The Argentina national football team (Spanish: Selección de Fútbol de Argentina) represents Argentina in international football and is controlled by the Argentina Football Association (Spanish: Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, AFA), the governing body for football in Argentina.
The AFA was founded in 1893, became a member of FIFA in 1912, and a member of CONMEBOL in 1916. The first champion of the amateur era was Alumni and the runner-up was Quilmes. This amateur league ran from 1893-1931. The professional league was inaugurated in 1932. The first champion of the professional era was River Plate, and the runner-up was Estudiantes de la Plata.
Argentina is undoubtedly one of the most successful teams in the world. Argentines have won two World Cup titles (1978, 1986), two Olympic Tournaments (2004, 2008), one Confederation Cup (1992), and the Copa America a record 14 times. Argentina has also been a runner-up of the FIFA World Cup three times: 1930, 1990, and 2014. Argentina, Brazil, Germany, and France are the only national teams that have won the three most important men's titles recognized by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic tournament. Argentina has also been recognized for the quality of its players, including Alfredo Di Stefano, Diego Maradona, and Lionel Messi who made all the difference in the teams they represented.
The Golden Ball award goes to the best player at each FIFA World Cup finals and was introduced for the first time in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
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The Golden Boot or Golden Shoe award goes to the top goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup and was given for the first time in 1982. It was renamed Golden Boot in 2010.
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The Man of the Match award picks the outstanding player in every game of the tournament since 2002.
