THE VITALS:

Team: Argentina

Brand: Adidas

Era: 2007-09 (Used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign, and the 2008 Olympic Games)

Name/Number: Mascherano #14

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

This shirt would have been described as being in excellent condition, however, there a slit at the seam of the left side of the shirt, it would appear that maybe the size label had been removed and this was the collateral damage of the cosmetic enhancement. In spite of that aberration, the material, name and numbering and embroidery are in excellent condition.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Medium

Pit to Pit Measurement: 21.5 inches

Shirt Length: 30 inches 

Made in Adidas’s ‘ClimaCool’ mould that was introduced ahead of the 2008-09 season; these shirts were especially baggy, as much, if not more than their predecessors! Thus, as dimensions suggest; this shirt may be better suited for someone who normally wears a size large.

DESCRIPTION:

A fine successor to its predecessor; the 2007-09 Argentina home shirt made by Adidas would simplify things after the previous shirt was broken up in many sections; the new shirt a much simpler ‘albiceleste’ design. Gone were the gold accents and white arch in the centre of the shirt; instead, it was just thick white stripes against the sky blue back drop, while the sky blue features as a big strip going down white sleeves. The salient feature however is the AFA crest which embossed into the body of the shirt. This shirt would be famous as it worn as Argentina went on to win Olympic gold at the 2008 Olympic Games, as well as the night that Argentina beat Peru in that emotional showdown in Buenos Aires and would also have the caveat of being the first Argentina shirt that Lionel Messi wore the number 10 for his country.

THE SEASON(S):

Putting the disappointments of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Copa America firmly in the rear view mirror; Argentina began preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa with 2 wins, however in their final two fixtures of 2007, they would defeat Venezuela before falling to Colombia in Bogota in their final fixture of 2007.

Alfie Basile’s reunited in Cairo, Egypt for their first game of 2008. They would defeat the hosts 2-0 on March 26^th, before their June friendlies saw them had a 4-1 beating to Mexico on June 5^th and then draw with the USA 0-0 four days later. The draw would be ominous as ack on the World Cup qualification front things were far from rosy. In their next four qualifiers against: Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru, they would draw, throw in a draw with Belarus in a friendly on August 20^th, and Argentina had drew in 6 successive games. The run would finally end as they beat Uruguay 2-1 on October 11^th, however a 1-0 defeat to Chile five days later spelt the end of Basile…

When Diego Maradona made his interest public at taking the reins and guiding Argentina to South Africa; it was just a matter of when, not if, the nation’s most beloved son would return to the ‘Albiceleste’ set-up. This was confirmed on October 29^th and in his first game in charge, he would secure a 1-0 win over Scotland on November 19^th to see out a frustrating 2008 for the national side. If there was a plus side however, the nations under 23 side would claim the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing with Argentina defeating Nigeria 1-0 in the final; adding to the gold they won in Athens back in 2004.

2009 began with a stunning 2-0 win over France on February 11^th, before a 4-0 win over Venezuela in World Cup qualification on March 28^th had Maradona in dreamland! The bubble would burst however on April 1^st, as notorious Bolivian altitude would suffocate his charges, and Argentina would lose by their highest ever margin; 6-1 for 2^nd time in their history. Victories over Panama and then Colombia eased the furore of that result, however consecutive defeats in qualification to: Ecuador, Brazil and Paraguay left qualification hanging in the balance with 2 games to spare.

Ahead of the crunch showdown with Peru on October 10^th, Argentina would defeat Ghana 2-0 in a friendly; a victory that set the stage for a famous rainy night at El Monumental where Martin Palermo’s last  minute winner ensured that Argentina would at least have a play-off place to get to the World Cup! Formalities would be completed in November, when they defeated Uruguay 1-0 to battle for the final automatic qualification slot.

The notable players that season(s) were:

Gonzalo Higuain, Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi, Martin Palermo, Julio Cruz, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Rodrigo Palacio, Lisandro Lopez, Maxi Rodriguez, Pablo Aimar, Lucho Gonzales, Angel Di Maria, Juan Roman Riquelme, Juan Sebastian Veron, Fernando Gago, Javier Mascherano, Esteban Cambiasso, Enzo Perez, Javier Zanetti, Pablo Zabaletta, Juan Pablo Sorin, Gabriel Heinze, Jonas Gutierrez, Leondro Cufre, Nicolas Burdisso, Gabriel Milito, Martin Demichelis, Fabricio Coloccini, Roberto Abbondanzieri, Leo Franco, Sergio Romero