ARGENTINA

The Team
 
NAME
POSITION
AGE
CLUB
       
Carlos Roa
GK
24
Mallorca
Ignacio Gonzales
GK
26
Racing Club
Pablo Cavallero
GK
23
Velez Sarsfield
 
 
 
 
Roberto Ayala
D
24
Napoli
Nestor Sensini
D
31
Parma
Fernando Caceres
D
28
Valencia
Nelson Vivas
D
28
Boca Juniors
Jose Chamot
D
28
Lazio
Herman Diaz
D
32
River Plate
Pablo Paz
D
24
Tenerife
Javier Zanetti
D
24
Inter Milan
Juan Pablo Sorin
D
21
River Plate
 
 
 
 
Diego Simeone
M
27
Inter Milan
Matias Almeyda
M
23
Lazio
Leonardo Astrada
M
27
River Plate
Gustavo Zapata
M
30
San Lorenzo
Juan Sebastian Veron
M
22
Sampdoria
Marcelo Gallardo
M
21
River Plate
Sergio Berti
M
28
River Plate
Cristian Bassedas
M
24
Velez Sarsfield
Juan Jose Borrelli
M
27
River Plate
Rodolfo Cardoso
M
29
Hamburg SV
 
 
 
 
Ariel Ortega
F
23
Valencia
Gabriel Batistuta
F
28
Fiorentina
Herman Crespo
F
22
Parma
Claudio Lopez
F
23
Valencia
Abel Balbo
F
31
AS Roma
Julio Cruz
F
23
Feyenoord
Juan Eduardo Esnaider
F
24
Espanyol
Claudio Cannigia
F
30
Boca Juniors
 
 
The Coach
 
DANIEL PASSARELLA, captain of Argentina's 1978 World Cup winning side, took over following the 1994 World Cup and immediately banned long hair, ear-rings and homosexuals from the national team.  He had previously made his name in coaching with Buenos Aires club River Plate, leading them to two national championship titles and receiving several new talents on the way.  Passarella  has been criticised for fovouring playersfrom River, such as Ariel Ortega, Hernan Crespo and Marcelo Gallardo, at the expense of others, the main victim being Fiorentina's Gabriel Batistuta.  He also earned some criticism for his tough stand players' discipline.  But it seems to have worked well for Argentina, considered among the favourites for the finals.
 
 
How They Qualified
 
South American Zone
 
Argentina - Bolivia
3 - 1
Ecuador - Argentina
2 - 0
Peru - Argentina
0 - 0
Argentina - Paraguay
1 - 1
Venezuela - Argentina
2 - 5
Argentina - Chile
1 - 1
Uruguay - Argentina
0 - 0
Colombia - Argentina
0 - 1
Bolivia - Argentina
2 - 1
Argentina - Ecuador
2 - 1
Argentina - Peru
2 - 0
Paraguay - Argentina
1 - 2
Argentina - Chile
2 - 0
Chile - Argentina
1 - 2
Argentina - Uruguay
0 - 0
Argentina - Colombia
1 - 1
 
Final Table
 
 
P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
Argentina 
16
8
6
2
23
13
30
Paraguay
16
9
2
5
21
14
29
Colombia
16
8
4
4
23
15
28
Chile
16
7
4
5
32
18
25
Peru
16
7
4
5
19
20
25
Ecuador
16
6
3
7
22
21
21
Uruguay
16
6
3
7
18
21
21
Bolivia
16
4
5
7
18
21
17
Venezuela
16
0
3
13
8
41
3
 
 
 World Cup Record
 
1930
Runners-up
1934
1st Round
1958
1st Round
1962
1st Round
1966
Quarter-finals
1974
2nd Round
1978
Champions
1982
2nd Round
1986
Champions
1990
Runners-up
1994
2nd Round