If you thought Clive Palmer's Gold Coast United was a bit of a soap opera, it surely pales by comparison with Diego Maradonna's Argentina.

For better or worse, Argentina's football destiny has revolved around Maradonna ever since he captained them to World Cup victory in 1986. And now, with new Argentine football legend Lionel Messi waiting in the wings, the curtain may be about to fall on El Diego's fascinating, controversial career. Personally, like millions of other entranced viewers, I can't wait to see how it ends.

Back in 1986, when the "Hand Of God" set up a glorious final against West Germany, Diego's boys truly ruled the world. Sure, Beckenbauer's Germans wreaked vengeance in an ugly, ill-tempered final four years later, but Argentina was still considered the team to beat going into USA 1994.

And then, following two comfortable early wins, Maradonna, who had already been suspended for 15 months after testing positive for cocaine in 1991, tested positive again to ephedrine. "El Diez" was sent home, and the dream was over. Argentina crashed out with two losses in their next two games. It was as if the heart had been plucked out of not just the team, but an entire nation.

Despite lacklustre Quarter Final appearances in 1998 and 2006, Los Albiceleste have never been quite the same. But with Barcelona star and World Player Of The Year Lionel Messi set to seize the South Africa 2010 spotlight, that could all be about to change...

Interestingly, Argentina's 1994 World Cup Group D also featured Nigeria, Greece and Bulgaria, making it almost identical to 2010's Group B - the only change is South Korea replacing Bulgaria. You couldn't script a better comeback for El Maestro.

So how did the other teams in the group go back then? Well, Greece conceded 10 goals without reply to go home without a point. Nigeria and Bulgaria tied with Argentina on six points, with Hugo Stoikov's team hammering the shattered Argies 2-0 in the third game. The Argentines scraped through in third place on goal difference, only to be eliminated by Romania in the next round.

Nigeria's exciting squad scored six goals in their first three games, and were leading Italy with only a minute to go (sound familiar?) before Roberto Baggio sent the game into extra time. The Italians went on to lose the final to Brazil on penalties, with Baggio's tragic miss the talking point of the tournament.

Fast forward sixteen years, and the road to South Africa 2010 has been another story. Nigeria's quality is now being eclipsed by other African teams. They only just scraped past Tunisia to qualify. Portsmouth's Nwankwo Kanu, who got his first national cap in 1994 and maybe nearly signed for Gold Coast, is now their senior player at 33 years of age. New Swedish coach Lars Lagerback will be hoping partisan African crowds can provide a big lift.

South Korean coach Huh Jung-Moo, who took over from Guus Hiddink and then Dick Advocaat (sound familiar?), still has something to prove on the world stage. His hard-working team is personified by Manchester United's rising star Park Ji-Sung, while Monaco's Park Chu-Young is their lead striker. So can Korea's relentless drive up the FIFA rankings deliver another World Cup Semi Final appearance? Perhaps not, but they will certainly make every game difficult for their opponents.

Like Korea, Greece now carry a burden of expectation into every tournament. The Euro 2004 champions had to overcome Switzerland and Ukraine to make these finals, and like the Koreans and Nigerians they will realistically be targeting second place in the group. From there, as this experienced squad knows, anything can happen. In coach Otto Rehhagel's words: "You need to have the Gods on your side."

Mind you, just having the football Gods in your team is not nearly enough, as Argentina showed during qualification. After a string of embarrassing losses including a 6-1 defeat in Bolivia, they had to beat Uruguay in their final qualifying game (sound familiar?) to avoid a play-off against Costa Rica. There are still huge question marks over Diego Maradonna's coaching ability, and deservedly so.

The key for Argentina will be getting their star-studded squad to gel properly out on the pitch. If they can do that, then this will be Lionel Messi's World Cup. Assuming Australia don't go all the way, I am optimistically tipping Argentina v Germany and Italy v. Spain for the semis, with Argentina defeating Spain in the final.

If Argentina are eliminated early, it will be all Maradonna's fault, his career will be over, and the critics will never forgive him. But if they win, it will surely be all thanks to Lionel Messi.

Even so, I'm sure Deigo will be more than happy to claim his share of the credit. And maybe - just maybe, after sixteen years - he will deserve it.


Gentlemen, he said,
I don't need your organization, I've shined your shoes,
I've moved your mountains and marked your cards
But Eden is burning, either brace yourself for elimination
Or else your hearts must have the courage
For the changing of the guards.

- Bob Dylan, Changing Of The Guards.

| TAGS: groupb |