When we reflect on football in world competitions, some national teams and fans who live football almost as a matter of state always come to mind. We also think about good football and its legendary players. Many times it is not necessary that these national teams have been champions, that they have the record of victories, we are left with the emotions that they have made us feel and the vivid memory of their history. This is the residue that the Argentina National Football Team always leaves, creating football emotions with its mythical players, their triumphs and even their imperious defeats.

The beginnings of Argentina's national football team date back to their first friendly match in 1901 against Uruguay when they won 3-2. The Uruguayan team would be Argentina's only rival at that time. The Lipton and Newton Cups were contested between both teams that began in 1905 and 1906 respectively.

Already in 1916 the first Copa América was organized with Argentina as the host country. The participating teams are Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, who will win the championship on goal difference by drawing against Argentina in the final. The Albiceleste team will win its first Copa de América in 1921 and it will be the beginning of fourteen victories that will be added to its record. To win this first victory, he had to eliminate Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. In the 1920s it will win in 1921, as we have seen, but also in 1925, 1927 and 1929.

In addition, in 1928 he was runner-up at the Amsterdam Olympic Games. Guess who he played the final against; against Uruguay, another story of their long rivalry.

Already in the 1930s he achieved his first great performance in a World Cup in 1930, remaining runners-up, again the Uruguayans beat them, but Argentina would take revenge decades later. In the Argentine squad we have an important star of the time Guillermo Stabile.

His participation in the 1934 World Cup was not remarkable and he would not participate in the World Cups in France in 1938, Brazil in 1950 and Switzerland 1954 the latter due to disagreements with FIFA. He continued reaping triumphs in the American Cups in all these empty years in the football World Cups under the baton of Stabile. They would go through different vicissitudes in the following World Cups with their best classification in England 1966 when they reached the quarterfinals and were ousted by the host in a controversial match and where from the problems due to the expulsion of an Argentine player who did not understand the referee, it was decided that a universal language would be used through the red and yellow cards.

But their great first victory at the global level was to take the title of champions in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, although not without controversy because Argentina is the host country and choosing the match times that best suited them to know the results of their rivals and know the goal difference needed for victory. But there was also very good football and extraordinary players, Mario Kempes and Ubaldo Fillol, the goalkeeper, one of the best of all time.

His other great stellar moment is the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the Maradona World Cup and his hand of God. They will win the final against the always efficient West Germany.

Let's have a look at its record to get an accurate picture of the competitive potential of the Argentine team throughout its history. We will review her victories, qualification as a semifinalist and quarterfinals in the World Cups, the American Cups and the Olympic Games in which she participated.

SIGNIFICANT RESULTS OF THE ARGENTINE FOOTBALL TEAM IN WORLD CUP, COPA AMERICA AND OLYMPIC GAMES

WORLD FOOTBALL:

World Cup Uruguay 1930: Runner-up after losing the final against Uruguay

England 1966 World Cup: Quarter-finals

1974 World Cup West Germany: Second round, eighth position in the table

1978 Argentina World Cup: Winner

1986 World Cup Mexico: Winner

1990 World Cup Italy: Runner-up after losing to West Germany

1998 World Cup in France: Quarter-finals, sixth position in the table

2006 World Cup Germany: Quarter-finals, sixth position in the table

2010 World Cup South Africa: Quarter-finals, fifth position in the table

World Cup Brazil 2014: Runner-up after losing to Germany in the finals with Messi

World Cup Russia 2018: Eighth of final serious defeats in round of 16

SIGNIFICANT RESULTS OF THE ARGENTINE FOOTBALL TEAM AT THE COPA AMERICA:

Argentina was the winner fourteen times in this competition.

