THC Science

Olympic medal record
Men's football

Argentina
	Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Albicelestes (White and Sky blue)
Association	Asociación del Fútbol Argentino; (Argentine Football Association)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Alfio Basile
Captain	Javier Zanetti
Most caps	Javier Zanetti (118)
Top scorer	Gabriel Batistuta (56)
Home stadium	El Monumental
FIFA code	ARG
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	1
Highest	1 (March 2007)
Lowest	24 (August 1996)
First international
	Uruguay 2 - 3 Argentina ; (Montevideo, Uruguay; 16 May 1901)
Biggest win
	Argentina 12 - 0 Ecuador ; (Montevideo, Uruguay; 22 January 1942)
Biggest defeat
	Czechoslovakia 6 - 1 Argentina ; (Helsingborg, Sweden; 15 June 1958); Uruguay 5 - 0 Argentina ; (Guayaquil, Ecuador; 16 December 1959); Argentina 0 - 5 Colombia; (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 5 September 1993)
World Cup
Appearances	14 (first in 1930)
Best result	Winners, 1978 and 1986
Copa América
Appearances	37 (first in 1916)
Best result	Winners, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929,; 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947,; 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 1992)
Best result	Winners, 1992

The Argentina national football team is the national football team of Argentina and is controlled by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA). Argentina has the record for most international titles.^[1]

Argentina is one of the most successful national football teams in the world, and currently top in the in FIFA world rankings.^[2] The team has twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986, and were runners up in 1930 and 1990. Argentina has won the Copa América 14 times, a record shared with Uruguay, and won the Confederations Cup in 1992.

Argentina and France are the only national teams in the world which have won the four most important titles organized by FIFA: World Cup, Gold medal in football in the Olympic Games, Confederations Cup, and the Continental Cup (Copa America for Argentina, and UEFA European Football Championship for France). ^[3] ^[4]

History

La Selección, also known as the Albicelestes (Light blue and whites), has appeared in four World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost 4-2 to Uruguay. Argentina won in their next final in 1978, beating the Netherlands 3-1. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3-2 victory over West Germany. Their most recent World Cup final was in 1990, which they lost 1-0 to Germany by a much disputed penalty. Argentina's World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986.

Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it fourteen times and also winning the 'extra' South American Championships in 1941, 1945 and 1946.

Argentina also won six of the fourteen football competitions at the Pan American Games, winning in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971, 1995 and 2003.

Argentina also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992. Argentina also won the Olympics football gold medal in Athens 2004.^[5]

In March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time.^[6]

World Cup 2006

Argentina had been eliminated at the group stage at Korea/Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup, although they had been among the pre-tournament favourites. There was a high expectation of a better performance in the Germany 2006.

Argentina qualified for the knockout stages with wins over Ivory Coast (2-1) and Serbia and Montenegro (6-0), and a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands.

In the round of sixteen, Argentina defeated Mexico national football team 2-1 in extra-time, the winning goal by Maxi Rodríguez winning an online poll organised by FIFA, as the best goal of the World Cup [1]. In the quarter final, they lost 4-2 in a penalty shootout against hosts Germany after a 1-1 draw. A brawl erupted between the Argentines and Germans after the game ended. Unused substitute Leandro Cufré was sent off for kicking Per Mertesacker, while Maxi Rodríguez hit Bastian Schweinsteiger from behind. Following an investigation of video evidence, FIFA doled out 4-game and 2-game suspensions for Cufre and Rodriguez, respectively. Germany's Torsten Frings was suspended for the semifinal match for punching Julio Ricardo Cruz.

Shortly after the elimination, coach José Pekerman resigned from his position. AFA appointed Alfio Basile, who had previously managed the national side during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Copa América 2007

Argentina won all three games in the group stage, beating United States, Colombia and Paraguay. After convincing victories over Peru and Mexico in the quarter final and semi final respectively, they were favourites to beat Brazil in the final, but were defeated 0-3.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup Record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Final	2	5	4	0	1	18	9
1934	Round 1	9	1	0	0	1	2	3
1938	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1950	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1954	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1958	Round 1	13	3	1	0	2	5	10
1962	Round 1	10	3	1	1	1	2	3
1966	Quarter-finals	5	3	2	1	1	4	2
1970	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1974	Round 2	8	6	1	2	3	9	12
1978	Champions	1	7	5	1	1	15	4
1982	Round 2	12	5	2	0	3	8	7
1986	Champions	1	7	6	1	0	14	5
1990	Final	2	7	2	3	2	5	4
1994	Round 2	9	4	2	0	2	8	6
1998	Quarter-finals	6	5	3	1	1	10	4
2002	Round 1	18	3	1	1	1	2	2
2006	Quarter-finals	6	5	3	2	0	11	3
Total	14/18	2 Titles	65	33	13	19	113	74

