HISTORY will eventually prove how shrewd or whimsical Argentine football legend Diego Maradona was in his selection of a provisional 30-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be staged in South Africa in under a month’s time.

Amid raised eyebrows and mounting scepticism within the international media, the enigmatic Maradona, whose controversial temperament has long been entrenched, omitted some of his country’s most respected, experienced and accomplished players — the most notable being defenders Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso of Italian Serie A giants Inter Milan, and midfielder Fernando Gago of Real Madrid — much to the trepidation of the global football community.

Here in Jamaica, Argentine fans, whose numbers have markedly escalated subsequent to the magical displays of World Player of the Year Lionel Messi — are likewise befuddled. Justifiably, much of the current generation of football fans would have grown up in the heyday of Maradona and have thus developed a strong affinity to the team.

In returning to that bizarre squad, Maradona — who was eccentrically sublime as a player and drew plausible comparisons with Brazilian marvel Pele — befuddled yet again by summoning a number of domestic players who have never before been on the international stage.

This comes in the wake of the engagement of over 80 players during the South American qualifiers and Maradona’s belated invitation of Real Madrid hit-man Gonzalo Higuain, who ultimately helped them book a last-gasp ticket to South Africa after a series of embarrassing flops, including a 6-1 whipping at the hands of unheralded Bolivia.

However, if at no other time since his emergence as a prodigy in the late 1970s, through the zenith of his career in 1986 when he lifted the World Cup trophy in Mexico City, the deafening silence with which the Argentina FA has greeted these selections evidently signifies the reverence with which Maradona is regarded, despite his unflattering record as coach.

And as expected, there have been some muted rumblings within Argentina, with the son of former coach Alfio Basile accusing Maradona of usurping his father to land the coveted coaching job — a claim that Basile’s assistant has confirmed.

In the meantime, as debates mount about Maradona’s latest antics, those who had hoped to see all the stars at ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ must be deeply saddened, for it seems unlikely that any attempts are being made to knock some sense into that mulish head of Maradona, who prior to the contentious announcement, smugly stated that he had “no doubt about this list”.

Additionally, Argentine fans fear that the current squad will significantly lessen their chances of lifting the title for a third time, despite the presence of an attacking force that includes Messi, Higuain, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Martin Palermo and Diego Milito.

Even though Argentina are still a potent force with more than an outside chance of becoming champions, the pet peeve of many is the doubtful midfield personnel made more pronounced by the omission of Zanetti and Cambiasso — both defenders who can also play in the middle — Gago, Lucho Gonzales and the veteran Pablo Aimar.

In relation to Zanetti, Cambiasso and Gago, it’s not a case of ‘much ado about nothing’. Apart from their wealth of experience, the former is a proven leader and has been captain of Inter since 1999.

Further, Zanetti holds the distinction of being Argentina’s most capped player and has played in two World Cup Finals.

Cambiasso has been equally impressive as leader and performer and is tipped to succeed Zanetti at Inter, while the talented Gago, at only 24 years of age, represents the new breed of players at Real Madrid.

With free-kick specialist and attacking midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme no longer a part of the set-up subsequent to his feud with (you guessed it) Maradona, Juan Sebastian Veron — whose halcyon days have long passed — is a dubious replacement.

But consistent with those said to be gifted, there is no mid-way point for Diego Armando Maradona. Having long spread a bed of discord, on and off the pitch, on this occasion he may cut a lonely, prostrate anxiously awaiting his fate.

For Maradona to look like a coaching genius, the pressure will be on the players to appease the Argentine people whose passion for football is unparalleled.

If Argentina are successful at the World Cup Final, Maradona’s name will resonate from Buenos Aires to Santa Fe.

If they fail, however, he could be ranked as the most contentious figure in the history of the sport and may be condemned, yet again, to the fringes of society.