Veron worried over Argentina´s World Cup chances

Veteran Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastien Veron claims under-fire team manager Diego Maradona is struggling to put together an efficient team of 11 players despite having a dearth of quality at his disposal.

Two-time champions Argentina last week slipped to fifth in the South American World Cup qualifying standings, a place below the automatic qualification slots, after conceding four defeats in their last five games.

While Maradona, who is still considered a football God in his native country, is spending this week in Italy at a spa resort, Argentine football chiefs have been holding crisis talks.

Veron meanwhile admitted in an interview with La Red radio station he was concerned about Argentina’s qualifying chances, and claimed that Maradona has picked players who are not on the kind of form needed to play for the ‘Albiceleste’.

“We’ve got great players but the coach (Maradona) hasn’t really unearthed his best team yet,” said Veron, a former Manchester United player who is now captain of Estudiantes in Argentina’s top division.

The last time Argentina, World Cup champions in 1978 and 1986, failed to make the finals was in 1970. After recent defeats to Brazil (1-3) and Paraguay (0-1), Veron believes they are in a precarious position.

“Anything could happen,” said the 34-year-old when asked whether Argentina were in danger of not qualifying.

“The fact is that there are players in the team who are not in their very best form.”

Veron highlighted Barcelona’s highly-regarded striker Lionel Messi, but defended the player by saying: “At Barcelona they play a game of short, quick passes which is different to the way Argentina play. Here, everyone expects Lio (Messi) to dribble through five players and then score a goal. But he can’t do everything himself.”

Maradona on Monday missed a meeting involving Argentina general manager Carlos Bilardo and Julio Grondona, president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and vice-president of world governing body FIFA.

According to Argentine press reports, Grondona intended to ask Maradona to delegate more responsibility to Bilardo, who was the coach of Argentina in 1986 when Maradona captained the side to World Cup glory in Mexico.

Argentina host already-eliminated Peru on October 10 before travelling to neighbours Uruguay, who trail them by a single point, four days later.

Failure to finish among the top four would force Argentina into a two-leg play-off to secure their ticket for the finals in South Africa next summer.