Confederations Cup record
Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1992	Champions	2	2	0	0	7	1
1995	Second Place	3	1	1	1	5	3
1997	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1999	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2001	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2003	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2005	Second Place	5	2	2	1	10	10
2009	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	1 Title	10	5	3	2	22	14

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Copa America/South American Championship record
Total: 14 Titles
Year	Position	Year	Position	Year	Position
1916	Second place	1939	Withdrew	1967	Second place
1917	Second place	1941	Champions	1975	Round 1
1919	Third place	1942	Second place	1979	Round 1
1920	Second place	1945	Champions	1983	Round 1
1921	Champions	1946	Champions	1987	Fourth place
1922	Fourth place	1947	Champions	1989	Third place
1923	Second place	1949	Withdrew	1991	Champions
1924	Second place	1953	Withdrew	1993	Champions
1925	Champions	1955	Champions	1995	Quarter-finals
1926	Second place	1956	Third place	1997	Quarter-finals
1927	Champions	1957	Champions	1999	Quarter-finals
1929	Champions	1959	Champions	2001	Withdrew
1935	Second place	1959	Second place	2004	Second place
1937	Champions	1963	Third place	2007	Second place

Pan American Games record

1951 - Champions
1955 - Champions
1959 - Champions
1963 - Second place
1967 - Round 1
1971 - Third place
1979 - Third place
1983 - Round 1
1987 - Third place
1991 - Did not enter
1995 - Champions
1999 - Did not enter
2003 - Champions
2007 - Round 1

Kit Evolution

1901-1910

1911-present

World Cup 1978
World Cup 1994
World Cup 1998
Pre World Cup 2002
World Cup 2002
Olympics 2004
World Cup 2006

Managers

1924-1925 Angel Vázquez
1927-1928 José Lago Millán
1928-1929 Francisco Olazar
1929-1930 Olazar-Tramutola
1934-1934 Felipe Pascucci
1934-1937 Manuel Seoane
1937-1939 Ángel Fernández Roca
1939-1960 Guillermo Stábile
1960-1961 Victorio Spinetto

1972-1974 Enrique Omar Sívori
1974-1974 Vladislao Cap
1974-1983 César Luis Menotti
1983-1990 Carlos Bilardo
1990-1994 Alfio Basile
1994-1998 Daniel Passarella
1998-2004 Marcelo Bielsa
2004-2006 José Pekerman
2006-present Alfio Basile

Players

Current Squad

The following players were named for friendly match against Egypt in March, 2008.

Caps included the match against Colombia in November 2007.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Roberto Abbondanzieri	(1972-08-19) August 19, 1972 (age 51)	43	0	Getafe
1GK	Oscar Ustari	(1986-07-03) July 3, 1986 (age 37)	1	0	Getafe
1GK	Sergio Romero	(1987-07-22) July 22, 1987 (age 36)	0	0	AZ
2DF	Fabricio Coloccini	(1982-01-22) January 22, 1982 (age 42)	25	1	Deportivo
2DF	Gabriel Milito	(1980-09-07) September 7, 1980 (age 43)	32	1	Barcelona
2DF	Gabriel Heinze	(1978-03-19) March 19, 1978 (age 46)	42	2	Real Madrid
2DF	Javier Zanetti	(1973-08-10) August 10, 1973 (age 50)	118	5	Inter Milan
2DF	Nicolás Burdisso	(1981-04-12) April 12, 1981 (age 43)	16	0	Inter Milan
2DF	Martin Demichelis	(1980-12-20) December 20, 1980 (age 43)	8	1	Bayern Munich
2DF	Pablo Zabaleta	(1985-01-16) January 16, 1985 (age 39)	4	0	RCD Espanyol
3MF	Esteban Cambiasso	(1980-08-18) August 18, 1980 (age 43)	40	3	Inter Milan
3MF	Fernando Gago	(1986-04-10) April 10, 1986 (age 38)	13	0	Real Madrid
3MF	Lucho González	(1981-01-19) January 19, 1981 (age 43)	39	5	Porto
3MF	Javier Mascherano	(1984-06-08) June 8, 1984 (age 40)	36	2	Liverpool
3MF	Maxi Rodríguez	(1981-01-02) January 2, 1981 (age 43)	23	6	Atlético Madrid
4FW	Sergio Agüero	(1988-06-02) June 2, 1988 (age 36)	5	1	Atlético Madrid
4FW	Fernando Cavenaghi	(1983-09-21) September 21, 1983 (age 40)	0	0	Girondins de Bordeaux
4FW	Julio Ricardo Cruz	(1974-10-10) October 10, 1974 (age 49)	17	3	Inter Milan
4FW	Ezequiel Lavezzi	(1985-05-03) May 3, 1985 (age 39)	2	0	Napoli

