Lionel Messi will captain the Argentine national football team in their friendly against Venezuela slated for September 2, 2011 at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.
Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella, who was appointed by the AFA after their dismal performance in the Copa America 2011, has named stars like Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain (both Real Madrid) in the 26 member squad that will tour India and Bangladesh, but has dropped Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez.
The team also featuring star players like Lisandro Lopez, Martin Demichelis and Luis Gonzalez will provide a treat for the Indian football fans when they face Venezuela in September.
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The Squad:
Lionel Messi (c), Angel Di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Mascherano, Ever Banega, Eduardo Salvio, Martin Demichelis, Federico Fernandez, Ricardo Alvarez, Nicolas Burdisso, Mariano Andujar, Sergio Romero, Ezequiel Garay, Fabian Rinaudo, Nicolas Otamendi, Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Jonas Gutierrez, Javier Pastore, Luis Gonzalez, Lisandro Lopez, Cristian Ansaldi, Nicolas Pareja, Red Marcos Jose Sosa, Stephen Andrada
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Friday 19 August 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.