juniors, and remained five years with the team before moving abroad to CD Tenerife in Spain. He joined Real Madrid in 1994, where he would become one of the best central midfielders in Real Madrid's history. He won two Champions' League with them. For the national team, he only picked up 29 caps because he had issues with various managers.
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| Fernando Redondo |
Antonio Sastre played most of his career for Club Atlético Independiente and São Paulo of Brazil. He formed a forward line with Vicente de la Mata and Arsenio Erico with Independiente. He is one of the 24 players inducted into the Argentine Football Association Hall of Fame. He was an all-round midfielder who could play well almost anywhere on the pitch due to his intelligence and versatility. From 1933 to 1941, he was capped 34 times, winning the Copa América in 1937 and 1941.
RW: Omar Oreste Corbatta (Daireaus)
Corbatta is one of Argentina's greatest right wingers. He played mainly for Racing Club and Boca Juniors, winning four major titles and scoring 86 official goals with both teams combined. He lost the Copa Libertadores to Pele's Santos in 1963. Capped over 40 times. He was part of the Copa América-winning team in 1957 and 1959. Corbatta also played in the 1958 World Cup, contributing with three goals in three games in an eventual group stage exit. |
| Omar Oreste Corbatta |
A member of River Plate's "La Máquina, one of the greatest team in the history of South American football. He won eight national titles during his time at the club. He usually played as an outside left and he is considered to be one of Argentina's greatest wingers. Because the peak of his career was during the 2nd World War, his international career was very limited. Nevertheless, he played 28 times for Argentina scoring ten goals. He won three straight Copa America in 1945, 1946, and 1947.
FW/LW: Raimundo Orsi (Avellaneda)
Orsi was considered one of the greatest forwards in Argentina's history. He started his career with Indpendiente in Argentina before lured away to play for Juventus. he won 5 league titles with Juventus. Later in his career, he would play in Brazil and Chile. He was capped by Argentina 12 times winning a silver medal at the 1928 Olympics. He switched to play for Italy in 1929. He was a star player as Italy won the WC in 1934.
AM: Ricardo Bochini (Zarate)
Ricardo Bochini was Diego Maradona's idol. He was a legend at Independiente. He joined the club during the middle of the club's 4 straight Copa Libertadores victory. In 1984, Bochini would lead them to another Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup. He never got his opportunity with the national team. In 1986, Maradona insisted the inclusion of then, 32 years old Ricardo Bochini. He only played 5 minutes against Belgium in the semi-final.
AM: Diego Maradona (Lanus)
Maradona was considered the second best player in history after Pele. He won the World Cup in 1986, scoring the best goal in the history of the World Cup when he scored against England. He also played in the WC Finals in 1982, 1990 and 1994. For club football, he was best remembered for leading Napoli to break the dominance of the Northern Italian clubs in the Serie A. Napoli won two league titles and a UEFA Cup. He was also considered to be Boca Juniors' greatest player.
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| Diego Maradona |
Pedernera was a member of "La Máquina". He is still considered by many to be one of the greatest Argentine players of all-time. He was elected the 12th best South american footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2000. He moved to Atlanta in 1947 and Millonarios in Colombia. Because of the Second World War, he did not play many games for Argentina. He still won the Copa America 1941 and 1945.
SS/FW: Omar Sivori (San Nicolas)
After Argentina won the Copa America in 1957, Omar Sivori joined Juventus where he enjoyed 8 successful years. He was credited with the resurgence of the club. With John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti, he formed "the Magical Trio" with the club. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1961. He also played for River Plate in Argentina and Napoli in Italy. He won the Ballon D'Or in 1961. He played for both Italy and Argentina.
 |
| Omar Sivori (R) |
With Omar Sivori and Antonio Angelillo, Maschio earned the nickname "Angels with Dirty faces" collectively as a group. In 1957, he moved to Italy to play for Bologna after Argentina won the 1957 Copa America. However, it was in Atalanta where he became a star and earned a bigger move to Inter Milan. For Argentina, he scored 12 goals in 12 games. Later he played twice for Italy.
ST: Hernán Crespo (Florida Este)
Hernán Crespo started with River Plate. He went on to play for many big clubs in both Italy and England. He won three Serie A scudetti, a Copa Libertadores and a Premier League title. At international level, Crespo's career was limited by playing at the same time with Gabriel Batistuta, but he still managed to score 35 goals and is Argentina's third highest goalscorer. He played in three FIFA World Cups: 1998, 2002, 2006.
