New Delhi: Diego Maradona, the coach of the Argentine national team, has announced his 18 European-based players to participate in Argentina's crucial World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay next month.
Finally after months of waiting, Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain received a call-up. Other surprise additions were that of Pablo Aimar of Benfica and Pablo Zabaleta of Manchester City.
As was expected Lionel Messi of Barcelona, Javier Mascherano of Liverpool and Carlos Tevez of Manchester City also received a call-up. Moments before the list was announced there was much speculation that Sergio Aguero would not be on it, however, finally he was confirmed in the squad.
Some of the players who missed out were Fernando Gago, Maximiliano Rodriguez, Lisandro Lopez and Javier Zanetti. To the surprise of many, Marseille defender Gabriel Heinze made the squad, even if it seemed that Maradona had lost patience with the player.
On Thursday Maradona announced his home-based squad that will face Ghana in a friendly match at the end of the month. Players on this list included veterans Ariel Ortega and Martin Palermo, of River Plate and Boca Juniors, respectively.
Argentina are in danger of missing out on the World Cup for the first time in 40 years, and will need to claim positive results against Peru and Uruguay to stand a chance of reaching South Africa, even if it means facing a two-legged playoff against the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF region.
Argentina's Foreign-based Players for World Cup Qualifiers
Goalkeepers: Diego Romero (AZ Alkmaar) and Mariano Andujar (Catania)
Defenders: Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Nicolas Pareja (Espanyol), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Emiliano Insua (Liverpool) and Gabriel Heinze (Marseille)
Midfielders: Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Pablo Aimar (Benfica) and Luis Gonzalez (Marseille)
Strikers: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid) and Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid)
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