NEWS ROUND-UP:DIEGO MARADONA may be conspicuous by his absence when Argentina pitch up at the Aviva Stadium next month, but the side his successor, Sergio Batista, sends out will have El Diego's fingerprints all over it.
Maradona’s last act as Argentina manager before he was unceremoniously pointed towards the door on Tuesday night was to select the squad to face the Republic of Ireland on August 11th.
And while his absence will inevitably take some of the sheen off the FAI’s glamorous house-warming party, the strength of his selection will have been welcomed with a sigh of relief in Abbotstown.
Maradona, who went through more than 100 players during his brief stint in charge, had resisted the temptation to use the Ireland game to blood a raft of newcomers. Instead, 17 of the 23 players he took to the World Cup have been retained in the 24-man squad. Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero are all included as Maradona was intent on bringing all his big guns to Dublin. Back come midfielders Fernando Gago, Jesus Datolo and Ever Banega, although Inter Milan’s Esteban Cambiasso, a player whose face clearly didn’t fit, remains surplus to requirements.
Batista, who led Argentina’s Under-23 side to gold at the 2008 Olympics and is still youth team coach, will take charge of the squad as caretaker but is not thought to be among the frontrunners for the job full-time.
Meanwhile, Mark Hughes has accepted an offer from Fulham to become the club’s new manager.
Sol Campbell has signed for Newcastle and Aberdeen have signed former Celtic and Hearts midfielder Paul Hartley.
The Slovakian FA have confirmed that the Euro 2012 qualifier on October 12th will take place in Bratislava.
New Republic of Ireland Under-21 coach Noel King has announced an 18-man squad for the European qualifier against Estonia in Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday week.
Under-21 squad in SPORTS ROUND-UP
Argentina Squad
Goalkeepers: Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Andujar (Catania). Defenders: Demichelis (B Munich), Samuel (Inter), Burdisso (Inter), Heinze (Marseille), Coloccini (Newcastle), Zabaleta (Man City), Insua (Fiorentina). Midfielders: Rodriguez (Liverpool), Mascherano (Liverpool), Di Maria (Real Madrid), Gutierrez (Newcastle), Bolatti (Fiorentina), Pastore (Palermo), Gago (Real Madrid), Datolo (Espanyol), Banega (Valencia). Forwards: Higuain (Real Madrid), Tevez (Man City), Aguero (Atletico), Messi (Barcelona), Milito (Inter), Lavezzi (Napoli).
