There are many symbols emblematic of Argentina's recent economic crisis, a catharsis which totally overshadowed their previous World Cup campaign in the Far East: the cacerolazos or mass rallies, which in their later manifestations directed visceral violence at everything from banks to Coca-Cola billboards; the prodigious expansion of the villas miseries, the slums on the outskirts of major metropolises such as Buenos Aires; the enormous queues outside European embassies, as Argentinians -- especially those of Spanish or Italian ancestry -- struggled to get visas back to the continent from which their ancestors had sought to escape.
But perhaps the one that captured the essence of Argentina's plight more than any other was a humble subway ticket inaugurated by the Buenos Aires underground authority, Metrovias: for every two journeys, they would provide social security credits equivalent to one meal. It was the ultimate sign that Argentina, for so long one of the most self-consciously modern countries in the world, had become the globalized society par excellence.
 |  | |  No Receipt Necessary: Argentina forward Hernan Crespo, who has played for European teams Parma, Lazio, Internazionale, AC Milan and Chelsea, commanding total transfer fees of £68 million. | | | ©2006 SoccerEu | It was a process that had been underway for some time. From being one of the 10 wealthiest nations for a time corresponding roughly to the early modern period of industrialization (1880-1930) and possessing what was probably the only genuinely middle-class-dominated society in Latin America, successive social and political developments -- the military junta (1976-1983), economic mismanagement leading to 3,000 percent annual inflation in 1989 -- slowly eroded Argentina's regional and world standing.
However, the last 15 years have arguably proven the most damaging of all to Argentina's much-admired socio-economic cohesion. Under President Carlos Menem (1989-1999), the country embarked on a surprising new direction of neoliberal economic policies, including the so-called "convertibility law" which fixed the value of the Argentine currency, the peso, to the U.S. dollar at a ratio of one-to-one. While this did yield certain advantages, including price stability and low inflation, it served to destroy Argentina's economic infrastructure by making exports completely uncompetitive in world markets.
At the same time, Wall Street -- which in the wake of the Russian and East Asian crises of 1998, had few emerging markets left to vaunt to clients -- started hyping Argentina's economy in much the same way as it had done that of East Asian states such as Thailand. Hot money flooded into Argentina which was, on the performance of the country's economy, plainly unmerited, especially given a government debt that was 50 percent of total GDP in 2000.
The predictable result was meltdown. As foreign investors lost confidence in the economy, Argentina endured a three year recession which included a run on the banks in 2001; by October 2002, 27.5 percent of the population did not have enough money to eat properly, and 57.5 percent were below the poverty line. Agronomist Alberto Lapolla has acerbically proposed that Argentina, once the world's granary, is now a mere "soy republic", noting that between 1990 and 2003, 450,000 Argentines died of hunger; according to think-tank IDEP, 55 children, 35 adults and 15 elderly people die every day in Argentina due to hunger-related illnesses. Confronted with this, it is difficult to disagree with the Washington Post's Paul Blustein that economic globalization played a "cruel trick" on the Latin American nation.
So while many observers struggled to explain Argentina's shock first-round exit in the Korea/Japan World Cup in 2002, in light of the incredible pressures to perform placed on the players by their compatriots' desperate situation, their premature departure, sealed by a jaded performance against eternal rivals England, does not seem so inexplicable. Thankfully, Argentina will go into World Cup 2006 with a much-improved backdrop. Economic recovery has been pronounced and sustained, wealth inequality has started to narrow again, the country has paid off all its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) two years in advance, and political stability has been attained. Compared to 2002, the players will be psychologically free to concentrate on football.
| | The Group of Death: Group C | | | Holland, Ivory Coast and Serbia complete pool | | | |
Following the World Cup draw on 9 December 2005, Argentina coach Jose Pekerman probably stopped contemplating asking Heidi Klum to tango.
Holland are one of the most attractive teams in European football. They are also one of the best, having qualified with 32 points, the highest total of any UEFA team. Finalists in 1974 and 1978, they are busily blooding new talent under rookie coach Marco van Basten. Holding midfielder Hedwiges Maduro (Ajax Amsterdam), forward Robin van Persie (Arsenal), playmaker Rafael van der Vaart and outstanding stopper Khalid Boulahrouz (both Hamburg) complement established staff such as Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), Arjen Robben (Chelsea) and Philip Cocu (PSV Eindhoven).
Ivory Coast are perhaps the most physically formidable side at the finals. Their spine of Arsenal pair Habib Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue, Didier Zokora (Saint-Etienne) and Chelsea's bulky Didier Drogba are hugely capable, while the likes of scurrying full-back Arthur Boka (Strasbourg) and Auxerre's unpredictable winger Kanga Akale provide flair. They were recent finalists at the 2006 African Nations Cup, held in Egypt in February; Germany 2006 is their first World Cup finals.
