Argentina National Football Team Competitive Record and Their Team Honours

Argentina National Football Team History and Their Glorious Achievement-

Argentina

Nickname(s)	La Albiceleste (The White and Sky blue)
Association	Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (Argentine Football Association)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Sergio Batista
Captain	Javier Mascherano
Most caps	Javier Zanetti (138)
Top scorer	Gabriel Batistuta (56)
Home stadium	El Monumental
FIFA code	ARG
FIFA ranking	5
Highest FIFA ranking	1 (March 2007, October 2007 – June 2008)
Lowest FIFA ranking	24 (August 1996)
Elo ranking	5
Highest Elo ranking	1 (most recently in July 2007, 34 times in total)
Lowest Elo ranking	28 (June 1990)
First international
Unofficial: Uruguay 2–3  Argentina (Montevideo, Uruguay; 16 May 1901 Official: Uruguay 0–6  Argentina (Montevideo, Uruguay; 20 July 1902)
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)  Bolivia 6–1 Argentina  (La Paz, Bolivia; 1 April 2009)
World Cup
Appearances	15 (First in 1930)
Best result	Winners, 1978 and 1986
Copa América
Appearances	38 (First in 1916)
Best result	Winners, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993
Confederations Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1992)
Best result	Winners, 1992
Honours: Olympic medal record Men's football[2] Silver 1928 Amsterdam Team Silver 1996 Atlanta Team Gold 2004 Athens Team Gold 2008 Beijing Team

Olympic medal record
Men's football
Silver	1928 Amsterdam	Team
Silver	1996 Atlanta	Team
Gold	2004 Athens	Team
Gold	2008 Beijing	Team

The Argentina national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Argentina) represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Sergio Batista. Argentina shares with Uruguay the record of most international titles won by a national team (with 19). The team is currently fifth in the FIFA World Rankings.

Argentina has twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986. Along Brazil and Spain, they are the only teams that have won the competition outside their continental zone. Argentina has also won the Copa América (top continental competition) 14 times, a record shared with Uruguay, the Confederations Cup in 1992 and the Olympic tournament in 2004 and 2008.

Argentina and France are the only two national teams that have won the three most important men's titles recognized by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic tournament. They have both also won their respective continental championship (Copa América for Argentina, and UEFA European Football Championship for France).

FIFA Confederations Cup-

FIFA Confederations Cup
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 to 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

History-

La Selección (national team), 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. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and an Argentine team (with only three players of over 23 years of age included in the squad) won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

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

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

Batista is our new National Team coach-

Batista has been confirmed by the pseudo AFA commission composed by men chosen by Grondona (?!).

The coaching staff has been the major reason of Argentina’s failures over the past years. As much as I admire Senor José Pekerman, he was not able to keep his players focused on the possession 95 minutes, in 2006. After that, Alfio Basile and Diego Maradona destroyed all the fantastic Pekerman/Tocalli work in the most disgusting manner during 4 endless years, repeating the same tactical mistakes all the time.

Today, AFA have chosen Sergio Batista who signed a contract that would make him NT coach until 2014. Has the nightmare come to an end? Once more, our National Team will be directed by an unexperienced coach, that’s for sure. 

Do you think Batista will be able to organize an efficient defensive system which is the main tactical cause of our repeated defeats? Will he be able to make his 11 players defend like coordinated tigers, as it is required in modern futbol? 

Can Batista really do what he says in the press, with the Grondona family on his back? Was he chosen to be a muppet like Basile and Maradona before him? Or a diplomatic coach able to start the players he wants to?

Already Batista prove his experience by playing previous game we are hopeful because he can do anything by his coaching style.  

source-world cup blog

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 favorites to beat Brazil in the final, but were defeated 0–3.

 

 Competitive record-

 FIFA World Cup:

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1	18	9		–	–	–	–	–	–
1934	First Round	9th	1	0	0	1	2	3		–	–	–	–	–	–
1938	Withdrew									–	–	–	–	–	–
1950										–	–	–	–	–	–
1954										–	–	–	–	–	–
1958	Group Stage	13th	3	1	0	2	5	10		4	3	0	1	10	2
1962	Group Stage	10th	3	1	1	1	2	3		2	2	0	0	11	3
1966	Quarter-Final	5th	4	2	1	1	4	2		4	3	1	0	9	2
1970	Did Not Qualify									4	1	1	2	4	6
1974	Second Group Stage	8th	6	1	2	3	9	12		4	3	1	0	9	2
1978	Champions	1st	7	5	1	1	15	4		–	–	–	–	–	–
1982	Second Group Stage	11th	5	2	0	3	8	7		–	–	–	–	–	–
1986	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	14	5		6	4	1	1	12	6
1990	Runners-up	2nd	7	2	3	2	5	4		–	–	–	–	–	–
1994	Round of 16	10th	4	2	0	2	8	6		8	4	2	2	9	10
1998	Quarter-Final	6th	5	3	1	1	10	4		16	8	6	2	23	13
2002	Group Stage	18th	3	1	1	1	2	2		18	13	4	1	42	15
2006	Quarter-Final	6th	5	3	2	0	11	3		18	10	4	4	29	17
2010	Quarter-Final	5th	5	4	0	1	10	6		18	8	4	6	23	20
2014	To Be Determined
2018
2022
Total	2 Titles	15/19	70	37	13	20	123	80		102	59	24	19	161	96

*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.

