Maradona selects a new national team made up of local players

As expected, Maradona and his advisers decided to select a "local" national team consisting of the most talented domestic players. This will enable Maradona to train once week and prepare for the upcoming world qualifiers against Ecuador & Colombia. This shift in strategy proves how serious Maradona and AFA officials are on qualifying for South Africa next summer. For now, the only objective for the "local" team is to qualify - I will publish statistics on this new team in the very near future.

The "Local" National Team

Cristian Campestrini (Arsenal)

Mariano Andújar (Estudiantes de La Plata)

Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes de La Plata)

Juan Verón (Estudiantes de La Plata)

Juan Forlín (Boca Juniors)

Ezequiel Muñoz (Boca Juniors)

Sebastian Battaglia (Boca Juniors)

Martín Palermo (Boca Juniors)

Nicolás Otamendi (Vélez Sarsfield)

Emiliano Papa (Vélez Sarsfield)

Maximiliano Moralez (Vélez Sarsfield)

Ignacio Canuto (Argentinos Juniors)

Matías Caruzzo (Argentinos Juniors)

Alexis Ferrero (Colón de Santa Fe)

Diego Pozo (Colón de Santa Fe)

Hernán Bernardello (Newell's Old Boys)

Mauro Formica (Newell's Old Boys)

Daniel Montenegro (Independiente)

Fabián Rinaudo (Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata)

José Sand (Lanús)

Sebastián Blanco (Lanús)

Eduardo Salvio (Lanús)

Gonzalo Bergessio (San Lorenzo de Almagro)

Franco Zuculini (Racing Club)

Matías De Federico (Huracán)

Milton Caraglio (Rosario Central)