World Cup berth does little to perk up Argentines

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Soccer-obsessed Argentines sighed with relief on Wednesday as their national team squeaked into the World Cup, but a last-gasp victory did little to dispel disillusionment with coach Diego Maradona.

Argentina advanced to next year's tournament in South Africa with a 1-0 win over Uruguay, narrowly avoiding a playoff in a rocky World Cup campaign that has left Argentines questioning their nation's soccer talisman.

"It's a relief, I feel okay about it. But we're not heading to the cup in good shape. Maradona as a player was everything, but he's really bad as a coach," said parking attendant Marcos Segura, 28, in Buenos Aires.

Expectations are high in Argentina, a traditional soccer powerhouse and twice world champion where national pride is strongly tied to soccer prowess.

Argentina and neighbouring Brazil usually easily qualify to go to the World Cup and Argentina's current national team includes some of the world's top players.

Silence fell over Buenos Aires as fans tuned into the match being played across the River Plate in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. Argentina needed a victory or a draw to guarantee not missing the World Cup for the first time in 40 years.

"I was really scared Argentina would be eliminated, and it was close," said Marcelo Rodriguez, a 38-year-old lawyer, who watched the game in Argentine Atlantic beach resort city Mar del Plata.

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