Pekerman chose to leave out of the team the former Argentina captain Javier Zanetti. Corinthians' Carlos Tevez, Sevilla's Javier Saviola, Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Chelsea's Hernan Crespo and Villarreal's Juan Roman Riquelme received a callup. West Ham's Lionel Scaloni was also included.

Valencia's Pablo Aimar and Manchester United's Gabriel Heinze received a callup, even though they both have injury problems.

Gabriel Heinze's recent return to training brought hopes for the Argentinean coach and is expected to be fit by the time the tournament kicks off, however he missed most of this season due to a bad knee injury.

Pablo Aimar who recently suffered an ankle injury, followed by a meningitis viral infection, was also included in the squad.

The fact that former captain Javier Zanetti was left out of the team surprised many in Argentina, as he has over 100 caps with the national team and is one of the favourites among Argentinean fans.

In other news, Argentinean football legend and member of the country's Football Federation Diego Maradona was in Greece over the weekend to take part in the Championship and Cup double fiesta of Olympiacos FC, where he personally awarded the players and did some footballing tricks before the last Greek Premier League match with his Olympiacos teamwear.

Goalkeepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Boca Juniors), Leonardo Franco (Atletico Madrid), Oscar Ustari (Independiente)

Defenders: Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo Coruna), Roberto Ayala (Valencia), Gabriel Heinze (Manchester United), Juan Pablo Sorin (Villarreal), Gabriel Milito (Real Zaragoza), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Leandro Cufre (AS Roma)

Midfielders: Lionel Scaloni (West Ham United), Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan), Javier Mascherano (Corinthians), Luis Gonzalez (Porto), Pablo Aimar (Valencia), Juan Roman Riquelme (Villarreal), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid)

Forwards: Carlos Tevez (Corinthians), Hernan Crespo (Chelsea), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Rodrigo Palacio (Boca Juniors), Javier Saviola (Sevilla), Julio Cruz (Inter Milan)

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