 

Pan American Games record-

• 1951 – Champions
• 1955 – Champions
• 1959 – Champions
• 1963 – Second place
• 1967 – Round 1
• 1971 – Champions
• 1975 – 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

 Olympics record-

Olympics Record Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA 1896 No football tournament 1900–1920 Did Not Participate 1924 Did Not Qualify 1928 Runners-up 2 5 3 1 1 24 7 1932 No football tournament 1936–1956 Did Not Qualify 1960 Round 1 - 3 2 0 1 6 4 1964 Round 1 - 2 0 1 1 3 4 1968–1984 Did Not Qualify 1988 Quarter-finals - 4 1 1 2 4 5 1992 Did Not Qualify 1996 Runners-up 2 6 3 2 1 13 6 2000 Did Not Qualify 2004 Champions 1 6 6 0 0 17 0 2008 Champions 1 6 6 0 0 11 2 Total 7/24 2 Titles 32 21 5 6 78 28

 Honours-

 Senior team:

• FIFA World Cup

• Winners (2): 1978, 1986

• Copa America

• Winner (14): 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946 (extra edition), 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993.

• FIFA Confederations Cup

• Winners (1): 1992

• Artemio Franchi Trophy

• Winners (1): 1993

• Nations' Cup

• Winners (1): 1964

• Panamerican Championship:
  • Winners (1): 1960

 Friendly titles-

• Copa Kirin:
  • Winners (1): 1992

• Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo 1910:
  • Winners (1): 1910

• Copa Roca:
  • Winners (4): 1923, 1939, 1940, 1971

• Copa Lipton:
  • Winners (18): 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1962, 1968, 1976, 1992

• Copa Newton:
  • Winners (17): 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1916, 1918, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1973, 1975, 1976

According to José Mourinho, Higuain is injured for the rest of the season which means no Copa for him!

So who do we have as a world class #9?

Milito has been out of form and Crespo belongs to the past.
In addition, our NT coaches never care about Lisandro Lopez.

Because of Maradona, we’ve lost Lucas Barrios who is a great striker (poor management is always punished and some of our worries before WC are now justified!).

The great Roberto Ayala, one of our heroes, has ended his career at 37.

When I think about Ayala, I have so many great memories of him… jumping higher than anyone else, beating the best forwards (the only one to match Drogba, again and again), leading the 2006 Argentina squad with convinction and pride,… 

I suppose we’ll never forget him for several reasons.
He gave everything in the most disgusting sport and now, he “has finished with it”.

ARGENTINA 4-1 SPAIN-

The Monumental was like in paradise yesterday night. The passes, the movements, Messi’s outstanding dribblings, etc. It was pure magic, whatever the score is. 

Of course, our defensive system is new and not accurate yet. It was clear at the beginning of each period that Batista was trying to make them defend as a unit and he must continue. It is very important. Leo and Carlito must be totally involved in the midfield defence, and I suppose they are learning to do so with Argentina.

I guess that like many of you amigos, we all realize a bit more the huge WC 2010 waste and that even a correct coach would have been enough. It confirms what we’ve been repeating for years. At least, with this kind of result/demonstration, people abroad Argentina can understand all this. 

I’m so happy for Zanetti & Cambiasso (who was tactically tremendous!). Our players are magnificent, like they’ve always been. Gracias Argentina!

 

ARGENTINA 1-0 BRAZIL-

Argentina finally wins against Brazil! What a relief isn’t it? In a friendly, even if the content is more important than the result, this one matters a lot to all of us!

Despite the positive result, we all noticed some problems. The way we defend, for example, not all the time collective. The team needs games to get used to the 4-3-3 and defend up on the field. Learn to play like Barca requires time, and I hope we have the appropriate tactical staff to teach our players. We also need a true left fullback who can offer solutions on his side. We need to use the flanks too, in general. Di Maria must be more focused on the collective aspect of his game.

But lets stay optimistic. The boys were tired for sure, which explains their lack of mobility. Batista starts the right players (ex:Pastore, Banega). How long have we seen biased choices from the past NT coaches in the past? And now, our boys go back home with confidence (Messi!).