Decade of the 10s:

Runner-up in the years 1916, 1917

1920s:

Winner in the years 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929

Runner-up in the 1920s, 1923, 1924, 1926

1930s

Winner in 1937

Runner-up in 1935

1940s

Winner in 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947

Runner-up 1942

Decade of the 50s

Winner in 1955, 1957, 1959-I

Runner-up in 1959-II

1960s

Runner-up in 1967

Decade of the 90s

Winner 1991 and 1993

2000s

Runner-up in 2004, 2007, 2015 and 2016

OLYMPIC GAMES

Olympic Games Amsterdam 1928: Silver Medal

LEGENDARY FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF ARGENTINA

Let's analyze the great players of the legendary Argentines, athletes who still remain in the memory of the followers of the history of the Albiceleste team.

Let's review the best Argentine football players:

Alfredo Di Stefano, born in 1926, began his career in the lower categories of River Plate in 1945 to pass as a player on loan to Huracán where he played for one season and in 1947 he became the first team of River Plate where he remained from 1947 to 1949. The first season in the River marked his confirmation as a star player of the Club and it is also the year in which he played for the first time in the Argentine National Team, winning the Copa América in 1947.

Due to a dispute between the Government of General Perón and the Argentine footballers, Di Stefano left to play outside of Argentina like many other players. He was signed by the Colombian club Los Millonarios in the city of Bogotá, where he stayed for four seasons in which he coincided with other high-quality players such as Pedemera, making this club one of the most powerful in America. Among other milestones, he managed to beat Real Madrid in their 50th anniversary tournament.

In 1953, he was transferred to Real Madrid, not without some controversy, and it was at the Merengue Club where he would be consecrated. His dual role as an Argentine player where he became a player and his nationalization as a Spanish citizen allowed him to play both with the Argentina Team, 6 games, and with the Spanish team another 32 from 1956 to 1962.

His double love for Argentine and Spanish football allowed him to play for the Argentine team for 6 games and for the Spanish team in 1956 after becoming a Spanish national, where he played 31 games, although circumstances prevented him from competing in a World Cup, although he was a national team player since 1956. to 1962 and is considered in his Spanish side as the best Spanish player of the 20th century, associating his brilliance with the greats Pelé, Cruyff and Maradona. With Real Madrid he won five European Cups and was the top scorer in the first division in five seasons from 1954 to 1959. He also received the Ballon d'Or in 1957 and 1959. He finished his career in Spanish and was coach among others of the River Plate from its beginnings and Boca Juniors. A skilled player of great mastery, he had an impressive versatile ability, in all the positions in which he played he stood out. He was a great director in the field with a high capacity for strategy. There are not many players in the history of football as complete as Di Stefano.

Mario Alberto Kempes, was born in 1954 in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. The Argentine striker star of the 70s and 80s began his career at the Córdoba Institute where he played in 1973 to later spend three seasons at the Rosario Central Club. From 1976 he was hired by Valencia in Spain where he dazzled with his game and remained until 1984. With the Valencian team he won the Copa del Rey, the Recopa and the European Super Cup. As of his departure from Valencia, he will begin a tour of several clubs in Argentina, River Plate where he won the Argentine league, Hercules in Alicante, he played in three different clubs in Austria, and in Arturo Fernández Vial in Chile. He ended his Indonesian career at Pelita Jaya in 1996.

In the Argentina team he was a hero. With his game and tenacity the Argentine team won the 1978 World Cup where he was crowned the top scorer and the best player in the championship. He played 43 games with the Argentine national team, scoring 20 goals.

He finished his career as a coach who toured different sports cultures; Indonesia, Albania, Bolivia, Venezuela, Italy and Spain. His hallmark was his long hair and his powerful shot with his left leg and his headers always scored at the net. With great instinct for the goal, he was a very fast and skilled player with a very complete physique.

Diego Armando Maradona, was born in 1960 in Lanús of the Province of Buenos Aires. He is one of the great living myths of football for his excellent past as a striker but also for representing the popular classes, the underprivileged both in Argentina and Naples. It has been sung by numerous artists and several biographical films have been made of its figure. Listed as one of the best players in the entire history of football on a par with Pelé. Always controversial, he was suspended for doping among many other dark points in his life such as various lawsuits for gender violence. In the sports field with his lights he embodied the best of Argentine football.

