Argentina’s playing squad are in Kansas City and are preparing to defend their World Cup crown at football’s premier tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, carrying with them the hopes of a nation.
But things for the Albiceleste, however, could be better. There are complications – from judicial investigations involving AFA President Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia and fitness concerns affecting several of the team's star players, not least captain Lionel Messi.
Just over a week out from the start of the World Cup, Tapia and his right-hand man, the treasurer of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Pablo Toviggino, are under judicial scrutiny over the suspicious movement of millions of dollars.
Local newspaper La Nación recently reported that the Justice Department of the United States, where Argentina will play their group-stage matches, has opened investigations into financial transactions involving accounts in Florida and Washington linked to companies associated with AFA.
Three months ago, in Argentina, a judge formally charged the organisation, Tapia and several top officials with tax evasion. The indictment coincided with accusations from the football governing body that the President Javier Milei’s government is pursuing a campaign of judicial persecution against it.
The court formally indicted Tapia for "misappropriation of tax withholdings" and "misappropriation of social security contributions.”
Embarrassingly, Tapia was also ordered to post a bond of around US$250,000 and was initially barred from leaving the country. He has ultimately been permitted to travel with the squad, which arrived in the United States this week.
Above the fray
The court's decision followed a criminal complaint filed by Argentina’s ARCA national tax authority, which accused the AFA and its executives of improperly withholding and failing to pay taxes and social security contributions amounting to some US$13 million.
In addition to that case, the powerful football organisation – which has been led by Tapia since 2017 – is also under investigation for alleged money-laundering. As part of that inquiry, AFA's offices were raided in December in connection with dealings related to a private financial institution.
Argentina's national team and its players has sought to distance itself from the controversy, neither openly supporting the officials involved, nor directly endorsing the criticisms levelled against them.
"Sometimes we're a country that, instead of coming together, often tears itself apart or creates controversy. We're footballers and we're here to play football. We don't do politics and we don't understand those arenas," said midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, one of the squad's senior figures, back in March.
"We're footballers representing our country. We're not here to do politics; we're not politicians. The best thing is not to spread misinformation or create division. We need to be more united than ever because becoming world champions is difficult. We want to be judged and supported for what we do on the pitch," added the Inter Miami player.
Messi injury fears
On the sporting side, the three-time world champions arrive with several players managing fitness issues, including their biggest star, Messi.
The captain, who will turn 39 during the tournament, is recovering from a muscular problem, while goalkeeper Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez has suffered a fractured finger that is likely to leave him racing against time to be fit for Argentina's opening Group J match against Algeria on 16 June.
"I don't think he'll be ready for 90 minutes," former Albiceleste manager Ricardo La Volpe, a member of the country's 1978 World Cup-winning squad, said this week regarding Messi's condition.
"They need a player who can provide unpredictability, create goals and finish chances," he added.
Argentina is pursuing a rare consecutive back-to-back World Cup triumph – a feat not achieved for more than six decades since Brazil's back-to-back titles in 1958 and 1962.
The team’s other opponents in Group J are Austria and Jordan in the group stage.
The group appears manageable, but the South Americans carry what many view as a potential handicap: they have not faced a major European power, not even in a friendly match, since defeating France in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni nevertheless believes that his side, which blends youth and experience – 17 of the 26 selected players won the World Cup in 2022 – is capable of challenging for the title, as Argentina always aspires to do.
"After that, the ball may go in or it may not. The important thing is knowing what we're aiming for, respecting our tradition, respecting our culture, and then the pitch will decide what it has to decide,” Scaloni told local sports outlet Olé in an interview published on Tuesday.
“Playing well alone isn't enough; a whole series of other factors also have to fall into place,” he added.
– TIMES/AFP
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