Soccer: Nutty or genius? You pick

Conventions rarely bother Argentina coach Diego Maradona.

Still, this week's omission of Internazionale's Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso from Maradona's 30-man provisional World Cup squad has raised eyebrows throughout the football world.

As has Maradona's announcement that he won't be playing fullbacks in his World Cup XI.

Madness? That's certainly what it looks like to the Argentine public. It's something they've become accustomed to.

Maradona has selected a staggering 107 players in the 18 months he has been in charge.

He has been suspended by Fifa for an obscenity-laden tirade against the media.

He has fallen out with Juan Roman Riquelme, who he at first pledged to build his team around.

As well as Zanetti, Inter's captain and Argentina's record caps holder, and Cambiasso, he also left out Barcelona's Gabriel Milito and Real Madrid's Fernando Gago, selecting instead several domestic-based players.

What he hasn't done is find a playing shape and philosophy which brings the best from Lionel Messi.

Certainly bookmakers in Europe don't fancy Argentina as candidates for the World Cup, offering odds of around 10-1 - well behind the likes of Brazil and Spain, and even England. It no doubt reflects the commonly-held belief that Argentina have a nutter at the helm making random decisions.

However, scratch beneath the surface, and a different picture of Maradona's reign as manager and Argentina's prospects for the World Cup emerges. The truth is Maradona inherited a team that were already struggling at the halfway stage of the qualifying campaign.

The disastrous 6-1 defeat in the high altitude of Bolivia was one of Maradona's first games in charge.

"Every goal was like a knife through my heart", he said, but it can be seen as a one-off due to the extreme conditions.

That's not to absolve Maradona of the blame entirely, but the signs are that he has learnt from that bitter experience, placing greater emphasis on defence since. Too much for some, but the strategy of playing "four centre-backs" (Maradona's words) is not quite what his critics claim.

Maradona doesn't want the likes of Gabriel Heinze, Nicolas Otamendi and Velez Sarsfield pushing forward and delivering crosses. "That's the role of wingers," Maradona said.

And with Javier Mascherano playing just in front of the four "markers", Argentina will not be an easy team to penetrate.

The reason Maradona has used a high number of players is because the Argentina Football Association arranged a series of B-type internationals against second and third-rate opponents. In the actual qualifiers, the matches that count, Maradona used no more players than most other international managers.

He has settled for a counter-attacking 4-4-2 system, almost British in its style, with two pacy wingers tracking back and defending.

Crucially, the Argentina squad do not have any injury issues, and the six strikers that Maradona will take to the World Cup are all on form. -

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Expect the Maradona madness to continue in South Africa, as he attempts to become only the third man in history, after Franz Beckanbauer and Mario Zagallo, to win the World Cup as both player and manager.

- INDEPENDENT