© EuroFootball.com
Argentina's national team coach Jose Pekerman has announced the names of sixteen players who will participate in the national team gathering in Madrid on Monday and Tuesday. From this list, it is already possible to determine which players have a good chance of traveling to the World Cup in Germany.
All players, except goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri, play for European clubs. According to a statement from the Argentine Football Association, no club had any objections to the players attending this gathering.
The statement also states that the players will not engage in physical training and will not practice, instead they will watch videos, have conversations, and their physical readiness will be evaluated.
Some Argentine newspapers expressed surprise that players such as Pablo Aimar, Martin Demichelis, and Javier Zanetti were not invited to the gathering. However, these players are currently competing in important end-of-season matches with their clubs and still have a good chance of making it into the final 23-player squad for the World Cup.
Goalkeepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri ("Boca Juniors"), Leonardo Franco ("Atletico")
Defenders: Roberto Ayala ("Valencia"), Nicolas Burdisso ("Inter"), Fabricio Coloccini ("Deportivo"), Leandro Cufre ("Roma"), Gabriel Heinze ("Manchester United"), Gabriel Milito ("Zaragoza"), Juan Pablo Sorin ("Villarreal")
Midfielders: Esteban Cambiasso ("Inter"), Luis Gonzalez ("Porto"), Juan Roman Riquelme ("Villarreal"), Maximiliano Rodriguez ("Atletico"), Lionel Scaloni ("West Ham")
Forwards: Hernan Jorge Crespo ("Chelsea"), Lionel Messi ("Barcelona")