Lets now hope Batista finds the time to train the 4-3-3 to our players. How to press as a unit and defend high, move and use the flanks, protect our back on counter attacks, etc. Because Jefecito won’t save us all the time.

In my opinion, Mascherano was the man of the match. He did a terrific job in defence. Probably our most important argentino. Did you see him shouting on his teamates because they weren’t coming back in defence? Loved that.

I liked D’Alessandro’s reaction when Messi scored… On the replay, if I’m correct, he was behind Messi, walking and watching him running at a supersonic speed, saying like “come on Leo, come on Leo… gol!” with his arms up. 

Upcoming Fixtures:

•  Argentina vs  Portugal – Geneva, Switzerland – February 9, 2011 – Friendly.
•  United States vs  Argentina – Seattle, United States – March 26, 2011 – Friendly.
•  Costa Rica vs  Argentina – San José, Costa Rica – March 29, 2011 – Friendly.

 

Players-

 Current squad:

The following 21 players were named to the squad for the friendly match against Brazil.

Caps and goals as of November 17, 2010, subsequent to the friendly match against Brazil.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Sergio Romero February 22, 1987 (age 23)(1987-02-22) 15 0 AZ 12 GK Mariano Andújar July 30, 1983 (age 27)(1983-07-30) 4 0 Catania 2 DF Martín Demichelis December 20, 1980 (age 30)(1980-12-20) 33 2 Málaga 3 DF Pablo Zabaleta January 16, 1985 (age 25)(1985-01-16) 8 0 Manchester City 4 DF Nicolás Burdisso April 12, 1981 (age 29)(1981-04-12) 37 2 Roma 6 DF Gabriel Heinze April 19, 1978 (age 32)(1978-04-19) 72 3 Marseille 8 DF Javier Zanetti August 10, 1973 (age 37)(1973-08-10) 138 5 Internazionale 13 DF Nicolás Pareja January 19, 1984 (age 26)(1984-01-19) 1 0 Spartak Moscow 20 DF Nicolás Otamendi February 12, 1988 (age 22)(1988-02-12) 10 0 Porto 5 MF Mario Bolatti February 17, 1985 (age 25)(1985-02-17) 8 1 Fiorentina 7 MF Ángel di María February 14, 1988 (age 22)(1988-02-14) 17 3 Real Madrid 14 MF Javier Mascherano (c) June 8, 1984 (age 26)(1984-06-08) 65 2 Barcelona 15 MF Andrés D'Alessandro April 15, 1981 (age 29)(1981-04-15) 29 4 Internacional 17 MF Lucas Biglia January 30, 1986 (age 24)(1986-01-30) 0 0 Anderlecht 18 MF Éver Banega June 29, 1988 (age 22)(1988-06-29) 5 0 Valencia 19 MF Nicolás Gaitán February 23, 1988 (age 22)(1988-02-23) 3 0 Benfica 21 MF José Ernesto Sosa June 19, 1985 (age 25)(1985-06-19) 6 1 Napoli 23 MF Javier Pastore June 20, 1989 (age 21)(1989-06-20) 6 0 Palermo 9 FW Gonzalo Higuaín December 10, 1987 (age 23)(1987-12-10) 13 7 Real Madrid 10 FW Lionel Messi June 24, 1987 (age 23)(1987-06-24) 53 15 Barcelona 11 FW Ezequiel Lavezzi May 3, 1985 (age 25)(1985-05-03) 9 0 Napoli

Most capped players-

As of November 18, 2010, the ten players with the most caps for Argentina are:

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1.	Javier Zanetti	1994–present	138	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–present	87	17
7.	Gabriel Batistuta	1991–2002	78	56
8.	Juan Pablo Sorín	1995–2006	76	12
9.	Américo Gallego	1975–1982	73	3
10.	Juan Sebastián Verón	1996–present	73	9

 Top goalscorers-

As of September 16, 2009, the ten players with the most goals for Argentina are:

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps
1.	Gabriel Batistuta	1991–2002	56	78
2.	Hernán Crespo	1995–2007	35	63
3.	Diego Maradona	1977–1994	34	91
4.	Luis Artime	1961–1967	24	25
5.	Leopoldo Luque	1975–1981	22	45
6.	Daniel Passarella	1976–1986	22	70
7.	José Sanfilippo	1956–1962	21	29
8.	Herminio Masantonio	1935–1942	21	19
9.	Mario Kempes	1973–1982	20	43
10.	Norberto Méndez	1945–1956	19	31
11.	José Manuel Moreno	1936–1950	19	34
12.	René Pontoni	1942–1947	19	19

 

From Wikipedia-