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| Hernán Crespo |
Honorable Mention
Claudio Canigga (Henderson), José Luis Brown (Ranchos), Juan Sebastián Verón (La Plate), Carlos Tevez (Ciudadela), Juan Román Riquelme (San Fernando), Manuel Ferreira (Trenque Lauquen) Norberto Alonso (Vicente López), Daniel Bertoni (Bahía Blanca), Juan José López (Guernica), Julio Olarticoechea (Saladillo), Herminio Masantonio (Ensenada, Buenos Aires), Miguel Ángel Santoro (Sarandi, Bueno Aires), Manuel Seoane (Avellaneda), Ernesto Lazzatti (Bahía Blanca), Matías Almeyda (Azul), Diego Milito (Bernal), Gabriel Milito(Bernal), Fernando Gago (Ciudadela).
Squad Explanation
-- As mentioned above, the city of Buenos Aires and parts of the Province of Buenos Aires are considered to be one metropolitan area. Moreover, I seriously doubt the accuracy of the birthplace of the players in question. They might be born in the city, but spent their entire life in one of the 24 partidos of the Greater Buenos Aires. So please do NOT take this blog team seriously.
-- For example, Alfredo Di Stefano was born in Barracas, Buenos Aires. It is next to Avellaneda which is a part of the Provincia. Avellaneda used to be known as Barracas al Sur (Southern Barrascas). La Boca, home of Boca Juniors and birthplace of José Manuel Moreno, is also across the river from Avellaneda. They are not on this team.
-- Javier Zanetti was listed as born in Buenos Aires, but he grew up in Dock Sud, outside the city. Anyway, I could never dig into the early life of every single Argentine players. So I stayed with the simple birthplace as the main criteria. He is not on this team.
-- Diego Maradona, Omar Sivori, Roberto Perfumo, Daniel Passarella, Adolfo Pedernera, Félix Loustau, Alberto Tarantini, Fernando Redondo and Ubaldo Fillol are members of my Argentina All-Time team.
-- Only two players Félix Loustau and Adolfo Pedernera were members of "La Máquina". By contrary, the City of Buenos Aires All-Time Team featured 4 players from River Plate's "La Maquina".
-- Hugo Gatti was Boca Juniors' club hero, but his international career was limited as compared to Antonio Roma. Sergio Goycochea had a great World Cup run in the 1990 World Cup Finals, but he was not as highly rated as Roma.
-- José Luis Brown (Ranchos) replaced Daniel Passarella as the starter on the 1986 World Cup team after Passarella left the team. He scored one of the goals in the Final against West Germany. he only made honorable mention.
-- Rightback Enrique Wolff was largely forgotten because he played in the 1974 World Cup Finals, where Argentina did not do well. His stint with Real Madrid was also short. The other rightback selected is Jorge Olguín.
-- Leftback Julio Olarticoechea (Saladillo, Buenos Aires) saved an opened goal against England in the famous quarter final between Argentina and England in the 1986 World Cup Finals. The goal would have made it 2-2, and a comeback by England was possible. His name was immortalised in Argentina for that play.
-- Fernando Redondo is underrated. Manager Daniel Passarella did not to call him up for the 1998 World Cup Finals because Redondo refused to cut his hair. He explained: "I was in great form. But he had particular ideas about discipline and wanted me to have my hair cut. I didn't see what that had to do with playing football so I said no again." Redondo only played 29 times for Argentina and most of his caps came between 1992 and 1994.
-- Antonio Sastre can also drop back to the midfield. So I do not need Juan Sebestian Veron.
-- I wrote a blog about Ricardo Bochini. He was Diego Maradona's idol. He was not given much chance with Argentina during his prime, but he was included on the 1986 World Cup team. I took him over Norberto Alonso, who got his spot on the 1978 World Cup team. I was very undecided between Ricardo Bochini and Juan Román Riquelme. In the end, I took Bochini because of his relationship with Diego Maradona. Maradona insisted Bochini to be on the 1986 team.
-- Ricardo Bochini and Daniel Bertoni formed a famous partnership with Independiente. Together, they won three straight Copa Libertadores: 1973, 1974, 1975. Daniel Bertoni (Bahía Blanca) made honorable mention because I already have Omar Oreste Corbatta on the right wing.
-- I thought that Carlos Tevez and Hernan Crespo were about the same, but Crespo scored 35 goals for Argentina while Tevez only got 13. I also selected Crespo over Deigo Milito, Herminio Masantonio (Ensenada, Buenos Aires) and Manuel Seoane (Avellaneda)
-- Humberto Mashio had a 100% scoring rate with Argentina. He scored 12 goals in 12 appearances. He was top scorer at the 1957 Copa America. He is also a member of "Angels with Dirty faces" along with Omar Sivori.
-- Claudio Canigga (Henderson) was well-known because of playing in the World Cup Finals and his long blond hair. He made honorable mention here.
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| Daniel Passarella |
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