Recent call-ups

Here is the players call-up after Copa America, caps and goals as of before the Norway match

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Mariano Andújar (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1983-07-30) July 30, 1983 (age 40)	0	0	Estudiantes
1GK	Juan Pablo Carrizo	(1984-05-06) May 6, 1984 (age 40)	1	0	River Plate
1GK	Agustín Orión (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1981-06-26) June 26, 1981 (age 42)	1	0	San Lorenzo
2DF	Hugo Ibarra (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1974-04-01) April 1, 1974 (age 50)	8	0	Boca Juniors
2DF	Daniel Díaz	(1979-03-13) March 13, 1979 (age 45)	4	0	Getafe
2DF	Ezequiel Garay (v. Norway in August)	(1986-10-10) October 10, 1986 (age 37)	1	0	Racing de Santander
3MF	José Ernesto Sosa (v. Norway in August)	(1985-06-19) June 19, 1985 (age 38)	2	0	Bayern Munich
3MF	Cristian Raúl Ledesma (v. Australia in September)	(1978-12-29) December 29, 1978 (age 45)	3	0	Olympiacos
3MF	Jonás Gutiérrez	(1983-05-07) May 7, 1983 (age 41)	2	0	Mallorca
3MF	Fernando Belluschi	(1983-09-10) September 10, 1983 (age 40)	2	0	Olympiacos
3MF	Daniel Montenegro	(1979-03-28) March 28, 1979 (age 45)	1	0	Independiente
3MF	Sebastián Battaglia (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1980-08-11) August 11, 1980 (age 43)	6	0	Boca Juniors
3MF	Federico Insúa (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1980-01-03) January 3, 1980 (age 44)	6	0	América
3MF	Juan Román Riquelme (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1978-06-24) June 24, 1978 (age 45)	44	17	Boca Juniors
4FW	Carlos Tévez (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1984-02-05) February 5, 1984 (age 40)	38	7	Manchester United
4FW	Diego Milito (v. Norway in August)	(1979-06-12) June 12, 1979 (age 45)	14	4	Real Zaragoza
4FW	Javier Saviola	(1981-12-11) December 11, 1981 (age 42)	40	11	Real Madrid
4FW	Lionel Messi (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1987-06-24) June 24, 1987 (age 36)	24	7	Barcelona
4FW	Germán Denis (WCQ v. Colombia, November 2007)	(1981-09-10) September 10, 1981 (age 42)	2	0	Independiente

Previous squads

Most capped players

As of November 20, 2007, the ten players with the most caps for Argentina are:

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1.	Javier Zanetti	1994 - present	118	5
2.	Roberto Ayala	1994 - 2007	115	7
3.	Diego Simeone	1988 - 2002	106	11
4.	Oscar Ruggeri	1983 - 1994	97	7
5.	Diego Maradona	1977 - 1994	91	34
6.	Ariel Ortega	1993 - 2003	86	17
7.	Gabriel Batistuta	1991 - 2002	78	56
8.	Juan Pablo Sorín	1995 - 2006	75	11
9.	Américo Gallego	1975 - 1982	73	3
10.	Daniel Passarella	1976 - 1986	70	22

Top goalscorers

As of July 16, 2007, the ten players with the most goals for Argentina are:

