Argentina aim to forget ‘blip’, win for Maradona

‘‘Viva Diego!’’ Gianni Infantino said into the microphone, prompting the crowd to repeat the phrase loudly.

The Fifa president has been subjected to brutal – and deserved – criticism during the World Cup, but this crowd was easy to please. He was on stage at the Tree of Dreams building in Qatar, which has been taken over by Conmebol, the South American governing body, for the tournament.

To his left stood 19 Argentinians from the victorious World Cups of ’78 and ’86, such as Mario Kempes and Jorge Valdano, to mark the two-year anniversary of Diego Maradona’s death.

‘‘Every World Cup from now, we should have a day to celebrate Diego Armando Maradona,’’ Infantino said as he stood by a lifesized model of Maradona hoisting the trophy above his head.

Inside the building, quotes from the great and the good of Argentine football had been written on the walls. ‘‘If anyone inspired me, it was undoubtedly Maradona,’’ was one of the quotes, written by Lionel Messi.

Eleven miles north, at Qatar University, the Argentina squad were working on a plan to salvage their World Cup.

Argentina’s base is one of the best in Qatar. It has several indoor and outdoor pitches, one of which is housed within a 10,000-seater stadium, a running track, an aquatics centre with three pools, a state-of-the-art gym, a recreation centre – which includes a sauna and hot and cold jacuzzi – and luxurious lodgings.

Their facilities and form going into this tournament were perfect. So why did Argentina’s 36-match unbeaten run come to an end against Saudi Arabia? That is the question that Lionel Scaloni and his squad have been asking themselves, because they know a repeat performance against Mexico today (8am kickoff NZ time) will in all likelihood lead to only their second group-stage elimination in 56 years. If they lose, they will be knocked out, unless Poland beat Saudi Arabia.

Messi has been working hard to ensure there are no more slip-ups. According to those close to the Argentina camp, the 35-year-old captain has been a calming influence, telling his teammates that by the end of the World Cup they will look back on the loss to Saudi Arabia as a little blip. The players and staff watched the 0-0 draw between Poland and Mexico at the team’s base shortly after their defeat. The day after, Scaloni thought it would be a good idea to invite the players’ families to the training base to give them a lift and take their minds off the Saudi Arabia game. One thing that Scaloni has in his favour is that he has a tight-knit squad. The camaraderie propelled them to victory in the Copa America last year. ‘‘We will break our backs for Argentina, we will do anything,’’ Lautaro Martinez, the forward, said. ‘‘We are a united team, a strong team and we know how to rise up in difficult moments. We will be representing this country as it deserves to be represented.’’ Scaloni urged the squad to win the game for Maradona. ‘‘For us [the anniversary of his death] is a very sad day but [we] hope to bring some joy to him,’’ the Argentina head coach said. ‘‘I’m sure he’s looking down on us.’’–