He began playing with Argentinos Juniors in 1976 and in 1981 began his relationship with Boca Juniors where he won the league title in 1981. He played with Barcelona since 1982 although he never felt comfortable in the Barcelona club but won the Copa del Rey in 1983. In 1984 he joined Napoli, the club where he felt at home even though he was expelled for his drug problems and was suspended for 15 months. He won 2 Italian Serie A leagues in 1987 and 1990 and the UEFA Cup in 1989. He played one season for Sevilla and another for Newell's Old Boys in Argentina in 1993. He finished his career at Boca Junios in 1997.

Although he already stood out in the Youth Team in the 1979 World Cup of the lower categories of Japan that Argentina took, he made his debut with the Albiceleste in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, it was in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico where he was consecrated as the top star overall with the Argentine National Team. For the story is the goal from the middle of the field and the Hand of God in the game against England. He was a finalist, runner-up, in the 1990 World Cup. In the 1994 World Cup in the USA, he tested positive for doping and had to stop playing for a year. It was his last World Cup as a player.

His list of distinctions is endless, let's stick to two, he won the honorary Golden Ball in 1995 and in Argentina the Clarín and Olimpia distinction for the best Argentine athlete of the century in 1999.

He has been a coach of multiple clubs and the Argentine National Team between 2008 and 2010.

tHE Pelusa, as he was called, moved through the field at high speed, as if flying with the ball at his feet and with a very fast stopping capacity, very precise in the shots, of great technical quality, with great control over the ball and high power, he was different, he played the ball differently, always brilliant. Watching him play was an absolute football pleasure.

Gabriel Batistuta, born in 1969, the center forward of the 90s who holds the record for scoring with the Argentina team. It is known as Batigol. He made his debut in Newell's Old Boys where he played only one season in the first division after having hardened in the lower categories of the club, later he was hired by River Plate for a season where he won the first division championship, he went through Boca Juniors another season to jump to the Italian league, being signed by Fiorentina where he remained from 1991 to 2000 and where he won the Italian Cup and the Super Cup becoming a legend for the followers of Florence. He spent three seasons with AS Roma winning Serie A and the Italian Super Cup, one season with Inter Milan and one season with AI Arabi SC in Qatar. In Italy he was considered one of the great players in both Rome and Florence. In fact, he continues to hold the title of top scorer for Fiorentina with 207 goals.

He wore the shirt of the Argentina team from 1991 to 2002. Winning in 1991 and 1993 the Copa América and two Confederations Cups.

He was a tall player, with a very strong, effective shot, and magnificent both in the aerial plays and in the fouls. As Pasarella said, who managed him at River Plate, he seemed like a German player, although he was born Argentine.

We cannot forget Messi as one of the greatest players in the history of Argentine football. Still active, we let his biography continue to be written in the field.

The colors of the Argentina football shirt are based on the flag of the Argentine nation created by Manuel Belgrano in 1812. This is the reason why the Albiceleste color of the Argentina Team jersey has not changed considerably throughout of its history since it was used for the first time in 1908. Previously, the color white was used, as happened in most of the teams that used white shirts in their beginnings.

The bands have been more or less wide, the sky blue has been varying in intensity, the neck has changed from a round neck to a V neckline or polo neck on some occasions, but the essence of the shirt is the same, each shirt of the different championships with the symbolic charge left by the players who wore them and the triumphs or failures that were won or suffered.

The away shirt of the Argentina National Team was solid blue, although in some seasons it also had darker blue stripes. In this second kit, more innovative motifs such as bands with the colors of the Argentine flag were added from the 90s.

We suggest you visit our Argentina Retro Shirts Section.

You can buy the Argentina World Cup 1978 shirt with Kempes and Menotti as coach or the 1986 Argentina World Cup Shirt with which Maradona rose to the altars of global football.

To feel in your own skin the triumphs and history of the Argentina football team.