Amid all the Euro 2008 fuss, it has nearly been forgotten that one of the world’s great fixtures will be played on Wednesday when Brazil meet Argentina in a World Cup qualifier in Belo Horizonte.

Incredibly, Argentina have lost the last three meetings by three-goals margins — 4-1 at the Confederations Cup in 2005, 3-0 in a friendly in 2006 and 3-0 again in last year’s Copa America final.

That last defeat was particularly painful for Argentina as they had gone into the match as hot favourites. Brazil were missing Kaka and Ronaldinho, both rested, and had struggled through, losing to Mexico in the group stage and getting taken to penalties by Uruguay in the semi-finals.

Argentina, on the other hand, had swept through the tournament with five stylish wins. But, in the final, they were knocked out of their stride by Brazil’s physical power and lethal counter-attacks.

Once again, Argentina appear to start as slight favourites. If Juan Roman Riquelme, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero all swing into action, they could do Brazil serious damage.

Brazil are also missing Kaka and Ronaldinho because of fitness problems and were beaten 2-0 by Paraguay on Sunday.

Brazil, however, are never as dangerous as when they have just been stung and seem also to revel in facing opponents who actually come out and attack them, leaving spaces at the back, as Argentina do.

Can Argentina end their run of defeats? Or will Brazil again outmuscle them?

PHOTO: Sergio Aguero (R) of Argentina celebrates his second half goal against Mexico with teammate Lionel Messi during their international friendly in San Diego, California June 4, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Blake

They did it the hard way but Atletico finally managed to battle their way into the Champions League - well the qualifying round at least - after a 12 year absence.

Typically Sunday’s 1-0 win over Deportivo Coruna came with the usual dose of nail-biting, wincing and stomach churning that have made the Calderon such a stressful place to be in recent seasons.

Although the dependable Diego Forlan put Atletico ahead on the stroke of halftime, the team looked to be suffering a severe bout of stage fright in the final quarter and nearly threw it away as they watched the Galicians lay siege to their goal.

So it was with a mixture of joy and relief that Atletico secured their first top four finish since they did the double back in 1996.

It is about time too as the club’s claims to be one of the “equipos grandes” had begun to wear dangerously thin following a stream of morale-sapping disappointments and false dawns.

Atletico have always been one of La Liga’s big spenders but they have developed the unfortunate knack of buying expensive and selling cheap, recruiting sought-after players who then sink without trace while watching their discards turn into world beaters at other clubs.

This season seemed set up for the usual disappointment, what with the sale of iconic striker Fernando Torres to Liverpool and a massive outlay on new players such as Forlan, Jose Antonio Reyes, Simao Sabrosa, Raul Garcia and Luis Garcia. The club then appeared to have shot themselves in the foot when they decided to sell Maniche mid-season after he fell out with coach Javier Aguirre.

But for once, other results went Atletico’s way as their immediate rivals failed to take advantage of their slip-ups. They also had the good fortune to have one Sergio Aguero in their ranks. Shielded by Aguirre in his first season at the club, the 19-year-old Argentine came into his own following the departure of Torres and thrived alongside the selfless Forlan.

Aguero has racked up 18 goals this season, while Forlan has weighed in with another 16, so that despite losing their direction in midfield following Maniche’s exit and having one of the shakiest defences in the league, Atletico held on to ensure their return to the big time.

Some of the club’s success-starved fans used Sunday’s win as an excuse to celebrate at the Neptuno fountain in the centre of Madrid, but the more experienced of the Calderon faithful kept their feet on the ground.

“Just wait until we lose in the Champions League qualifiers and don’t even end up playing in Europe next season. That will be typical Atletico,” one fan said to me when I saw him this morning.

Simon Baskett, Madrid

PHOTO: Atletico players celebrate the win against Deportivo Coruna, May 11. REUTERS/Susana Vera

The fact that Martin Palermo is Boca Juniors’s regular penalty taker speaks volumes about his strength of character.

Back in 1999, Palermo made international headlines for the wrong reasons when he missed three penalties for Argentina in their 3-0 Copa America defeat by Colombia. Yet, instead of hiding in his hotel room, Palermo came out and faced the media the next day, promising to get on with his career.

Three days later, he bounced back to score in a 2-0 win over Uruguay. Nine years later, Palermo is Boca’s all-time leading scorer, having overtaken the previous record of 180 goals set by Francisco Varallo in the 1930s. His Argentina career never got off the ground but he has become a cult figure at Boca, having returned after stints with Villarreal, Real Betis and Alaves in Spain.

By Argentine standards, Palermo is a somewhat clumsy, lumbering forward. Yet his ability to bounce back from adversity and his knack for alternating brilliance with tragicomedy have endeared him to the club’s fanatical supporters. At Villarreal, Palermo famously broke his leg while celebrating a goal when he stood on a small concrete wall which collapsed under the weight of fans.

After returning to Boca, he was one of the central figures in a brawl which sparked a crowd riot in a Libertadores Cup game against Guadalajara. The match was abandoned, Boca were knocked out and Palermo banned. On the flipside, Palermo succeeded where Pele had failed by scoring from just inside his own half against Independiente.

Boca’s last two matches in the Libertadores have been fairly typical of his ups and downs. Two weeks ago against Chilean champions Colo Colo, Palermo missed another penalty with his team 1-0 down and reduced to 10 men. Yet, two minutes later he scored — and Boca went on to win 4-3.

Tuesday’s match against Mexico’s Atlas was one of his unlucky days. With the score at 1-1 and Boca on top, Palermo contrived to miss an open goal from six metres as he sidefooted the ball wide. Atlas came out for the second half with fresh ambition, won 3-1 and left the defending champions facing an early exit at the group stage.

But you can be sure that Palermo will be forgiven by Boca fans. And don’t bet against him scoring a hat-trick in the final group game at home to UA Maracaibo.

Brian Homewood, Rio de Janeiro

In the debate over who might finally achieve the seemingly impossible — become a successful manager of Newcastle United — Osvaldo Ardiles has been overlooked.

This is understandable at first glance, given the perception of the Argentine as a manager in England — quite different from his immeasurable impact as a player.

In light, however, of the failure of Kevin Keegan to work his magic again , what price Ossie?

Newcastle fans might consider why Keegan should have been thought of as such a sure-fire choice to revive their fortunes, having confessed on leaving the England job in 2000 that international tactics were beyond him.

With the foreign influence now huge in the Premier League, much greater than when Keegan came close to inspiring Newcastle to the title more than 10 years ago, perhaps Ardiles might not be such a bad choice.

Ardiles had limited success as a manager in England, notably with Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur, the club he graced as a player, leaky defences undermining the neatness of his teams’
build-up.

But he did well in his two stints back home in Argentina, even if the second with former club Huracan ended prematurely in December over differences with the directors on non-playing
issues.

On the field, his Huracan side finished the Apertura championship strongly. Perhaps English scouts should not just be considering Argentine players — and there is, of course, no language barrier.

Ardiles also fell just short of qualifying for the Libertadores Cup, South America’s Champions League, with Racing Club in the 2003-04 season.

In a recent interview with Reuters , he said: “I would love to come back and work in England again but to be honest I don’t think my chances are very good. I left Tottenham as manager in 1994 and it’s a long time…it’s very difficult to come back.

“England is, today, the place to play and to coach. It’s really great. The football is very well organised,” the 55-year-old said. “I’m open to any offer. The first that comes, I’ll look at it and if I like it I’ll take it.”

FILE PHOTO: Ardiles rubs his eye during a news conference at White Hart Lane, November 1, 1994, following his sacking as Tottenham coach. REUTERS/Russell Boyce