Pablo Zabaleta, a Manchester City legend and 2014 World Cup runner-up, was the right-back for the Argentina national team for five years in the last decade. However, as he revealed in an interview, he was not always considered for the national side, and his absence during the Diego Maradona era is a testament to that. More than fifteen years later, the player explained the reasons behind his non-call-ups during that period: an unfortunate injury, an unpleasant moment with Diego, and the coach's decisive decisions. Zabaleta recalled the unexpected event that led to him not being selected for the World Cup in South Africa. Amidst great euphoria, 'Pelusa' compiled a list without Zabaleta or Javier Zanetti. The coach from Villa Fiorito called up a young center-back, Nicolás Otamendi, and a midfielder, Jonás Gutiérrez, to cover the position. The experiment started well due to a perfect points tally in the group stage and a 3-1 victory over Mexico in the round of 16. In fact, he was fundamental under Alejandro Sabella, where alongside Lionel Messi and Sergio Romero, he became one of three players to play every minute of the tournament. However, it all came to an end in the next match: Germany comfortably overpowered a poorly organized Albiceleste and won 4-0, which was the biggest modern defeat suffered by the sky and white. Diego's experiment ended with that painful 4-0 defeat to the Germans. Zabaleta also spoke about his complex relationship with Maradona. 'Diego had said before taking the job that his right-backs would be Emiliano Papa and Marcos Angeleri. But then he started thinking about me and called me up. There were two qualifying matches left, and Argentina was fighting for qualification,' the Olympic champion expressed in a dialogue with Post United. The full-back then indicated: 'A week before, Maradona called Carlos Tevez and me to tell us that, because we would be very tight on the calendar, we didn't have to play our next match against City. At the time I understood; he was in a state of maximum tension, and he was disappointed in me because he realized I hadn't fought hard enough with my club to save myself. It was a moment of bad luck, and after that, Maradona never called me again.' Disappointed, Diego never called the number four again. Zabaleta had earned his call-up with a fantastic goal in front of Maradona's eyes. 'I told him he had to wait for Manchester City's manager Mark Hughes' decision and compete with them if they asked me to. It was a matter of respect,' he added. However, unfortunately, I felt a discomfort in my hamstring. 'As we were traveling fast, I simply called the national team doctor. I mentioned that I had felt a discomfort and that when I arrived in the country, the first thing we had to do was an ultrasound to see what had happened,' he explained. 'After arriving at the AFA facility, I was informed that I had a first-degree tear, and upon confirmation that I would not be available, I had a somewhat unpleasant moment with Diego.'
