Maradona rejects return for Argentina against Spain

BUENOS AIRES,  (Reuters) – Esteban Cambiasso, Javier  Zanetti and Gabriel Milito will make their Argentina comebacks  against world champions Spain in a friendly at the River Plate  stadium today (2000 GMT). 
 
The trio were overlooked by Diego Maradona for the recent  World Cup finals in South Africa, where Argentina crashed out  in a 4-0 quarter-final defeat by Germany.  

“Gabriel has shown me can bring the ball out well from  defence, he has good left foot with good touch,” Sergio  Batista, Maradona’s successor, said of Barcelona centre back  Milito.  
“Javier is a player of great experience who moves into  attack with conviction,” Batista told a news conference on  Monday speaking of the return at right back of Zanetti, who has  an Argentine record 136 caps.   “Cambiasso is a coach on the pitch,” he added of the  midfielder, a key player in the Inter Milan side that won the  European Champions League in May.  

Batista took over on a temporary basis after Maradona was  not retained as coach and will be hoping to be confirmed in the  job when the Argentine Football Association make their decision  on who should steer the team towards the 2014 World Cup in  Brazil.  

“The idea is to maintain a playing identity. We have  players capable of that,” said Batista, a commanding central  midfielder in the Argentine side led to the world title by  Maradona in 1986.  

Batista has, however, retained Maradona’s attacking trident  of Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez.  
He has given the midfield greater substance, however, after  captain Javier Mascherano found himself almost alone against a  packed German midfield in the June debacle in Cape Town. 
 
“Mache will have to be beyond the halfway line to play  more,” Batista said.  
Mascherano will be flanked by Cambiasso to his left and on  the right by Ever Banega, who was also overlooked for the World  Cup but returned for Batista’s first match in charge, a 1-0  friendly win over Ireland in Dublin last month. 
 
Batista said he would like his Argentina side to emulate  the Spanish possession and passing game but it would take time.  
“It’s six years of work against six days,” he said.  

Team – Sergio Romero; Javier Zanetti, Martin Demichelis,  Gabriel Milito, Gabriel Heinze; Ever Banega, Javier Mascherano,  Esteban Cambiasso; Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez.