When he was appointed after the last World Cup, this novice coach was widely seen as a short-term solution, a poor man's Luiz Felipe Scolari keeping the seat warm while the real thing was unavailable.

Instead of which, Dunga and his band of men have, bar last year's Olympics, won everything in their path - they have claimed the Copa America, Confederations Cup and finished top of South America's World Cup qualification table.

Dunga, then, stands by those who have stood by him - none more so than Gilberto Silva. The more his central midfielder is criticised, the more firmly his name is written on the team-sheet.

It is not a word that lends itself to an easy translation, but it is not at all complementary - it means a small, insignificant, rubbish team - and hardly seems an appropriate term for the dash and fluency of Arsene Wenger's side. Surely this is taking loyalty too far.

Gilberto Silva is a player with many virtues - and can point to a truckload of titles to back them up. He is also by all accounts an excellent dressing room influence, the kind of person who naturally puts team above self. And the fact that he was willing to accept responsibility to take Arsenal's penalties speaks well for his strength of character.

Gilberto Silva takes on the Americans in the Confederations Cup Final in June

One of the great things about football - a key part in the game's global success - is that in can be interpreted in different ways. We can all have our own preferences for certain styles and approaches.

And, for what it's worth, I find it somewhat depressing that Gilberto Silva stands by to represent Brazil in central midfield for the 84th time against England this weekend.

One of my most enriching experiences was to talk football with the late Zizinho, Pele's idol and the star player from the 1950 World Cup. Having played through a period of intense tactical development in Brazilian football, he was obsessed with different formations. In 1985, he published an autobiography.

The last words were as follows. In Brazil, he argued, "the cabeca-de-area [midfielder who sits in front of the centre backs], a man who can control 70% of his team's possession, has now been given the specific function of destroying, when it should be to set up the play."

I'm with Zizinho on this one. Effectively, centre backs have often been played in front of the centre backs - a trend which has reached its logical conclusion with Gilberto Silva, originally a centre back, enjoying such a long international career in midfield.

It is because of this development that Brazil are no longer as attractive to watch. They can still count on fabulous individual skill. But with guard dogs in place of artists in such a key position, their game seldom flows as sweetly as it used to when Clodoaldo, Falcao or Toninho Cerezo set the moves in motion.

The other side, though, has a very powerful argument in its favour. Brazil went 24 years without winning the World Cup. The titles, at all levels, started piling up once more when they closed down the centre of the pitch.

The physical development of the game, it is argued, mean that it is no longer possible to waltz through the middle of the field as the 1970 team did when becoming the best in the world - and the 1982 side did while losing it.

It is a respectable line of thought. Dunga has even gone as far to suggest that calls for Brazil to return to a more traditional approach are part of a European plot to ensure that his country stops winning.

But evidence from this year's youth tournaments suggests that Brazil's model, so successful over recent years, might be tiring.

In the final of the World Under-20 Cup, Brazil lost on penalties to Ghana, after being unable to break down an opponent that played with 10 men for some 80 minutes. At Under-17 level, the story was far, far worse. The group phase eliminated just six of the 24 teams - Brazil were among them.

Cesc Fabregas and Gilberto Silva in happier days together in north London at Arsenal

Both teams were rich in individual talent. The Under-17s were widely seen as Brazil's most promising team at the level for some time. Both, though, filled central midfield with proto-Gilberto Silva figures - giant, dogged, limited, holding the fort to free the full-backs and unable to contribute anything imaginative to the build-up.

This, of course, is the principal criticism levelled at Gilberto Silva - his passes are usually slow and to the side. At 33, though, the defensive side of his game may have lost something.

It is fascinating that Wenger chose to get rid of him so early. Part of this, I would imagine, is that once Fabregas became the king of the midfield another partner was needed - and Silva lacks the pass and move game to accompany him. But also - and I would love a response on this from Arsenal fans - I wonder if the change of home ground had anything to do with it.

The Emirates pitch is much bigger than Highbury, and maybe Wenger came to the conclusion that the Brazilian was no longer mobile enough to cover it. If there have been times over the last few years when Arsenal have looked like a 'timeco', it would probably be when Gilberto was on the field in his final season with the club.

Of course, at that point the veteran was hampered by a lack of regular first-team action.

He is a better player than he looked in some of those final games for Arsenal. And Brazil don't have a Fabregas for him to accompany. Indeed, as they look to launch the counter-attack, they often sit so deep that there is little room between him and the centre backs, and consequently less space for him to cover.

With his experience, defensive awareness and personal qualities, Gilberto Silva remains an important part of Dunga's Brazil. Player and coach have picked up titles together, but the real test is coming in South Africa next year.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) Why do you think Walter Samuel never gets selected to play for Argentina? He's a starting central defender for Inter Milan. If he's good enough for Mourinho, you'd think he'd be good enough for the Argentine national team.
Dan Anstey

A) Baffles me. I've been a big fan ever since I saw him as a teenager put Romario in his pocket in the Maracana. For ages, he was the lynchpin of Argentina's defence, but then came the injury problems. Even if the injuries have taken their toll, I'd still put him in front of De Michelis and Heinze. Perhaps Samuel's best bet for a recall is if the defence looks wobbly against Spain this Saturday.

Q) Brazil is widely seen as a successful example of a nation in which people of all races and origins live together without divisions, the epitome of a melting-pot society, and football as a classic example of this harmony. Is there racism in football in this part of the world?
Karl Chads

A) The 'racial paradise' thing is something of a myth - I've yet to come across a black Brazilian who goes along with it. The legacy of feudalism and slavery still persists, as can be seen from the debate going on about university quotas for afro-descendents.

Football is an excellent example. The onset of professionalism in the 1930s secured once and for all the place of the black player - but after all this time there are still very few black coaches. It's striking that Didi was not given a chance to coach Brazil, especially after the '74 World Cup. The 'Ethiopian Prince' was the midfield brains behind Brazil winning in '58 and '62, did an excellent job with Peru in '70, but the call never came.
I was thinking about this recently watching Colombia in the World Under-17 Cup. Their coach, Ramiro Viafara, is black - and whenever I go there I see black coaches - but not so much in Brazil.

There have also been cases of racist chanting, especially in the south, so I think it's fair to say that the battle to eradicate racism has not yet been won.

My problem with the thing is that this concentration on the individual can tend to overshadow one of the fundamental truths of the game - the stars shine brightest when the collective balance of the team is right.

The point is proved by a brief look at the performances this year of one of the favourites. Based on what he has done for Barcelona, Lionel Messi would be a worthy winner - but that would certainly not be the case if the criteria was restricted to his form with Argentina. How can this be true?

For a start I think we can discount the leaden-minded nationalistic nonsense that Messi lacks motivation when he plays for his national team, that he is too European, and so on.

They make sacrifices to play for their national team which many Europeans would not be willing to go through.

In the case of Messi, he was the only Argentine, and one of only four players in the entire continent, to play all 18 rounds of South America's World Cup qualifiers. I think we can conclude that he is every bit as motivated to play for Argentina as he is with Barcelona. He's the same player, the ball is the same shape and the pitch is the same size. So what's the problem?

Surely it lies in the fact that Barcelona are a team in the plenitude of the word. They are set up to get the best out of him. Xavi and Iniesta give him the ball with quality, Daniel Alves breaks outside him to stretch the opposing defence and create room for his darts infield, and when he cuts in on the diagonal, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is there to exchange passes.

In a Barcelona shirt he is surrounded by friends and allies. For Argentina he is just surrounded. He beats one opponent, and another three are waiting to stifle him.

Messi celebrates another goal for Barcelona - this time in the Champions League

Now that Argentina have qualified for the World Cup, Diego Maradona has to turn his mind to this question. Time is tight. Next year there is only one Fifa date before the end of the season. So the two dates later this month are important - and the squad named last week holds clues to the coach's mindset.

Maradona appears to have high hopes of the link-up between Messi and Juan Sebastian Veron - who combined well last month to set up the crucial goal against Uruguay. For this month's games so far he has only called up his European-based players, but it would make sense to rest Veron this time - the midfielder is 34, and has his short term sights set on next month's Club World Championship.

If Veron does end up being left out of the coming match against Spain, there have been recalls for Fernando Gago and Esteban Cambiasso, might Maradona be thinking of playing three in central midfield - so in the World Cup it might be Veron in front of Mascherano and either Gago or Cambiasso? That way he keeps Veron central, with a full vision of the game, where he can get close to Messi, but also has sufficient cover behind him.

The only way this seems viable is with a back three, and wing backs to supply the width. This is what makes the recall of Maxi Rodriguez intriguing. Is this because Maradona is giving up on his full backs and instead thinking of Rodriguez and either Jonas Gutierrez or Angel Di Maria to work the flanks?

At the heart of all these ruminations must surely be the desire to give Messi a structure similar to the one he enjoys at Barcelona - Veron behind him, Rodriguez outside him, and the hope of a growing relationship with new centre forward Gonzalo Higuain.

After one poor performance against Peru, Emiliano Insua was left out. But if there was bad news last week for one Liverpool left-back, there was good news for another. Fabio Aurelio was called up by Brazil as part of their squad to face England and Oman. In a strong indication that the left-back position is still up for grabs, Michel Bastos was also included for the first time.

Two other new players drafted in look on less solid ground in their hopes of a World Cup place. Coach Dunga is unlikely to add any domestically-based players to his squad.

The Brazilian Championship is in its closing stages, and there is no pause to coincide with the international dates. Adriano of Flamengo and Diego Tardelli of Atletico Mineiro are both in scintillating form as their clubs push for the title. The strength of Porto's Hulk makes him a stand in for Adriano, the mobility of Hoffenheim's Carlos Eduardo substitutes that of Tardelli. Both the new boys will have to do something very special to get past the home based boys and nail down a definitive place in the squad.

Unlike Argentina, there is no need for Brazil to pull apart their side and try and put the pieces back together in the search for a winning formula. Brazil qualified in comfort, as did Chile, who make just one significant change in their list of foreign-based players for coming games against Germany and Slovakia.

There is a recall for excellent holding midfielder Claudio Maldonado. Unobtrusive but effective, Maldonado is not the kind of figure ever likely to be nominated for a Fifa World Player of the Year award. But he is the type to balance out a team and give a platform for the stars to shine.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag;

Q) I'm sure you've heard about the Brazilian Division Two match where a team apparently scored nine goals in the last nine minutes to secure promotion.

Did this really happen? And if so, while being on the one hand "hilarious", surely on the other it's a disgrace and something very worrying to see in a professional football association. Has it cast any doubts on the integrity of soccer in Brazil, and do you think that any implications will arise from this incident?
Dan Casey

A) It's much lower down the food chain than people might imagine. This did not take place in the national second division. Brazil is divided into 27 states - this was the second division in one of those states, and a fairly remote one at that. So the players at some of these clubs might be professionals, but only just. Salaries will be very, very low - which can increase temptation in cases such as these. Perhaps the main implication is that these days, in the era of mass technology, it's not possible to get away with something this blatant.

Q) As a Liverpool fan, I was recently discussing what players could be signed on the cheap in January to help boost our thin squad, and someone mentioned Adriano. Apparently, he has a clause in his contract that will allow him to leave for free in January should a big club from Europe come along and try to sign him.

I was wondering whether you could confirm whether this is true or not? How has his form been in South America over the past year? Do you think he would make a good signing for us, and would he be willing to come?
James Blattman

A) He's in superb form for Flamengo - sometimes he looks like an adult playing with kids. His agent, though, is saying that he doesn't want to know about a move back to Europe at least until after the World Cup - and after his psychological problems and battle with alcohol abuse in Italy it might take a brave club to risk money on him even then.

There are a few precedents here. Jack Greenwell from England took Peru to victory in the 1939 Copa America. More recently, Xavier Azkargorta from Spain qualified Bolivia for the 1994 World Cup. And at around the same time Dussan Draskovic from Montenegro played an important part in the early stages of Ecuador's rise.

Paraguay also give us some examples, especially relevant since the question specifically asked about Italians. Vessilio Bartoli was in charge of the national team in the 50s. He had previously enjoyed considerable success in domestic Paraguayan football, which was not true of the most recent case, that of Cesare Maldini, who parachuted in from Italy to take Paraguay to the 2002 World Cup.

South America is a million miles away from contemporary, cosmopolitan western Europe. Distances are vast, mass salaries are low, air travel is expensive. There has been little significant mass immigration to the continent in decades.

Ideas of nationality, then, tend to be relatively fixed. The national football team is a hugely important symbol of this identity. It represents the country in physical terms and also defends the national conception of how football should be played.

This, of course, also applies to the western European countries - but surely these days to a lesser extent. From the other side of the Atlantic I was amazed by how the English footballing public seemed willing to accept the ultra-cautious approach in major tournaments of Sven-Goran Eriksson.

It certainly wasn't the same "get it in there" English crowds I had grown up with. But then, as stated earlier, English football and society have gone through a process of cosmopolitanisation which changes ideas and identities.

South America has gone through no such process. A master group former like Luiz Felipe Scolari was not able to adapt his methods to a multi-national squad at Chelsea.

Going the other way, a European taking charge of a South American national team must get to grips with the dominant cultural identity in his new country.

This can be difficult even within South America. The great Argentine player, Jose Omar Pastoriza did an important job laying the groundwork for the recent rise of Venezuela.

But results only improved after he had been replaced by Venezuelan coaches more in tune with the idiosyncrasies of the players.

Ecuador found an interesting way round this problem. They made fabulous progress importing a series of Colombian coaches - Francisco Maturana, Hernan Dario Gomez and Luis Fernando Suarez.

It can be easier for a foreign coach to stand outside the fuedings between the two rival cities, Quito and Guayaquil, and Ecuador were able to do this while taking advantage of the experience their imported coaches had acquired with Colombia in the 1990s - and all this without major problems of cultural adaptation, since the two countries are neighbours and for a while were even part of the same nation.

But the normal movement of coaches in South America is northwards - from the continent's traditional big three, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, to those nations where the game caught on later.

Peru have had success with Brazilian coaches - Didi, Elba de Padua Lima (magnificently nicknamed 'Tim') and a recent attempt with Paulo Autori.

Uruguayans have gone all over. Anibal Ruiz took Paraguay to the last World Cup, and Sergio Markarian qualified them for 2002 before he was unwisely replaced by Cesare Maldini.

But it's Argentines who can crow at the moment, with Gerardo Martino qualifying Paraguay for next year's World Cup, and Marcelo Bielsa doing likewise with Chile.

Colombia showed what they are capable of with a 2-0 win over Paraguay in Asuncion

The pair go way back. Bielsa's first senior job was in charge of Newells Old Boys in Argentina. Martino was the star midfielder. The relationship worked - both like to attack.
Martino has tried to carry this attacking approach to Paraguay.

I well recall his first competitive game in charge. Paraguay beat Colombia 5-0 in the 2007 Copa America, but Martino was not happy. It had been a counter-attacking triumph, but the coach had wanted his team to play high up the field and keep their opponents under pressure.

This tension promises to be interesting in the World Cup. Deep, dogged defence is part of the DNA of the Paraguayan national team, especially against physically stronger opponents. Martino has recognised the need for pragmatism, but he will still try to convince his team to take the initiative. It could be an uphill struggle.

Marcelo Bielsa is unlikely to face the same problem. His 3-3-1-3 system, with its two wingers and commitment to playing in the opponent's half, has gone down well in Chile.
Bielsa was previously in charge of his native Argentina, where even while his team sailed through the 2002 qualifiers his methods were always questioned.

For the traditional Argentine purists his team was too European. With its constant high tempo, there was no place for an old style foot-on-the-ball playmaker like Riquelme.
Chile has proved easier to win over. One of Chile's all-time greats, defender Elias Figueroa, once told me that in the past the national side "have tried to imitate Argentina. We've tried to imitate Brazil. We've tried to imitate Germany and Spain. There's been no continuity."

But it could well be that this lack of a defined identity, unusual in South America, has made it easier for Bielsa to implant his tactical model. It means there is less cultural resistance, no sense of betraying a deeply loved tradition. There was even a proposal to award Bielsa Chilean citizenship. It would not be appropriate. A fascinating, brooding obsessive, Bielsa owes his allegiance to the global community of football.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) I've noticed that Boca and especially River are struggling in the Argentinian Primera Division. Boca are currently 10th while River, having just won one out of their first nine games, are in 16th position. Can you give us some reasons for their poor results.
Terje Dahl

A) And they've just drawn 1-1 in the modestly entitled 'super-clasico,' not a result that does much good to either. I think River are mired in an institutional crisis. There seems to be something very wrong with the set-up there, with hooligans having a say in the running of the club and even (allegedly) a share in transfer revenues. None of the players seem to be making progress, and that's usually a sign of something wrong behind the scenes.

In Boca's case, I think a measure of instability is built into their model. They've had a lot of success producing players, keeping hold of them for a couple of years and then selling, and thus financing their squad. But there comes a time when you've sold key players, and the veterans are not quite what they were, and results suffer while the next group of youngsters are coming through.

Q) I recently went to watch the River v Independiente game in BA. The question I have is about the River centre-forward, no.23 (Fabiani) i think his name is. He looked like a Mark Viduka-type player, good feet, good with his back to goal and looked the most likely to score. Where has he come from, how old is he and does he have a big future?
Ed Middleton

A) Cristian Fabbiani is a River fan who joined the club at the start of the year from Newells - before that he'd played in Chile, Israel and with Cluj in Romania. He is talented, as you say, excellent with his back to goal. But he's already 26, and if he's going to get the most from his talent then he still needs to work at his fitness.

He's lost some, but he's still carrying too much weight - hence his 'Ogre' nickname, and the fans turning up wearing 'Shrek' costumes in his honour. As I mentioned in the previous answer, there are lots of players there - Abelairas, Buonanotte, Rios, Cabral, Domingo - who look like terrific prospects but are not coming through. Time is not on Fabbiani's side is he's gong to buck this trend.

This brings to a halt - we shall find out if only temporarily - the rise of teams from the north of continent. Colombia made it to the World Cups of 1990, '94 and '98, and Ecuador were at the last two. This time they have missed out, and since the spotlight will be off them for a while, now would seem to be an appropriate moment to have a look at their progress.

In the case of Ecuador, that progress has been immense. There were some depressing scenes just over a week ago after they suffered a last-minute defeat at home to Uruguay. As the players left the pitch they were abused by some of the crowd in Quito.

Supporters everywhere can have short memories, and can be astonishingly quick to take success for granted. It was only 20 years ago that Ecuador were giving signs that they were not merely making up the numbers.

In such a short space it is nothing short of extraordinary that they have been to two World Cups, and performed with honour in both - but problems are now building up.

The main reason they failed to make it this time was their inability to replace centre-forward Agustin Delgado, who was nicknamed of 'el Tin' but who was worth gold to the team.

He may have had an unhappy spell at Southampton - and we might ask why the club bought him at a time when his knee problems were public knowledge - but Delgado was a class act, capable of grabbing goals from nowhere at the highest level.

In this campaign, Ecuador had plenty of times when the ball was flashing back and forth across the opposing penalty area with no one to apply the finishing touch. Burly Carlos Tenorio's career never quite took off, perhaps due to injuries. And Felipe Caicedo is a frustrating figure, who produces the odd moment of quality on the turn, but supplies little in the penalty area.

Birmingham's Cristian Benitez is dangerous and Jefferson Montero, with his ability to drift past his marker on either flank, is a potential genius. But in addition to the hole at centre-forward, there are problems at the end of the pitch.

The wonderful centre-back partnership of the classy Ivan Hurtado and the gangling Giovanny Espinoza is now past its sell by date. The goalkeepers are closer to 40 than 30, and the current first-choice is a naturalised Argentine.

The team's outstanding midfielder, Edison Mendez, once the baby of the side, has now passed 30. In short, there are plenty of key players who need replacing and with a population of little more than 13 million, this will not be an easy task.

Ecuador's fear, then, is that their successful period might be like that of Peru in the 70s, Colombia in the 90s or even Bolivia in 1994 - one generation and out.

In the case of Colombia the success should have been easier to sustain. Colombia's population is bigger than Argentina's. The country has a number of urban centres with well established clubs. They should be doing better.

For the third successive campaign they finished just off the play-off position, but this was the least convincing of the three. In the previous two they went into the last game with hopes of making it though. But before last Wednesday's win away to Paraguay they were out of the race - and the fact that they won their only away game when already eliminated does not show them in a good light.

Colombia showed what they are capable of with a 2-0 win over Paraguay in Asuncion

So what has gone wrong? Picking 56 players in 18 games is not a good sign. It seems to indicate that the country produces plenty of players, but they are much of a muchness. Players are not going on to greatness.

When I was in Colombia last year local journalists were stressing their view that too any players lose motivation after signing their first big contract.

I would add that there seems to be an ideological confusion. The fact that they blew up under pressure makes it easy to forget how good the 1994 side really was - their record going into the World Cup was one defeat in 34 games, a run which included a 5-0 win away to Argentina in qualification.

Amid the tragedy of '94, with the execution of Andres Escobar, the trauma went deep. The hypnotic, short passing style of that team appeared discredited, and more physical, less lyrical players were produced.

They have usually persevered with a number 10 figure, to replace the frizzy haired Carlos Valderrama. But they have tended to throw the shirt at Giovanny Hernandez or Macnelly Torres and given them total responsibility for setting up the play.

It is the privatisation of creation - forgetting that the early 90s side were much better at moving the ball collectively. In other words, Valderrama functioned because he was surrounded with players who were on a similar wavelength, with both the technical gifts and the ideological commitment to the short passing game.

To go forward, then, it would be nice to see Colombia take a step backwards and rediscover part of their own footballing identity. A total of 14 goals in 18 rounds of World Cup qualifiers tells its own story.

But there is one country from the north of the continent which is undoubtedly making strides. Venezuela enjoyed their best ever campaign, a last day 0-0 draw away to Brazil leaving them just two points off the play-off position.

Even more impressive is that this year coach Cesar Farias has taken the opportunity to promote several of his Under-20 side, who performed so well recently in the World Youth Cup. Seven of them played at senior level in the qualification campaign - so excellent results have been achieved while renewing the side.

Unfortunately, though, it will not be easy to keep the momentum going - for Venezuela and the other sides who missed out on the World Cup, the next competitive matches are not until the 2011 Copa America, some 20 months away.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) With the U-20 World Cup just over, and Brazil having lost, I can't help but think many of the team will probably not make it big. Which of the current crop of players who've just played in the U-20's for Brazil do you feel are destined for a big future in the game?
Marco

A) I think they were unlucky to lose, but that's not the point really - the objective is to develop players for the future of the senior side. Who might get there? The captain Giuliano is an excellent midfielder, talented and versatile and I can see him making the grade. Alex Teixeira was the star turn in Egypt, with some magic moments in one against one situations - we'll have to see with him, but he's certainly one to follow. The big centre back Rafael Toloi is a good prospect, and I was very impressed by the way that keeper Rafael recovered from a howler against Australia.

Q) I am a Liverpool and was delighted to see Insua get recognition for his good start to season with his first call up and cap for Argentina.
My question is what was your opinion of how he got on?
Did he get much press back in Argentina before / after the call up? I guess being in the same side as the Argentine captain would have helped?
Ben Lewis-Bloor

A) He's known in Argentina mostly for his displays at under-20 level. He played in the side that won the 2007 World Youth Cup and was captain of the side that failed dismally to qualify for this year's version - where he played at centre back as well as left-back.

To be honest, I thought his selection in the home game against Peru was one of Maradona's more bizarre decisions. It was a game where he needed an attacking presence from his full-backs - Datolo of Napoli could have supplied it, but after scoring two in three games he was dropped and Insua came in. The problem with Insua, I think, is that at the top level he lacks pace at full-back, and is not commanding enough for centre-back.

Maradona now has to sift through his options and focus on a squad for the World Cup. It wouldn't surprise me, given the lack of top quality full-backs (both flanks) if he goes with a back three. Insua might come into contention as the left-sided centre-back, though I think it's unlikely. Maradona is a big Heinze fan, and that would seem to be his position.

Peru's equaliser in the last minute of normal-time was swiftly followed by Argentina's last-gasp winner. In all the drama and the emotion, one question should not be overlooked - how on earth could Argentina get themselves in such a mess against opponents whose away record in the campaign going into the game was so appalling? (eight games, all lost, two goals scored and 24 conceded).

After his injury-time winner, lumbering centre-forward Martin Palermo goes home as the hero. But he was also the villain - or more so, Maradona was, for introducing Palermo at half-time. It was yet another panic change at the interval where Maradona tore apart the structure of his side.

It was goalless after 45 minutes, but the ball had hardly been out of Peru's half. Argentina had created chances though, to be fair to Maradona, and had at times suffered from a lack of presence in the opposing penalty area.

If the second half was going to be exactly the same, then Maradona could have felt justified in his decision to take off Perez on the right of midfield and bring on Palermo.

But a game of football is a process, its pattern liable to change. Soon after the restart Higuain put the hosts in front - and Peru realised they now outnumbered Argentina five to three in midfield.

And their most dangerous player, Juan Manuel Vargas on the left of midfield, was now free. It was a different game, one which Argentina were no longer tactically or psychologically equipped to play.

While it was goalless and they were dominant, Argentina had looked over-anxious, trying to walk the ball into the net. But after taking the lead and then finding themselves under pressure they had a collective attack of nerves.

As the storm erupted around him, Maradona had to work out how to correct the mistake he had made, responding to the growing Peruvian threat by withdrawing Higuain and sending on De Michelis as an emergency right-back - weakening his attack without, as it proved, doing much to shore up the defence.

It is always easier in hindsight, but surely Maradona would have done better to have sent the same side out for the second half. Part of the team's nerves can be attributed to personnel - the back line does not look at all solid. But part is coming from the coach and his endless changes.

Diego Maradona shows his relief at the victory after the game

Half-time in Buenos Aires was a moment when they needed to be calmed and reassured, told to keep passing and keep playing. A change at the interval - especially one which left them so light in midfield - inevitably set the panic bells ringing.

But they stay alive to panic once more - and there surely will be plenty of nervous moments away to Uruguay on Wednesday night.

It is a re-run of the first World Cup final, Uruguay against Argentina in Montevideo's Centenario stadium - with the difference that at stake this time is not the trophy, but South America's last remaining automatic qualifying slot for next year in South Africa.

And if extra spice were needed, it's a game where both teams have the tools to hurt the other.

As they showed in fine style on Saturday, coming from behind to win away to Ecuador, Uruguay are a dangerous attacking force. Forlan and Suarez are a high-class duo, with options off the bench of the rangy Cavani and big Abreu for the aerial assault. No other side has scored as many goals at home as Uruguay. They will ask plenty of questions of the Argentine defence.

But with Uruguay pushing up looking to win, Argentina might be able to grab control of midfield. I would expect a return after suspension of Juan Sebastian Veron, who, if selected, faces one of the most important games of his long international career. If he can control possession he will not only be shielding his defence, but also providing the platform for Messi and Higuain.

A draw is good enough for Argentina - unless Ecuador win away to Chile by a five goal margin. But if Argentina lose, and Ecuador win by any score, then Maradona and his men will even miss out on the chance of a play-off.

Wednesday's forecast for Montevideo is for only light rain, so there is little chance of Maradona repeating his Gene Kelly celebrations if Argentina come through intact. But the Centenario stadium does have a huge tower, so maybe he'll go in for a parachute jump.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) There was an interesting interview with Stephen Ireland in one of the tabs, in which he stated that international football would become an anachronism, and top players would start to retire young from the "chore" of the international scene. I personally agree with him, and think the World Cup as we know it will be gone in 20-30 years (or sooner). It will probably be replaced by a genuine "World Club Cup" or "World Super League", (Corinthians v Arsenal, L'pool v Boca juniors, etc...).

What is the view in S. America? Is there appetite for a "global league"? Surely it's in their interests, financially, to break the European stranglehold on the game? The top clubs there could easily compete against English, Spanish or Italian opposition. Are South Americans generally more loyal to their club or country?
M W Goble

A) Over here it's true that diehard supporters are often not so into the national team. But for the rest of the population, even for many who are not normally football fans, the shirt of the national team is the most potent symbol of Brazil, Uruguay or Argentina.

I've seen the difference here between Brazil winning the World Cup and Corinthians winning the World Club title. The latter was football. The former is an event that transcends sport entirely and becomes a statement about a nation - for this reason international football will continue to have the power to reach more people on a deeper basis than the club game.

If Stephen Ireland had the chance to represent a nation of over 190 million all desperate to win the World Cup I doubt very much that he'd see it as a chore. He would probably view it as the highlight of his career.

It is a match with much to teach about the geography of the continent and the history of the game in this part of the world.

Introduced mainly by the British, football first caught on in the South Cone, in Montevideo and Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo - a region that was going through large scale immigration and rapid urbanisation.

Football provided the new city population with a common language, and before long the game had been re-interpreted by the locals. A sinuous, balletic style replaced the muscular Christianity straight line running of the English.

Uruguay and Ecuador drew 0-0 when they met in Montevideo in September 2008

As the 20th century wore on South American football spread north, often carried by Argentines and Uruguayans. Colombia had a golden moment with the launch of its professional league in the late 40s. Ecuador went professional a decade later - but it was not until the Copa America of 1989, when the national team beat Uruguay, that Ecuador gave the first sign that they were not merely making up the numbers.

Now, of course, they have made it to the last two World Cups, reaching the last 16 in 2006, and in 2008 LDU, or Liga of Quito, became the first club from the country to win South America's Champions League, the Copa Libertadores.

This process has included the geographical spread of the game within Ecuador; from the port of Guayaquil, where it first caught on, up the Andes to the mountain capital of Quito where, at the altitude of 2,800 metres, Saturday's match will take place in the Atuahalpa stadium.

As well as its historical and geographical resonance, Ecuador v Uruguay in World Cup qualification is a clash that has a significance for me. I saw my first one on TV in Rio in February 1997. I knew very little about Ecuador at kick off - but a lot more 90 minutes later and was amazed as they powered to a 4-0 win.

With Aguinaga looking like a prince in midfield and Delgado razor sharp up front, they would have been too strong for many teams that day.

Some five months later that game was fresh in my mind when I made my BBC debut with a piece for World Service radio. It was all about Ecuador. They may fall short of place in France 98, I argued, but they are a rising force who should be qualifying for World Cups before long. If only all my predictions were half as accurate!

Just over four years later I was in Quito for the meeting of Ecuador and Uruguay. The whole country was a-quiver, with the hosts needing just a point to book their first ever World Cup place. For some reason I was given photographer's accreditation, and so I was on the pitch, standing behind the goal Ecuador were attacking and close enough to see the nerves and the strain on the faces of the players.

Uruguay went ahead with a penalty. Standing next to me was an official, I think from the local FA. He was becoming increasingly upset at the performance of Ivan Kaviedes, the gifted but wayward striker who later had a brief spell with Crystal Palace.

'Take him off," the man was shouting. "He's done nothing." I had to agree. Kaviedes was having a nightmare - but never bet against talent. Inside the last 20 minutes Kaviedes headed home the goal that took Ecuador to the World Cup. The official and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Ivan Kaviedes scored the goals which took Ecuador to the 2002 World Cup

Uruguay were smiling as well. The point they picked up was vital as they just held off Colombia to finish fifth in the table and grab the play-off spot.

Four years ago the situation was exactly the same. Ecuador needed a draw to qualify and a point would help Uruguay in their battle to finish fifth - 0-0 was the result.

The fascinating thing about Saturday's match is that things are slightly different, although not for Uruguay.

Bearing in mind the difficulties of playing at altitude, a draw would be a good result for them. It would give them the chance to snatch fifth by winning at home to Argentina on Wednesday (unless Colombia or Venezuela win both their last two matches). But if they lose and (a fair assumption) Argentina win at home to Peru, it will be over for Uruguay.

The difference this time is that Ecuador need to win. They have done extremely well to haul themselves back into contention, but are still suffering from a disastrous start to the campaign. A draw would leave them having to win away to Chile on Wednesday - and even that result might only guarantee fifth spot, and the play-off against rivals from the Concacaf region.

A gentlemanly draw does not suit Ecuador this time. They will seek to make the most of home advantage and put the pressure on a Uruguay side with a poor away record.

So what do Uruguay do? Sit back and try to hold on? It's a risky strategy. True, Ecuador have failed to replace big Delgado up front. But little Cristian Benitez is dangerous, and there is plenty of firepower in midfield with the long range shooting of Mendez, Valencia and Ayovi.

Unacclimatised goalkeepers suffer at altitude and Uruguay have had goalkeeping problems all through this campaign, so allowing Ecuador within shooting range is asking for trouble.

Do Uruguay go for it? Spearheaded by Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez they carry plenty of attacking threat, and Ecuador's defensive unit (Cevallos or Elizaga in goal, Hurtado and Espinoza at centre back) is ageing together and starting to creak.

Uruguay's approach will be fascinating - and looks like the key variable in this latest version of South America's newest force against its oldest.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) I'm a growing fan of Pato, at AC Milan. And i believe he is a regular starter for them, yet he isn't getting a look in at national level, he seems a young skilful dedicated player, who has an immense future ahead of him if he keeps improving, yet players like Adriano, get into the team ahead of him, I believe Pato was in the Confederation cup squad, but got little or no time in the tournament, what are your thoughts on him and the national team, does he deserve a chance ahead of others?
Adam Welsh

A) Alexandre Pato really is an immense talent, a potential genius, but I wonder if he might be suffering from the modern day phenomenon of everything coming so quickly. He's living the life, has married a soap opera star, lots of distractions - at Milan last year Carlo Ancelotti said that his attitude had slipped a bit.

Dunga carried him around for a while, but, truth be told, others have taken their opportunities better - Luis Fabiano is full of goals, Nilmar got a hat trick last time out, Adriano is back on top form. I would interpret Dunga leaving Pato out of the squad as a way of giving him a kick up the backside. I'm sure the door is not closed to him in terms of next year's World Cup squad.

Q) Argentine born Nestor Ortigoza of Argentinos Juniors just became a citizen of Paraguay. I understand his move, since he has much better chances of playing the World Cup with Paraguay than he does with Argentina. Now, this issue raises two questions: first, will the Albirroja will benefit from having him around? and second, are these kind of moves as big a concern to their national identity as the Paraguayan media claims?
Dario Prieto

A) He's a spiky central midfielder who I can imagine fitting into Paraguay's style. I saw a newspaper poll showing a majority opposed to his call up. But he's perfectly eligible - he has a Paraguayan father.

It's interesting that these players - midfielder Santana is another one, Argentine born with Paraguayan mother, or left back Morel Rodriguez, son of a famous Paraguayan player who grew up in Argentina - they seem to get more opportunities when Paraguay's coach comes from Argentina.

It can be hard for the players if they don't speak any Guarani, but I think this is something the Paraguayans are going to have to get used to. There will be more and more of these cases, because so many Paraguayans moved to Argentina in search of work. If the children of the diaspora are eligible, they're good enough and they want to play, then Paraguay gain nothing by shunning them.

Grafite almost certainly woke up last Thursday morning hoping that it would be his day. Coach Dunga was about to name Brazil's squad for the final two rounds of World Cup qualification, away to Bolivia and at home to Venezuela, and with a place in South Africa already booked, there were likely to be some experiments.

Grafite's club performances had been pushing his claims for an international call-up.
Last season he could not stop scoring for Wolfsburg and he began this season's Champions League campaign with a hat-trick against CSKA.

For years considered a journeyman striker in Brazil, the 30-year-old had now lifted himself to a different level - but not, as it turned out, into the national team.

Dunga's side are hardly struggling for strikers. Luis Fabiano, an ex-partner of Grafite at Sao Paulo, is top scorer in World Cup qualification - as he also was in the Confederations Cup, Nilmar scored a hat-trick in Brazil's last game and Adriano is back in form - joint top scorer in the Brazilian championship - and back in favour.

Dunga chose to keep this group together and the other striker named was Diego Tardelli of Atletico Mineiro, a swift and skilful player who has been included in recent squads.

With things going well it is hard to break in from outside and now there are only friendlies in mid-November and next March before final World Cup squads are named, so it is going to take something special - an injury to someone else or perhaps another hat-trick at Old Trafford - for Grafite to force his way in.

Brazil have the luxury of leaving out such a free-scoring striker, and of ignoring Amauri, the Juventus forward who may throw in his lot with Italy. And there is Ronaldo as well, back from his latest injury and on target once more for Corinthians on Sunday.

The strength in depth of Brazilian football is truly amazing. Where do they all come from? What's the big secret? Some will tell you that it is futsal, the indoor five-a-side game that is possibly now Brazil's most played sport.

There is indeed much to be said for futsal as an aid in player development. Small sided games give players more touches of the ball. And playing in reduced space clearly helps train on against one situations. Some of the tricky dribbles displayed by the Brazilians have come straight from futsal.

But, in my humble view, the idea that futsal is Brazil's big secret is going way too far. Such a claim flies in the face of geography, economics, history and the evidence from the pitch.

Much more than futsal, Brazil's secret weapon is the sheer size of the country. With a population of over 190 million, in a land where football is the only mass sport, it would be strange if Brazil did not produce plenty of players.

Then there are economic factors. Some progress is being made, but the truth is, as Sergei Soares of the country's research institute announced last week, that Brazil remains "a monument to economic inequality."

Just under 70% of the population earn less than £350 a month and he added: "A poor family will take one year to spend what the richest 1% spend in three days."

Football is a way out and youngsters are well aware of it. I have talked to gifted footballers under 10 years of age and been struck by how they see their own talent in commercial terms - they are already dreaming of the house they will buy for their mother or the flash car they will be driving and they already want to play for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Brazil are the reigning world futsal champions

This economic drive to succeed at football is clearly the result of having role models to emulate - and it is here that the importance of history is apparent. One generation inspires the next, a process that was taking place in Brazilian football long before the mass adoption of futsal. The Brazilian tradition of producing top players predates this relatively new form of the game.

Rivelino puts in in perspective. The great left-footed attacking midfielder from the 60s and 70s was an early practitioner of futsal, which is said to be the source of his famous 'elastic' dribble.

But when he wrote his autobiography, it was entitled 'Get Out of the Street, Roberto' - the phrase he always heard his mother shouting at him.

He took little notice - and was proved right. He argues that the street formed him as a man and as a footballer. In subsequent decades urban expansion and growing violence have eaten up or rendered unsafe the old spaces where kids used to play. Hence the importance of futsal. It is a safe substitute for the greatest producer of players yet known - informal street football.

I was musing on these themes on Sunday as I watched Brazil's latest generation of hopefuls show their stuff in the World Youth Cup in Egypt and brushed aside a Costa Rica team with considerable merits 5-0. Brazil's Under-20s displayed the same ruthless pragmatism as the current senior side.

Just like Dunga's team in World Cup qualification or the Confederations Cup, the door was unlocked at set-pieces - free kicks and corners curled at pace into the opposing penalty area and attacked in the air by a phalanx of tall players.

These moves are producing rivers of goals for Brazil - and it is certainly not something they have picked up from futsal.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) As a Venezuelan, I'm ecstatic to see one of our national sides at a major competition (the World Youth Cup). What are your thoughts on this side? They've made history in Venezuela, however, Rafael Romo and José Salomón Rondón aside, most of them are unknown outside of Venezuela. Who should we be looking out for, and who do you think has the greatest chance of making the leap across the pond to one of the "Big 3" European leagues?
Diego Pacheco

A) I've written about this team in a few places, because I think this is one of the most fascinating stories that South American football has thrown up this year. OK, it probably wouldn't have happened without home advantage in the qualifying tournament, but Venezuela have qualified for the World Youth Cup for the first time - and the most interesting aspect is that coach Cesar Farias is using this Under-20 team to renew and regenerate the senior national side. Seven of the Under-20s have already appeared this year in World Cup qualifiers, other have appeared in friendlies - and all this has been done without sacrificing results.

So while Venezuela have made a fantastic start in the competition (beating Nigeria 1-0) the importance of these players goes far beyond - they are a bet for the long term. I particularly like the attacking midfielder Pena, who has already gone to Braga in Portugal. Salazar and Velasquez are a very promising centre back duo, little Del Valle up front is very tricky, Flores, Parra and Acosta in midfield are all interesting, and Romo might not be the tidiest keeper in the world, but he's effective.

I hope there's not too much pressure on them too young. Together with the established players, Arango and Maldonado, Rincon and Vargas, there is hope that Venezuela might reach the senior World Cup -2010 looks too soon (they'll have to win away to Brazil), but they start the 2014 and 18 campaigns in the running for a place.

Q) Why do you think Marquinhos hasn't been the latest player to leave for Europe? Is he likely to be one of the ones that stays around in Brazilian football for a while?
Martin Smith

A) He was a revelation of last year who has had an awful 2009. He's a frail, jitterbug figure who worked well in the system Vitoria played last year - he was breaking behind a lone striker, cutting across from the left onto his stronger right foot.

I wondered about the step up and fitting into other systems - frail and one footed is not a great combination. Moved to Palmeiras, had some injuries, didn't do anything and the team are doing very nicely without him. After 26 rounds they're top of the table and his contribution has been a grand total of nine minutes on as a sub nearly two months ago. Back to the drawing board in 2010.

A case in point could be the 'home-grown player' clause that the Premier League clubs have just agreed. The original intention is presumably to ensure opportunities for local talent. A quota of eight squad players will need to have been developed by the club for three years between the ages of 16 and 21. But since no mention is or can be made to nationality, the dangers of an own goal are clear.

The change gives a powerful incentive to a process that the big English clubs have already embraced - that of global cradle snatching, players brought across to Europe before they have even debuted professionally in South America or Africa.

This way they have the player for a while, and then they have the money. But when the starlets are snatched so early the local clubs lose the player before enjoying the benefits of his services, and the fee for a mere promise is much lower than for a reality.

Inevitably there are casualties among the youngsters who move so early. Some people are not made for living abroad at any age - many more will find it an extra problem in their teenage years, when mind and body are going through such changes.

For the South American national teams there is an added danger. Being lured away so young would seem to make players vulnerable to represent their adopted country rather than the land of their birth.

Some 15 years ago Jose Pekerman saw these trends clearly. He was a rank outsider when the position of supremo of Argentina's youth teams became vacant. But he won the position with the clarity of his project.

Our club football is going to lose players at an increasingly younger age, he argued. The only way that we can counter this development is to use the youth structure to secure our promising youngsters for the long term future of the senior national team.

Pekerman scoured the country for talented players, brought them into his structure and gave them a crash course in the identity of Argentine football. He initiated a process which has seen Argentina win five of the last seven World Youth Cups, for players of 20 and under.

But more importantly, it has helped produce a stream of players for the senior side - indeed, without such a structure in place it would have been far easier for the
Spanish to persuade Lionel Messi that his national team future should be in the red shirt and not the blue and white.

The 2009 World Youth Cup kicks off in Egypt on Thursday. Argentina will not be there. Captained by Liverpool's Emiliano Insua, they had a dreadful time in qualification and failed to make it.

This need not be a tragedy. True, a generation will miss out on the experience of the tournament in Egypt. But if the disappointment of not qualifying causes them to re-evaluate and work harder at their game it will not have been in vain. Youth development is all about the long-term.

This is a lesson that Uruguay seem to have absorbed. With a population of just over three million, there is simply no way that their clubs can hold on to their best players. The best response is with a Pekerman-style project - a nationwide search for technically gifted players, given experience in the national youth sides on their way to wearing the sky blue shirt at senior level.

Uruguay will be in Egypt. They came third in South America's qualifying tournament, but with coach Diego Aguirre rotating the squad to give everyone playing time, they played some of the most attractive football. They will be very interesting opponents for England in Saturday's opening group game.

The squad is packed with promise - raiding right-backs Adrian Gunino and Matias Aguirregaray, interesting centre-backs in the classy Roberto Herrera, the rugged Martin Silva and the gangling Sebastian Coates and a tall, commanding left-back in Leandro Cabrera.

In central midfield Diego Rodriguez has passing skills and Maxi Calzada is combative. On the flanks Tabare Viudez and Jonathan Urretaviscaya glide past their markers with real talent.

Up front Santiago Garcia has menacing power and Abel Hernandez has touches of left-footed class. And in attacking midfield is the brightest of them all, South American football revelation of the year, stocky left- footed Nicolas Lodeiro, a player who has the gift of making the game flow because he usually knows what he wants to do with the ball before he receives it.

Two of these players were already based abroad before January's qualifying tournament. Three others have subsequently joined them, and more will surely follow.

But win, lose or draw in Egypt, the experience they acquire in top class competition against England, Uzbekistan and Ghana should be good news for the long-term future of the senior Uruguayan national team.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) How good you think Estudiantes de la Plata's midfielder Enzo Perez is/can be? From the, admittedly brief, footage I have seen of him, he seems to be a sharp, incisive little player, with a wicked cross and a cool head in front of goal? Could he be the short, and long-term, solution to Argentina's right-wing?
Toby Millard

A) A very interesting little player - I picked him out in World Soccer magazine as one of the stars of this year's Libertadores - over both legs of the final I don't think there was anyone better. In terms of Argentina's immediate future, I'm a bit dubious about the 'call up the home based players' line - sounds like a load of nationalist nonsense to me. But it doesn't make much sense to leave Perez out, call up his clubmate Veron and then, as happened for the last one-and-a-half games, play Veron in Perez's position wide right. So Argentina could certainly do worse.

Q) I wanted to ask you about Brazil's problematic left-back position. It seems Dunga has decided to stick with Andre Santos, and has tried Kleber out in that position too. I was just wondering why Maxwell of Barcelona has not been given a chance. I have seen him play a few times and he has always impressed me, and with the experience of playing for Ajax, Internazionale and Barcelona surely it is about time he was give his chance?
Adam Burn

A) It's the one place in the team that still seems up for grabs. Maxwell moved abroad very early, so he hasn't got a huge constituency back in Brazil - though that's not a factor that's likely to worry Dunga too much.

He was called up for the Olympic qualifiers at the start of 2004 - and he had an absolute mare! Couldn't attack or defend. I was sitting with the Brazilian press contingent and they were all shaking their heads saying 'he must be better than this.'

He was the only left-back in the squad - but he was playing so badly they had to drop him. So maybe that's harmed his prospects. But with Barcelona he's now got a real platform to show what he can do - and if he, or Fabio Aurelio can get some form going then they must be in with a chance. Brazil name a squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers on Thursday. Now they've booked their place there could be some interesting experiments.

Dunga has steered Brazil through to World Cup qualification with matches in hand, and has picked up the Copa America and the Confederations Cup along the way. Maradona, meanwhile, is sitting in the hot seat with his Argentina in danger of missing out on the World Cup for the first time since 1970.

So why has one of them taken so easily to coaching and the other is floundering?

Of course, in one important sense this is an absurd comparison. Dunga has had far more time to get his feet under the table. Maradona took over with Argentina already in trouble in their 2010 qualification bid. As I pointed out in last week's blog, his predecessor Alfio Basile resigned after a run of one win in seven games, with fixtures easier than those Maradona has had to face.

Dunga, meanwhile, was appointed straight after the last World Cup, and enjoyed nearly a full year of experiments before his first competitive game. Maradona was thrown in at the deep end, while Dunga could pick up momentum from the shallow.

Dunga has also enjoyed a couple of key moments of luck. The first was in the 2007 Copa America semi-final when Uruguay's Pablo Garcia struck his kick against the inside of the post in the penalty shoot-out. Had it gone in Brazil would have been eliminated and Dunga may well have fallen.

As it was they stayed in, went on to win the shoot-out and came home in glory after beating Argentina 3-0 in the final.

Just over a year later, though, the scores were reversed when the two great South American rivals met in the Olympic semi-final. Brazil were having a bad time in World Cup qualifying and it was widely felt that only by winning the elusive gold medal could Dunga survive.

But the next rounds of qualifiers came so soon after the Olympics that there would have been no time to bring someone else in. Dunga was given another life, and took full advantage.

Perhaps in comparison with Maradona, Dunga's greatest stroke of luck is that he can count on a goalkeeper like Julio Cesar and a centre-back like Lucio. Argentina have nothing similar. It has been years since they produced a world class goalkeeper, and since the international retirement of Roberto Ayala they have a glaring lack of a top-class centre-back.

Not conceding goals increases the coach's margin of error and serves as an excellent confidence booster. Time and time again Dunga has had cause to thank his two defensive giants.

Some five months ago Argentina went down 6-1 to Bolivia at the altitude of La Paz. Brazil's trip to the highlands to face Ecuador a few days earlier could have been equally humiliating. The entire game seemed to be played in their penalty area but Julio Cesar stood tall and Brazil came away with a point.

Putting all of Dunga's success down to luck is clearly a nonsense. A long unbeaten run like the one his side have put together is clearly the result of competence and commitment. Perhaps, with time and the odd favourable wind, Maradona will be able to do something similar.

But there is an important difference between the two men. Maradona has been told that he is something special ever since he was an adolescent. Dunga has grown accustomed to hearing exactly the reverse.

The holding midfielder at the 1990 World Cup, Dunga was pilloried and held up as a symbol of the limitations of failed team. He gritted his teeth and developed his game. Recognising that he had grown too comfortable in the position of ball winner, he worked hard at improving his passing until he became the key link between defence and attack in the side that came out on top in USA '94.

As he held the trophy aloft as the World Cup-winning captain, he had some choice words for those who had written him and the team off.

Dunga lifts the World Cup after Brazil's win over Italy in 1994

This seems typical of the man. Named after 'Dopey' from 'Snow White', his nickname has always struck me as right film wrong dwarf. 'Angry' might be more appropriate, or perhaps 'Downright Truculent.' He stomps his way through life seemingly fuelled by the desire to shove it back in the faces of all his detractors.

That is the spirit he has taken into the job as Brazil coach. Boo him, call for his sacking, criticise his team selections, dislike his team's style of play - millions can do it and it won't change his course by an inch. He'll keep doing it his way, come what may.

Such strength of conviction helps explain why Dunga qualified Brazil for the World Cup using 36 players in 15 matches. In his six rounds in charge, Maradona has already used 30 - with more changes likely.

Early in his reign, Dunga said that one of the most difficult aspects of making the switch from player to coach was acquiring patience. This, for Maradona is almost certainly even harder. Firstly, he was clearly the far better player, secondly he is a man who seems to run on emotion.

In his box at Boca Juniors' stadium, if he wanted to take his shirt off and swirl it round as he led the chanting, then off it came, caught up in the emotion of the moment.

As a player Maradona was a great strategist, but his game was undoubtedly aided by the capacity to channel his emotion into physical activity. As a coach he can't do this. So what does he do? He changes the side - three goalkeepers in six games, strange substitutions, some players selected on emotional grounds, either because he seems too close to them or the consequence of a nationalist folly that home-based players will give more for the cause.

All these changes are not leaving him any closer to having a team. It might be different in South Africa when he will have to restrict himself to a squad of 23. But first he has to get there.

Comments in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

In all the excitement of World Cup qualification, last week I forgot to give out the e-mail address - and while I got some great comments, I didn't get questions in. Normal service should be restored next week.

So much for the team bus, but what about the coach? Argentina's struggle to qualify for next year's World Cup will inevitably be personalised. It is not just Argentina who are stumbling, it is "Diego Maradona's Argentina". How much responsibility should the little man bear for his team's current plight?

When Maradona was appointed almost a year ago, I commented here that Argentina's qualification was by no means assured. The team was already in trouble after predecessor Alfio Basile's reign ended with a run of one win in seven matches despite fixtures easier than those Maradona has had to face. So the situation he inherited was far from comfortable.

Soon afterwards, of course, came the spat with Juan Roman Riquelme which led to the playmaker withdrawing from international football. It is not an episode which shows either coach or player in their best light - but for all my appreciation of Riquelme's art, I don't see it as a huge factor in the current problems.

Firstly, Riquelme was the king of the side that was already struggling under Basile. Secondly, Riquelme's absence has allowed Juan Sebastian Veron more freedom to show what he can do.

Veron ran the game for the first 20 minutes in Rosario. Brazil can have problems against deep lying playmakers - think how Zinedine Zidane ripped them apart in the last World Cup - and this time Maradona seemed to have the balance of his midfield right.

In the previous home game, a streaky 1-0 win over Colombia, the balance was all wrong. The Veron-Messi axis is vital - but there must also be width to create space for the interpassing through the middle. Against Colombia there had been none - this time there was plenty, with Jesus Datolo on the left and, especially, Maxi Rodriguez providing thrust down the right.

This is where Brazil can be vulnerable. The side is set up to free Maicon's forward bursts from right-back. Elano is there to cover, and Gilberto Silva can drop in like a third centre back. But then, fellow midfielder Felipe Melo can be drawn across and left-back Andre Santos is left unprotected.

This was the space that Veron kept trying to create and hit - suck Brazil in and slip Rodriguez or Carlos Tevez behind the full-back.

It stretched Brazil and it could have worked. But, as so often in the last couple of years, there was a glaring lack of a centre-forward to get across in front of his marker and convert the crosses.

It is hard to blame Maradona for this. It can certainly be argued that he shows an excessive faith in Tevez, but unless Hernan Crespo can stage a last hurrah there is a dearth of quality target men. Diego Milito looks very ordinary at this level, which makes it curious that Gonzalo Higuain is still ignored.

But if Argentina could not win the game in Brazil's penalty area, they could lose it in their own. Brazil's strength and versatility from set pieces is well known. Maradona said that his men had worked hard on dealing with it in training.

Step one is not to be caught committing unnecessary fouls that provide Brazil with the opportunity. Step two is coping with the aerial ball and the movement of Brazil's phalanx of giants. The game was taken away from Argentina because neither was carried out adequately which, with the defence Maradona fielded, is hardly a surprise.

Nicolas Otamendi is a promising young centre-back. His Velez Sarsfield club partner Seba Dominguez is not. Slow and out of his depth, Dominguez was thrown to the lions.

His was not a good selection but then again Maradona is not over-burdened with alternatives. Experienced, quality centre-backs such as Walter Samuel and Gaby Milito are injury prone. Young pretenders like Ezequiel Garay and Juan Forlin have yet to turn promise into reality.

Here, Argentina are suffering from the absence of Roberto Ayala, the long term defensive lynchpin who called it a day after the 2007 Copa America. The history of international football shows again and again the difficulty of replacing outstanding players and Ayala was in that class for Argentina.

The tricky fixtures, deficiencies in both penalty areas - it is unfair to blame Maradona for all of this. But, from the safety of the press box, I would humbly suggest that he made a mess of his half-time substitution on Saturday.

Two-nil down, there was nothing wrong with the entry of Sergio Aguero, who probably should have started in place of Tevez. The problem was the player withdrawn.

After the match Maradona kept repeating that the team had been playing well, controlling the match until they failed to defend the first cross they faced.

Seba Veron in action for Argentina against Brazil

His analysis would indicate that the central idea of the team was sound. But when he pulled off Rodriguez at the interval the idea was abandoned.

With a striker on for the right-sided midfielder, disorder reigned. Veron went right, too far from the centre to influence things, and now without his outball to Rodriguez. It left Argentina looking desperate, trying to force their way rather than playing their way through.

It also left them very open to Brazil's other great weapon - the counter-attack. Suddenly Kaka had space to work in. True, Argentina pulled one back. But it was no surprise when Kaka instantly set up Luis Fabiano for the clinching goal.

By opening up to Brazil's counter-attack, in the second half Argentina were not playing football. They were gambling on the lottery, with the odds against them.

Better, surely, to keep faith with the original shape of the side, keep passing and trust that the more the game goes on Brazil will tire of chasing after the ball and spaces will appear.

Maintaining the original shape at half-time would have taken a steady hand in a crisis - and Maradona, of course, is learning on the job. He needs to do it quickly - on Wednesday comes another difficult game away to Paraguay.

From last week's postbag:

Q) Can you shed any light on the career of Giovanni Hernández, currently playing at Atletico Junior? On a recent trip to Colombia I watched him play in the Colombian cup final and whilst they eventually lost comfortably to Once, Caldez, I thought his touch and the way he orchestrated the pace of the game was at times worthy of the Premiership if not a Champions League team. I spoke to some Colombians and they said he never made the trip across to Europe. Was he ever linked or are there 'issues' that prevented this?
Phil Jenkins

A) A lovely player, but an infuriating one. Perhaps the burden of being built up as the great successor to Valderrama proved too much for him, maybe he's simply not mentally strong enough to shine at the very highest level in a position made increasingly difficult by the physical development of the game.

He still figures for Colombia - and he was first capped when they had a look at him before the 1998 World Cup. He came off the bench against Ecuador - I was at Argentina-Brazil so didn't see the game. But the reports say that he helped tip the balance Colombia's way in their 2-0 win. A little frustrating cameo of what might have been.

Q) Would appreciate some info about Stoke's new 21-year-old Uruguayan holding-midfielder, Diego Arismendi. I hear he's won player of the year for his club two years on the trot, while he's also been given his first two international caps recently. However you are forever warning of the dangers of South Americans moving too early, so could this be the case with Arismendi? Mark Hughes

A) No, I think he'll be able to hold his own. Stoke have clearly gone for him in part because of his height - he's a gangling figure, strong, no frills, good in the air so I think he can fit in to Stoke's style of play.

He's also packed a great deal of experience into his 21 years - I've been following him since the South American Under-17s back in 2005, and every step up that he's taken has been accomplished comfortably. I remember him as a teenager taking a crunch penalty against Boca Juniors - so top marks for temperament.

It was a classic case of someone knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. True, in cold, economic terms he might have been correct. Money pours in from other sources - TV rights, sponsorship deals, corporate boxes and so on, but take the fans away from the stadium and all those other revenue streams instantly dry up.

That is because the football supporter is part of the show. Without the atmosphere created by the fans, the TV rights and the corporate boxes lose their value. The supporter is not a spectator. He/she is a participant, whose actions have an effect on what happens on the field.

This explains why Argentina coach Diego Maradona was so keen to switch the venue for Saturday's crunch World Cup qualifier at home to Brazil.

Argentina traditionally stage their matches in Buenos Aires, in River Plate's Monumental stadium. It makes economic sense - it's the biggest ground available to them. But in their current situation - Argentina are by no means certain of making it to South Africa - Maradona has decided that it does not make footballing sense.

"The stands in River's stadium are 50 metres from the pitch," he said recently. "You can shout yourself hoarse and the noise only reaches the area behind the goal. So there are players who feel that they will get more support in Rosario."

And so the game will take place in the much tighter, more compact Rosario Central stadium. At a little more than 40,000, the capacity is over 20,000 below the Monumental, but those fans will be closer to the pitch, creating an intimidating atmosphere and continually reminding the Brazilians that they are not on home ground.
It could work. But it could backfire. History provides evidence for both outcomes.

When they hosted the 1978 World Cup, Argentina were based in Buenos Aires and played their group games in the Monumental. After two wins, they lost the third game 1-0 to Italy, which meant that for the three second round matches they had to move north to Rosario.

This is usually seen as the moment when the players drew strength from having the fans closer to the pitch, and where the team picked up the momentum to go on and win the World Cup. But it could have turned out differently. Their second match in Rosario was against Brazil. It was an emotionally charged occasion, cranked up further still by the stadium architecture. Argentina lost their heads, and were drawn into a war. The game finished goalless, and coach Cesar Luis Menotti was so angry with the way that his side had let themselves down that he was unable to speak to his players for a couple of days afterwards.

Indeed, Argentina were only saved by the tournament's appalling organisation. In the final second round games Brazil played first, meaning that Argentina took the field against Peru already knowing how many goals they had to score to reach the final. Without such an advantage they may have paid a penalty for losing their discipline amid the passion of Rosario.

It is a similar risk they are running 31 years later. Saturday's game is much more important for them than their rivals. Brazil are serene; unbeaten in 17 games, settled and experienced, winners of the Confederations Cup, top of the qualifying table and all but certainly one victory away from guaranteeing their place in South Africa next year.
Argentina's situation is more edgy. Win on Saturday and they should be safe. Lose and they are caught up in a dogfight.

The stakes are high, the atmosphere will be intense. It will be fascinating to see how they react. If they are over-hyped there is the real chance that they will leave themselves over-exposed and play into the hands of Brazil's devastating counter-attack.

Thirty-one years ago Argentina had a player of their own who was as devastating as Kaka at breaking from deep. He was Mario Kempes, who had struggled through their group phase in Buenos Aires, but who suddenly found his form when the team moved north to Rosario.

The change of venue did him wonders. He was not a local boy. But he had made his name in a sensational mid-70s spell with Rosario Central, and going back to his old stamping ground brought out the best in him when it mattered most.
The modern day equivalent, very different in build but similarly left footed, is Lionel Messi. He is a local lad, though he is associated with the city's other team, Newells Old Boys, and, of course, never played professionally in Argentina.

Messi is under pressure to deliver against Brazil

All eyes will be on Messi on Saturday. In 2007 he was anonymous as Brazil beat Argentina 3-0 in the final of the Copa America. Last year he was not too far off inflicting Brazil's first home defeat in World Cup qualifying, but the game in Belo Horizonte finished goalless. This time, in front of his home city crowd, he will be expected to deliver.

Rosario Central's stadium is known as 'Gigante de Arroyito - the giant of the little stream.' If Maradona's switch of venue works, then the energy will flow down from the terraces as one huge river and help Messi turn into a tiny giant on 5 September.

Comments on today's piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) I was wondering what you thought about the potential transfer of Sandro from Internacional to Tottenham.I don't know much about him, and £14m+ sounds a lot of money, though I trust Harry. Do you think this could be a move too soon for the player though? Liam Ablewhite

A) I think it could be a move too soon for his club! Inter have a fantastic production line, and make no bones about the fact that they will be selling their best players, but I'd imagine they'd want to hang on to him for a bit longer - say til the end of the Libertadores next August. There's also the World Youth Cup coming up in a few weeks - he captains the Brazil side - so that's a good shop window. Money talks, though, so we'll see. I think he has a really bright future - I picked him out in World Soccer magazine as one of the stars of the show in the South American Under-20s at the start of the year. He's a tall, holding midfielder, mobile, passes well, perhaps still to develop his defensive awareness. I've been expecting him to be fast tracked into the senior Brazil squad for a while, so wasn't too surprised when he got a call up last week after another midfielder pulled out injured.

Q) Could you tell me a bit about what Chilean Gonzalo Jara from Colo Colo who is joining my team West Brom but I know and have heard little about him.
Steffan Gruffudd, Aberaeron

A) I've been following him ever since the South American Under-20s at the start of 2005, when he was holding the Chile defence together, looking very promising but suffered from lapses in concentration - which seem to have been ironed out. He's a regular in the senior Chile side, fairly quick, solidly built but perhaps not the greatest in the air.

He had a shock. An English team was involved, but the match stewards could not speak English. In my wanderings around South America, however, I would get a similar shock if I saw such a thing as a steward.

I have often put forward the view that part of the explanation for the extraordinary global success of football is that the game is a universal language which we speak with different accents.

With such variety on offer, individuals and groups can express themselves physically and mentally by the choices they make.

Cultural differences don't only apply to the game on the field. They are also present in the way the game is administered - and the way it is watched

In his groundbreaking book 'Football Against the Enemy,' Simon Kuper described the experience of going to a game in Moscow in the early 90s. "I reflected on what a perfect tourist event a Russian football match was," he writes.

"It was an authentic Russian occasion, for the game was not staged for our benefit, and nobody even cared we were there; the setting and the fans' behaviour was so similar that we could recognise differences between it and England; there were real local passions on display; good sport; and all that for three pence."

I paid a fair bit more than three pence earlier this month when, back in England for August, I took my Brazilian girlfriend to games at West Ham and Tottenham.

But the point remains. Going to a football match is an excellent activity for visitors, not least because appreciation of the event does not require language skills. She doesn't speak much English (though she can now chant 'Who are you?) but can still enjoy the occasion for itself and also make comparisons with the experience back in Rio.

Many things made an impression on her - the patience of the fans, for example, their perpetual encouragement and reluctance to turn against their own team after a misplaced pass.

But it was the organisational aspects that struck her most - modern, clean, compact stadiums with the fans close to the pitch, numbered seating where the numbering is respected, toilets in excellent condition. All these things combined to create an environment that, unlike Brazil, she found safe and welcoming.

I explained how this is a relatively new development, how a traditional culture of football watching was rapidly replaced following the trauma of Hillsbrough and Bradford and the entry of new money.

There are, of course, dangers in all these changes. Contemporary English football needs its critics, pricking its hype bubble, bemoaning its commercialisation and fearing that excessive prices are excluding the future generation of players and thus jeopardising the soul of the game.

But English football is clearly doing something right. The matches we saw were pre-season friendlies - both with crowds considerably higher than the average in the Brazilian First Division. And the most extraordinary thing is the depth of this popularity.

The same is true of the Championship (for foreign readers, the name used in England to refer to the Second Division) - all Saturday's games attracted crowds over 10,000, with only three below the Brazilian top-flight average of 15,000.

It is powerful evidence for the view that the new money has been attracted in large part because the old culture is so well-entrenched.

I tend to see this in connection with the country's industrial past. In its mass form, British football was the creation of the world's first industrial society, with its sense of community and its labour intensive emphasis on physical strength and reliability.

The domestic game's crisis years were those of the crisis of industrial society and now, in a time of uncertainty and bewildering technological change, football offers an opportunity to get back in contact with the collective values of the industrial age - in this new, safe and sanitized manner which so impressed my girlfriend.

Back in her homeland, a different dynamic is in effect and Sports Minister Orlando Silva is aware that the local game has fallen a long way behind.

"Brazilian football could be better and stronger," he said earlier this month. "There is no pre-occupation in having safe and comfortable stadiums to increase the crowds, or altering the kick-off times to get more people into the stadiums. The problem is that in Brazil the principal source of income is selling players."

The other major source is TV rights, which he touched on obliquely in his complaint about the kick off times - the powerful TV Globo ensures that the big evening matches get underway around 10 at night, after the main soap opera.

This leaves South American football with an awkward question. In a model of administration where, compared with player sales and TV rights, the money paid by the fan at the gate is relatively unimportant, why bother investing in supporter comfort?

Comments on today's piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) I would very much like to hear you opinion on Éver Banega's impending move to Everton. Following observation of Banega's performances throughout the 2007 U20 World Cup in Canada, I had extremely high hopes for his future career. I particularly enjoyed the way he dictated the rhythm of the side with his intelligent and imaginative passing and his performances were reminiscent of one of my favourite players - Juan Roman Riquelme.

Do you think Éver will be equipped for life in the premier league and will Moyes be able to coax the best out of him or will this be another case of a talented player leaving South America too soon and falling by the wayside?

Dean Moran

A) I'm a huge fan, but I share your concerns. I first saw him during the South American Under-20 Championships in Paraguay at the start of 2007, and the excellence of his passing meant that he was in my notebook within the first 30 seconds of the first game.

I wrote at the time in World Soccer magazine that this was a player who would be best advised to develop in Argentina for a few years before making the move - but the money talks, he walked into a very difficult situation at Valencia, was unable to make much of an impression at Atletico and is now heading for another awkward situation at Everton.

I never really imagined him as a natural for the Premier League - but he is much more of an all rounder than Riquelme. He spent a year at Boca playing the holding role in midfield, which put a strain on his defensive abilities but did ensure that the first pass forward was played with quality.

I'd love to see him come off - to do so will take some patience and careful handling from Moyes as well as a real desire to knuckle down and adapt on his part.

Q) I am a keen listener to the World Football Phone In and last time my ears pricked up as you mentioned that the Chilean coach employs a 3-3-1-3 formation, apparently to great success.

I would be interested to find out what you think would be required of the players if a 3-3-1-3 formation was to be employed and if it would be a successful tactic if used in the English Premiership, or any of the European leagues.

My own view is that it would lack width and a team would need to have a star man to boss the midfield in order to make it work, the strikers would need to work hard to find space and the attacking midfielder (the 1, in the 3-3-1-3) would have to be careful not to get pressured out of the game.

Dominic Herring

A) It's a personal thing of Marcelo Bielsa, the fascinating Argentine coach in charge of Chile. He wants to attack, and he wants the game to take place in the opposing half of the field, so he reasons that there is little use in the conventional full back.

He has one more defender than the opposing strikers - ie they come with two, he has three back, two to mark, one to cover and a defensive midfielder in front.

There is no lack of width. The idea is to have the constant creation of two v ones down the flanks, with wide midfielders linking up with the two wingers. The more obvious problem is the space left behind and the vulnerability to the counter-attack.

Bielsa seems to be interpreting the system with more flexibility now than when he was in charge of Argentina at the start of the decade. Then, the central striker seemed to get squeezed into the box without much space to work in. Now there's more inter-changing going on between the central striker (Suazo) and the attacking midfielder Fernandez.

It's a high pressure, high tempo philosophy that requires excellent levels of fitness. Argentina's big problem in the 2002 World Cup was that, drained at the end of the European season, the players didn't have enough gas in the tank to carry out their attacking intentions.

The regularity and depth of this contact between fans, stadium and team means that the club game will always be football's central experience.

But maybe a tilt is taking place in the direction of national teams. It could just be that this is World Cup season. Or perhaps because I'm briefly back in England at a moment when there is a mini buzz of expectation around Fabio Capello and his men.

But it might be something deeper.

His complaint is aimed at an inevitable consequence of the dynamic of the times. Globalisation leads to concentration. Fewer, bigger banks, and fewer, bigger football clubs competing for the major honours and hoovering up the best players from all over the planet.

What makes international football so interesting in this context is that it is where the opposite dynamic is taking place.

If the logic of money means that fewer clubs are in contention to win the domestic title or the Champions League, a by-product of the same process is that more countries can realistically dream of doing well in the World Cup.

Take the then-Zaire team, who played in West Germany in 1974. Some of the technique of their play was not bad. But they looked as if they had never defended against a cross before (hence the 9-0 defeat to Yugoslavia) and they were unclear on some of the rules.

There is a famous incident when, as Brazil shape up to take a free-kick, a member of the Zaire defensive wall breaks out and boots the ball into the distance. What appeared to have rattled the Zaire team is that Brazil were placing men in their wall - a ruse they had never encountered and considered illegal.

Their ignorance was unsurprising. The Zairian players were out of the loop of global football.

The same is emphatically not true of the African teams today. Three years ago in Germany the African World Cup debutants were full of battle hardened professionals who had picked up experience in the major European leagues.

The global market in footballers concentrates the best players in a handful of clubs - and then scatters them around when they pull on the shirt of their national team.

And if international football is becoming less predictable than the club game, it is also clearer on a crucial aspect of the sport's appeal - representation.

The big clubs have outgrown their core communities - hardly surprising since so much of their income now comes from abroad.

In 'My Manchester United Years,' an excellent account of his club career, Sir Bobby Charlton stresses how he and manager Matt Busby were well aware of how they were representing the world's first industrial city, and of the need to demonstrate the work ethic of the club's surroundings and also supply some much needed colour.

It would be almost impossible for today's multinational Manchester United squad to feel the same bond with the city.

But when the players are on international duty, it is clear who they are representing. As the national anthem plays, their thoughts are for those they grew up with, perhaps a neighbour who gave early encouragement, maybe even a girl who snubbed them as a youngster or a teacher who said they would amount to nothing.

This idea of representation is especially strong for the South Americans, where the shirt of the national team is such an important symbol of the country.

Back in Brazil and Argentina, the European-based stars are always liable to be branded as mercenaries who are out of contact with the game in the land of their birth - when in fact the players make sacrifices to play for their national team that many Europeans would not be willing to undergo, especially in terms of travelling time.

Having almost the entire squad based on the other side of the Atlantic does create problems for the national teams of Brazil and Argentina, especially with the lack of time that the coach has to work with his players.

Diego Maradona is the latest in a line of Argentina bosses to complain that time restrictions mean that he is not a coach, but a selector.

But some would argue that the negatives are outweighed by the plus points. European experience often makes the players more professional, and constant exposure to top level competition surely has a beneficial effect on their development.

But there is a storm cloud gathering.

Bureaucratic restrictions like the 'six plus five' proposal can often have undesired effects.

They are already pushing the European clubs to plunder South American players at an ever-younger age.

Then, with less grounding in their native culture they are more vulnerable to pressure to play their international football on a flag of convenience basis.

At Manchester United, for example, there has been talk of the Brazilian full-back twins Fabio and Rafael representing Portugal, and their colleague and compatriot Rodrigo Possebon has been courted by Italy.

This is a worrying trend, the empire striking back - because if playing for an international team can indirectly be determined more by the flourish of a chequebook than an accident of birth then the soul of the game is in trouble.

Comment on today's piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) My hopes of Colombia qualifying are all but dashed. Why do you think it's so hard for them to score goals? Is there is any hope for the future?

Jarrad Venegas

A) It is depressing to see them like this - they're not totally out of the race for 2010, but seven goals in 14 World Cup qualifiers tells its own story, and this has been a problem for years.

It's not only the lack of goals - for me it's also a lack of quality in their play, a lack of joy, a lack of expression - a lack of many things they had in great quantities in the late 80s, early 90s.

I think the trauma of USA 94 goes deep - the whole thing exposed so many of the ills of Colombian society to the world, and the passing style of that team was scorned. Personally I think they've gone too far the other way, and need to go back to recapture some of the exhuberant inter-passing of that side in order to go forwards. It's a country with so much football potential.

Q) I am a keen follower of Italian football and one player that has certainly caught my eye in recent seasons is Ezequiel Lavezzi. I have seen him play magically at times for Napoli, and I know he has been linked with both Liverpool and Chelsea in recent years. Do you think he will move to England in this window and what do you think his chances are of securing a place in the Argentina squad?

Druve Shah

A) He's in the squad - came off the bench in midweek in the 3-2 win away to Russia. There's so much competition for squat, nippy strikers in the Argentina line-up, so getting in to the team will not be easy.

He is, though, an excellent player - strong on the ball, excellent change of pace, can work the flanks and combine through the middle. Perhaps there are still some wild child excesses to overcome if potential is going to be transformed into promise on a weekly basis. Liverpool were supposed to have been interested in him at one time - a good season with Napoli, a few more international caps and a move to a big club in England could be his for the taking.

Two decades ago there was hardly a foreigner to be found. These days - thanks to the extraordinary globalisation of the game - supporters of even lesser Premier League clubs can receive a global geography lesson merely by plotting the birth places of the first team squad.

Perhaps the more obscure side to the transfer of Christian Benitez to newly promoted Birmingham City is the remarkable rise of the Ecuadorian game. In the 2006 World Cup they reached the last 16. Go back 20 years and they were minnows in their own continent.

Juan Alfredo and Roberto Wright brought the game back from their studies in England in 1899. But Ecuador did not compete in the South American Championships, now known as the Copa America, until the 15th version in 1939. Going into the 1989 tournament their record in the competition was straight out of the chamber of horrors - 4 wins, 14 draws, 57 defeats, with 69 goals scored and 254 conceded.

Then there were sings of progress. In 1989 they drew 0-0 with world champions Argentina, Diego Maradona and all, and in the debut game they beat Uruguay 1-0 - the winner scored by a certain Ermen Benitez, father of Birmingham's expensive acquisition.

Benitez senior also holds the honour of being the first Ecuadorian player to be transferred to Europe, when he joined Spanish Second Division side Jerez de la Frontera in the early 1980s. The move didn't work, and he was soon back home.

There are grounds for hoping that Christian's time in Europe will be more successful. This is a different moment, and Benitez junior is a different type of player.

There is no longer any reason for an Ecuadorian to feel overawed by the challenge of European football. Their game has made good on that promise shown by the national team in 1989. The national team have qualified for the last two World Cups, LDU of Quito are becoming a heavyweight club and, with a strong emphasis on physical development, their best players are showing they can hold their own in Europe.

And, providing he can shake off an unlucky recent run with injuries, there is no reason for Christian Benitez to be overawed by the challenge of joining Birmingham.

His father was an out-and-out penalty area goalscorer. Cristian brings much more to the dance. Strong and stocky, he is a support striker who catches the eye with the versatility of his game. Two footed, he can drift out wide and supply crosses from either flank, he combines well on the edge of the area, and he can burst in to score.

Despite his lack of height he can also carry an aerial threat. Nine goals in 28 internationals makes a persuasive case for his quality - and at the age of 23 he seems to be developing quickly. He will inevitably feel the step up from the more open, less physical Mexican league (where has been starring for Santos Laguna) but Blues fans can be optimistic that he is money well spent.

The same may not apply to their other Ecuadorian, centre back Giovanny Espinoza. Just over two months ago I wrote a blog comparing him to Jack Charlton. His gangling frame has put in superb service in the yellow shirt of Ecuador. He does have European experience (Vitesse Arnhem in Holland), but at 32 this move could be a bridge too far. With a reputation as an excellent dressing room influence, Espinoza has a role to play helping Benitez settle in.

And another compatriot is also on his way. Little left-footed Fernando Guerrero joins Burnley.

A child prodigy, Guerrero was once on the books of Real Madrid, and has represented Ecuador in the last two South American Under-20 Championships. So far there has been much more promise than reality. It shows just how far Ecuadorian football has come that an English club is prepared to take a flyer on one of its prospects.

A quick word on a couple of other South American imports.

Paulo Da Silva is a vastly experienced Paraguayan defender (son of a Brazilian) with 60 caps to his name - though it's only since the last World Cup that he has become a senior player for his country. For Paraguay he plays centre back in a conventional back four - for Toluca in Mexico he often featured in the middle of a back three, sweeping up and leading the line. He's a good, solid defender, though I wonder if he will prove sufficiently physically imposing to stand out as a centre back in the Premier League. Perhaps he might feature as a defensive full back, a role he has filled for Paraguay in the past.

And Chile's Luis Jimenez should prove a good acquisition for West Ham. Classy and elegant, he's right in the club's traditions and the supporters should warm to him - and years in Italy means that he has already adapted to European football. He likes to operate behind the central striker, where he generates ideas and strikes the ball well. On the evidence of Saturday's friendly against Napoli, West Ham will need more attacking options down the flanks if they are to get the best out of him.

Comments on today's piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q)Saw this morning that the Argentine football season has been delayed due to club debt. Can you give us some further information regarding this.

Rhodri Evans

A)Argentine football runs at a loss, and the clubs have become dependent on selling players to Europe in order to cover their costs. This year the market is depressed, and the external problem has brought the internal problems to the surface.

A)Suspending the start of the championship is a negotiating stance by the Argetine FA. Suspension doesn't suit anyone, and in this way the local FA are putting pressure on the players' union (to scale back demands), the TV companies (to pay more for rights, and perhaps even force a change of rights holder) and the government (to reduce policing costs, give some tax relief and hand over a slice of revenue from an online/telephone betting system). I suspect that some kind of compromise will be sorted out, and if the action doesn't get underway as scheduled on Friday the stoppage will not be a long one. South American Cup (Europa League equivalent) games will go ahead as normal.

Q)How is Alfredo di Stefano viewed in Argentina? Is he seen in a less positive light considering he played for Spain, and remained in and embraced his adopted country after his retirement? He was named Spain's greatest player of the last 50 years. I wondered how that went down in Argentina?

Calum Whelan

A)They are proud of him - whichever shirt he was wearing, he's their product, off the conveyor belt of the golden age of Argentine football who carried that greatness and those ideas off to Colombia and Spain.

But obviously the fact that his biggest triumphs came abroad creates a certain distance - and that can work both ways. Di Stefano would argue that he took the dynamism of Argentine football abroad, and he thinks that quicker means better. This puts him at odds with many in contemporary Argentine football. I saw an interview with him recently in the Argentine press when he said that the general standard of the game today (not talking specifically about Argentina) is higher than before. You could feel the journalist's eyebrows being raised in surprise.