Argentina: Diego Simeone

The website which included Diego Simeone in an England ‘Nightmare XI’, accusing him of ‘‘cheating England out of a major tournament’’, might just have been exaggerating a touch.

For one thing, the meeting between England and Argentina in France ’98 was only in the second round, with no guarantee that either side would go on to win the World Cup.

And for another, England’s brave defensive display when down to 10 men earnt them the chance to win the game anyway, first via Sol Campbell’s header ruled out for a foul by Alan Shearer, and second via the thrilling denouement of a penalty shoot-out.

Yet there is no escaping the fact that Simeone can expect a hostile reception when the two sides meet again in the so-called ‘Group of Death’ in the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea this summer.

For while David Beckham’s petulant kick at the Argentinian was inexcusable and downright foolish, Simeone’s theatrical reaction to a kick that carried all the force of a wet kiss from Kenneth Williams, was an equally unforgivable cynical ploy which referee Kim Nielsen fell for hook, line and sinker.

Couple that with the change in attitude of most English fans towards Beckham since France ’98 - from effigies being hung outside London pubs to idolisation, BBC Sports Personality of the Year and THAT free-kick against Greece - and Simeone can expect to find himself firmly entrenched as ‘Public Enemy Number One1’ come the team’s eagerly-awaited Group F clash.

Not that such vilifaction is likely to worry the 31-year-old midfield hardman, who created history last year as the first Argentinian to win 100 full international caps.

His appearance in the 5-0 demolition of Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier on March 28 2001, when he was also made captain for the evening, saw him surpass the record set by Oscar Ruggeri, having previously overtaken Diego Maradona’s tally of 98.

Simeone, who made his international debut in a shock 4-1 defeat by Australia in 1988, said at the time: ‘‘I’m happy about this record, even though when I think of Maradona, and what he meant for Argentinian football, I feel a bit ashamed.’’

It should perhaps be Maradona who feels such shame however after his off-the-field antics contributed to Argentina’s second round defeat in the World Cup in America in 1994, after they had come through the group stage in style.

Simeone, by then having become an established international while playing for Atletico Madrid after spells at Seville, Pisa and Velez Sarsfield, recalled with bitterness: ‘‘I felt sick because we had a team that had re-established the good image of Argentinian football after the shame of 1990 and then the private habits of a player intervene and rip the soul out of the squad.’’

More disappointment was to follow with defeat in the Olympic final at the hands of Nigeria, with Simeone’s reaction typifying his boundless determination to win.

‘‘That was a real crushing blow, a silver medal is nothing when you are standing on a lower level to the gold medallists. There is no shine to it, there is only shame,’’ he said.

But Simeone did not have to wait long to taste success, a move from Inter Milan to Lazio in the deal that saw Christian Vieri move the other way, saw the midfielder link up with England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson as the Rome club emerged from the shadows of city rivals Roma, Juventus and AC Milan.

The midfield pairing of Simeone and Manchester United’s Juan Sebastian Veron was crucial in securing Lazio their first Scudetto for 26 years, and cemented Simeone’s reputation as not only a midfield enforcer, but a great leader both on and off the field.

Eriksson paid tribute to him in his recent book ‘Sven-Goran Eriksson on Football,’ saying: ‘‘His willpower seems to spread to the rest of the team. Others I could mention are Nesta, Vieri, and Mihajlovic. They have this fantastic ability to take the team with them in a positive direction when the going gets tough. Their playing strength and competitive spirit are both very impressive.’’

Simeone will need all of that spirit simply to reach the finals in Korea and Japan however after suffering a serious knee injury in September last year in a Champions League game for Lazio.

He set a return date of April 4, around three weeks before his 32nd birthday, and believes he is on track to get back to full fitness in time for the finals.

As for Argentina’s tag of as one of the favourites for the tournament and their place in the ‘Group of Death’ with England, Nigeria and Sweden, Simeone is unsurprisingly unconcerned.

‘‘It’s better to go as one of the candidates for the title. That means that everyone believes that what you have done up until now is very impressive. It would be much worse to go as just one more team.

‘‘The group is a huge one because, above all, we have Nigeria and England that are very hard teams, but I think this also represents a great new challenge for us.’’