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps
1.	Gabriel Batistuta	1991 - 2002	56	78
2.	Hernán Crespo	1995 - present	35	64
3.	Diego Maradona	1977 - 1994	34	91
4.	Luis Artime	1961 - 1967	24	25
5.	Leopoldo Luque	1975 - 1981	22	45
=	Daniel Passarella	1976 - 1986	22	70
7.	José Sanfilippo	1956 - 1962	21	28
=	Herminio Masantonio	1935 - 1942	21	19
9.	Mario Kempes	1973 - 1982	20	43
10.	Norberto Méndez	1945 - 1956	19	31
=	José Manuel Moreno	1936 - 1950	19	34
=	René Pontoni	1942 - 1947	19	19

Notable players

Matías Almeyda (1996-2005)
Antonio Angelillo (also played for Italy) (1957)
Osvaldo Ardiles (1974-1982)
Roberto Ayala (1995-2007)
Abel Balbo (1988-1998)
Gabriel Batistuta (1991-2003)
Claudio Borghi (1983-1986)
Jorge Burruchaga (1983-1990)
Claudio Caniggia (1988-2002)
Amadeo Carrizo (1946-1958)
José Chamot (1991-2002)
Hernán Crespo (1995-)
Alfredo Di Stéfano (also played for Colombia and Spain) (1947)
Ramón Díaz (1979-1982)
Ubaldo Fillol (1972-1985)
Marcelo Gallardo (1995-2002)
Américo Gallego (1975-1982)
Sergio Goycochea (1989-1995)
Gabriel Heinze (2004-)
Mario Kempes (1974-1982)
Claudio López (1995-2004)

Diego Armando Maradona (1977-1994)
Juan Ramon Rocha (1975-1980)
Silvio Marzolini (1961-1970)
José Manuel Moreno (1940-1947)
Lionel Messi (2005-)
Diego Milito (2005-)
Gabriel Milito (2004-)
Luis Monti (also played for Italy) (1924-1931)
Julio Olarticoechea (1982-1990)
Ariel Ortega (1993-2004)
Daniel Passarella (1974-1986)
Roberto Perfumo (1960-1974)
Diego Placente (1997-2005)
Antonio Rattín (1959-1966)
Fernando Redondo (1991-1996)
Juan Román Riquelme (1997-)
Oscar Ruggeri (1982-1994)
Javier Saviola (2003-)
Roberto Néstor Sensini (1987-2003)
Diego Simeone (1991-2003)
Omar Sivori (also played for Italy) (1956-1957)
Guillermo Stábile (1924-1934)
Carlos Tévez (2004-)
Jorge Valdano (1980-1990)
Juan Sebastián Verón (1995-)
Ricardo Villa (1974-1982)
Javier Zanetti (1994-)

Facts

Argentina and Uruguay hold the record for the most international matches played between two countries.^{[citation needed]} The two teams have faced each other 161 times since 1901. The first match against Uruguay was the first official international match to be played outside Britain.^[7]
Marcelo Trobbiani was a member of the Argentina world cup squad in 1986, but he only managed two minutes of play in the entire tournament, he came on in the 88th minute of the World Cup Final against West Germany. This two minutes of football equalled the world record for the shortest World Cup career set by Tunisia's Khemais Labidi in 1978.
In the 2006 World Cup Leandro Cufré was given a red card and sent off after the end of the Quarter Final game with Germany for his part in the brawl after the match, even though he was a substitute and had not participated in the game itself. It is the only occasion of a player being sent off in a FIFA World Cup match after the final whistle. Four years earlier, in the 2002 World Cup Claudio Caniggia was sent off for swearing at a match official from the substitute bench.

Footnotes

^ http://www.afa.org.ar/?m=news&n=7
^ http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=0&rank=168
^ http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=arg/index.html
^ http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/index.html
^ BBC SPORT | Olympics 2004 | Football | Football gold for Argentina
^ FIFA.com - Argentina first for first time
^ Although Canada and the United States played two internationals in 1885 and 1889, neither match is considered official; Canada did not play an official international until 1904 and the USA did not play one until 1916.

