Argentine Soccer Players: Transfers & Rumors 2009/2010 season

It seems like the summer transfer window is opening up for the 2009/2010 season. Below are some major confirmed transfer & rumors that are in the works for high profile Argentine players.

-------Confirmed-------

Eduardo Salvio (Striker - Lanus, Arg) >>> Fiorentina
Gabriel Heinze (Defender - Real Madrid, Spain) >>> Olympique de Marseille
Lucho Gonzalez (Midfielder - Porto, Portugal) >>> Olympique de Marseille
Sebastián Prediger (Midfielder - Colon, Arg) >>> FC Porto, Portugal
Daniel Montenegro (Midfielder - Independiente, Arg) >>> Club America, Mexico
Diego Valeri (Midfielder - Lanus, Arg) >>> FC Porto, Portugal
Rodigo Palacio (Forward - Boca Juniors) >>> Genoa, Italy
Carlos Tevez (Forward - Manchester United) >>> Manchester City
Lisandro Lopez (Forward - Porto, Portugal) >>> Lyon, France
Lucho Gonzalez (Midfielder - Porto) >>> Marseille, France
Emanuel Villa (Forward - Derby, UK) >>> Cruz Azul, Mexico
Diego Milito (Forward - Genoa, Italy) >>> Inter Milan
Lucio Filomeno(Forward - Asteras Tripolis, Greece) >>> PAOK
Franco Zuculini (Midfielder - Racing, Arg.) >>> Hoffenheim, Ger
Jose Shaffer (Defender-Racing, Arg.) >>> Benefica, Portugal
Javier Saviola (Forward - Real Madrid, Spain) >>> Benefica, Portugal
Mariano Andujar (Goalie - Estudiantes, Arg.) >>> Catania, Italy
Hernan Crespo (Forward - Inter Milan, Italy) >>> Genoa, Italy
Lucas Viatri (Forward - Boca Juniors, Arg.) >>> Siena, Italy
Fabián Vargas (Midfielder - Boca Juniors, Arg.) >>> Almeria, Spain
Leandro Gracián (Midfielder - Boca Juniors, Arg.) >>> Aris Salónica, Greece
Luciano Figueroa (Forward - Boca Juniors, Arg.) >>> Genoa, Italy


-------Close to Confirmation-------



-------Rumors-------

Matias De Federico (Foward - Huracan, Arg.) >>> Liverpool
Sergio Aguero (Foward - Atletico Madrid, Spain) >>> Manchester United -OR- Chelsea
Jonas Gutierrez (Midfielder - Newcastle) >>> Fulham
Maxi Rodriguez Midfielder - Atletico Madrid, Spain) >>> Tottenham, UK
Javier Mascherano (Midfielder - Liverpool, UK) >>> Barcelona, Spain
Julio Cruz (Forward - Inter Milan, Italy) >>> Napoli, Italy
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Forward - Napoli, Italy >>> Liverpool, UK
Juan Carrizo (Goalie - Lazio, Italy) >>> Real Zaragoza, Spain

Estudiantes Vs Defensor Sporting - The only Argentinian team left in the Copa Libertadores

Tomorrow, Estudiantes led by the legendary Juan Sebastian Veron, will fight it out in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores against the Uruguayian team, Defensor Sporting. Estudiantes, currently in sixth place of Argentina's first division managed to stay alive in this popular south American cup.

The team's most accomplished player, Juan Sebastian Veron has been on top of his game since his return to Argentina in 2006. This led Maradona to add him to the national team at the age of 34. In addition to Veron, they also have the national team's goalie, Mariano Andujar. This will probably be his last appearance for the team before he goes off to his new team, Catania in Italy's Serie A. There is also the defender, Marcos Angeleri who is also part of Maradona's top picks. As for their striking power, they have Mauro Boselli who is their top scorer this year with 8 goals / 1 assist.

Argentina Vs Ecuador - New team formation in the works

After their uneventful win against Colombia, Maradona is looking for new ideas and combinations for the High altitude game against Ecuador this Wednesday. The team might even be unrecognizable - There is also a very good possibility that Messi will not play due to a Yellow card that he received in a previous game which could jeopardize the next game against Brazil. Other key players, Mascherano (team captain) & Aguero will definitely not be present due to cards and injuries.

Based on the last major training session in Buenos Aires, it was basically the B-Team that was on the field playing the scrimmage game against the practice team (Tristan Suarez's Club youth team).

Possible Players Against Ecuador:
Juan Pablo Carrizo, Javier Zanetti,Juan Forlín Nicolás Burdisso, Nicolás Otamendi, Emiliano Papa, Maximiliano Rodríguez, Cristian Giménez, Sebastián Battaglia, Fernando Gago, daniel Montenegro, Lisandro López y Gonzalo Bergessio.

As for the high elevation, I don't think Maradona has done enough to prepare his team for the high altitude conditions of Quito, which is approx. 10,000 ft above sea level. In my opinion, he should have flown out on Sunday, enabling his team to have a full training session in altitude. This would've given his players a better feel for the environment and extra time to acclimatize.

The one advantage that Argentina has against Ecuador is history. Argentina has won most of their previous engagements. AFA put together some great stats of Argentina's playing history against Ecuador which is a must see for all stat hungry fans. Click Here for the AFA stats

Argentina squeaks by with a 1-0 victory over Colombia

Argentina got very lucky today when their defender, Cata Diaz scored a spectacular one-touch goal. The main stars of today's game were all defenders - The new goalie, Mariano Andujar had several brilliant saves which gave the fans a sense of great relief once the game started to go Colombia's way.