Serbia and Montenegro are playing in their first major finals under their new name; if Montenegrin independence is granted soon, as seems likely, it could also be their last. They are probably the weakest team in the group, though they had an exemplary qualifying record, taking two points from their meetings with Spain and four a piece from their ties with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Belgium, topping UEFA Group 7. In the lamppost-like Nikola Zigic (Red Star Belgrade), Atletico Madrid's Mateja Kezman and the evergreen Bosnia-born Savo Milosevic (Osasuna), they have strikers of the highest potential, and also possess an exceptionally solid 'keeper in Ankaraspor's Dragoslav Jevric.
/ Asad Yawar | | | | |
And football is something that Argentina happen to do very well indeed; they are one of the strongest and most complete nations in the history of the game. Argentina contested the first World Cup final in 1930, losing 4-2 to neighbors Uruguay in Montevideo. Results remained mixed until they hosted the tournament in 1978, when Mario Kempes, fresh from top-scoring in La Liga with 28 strikes for Valencia, fired Argentina to their first world title. Kempes netted six goals, including two in the final against Holland at the Estadio Monumental, but the tournament was overshadowed by the arbitrary detention and torture of thousands of civilians by the Argentine military administration, a practice that continued even during the World Cup finals.
Diego Maradona, distraught at being omitted from the 1978 finals squad, made his World Cup bow at Espana '82, where his team crashed out in the second round following defeats to eventual champions Italy (2-1) and Zico's Brazil (3-1). However, four years later, he dominated the World Cup in a way that no player has managed to before or since, scoring five times from a position behind the central striker, Jorge Burruchaga. One of these goals was the most notorious in the pantheon of the tournament, an audacious and clearly illegal punched effort against England in the quarter-finals; two of the others were marvelous solo strikes, one against the English, the other against the hapless Belgians in the last four.
Since Maradona's peak, Argentina have stumbled at vital stages. While Maradona and Claudio Cannigia managed to guide a rather limited team to the final of Italia '90, Argentina departed USA '94 in the second round, falling to Romania after Maradona, enjoying an amazing renaissance, was booted out of the competition by FIFA for failing a drugs test. At the next edition in France, after topping a group containing Japan and Croatia and then beating England on penalties (2-2, 4-3) in the last 16 -- another epic encounter between the two nations -- Argentina fell to Holland after a different stocky number ten, Ariel Ortega, had got himself red-carded for headbutting Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Their 2002 exit in the so-called group of death -- Argentina were drawn with Nigeria, England and Sweden -- was their worst result since non-qualification in 1970.
But the playing philosophy of the 2006 selection is befitting of a country that has produced the archetypally modernist literature of Borges, the endlessly innovative music of Soda Stereo, the sensual eroticism of the tango and the Buenos Aires institution of the telos or "love hotel," frequented by amorous couples who cannot wait for night to express their passion: eclectic, improvisational, impulsive and irresistibly sexy. Whereas in past eras, the squad as a whole lacked creativity, Argentina now have five players with shades of Maradona about them: Juan Roman Riquelme of Villarreal, Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Carlos "Carlitos" Tevez (Corinthians), Pablo Aimar (Valencia), and the revelation of this season's Argentine league, Sergio "El Kun" Aguero (Independiente). All are brilliant and would deserve a berth in any current international squad.
However, in more advanced positions, Argentina do not appear to have much depth beyond the admittedly outstanding Hernan Crespo (Chelsea), who scored two wonderful goals in his AC Milan incarnation during last season's European Champions League final in Istanbul, Sevilla's diminutive Javier Saviola, and Julio Cruz of Internazionale. Similarly, while Argentina possess some world-class defensive talent in Javier Mascherano (Corinthians), Roberto Ayala (Valencia), Javier Zanetti and Walter Samuel (both Internazionale), it is perhaps indicative of their quality that none of Argentina's top three goalkeepers -- Roberto Abbondanzieri, German Lux and Oscar Ustari -- have managed to bag a contract at a top European team. In fact, the dearth of ability in the last line of defence is potentially a huge weakness.
And appositely for a country whose capital city has one of the highest rates of plastic surgery and psychotherapy in the world -- part of the trendy Palermo Viejo area of Buenos Aires has been renamed Villa Freud -- the contemporary Argentina team can exhibit a fatal degree of mental fragility. In the 2005 Confederations Cup final, they were wiped out by Brazil, 4-1, and in recent exhibition matches held in Switzerland against England and Croatia, Argentina somehow contrived to throw away 2-1 leads to lose 3-2.
Yet indubitably, Argentina can also more than compete with the very best. The team sealed their passage to Germany with a superlative 3-1 victory over Brazil in June 2005, and their performance in losing to England was so impressive that even many of the England players appeared astonished that they had actually won the game. They are already many people's second favorite team; if Argentina can win Germany 2006, then they have enough style and technical accomplishment to heal the wounds of their nation, as well as convince the world that they are worthy world champions.
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