External links

Titles

Preceded by 1974 West Germany	World Champions 1978 (First title)	Succeeded by 1982 Italy
Preceded by 1982 Italy	World Champions 1986 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1990 West Germany
Preceded by Inaugural Champion	Confederations Cup Champions 1992 (First title)	Succeeded by 1995 Denmark
Preceded by 1920 Uruguay	South American Champions 1921 (First title)	Succeeded by 1922 Brazil
Preceded by 1924 Uruguay	South American Champions 1925 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1926 Uruguay
Preceded by 1926 Uruguay	South American Champions 1927 (Third title) 1929 (Fourth title)	Succeeded by 1935 Uruguay
Preceded by 1935 Uruguay	South American Champions 1937 (Fifth title)	Succeeded by 1939 Peru
Preceded by 1939 Peru	South American Champions 1941 (Sixth title)	Succeeded by 1942 Uruguay
Preceded by 1942 Uruguay	South American Champions 1945 (Seventh title) 1946 (Eighth title) 1947 (Ninth title)	Succeeded by 1949 Brazil
Preceded by 1953 Paraguay	South American Champions 1955 (Tenth title)	Succeeded by 1956 Uruguay
Preceded by 1956 Uruguay	South American Champions 1957 (Eleventh title) 1959 (Twelfth title)	Succeeded by 1959 Uruguay
Preceded by 1989 Brazil	South American Champions 1991 (Thirteenth title) 1993 (Fourteenth title)	Succeeded by 1995 Uruguay

Template:Fb start

Template:FWC Winners

Template:Fb end

[1] ttp://www.afa.org.ar/?m=news&n=7

[2] ttp://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=0&rank=168

[3] ttp://www.fifa.com/associations/association=arg/index.html

[4] ttp://www.fifa.com/tournaments/index.html

[5] BBC SPORT | Olympics 2004 | Football | Football gold for Argentina

[6] FIFA.com - Argentina first for first time

[7] Although Canada and the United States played two internationals in 1885 and 1889, neither match is considered official; Canada did not play an official international until 1904 and the USA did not play one until 1916.

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@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 Argentina is one of the most successful national football teams in the world, and currently top in the in [[FIFA World Rankings|FIFA world rankings]].<ref>http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=0&rank=168</ref> The team has twice won the [[FIFA World Cup]], in [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]] and [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]], and were runners up in [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]] and [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]. Argentina has won the [[Copa América]] 14 times, a record shared with [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]], and won the [[Confederations Cup]] in [[King Fahd Cup 1992|1992]].
+Argentina and [[France national football team|France]] are the only national teams in the world which have won the four most important titles organized by [[FIFA]]: World Cup, Gold medal in football in the Olympic Games, Confederations Cup, and the Continental Cup (Copa America for Argentina, and [[UEFA European Football Championship]] for France). <ref>http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=arg/index.html</ref> <ref>http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/index.html</ref>
 ==History==

International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-20 U-17 Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline
Africa	CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 African Nations Championship Regional CECAFA CEMAC COSAFA WAFU Intercontinental Arab
Asia	AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional ASEAN AFF-EAFF Central East South West Intercontinental Arab
Europe	UEFA – Euro U-21 U-19 U-17 Nations League Intercontinental CONMEBOL–UEFA
North & Central America and the Caribbean	CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 Nations League
Oceania	OFC – Men's Nations Cup U-19 U-16/U-17
South America	CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15 Intercontinental CONMEBOL–UEFA
Non-FIFA	CONIFA – CONIFA World Football Cup CONIFA European Football Cup CONIFA South America Football Cup CONIFA Africa Football Cup ODEBO – Bolivarian Games ODESUR – South American Games South American Board of New Federations (COSANFF) World Unity Football Alliance (WUFA)
Games	African Games Arab Games Asian Games Central America Games Central America and Caribbean Games East Asian Games Jeux de la Francophonie Goodwill Games Indian Ocean Island Games Island Games Islamic Solidarity Games Lusofonia Games Mediterranean Games Micronesian Games Pan American Games Pacific Games Pacific Mini Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games West Asian Games
See also Geography Codes Player/Club of the Century Women's football

1978 FIFA World Cup finalists
Champions	Argentina
Runners-up	Netherlands
Third place	Brazil
Fourth place	Italy
Second group stage	Austria Peru Poland West Germany
First group stage	France Hungary Iran Mexico Scotland Spain Sweden Tunisia

2006 FIFA World Cup finalists
Champions	Italy
Runners-up	France
Third place	Germany
Fourth place	Portugal
Quarter-finals	Argentina Brazil England Ukraine
Round of 16	Australia Ecuador Ghana Mexico Netherlands Spain Sweden Switzerland
Group stage	Angola Costa Rica Croatia Czech Republic Iran Ivory Coast Japan Paraguay Poland Saudi Arabia Serbia and Montenegro South Korea Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia United States