BBC World Cup Site

Long gone are the glory days of Mario Kempes, Daniel Passarella and Argentina's ring-master Diego Maradona.
Enter Juan Sebastian Veron, Hernan Crespo, Gabriel Batistuta, Javier Zanetti… and the list goes on.

In fact, unlike Argentine teams of the past, that have contained two or three world-class players, the current national team reads like a Who's Who of the best players in football today.

Coach Marcelo Bielsa is considered to be lucky to have such a wealth of talent.

But, as the much-fancied Dutch found out in the qualifiers, even the best in the world cannot simply rely on individual ability alone.

Bielsa's men cruised through the South American formalities to finish top of the group and it's no surprise to me that they, along with France, are considered the most likely World Cup winners.

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Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa could miss the World Cup over a pay dispute.
Hector Dominguez, the treasurer of the Argentine Football Federation (AFA), has admitted that he could give no guarantee over Bielsa's involvement.

Bielsa, who is key to his country's chances, has called for the federation to resolve his contractual dispute as soon as possible.

"At the moment I cannot give you any guarantees because I can't speak for Marcelo," Domiguez told Del Plata radio.

"But we are going to fix this problem because we are good people and there are no personal problems between us," he added.

Bielsa wants his contract, which is worth $70,000 (£50,000) a month, to be honoured.

He signed the four-year deal in 1998 when the peso was equivalent to the dollar.

However, since the collapse of the Argentine economy, the federation has decided to pay the salary in pesos which would see Bielsa pick up only a third of the original deal.

Bielsa is also reported to be owed $490,000 (£340,000) in unpaid bonuses.

Argentina's economic crisis has left the country in financial turmoil and 22% of the workforce unemployed.

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