Argentina's midfield could not control the ball thus disorienting the team and it's offensive strategy. Hopefully, the defenders stepped up to save the day. Maradona will most likely take a hard look at the midfield to see how he can produce a more fluid style of play against Ecuador on Wednesday.


Today's Standout players:
Cata Diaz - Scored the only goal

Mariano Andujar - Saved every shot on goal

Carlos Tevez - Hustled the entire game.






ARGENTINA: Mariano Andujar, Daniel Diaz, Martin Demichelis, Gabriel Heinze, Fernando Gago (Javier Zanetti, 45), Javier Mascherano, Jonas Gutierrez, Juan Sebastian Veron, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, (Nicolas Burdisso, 84), Sergio Aguero (Diego Milito, 40).

COLOMBIA: David Ospina, Luis Amaranto Perea, Cristian Zapata, Mario Alberto Yepes, Pablo Armero (Carlos Daarwin Quinteros, 81), Camilo Zuniga, Fabian Vargas, Freddy Guarin, Vladimir Marin (Adrian Ramos, 65), Wason Renteria, Radamel Falcao (Hugo Rodallega, 72).

Toulon Tournament Under-21 (Argentina Vs Holland)

Argentina's under-21 team headed by the ex-1986 world cup team member Batista (Checho) is playing in the Toulon Tournament. The team is made up of Argentina's top under-21 prospects. The first game was played yesterday and they managed to pull off a 4-0 victory against Holland. Tomorrow they will test themselves against Egypt.

Historically speaking, the guys included in the sub 20/21 teams are the next hottest prospects where the next round of superstars get spotted.

The 4 goals came from:
Franco Jara
Diego Perotti
Ever Banega
Diego Buonanotte


See the Game Highlights




Official site of the Toulon Tournament

Team against Holland:
Agustín Marchesín
Leandro Marín
Germán Pezzela (31' Sub, Leandro González Pirez)
Hugo Nervo
Lucas Kruspky
Santiago Galucci
Ever Banega
Alejandro Gómez (26' Sub, Diego Cardozo)
Diego Buonanotte
Franco Jara (28' Sub, Mauro Díaz)
Diego Perotti

Substitutes:
Esteban Andrada
Esteban Espíndola
Lucas Trecarichi
Germán Pacheco
David Achucarro
Gerardo Bruma

Messi, Tevez, & Aguero will be most likely play against Colombia

It appears Maradona will play the wonder trio of Messi, Tevez & Aguero against Colombia this Saturday. For one, they were seen playing together in today's practice session at their Ezieza airport training center in Buenos Aires. Another clue is Messi stating to the media that he loves to play along side Aguero & Tevez.

On the defensive end, there is a major change in the net - Maradona chose Mariano Andújar from Argentina's local team Estudiantes to be the goalie. It will be his first start as the national goalie.


Played in Today's Practice Session
Mariano Andújar (Estudiantes, Arg )
Daniel Díaz (Getafe, Spain)
Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid, Spain)
Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, Spain)
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, UK)
Jonás Gutiérrez (Newcastle, UK)
Juan Sebastián Verón (Estudiantes, Arg)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain)
Carlos Tevez (Manchester United, UK)
Sergio Agüero (Atlético de Madrid, Spain)


Finally, I wanted to share with you an interesting interview of Javier Zanetti by FIFA.com - This interview provides insights on the curent state of the national team.

Go to the Fifa.com interview of Javier Zanetti

Argentina is packing a lot of Fire power going into the next round of qualifiers

One standout feature is the awesome firepower that Maradona is bringing with him. The strikers on this list have a combined 150 goals / 57 assists throughout the 2008/09 season.



*Total goals & assists from the 2008/09 season (includes league, cups, qualifiers, friendlies)

Maradona has selected the team that will face Colombia & Ecuador in the next round of world cup qualifiers (June 6 & 10).These next two games are extremely important since Argentina is only in 4th place. The team is a combination of 9 local and 17 international based players. The next two upcoming games are extremely important since Argentina is only in 4th place.



Players selected for the World Cup qualifiers against Colombia & Ecuador
Juan Pablo Carrizo (Lazio, Italia)
Mariano Andújar (Estudiantes LP)
Federico Vilar (Atlante, México)
Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich, Alemania)
Emiliano Papa (Vélez Sársfield)
Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid, España)
Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes LP)
Javier Zanetti (Internazionale, Italia)
Daniel Díaz (Getafe, España)
Nicolás Burdisso (Internazionale, Italia)
Nicolás Otamendi (Vélez Sársfield)
Juan Forlín (Boca Juniors)
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, Inglaterra)
Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, España)
Juan Sebastián Verón (Estudiantes LP)
Maximiliano Rodríguez (Atlético de Madrid, España)
Jonás Gutiérrez (Newcastle, Inglaterra)
Sebastián Battaglia (Boca Juniors)
Cristian Giménez (Pachuca, México)
Daniel Montenegro (Independiente)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, España)
Carlos Tevez (Manchester United, Inglaterra)
Sergio Agüero (Atlético de Madrid, España)
Lisandro López (Porto, Portugal)
Diego Milito (Genoa, Italia)
Gonzalo Bergessio (San Lorenzo)