Diego Maradona has named his first 20 man Euro-based provisional roster ahead of Argentina’s November 19th friendly at Hampden Park against George Burley’s Scotland.

With the previous agreement between Argentina and Barcelona President Joan Laporta that Leonel Messi would be left out of Friendlies due to his involvement with Argentina’s Gold Medal winning 2008 Beijing Olympics in effect, Maradona’s quartet of Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Lisandro Lopez and German Denis will look to carry the load up front.

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New Argentina head coach Diego Maradona has added two of his former 1986 World Cup winning teammates, Sergio Batista and Jose Luis Brown to his staff after the duo came back around after initially turning down his requests to become Assistant Coaches due to a lack of communication.

Batista, the Argentinian Olympic Head Coach who won Gold at the Beijing Olympics with his Assistant Brown will continue their roles in the youth set up while forming the Full coaching team with Maradona ahead of Argentina’s next match on November 19th against Scotland in Glasgow.

image via ZodiacGuille

With the Argentine Football Federation set to make an announcement on Thursday regarding the future of who will lead the Albicelestes, Diego Armando Maradona might very well get the biggest 48th birthday present he could ever imagine.

Reports coming out of Argentina are starting to trickle out that the former Boca and Argentina legend (who has 91 caps and 34 goals to his tally) has edged out Carlos Bianchi, Miguel Angel Russo and Sergio Batista to nab one of the most difficult jobs in the world after Alfio Basile turned in his resignation following Argentina’s loss against Chile.

Via Goal 

“I can’t open the present yet, we have to wait because we have to continue to talk,” the 1986 World Cup winner affirmed in declarations to radio La Red.

“I will choose the team, I will be the only one to do so. Of course I will be listening to Carlos (Bilardo) in everything, because you can’t avoid listening to a man who knows so much,” he added.

From the Wall Street Journal:

For years, the roughneck fans of the Huracán soccer club often put on more of a show than the players did. Boasting in a fight song that they “root with wine and drugs,” they battled police with rocks, fought rival fans with chains and vandalized everything from cars to bleachers.

But at a recent Huracán game, the tough guys were kept in check by a woman sporting a Chanel handbag. Fabiana Rubeo, a 5-foot-3-inch lawyer, is crusading to teach sportsmanship to the barras bravas, gangs of soccer hooligans who have fueled a culture of violence in Argentina’s national sport…

…But Ms. Rubeo’s hooligan rehab group, called New Horizon for the World, is sparking skepticism, and some ridicule, in this fútbol-mad country…

Seems like a whole lot of emotion and passion for a commercial, but you gotta love that. I might need to grab a sixer of Quilmes for the weekend after watching that.

If you have HBO OnDemand, “Maradona, The Hand of God” is on this month.  Marco Leonardi is very moving as Maradona, in a story about one of the greatest players ever, who came from desperate beginnings but possessed an outrageous talent, and who always struggled with the angels and bitter demons on his shoulder.  Lots of use of real footage.  It gets pretty dark.  Filmed in Buenos Aires and Napoli, with subtitles.  Recomended.

Don’t you just love how Messi’s casually swinging around his 2008 Olympic Gold Medal as he’s showing it off to the Spanish Press like it’s some old key ring.

Guess after all the drama that was surrounding Messi’s departure for the games, no one is going to hold it against him now that he’s got the Gold in his pocket.

We’re at halftime right now (1am Eastern) in Argentina v Nigeria 0-0.  Marcello Balboa is saying Nigeria is playing better, but I disagree and see Argentina building many more chances.  I don’t like the cynical play on Messi, and the overall defensive play of Nigeria.  Nigeria’s chances have looked weak.  It’s hot, it’s humid, Argentina is a little flat sure, and it’s sloppy.  But I see Argentina pulling this out 2-0. 

Image via The Telegraph

It will be Messi Vs Ronaldinho as Argentina tango’s with Brazil in the Semi-Final’s of the Men’s Olympic Soccer in Beijing at 9am Eastern Time.

With both players scoring twice in the earlier rounds of the competition, Brazil leads the tournament with a team high 11 goals scored while not conceding any, while Argentina has conceded just two.

Surprising side Belgium will take on the Super Eagles from Nigeria in the other Semi-Final from Shanghai after Belgium snuck by the Italians 3-2 (and playing a man down for most of the match) and Nigeria downed Ivory Coast 2-nil.

1996 was Nigeria, 2000 was Cameroon, 2004 was Argentina and 2008 will be….

image via GamesNet