Javier Zanetti Why is not in Argentina‘s World Cup squad

South American football reporter
There was scarcely a murmur of dissent when Brazil announced their World Cup 23. Same story with Ecuador and Paraguay. But Argentina‘s call up contained enough controversy for the entire continent.
It could not have been otherwise. Argentina is a great producer of footballing talent, and coach José Pekerman has chopped and changed in search of the right blend.
So there was never going to be space for all of the players who have been involved in the qualifying campaign or last year‘s Confederations Cup.
Some big names had to miss out, and the biggest is Javier Zanetti.
The Inter Milan stalwart has played more than 100 games for his country. He made 12 appearances in the qualifying campaign, and had his sights firmly set on making it to his third World Cup.
Zanetti must be ruing the day that Marcelo Bielsa stepped down as Argentina coach.
Shortly before his shock resignation, Bielsa paid tribute to Zanetti‘s storming performances in the 2004 Copa America.
"He shoots well," said Bielsa. "He can break through and go one on one against the keeper, he gets behind the defence and places his cross where he wants it to go.
"You don‘t find too many full-backs like that in world football."
But soon afterwards Bielsa was gone. Initially Zanetti kept his place. He even scored a stunning goal against Uruguay in Pekerman‘s first game in charge.
But it has not saved him now. He has lost his place - and it is not as if a phenomenon has suddenly emerged to steal the right-back position.
Lionel Scaloni is the likely starter, and few West Ham fans would be queuing up to choose him for a world XI.
So why is Zanetti out? We can only speculate. There are two possible readings, and I suspect the truth is a combination of both.
The first is a purely footballing explanation.
After spending almost two years switching between defensive systems, Pekerman has come to a definitive decision.
His side have often fielded three centre-backs. It has brought them some success, but it has also left them looking vulnerable in the space in front of the wide defenders.
So now it has been decided. Argentina will go to the World Cup with a back four.
It seems as if Pekerman does not trust Zanetti‘s defensive skills. With three centre-backs he would have more cover behind him. As part of a back four his marking duties would increase.
Zanetti is 33 in August, and Pekerman perhaps thinks he can no longer be effective in this system.
And then there is another reason that has more to do with morale.
There have been rumours coming out of the Argentina camp about tension between different generations, and now it seems clear that the younger group have emerged victorious.
In addition to Zanetti, there is no Juan Sebastian Veron and no Kily Gonzalez.
Just two of the senior pros remain - centre-back Roberto Ayala, who has had the captaincy taken away from him, and striker Hernan Crespo, who also does not appear to carry the clout that he would like.
Last year he complained about the fact that he was not receiving the ball quickly enough, and he must have been dismayed to see that winger Cesar Delgado, Argentina‘s best supplier of crosses, has not been included.
The torch has clearly passed to a new generation.
Argentina‘s hopes are built around the players who won the World Youth Cups of 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2005. Pekerman was in charge for the first three of those triumphs.
His graduates were known as ‘Peker-boys‘. The coming weeks will show if they have grown into ‘Peker-men‘.
Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/argentina/5003602.stm