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Great to see The Jam mentioned Tim - football and great music in harmony!

On the subject of South Americans up here, it's interesting having seen early glimpses of Gutierrez how much like an old-fashioned winger he seems to be.

In the games I've seen so far, he's been running at full-backs, teasing them with pace and skill and seems like an excellent acquisition. What are your thoughts?

I'm excited to see Villanueva in action... hope he manages to get a game under Ince.

Any info on QPR's new found Argentinian, Emmanuel Jorge Ledesma? Sounds like we plucked him from Genoa's reserves, but it looks like he's got the flair to be a very exciting addition to the Championship (when the weather's nice anyway).

I have happy memories of Ossie and Ricky coming to London. My father is Argentine and a Spurs fan, so when the Spurs duo arrived in London, he volunteered his services to the club and acted as an unofficial guide to both of them. Back in those days London was not the cosmopolitan city that it is now, and Buenos Aires may as well have been a different planet. No mate, no dulce de leche, no churros and no pizza.

I remember Ossie as being slightly reserved, but Ricky was a proper Porteno. What a shame the Falklands happened and destroyed so much goodwill between the countries.

As usual, another interesting and well put together column from Mr Vickery. If only the articles covering top flight domestic football were as good!

Having visited Venezuela on holiday during the 2006 World Cup and seen the locals' passion for the game, I was interested to hear earlier this summer that Wigan were interested in the young Maracaibo forward Daniel Arismendi.

How do you think Arismendi would fare in the Premier League? Would he work well with the other South Americans in the squad?

It really is true that vickery is the best of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's sport pundits and columnists
- keep it coming!

What South American nations do you think produce players most suited to English football though- Both culturally and on the pitch?

Nice one Mr Vickery - my wife is Argentine (we got married in May) and I met her when I travelled for a year through the whole of South America in 2005-6 (a well earned sabbatical from the NHS). I think I was probably out there due to admiring Ardiles, Villa and most importantly Alex Sabella for Sheff Utd as a kid (I remember Sabella used to always play with no shin pads and his socks rolled down so we all used to copy him and get in trouble).

We are due a late honeymoon out with her family in Cordoba at Christmas and hope to catch a game, I've been to the Bombonera when Boca won the league at the end of 2005 but I have had to switch allegiances due to her Dad been River through and through. Fortunately, he is now an ardent Blade follower....

Always love the articles keep up the good work!

The subject of South Americans in British football is a funny old one really.

I think at club level though it is really such a mixed bag; for example at Southampton we have not had any luck at all in signing South Americans.

Of course our experience is probably tainted by the one man wonder that is Agustin Delgado! We could never get him fit and more to the point there were a number of crazy issues surrounding his pivotal role for Ecuador which meant that he never really had a chance.

Personally I don't think it matters too much where you come from, if you can adapt to the language, climate and culture, you will do fine. Most players that are bought over from South America do have decent pedigree, but often it is the mental side of things that seems to cause problems (our one remaining S.A, Jhon Viafara, is apparently trying to get a return back to Colombia, so we are just not doing very well!).

It does bring it all back...we just came up from Division 2 as it was in those days...No Premiership with poncy name then...I remember the first home match too. We got thumped 4-0 by Villa...But to your correspondent who commented on the London scene at the time, I can assure you that Tottenham at that time was as cosmopolitan as it gets. Round where I lived, just off White Hart Lane, I had friends and colleagues from Europe, Americas, Aussies, Kiwis, Asians and Africa. And....now wait for it....we had a Pizza Hut just up the road in Stamford Hill and one of the first places in London to get a Mac's.

At about the same time Birmingham City signed Alberto Tarantini who was a left-back in the same Argentinian World Cup winning team.

I seem to remember that even though nominally a left-back, Taratnini would often finish matches ppalying as a triker for Birmingham.

Those were the days, eh!

A very good article. Although it is maybe a biased opinion but i believe the success juninho paulista had at middlesbrough would have also had an impact on the introduction of south americans in england and probably deserves a lot more credit than he gets from anywhere outside of teesside.

Argentine magic or not, i can remember when Ardiles and co came to Anfield in 1978 and were thumped 7-0... the last goal was as good as anything i've ever seen Argentina do. They must have wondered what they'd got themselves into!
On a side note the gaining interest in the North American soccer league looks to be parallel to that of the late 70s too. Remember when British players used to go out there to play in the summer? All of these things are well covered in the fantastic 'Football Handbook' compilation that came out a year or so ago, great nostalgia from the time i was just getting into football, in the late 70s.

I had just moved to London and I went along to their first game (first home game?) against Aston Villa. Villa blew them away 4-1, with Brian Little scoring a great goal. Seem to recall Ardiles having a half-decent match.

First game of the season was against the then champions, Notts Forest, at the City Ground, with Villa surprising us all by outshining Ardiles and scoring the equaliser. Should have won, as well (the late Ian Moores missed a sitter - unlike him!). Things went down hill from there though - the Villa and Liverpool defeats and getting knocked out at home, against Swansea, in the League Cup!

Great article, but of course the whole thing was brokered and arranged by the late Harry Haslam, who was then manager of Sheffield United. He had sorted a scouting system in Argentina headed by the notorious Antonio Rattin, and had identified players he would sign when the World Cup had finished. He initially wanted a young 16 yeard old he'd seen, argued with the Argentine FA about releasing the youngster and agreed a then staggering fee of £400,000 for the child prodigy. Alas, the Blades board baulked at the fee for a 16 year old, and young Diego stayed in Argentina!!!

After such a prominent world cup, United could no longer afford Ardiles and Villa, so Haslam contacted Keith Burkinshaw and they signed for Spurs. We got the unknown Alex Sabella, good player, lots of craft and skill, but not really suited to the old Division 2 of the late 70s.

Still say it was Hutchinson who won them the FA Cup though, bah!

Undoubtedly the best columnist on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. Well done Tim, it's always a real insightful read - and does make Monday mornings at work that bit easier to swallow. South American football is so fascinating, and an aspect of the world game that we don't see enough of. Not sure why this is, perhaps the lack of British colonial history in the region? Over the years the articles have been very good and you must be commended for this. But it must be tough living in Rio though ;)

who cares?