The difference this time, however, is that Argentina go into the competition – which runs from 15-28 September – as continental top dogs.
“We’re hoping that arriving as [South American] champions will give us the extra confidence boost we need to break our quarter-final glass ceiling once and for all,” La Albiceleste goalkeeper Marcelo Salgueiro says from his home in Italy, where he plays for Roma in the high-calibre Italian league.
The memory of the triumph over Paraguay, who had defeated Brazil, on the sands of San Luis in the South American qualifying tournament, are still fresh.
“It was a huge test of character playing the qualifiers as hosts in front of 4,000 spectators in every game, but we rose to the challenge,” Salgueiro continues.
“We played superbly and our mental strength was fantastic in some really difficult games. Now we have to try and find a way to tap into that again at the World Cup.”
Salgueiro will unquestionably be one of the cornerstones of the Argentinian side in Tahiti. Soon to turn 37, it will be his sixth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and he arrives in good form, having been voted best goalkeeper during qualifying for the global showdown.
The shot-stopper was absent from Ravena 2011 after a fall out with coach Francisco Petrasso but, having since made amends, the No1 is looking forward to adding to his 17 tournament appearances, a record national tally he shares with a trio of compatriots: the brothers Ezequiel and Federico Hilaire and Luciano Franceschini.
Along with the latter two, Salgueiro was among the first Argentinian beach soccer stars to further their careers in Europe. “I’ve been playing in Italy since 2009,” Salgueiro says. “I arrived at Napoli with Franceschini and Fede Hilaire and we won the league and finished as runners-up in the Italian Supercup.
“In 2011 Franceschini and I both moved to Catania, where we were runners-up in the Italian Cup. That same year I won the Club World Cup with Vasco da Gama. I’ve been playing alongside Fede and Lucas Medero at Roma since 2012 and this year we’re title contenders.”
The Buenos Aires native believes such experience will have a positive impact on his countrymen ahead of Tahiti 2013. “With the backbone of the team made up of players used to competing at a high level internationally, it can only help strengthen the rest of the squad,” Salgueiro says.
“We saw evidence of that in Merlo. Young players like [Jonathan] Levi and [Cesar] Leguizamon ask a lot of questions and they always talk about football, which helps them to grow. The whole squad will benefit from it in the long term.”
Less easy to explain is why Argentina have been unable to live up to expectations at FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups. Their shortcomings have been highlighted by the progress of nations such as Switzerland and Russia, who are comparative newcomers to the game.
“I honestly think we’ve just been lacking a little bit of luck. We’ve come up against Brazil in several World Cups and when we avoided them we had an incredible match against Uruguay in 2006 and another close call against Spain in 2008. We’ve always come close but something’s been missing – we hope to remedy that this year.”
Argentina have been drawn in Group B against emerging powerhouses in the Netherlands, El Salvador – their surprise conquerors in 2011 – and a team from Oceania which is still to be confirmed. Salgueiro takes every opponent seriously, but is confident in the quality of his side.
“We should have the belief we’re a great team right from the off,” he said. “We’re not underestimating anybody, but the plan is to reach the semi-finals and see who we face there. We can go shoulder-to-shoulder with anyone and we’ll give our all to go as far as possible.
“Our aim is to be in Tahiti until the final day of the competition, but the dream is to become world champions,” Salgueiro says.
“This tournament is probably the end of the line for many of us and that has to be a huge extra motivation for us. It’s the last chance for a fantastic generation of players and we’ll be ready to fight all the way.”
Argentina have been drawn in Group B where they will face Netherlands, El Salvador and Oceania champions, who will be decided in next month’s OFC Beach Soccer Championship.
Story courtesy of FIFA.com
For more on the world game go to www.fifa.com

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