Montevideo  - The suffering is over: coach Diego Maradona managed - just barely - to take Argentina to the 2010 World Cup.

Amid great nervousness from their fans, the team around superstar striker Lionel Messi qualified only in the last round of play, with a 1-0 win over Uruguay Wednesday in Montevideo.

Argentina - winner of the World Cup in 1978 and 1986 - was disappointed with a quarterfinals exit in 2006 in Germany.

Under new coach Alfio Basile and with several young players including Messi, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez as global stars, the South American qualifiers for South Africa 2010 seemed to be a good opportunity for a new start.

The road, however, turned into a nightmare, and it often flooded fans in the football-crazy nation with disappointment and despair.

Argentina won their first three matches, against Chile, Venezuela and Bolivia. Then came a 2-1 defeat to Colombia, and a series of four consecutive draws, with Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru.

A win against Uruguay a little over a year ago only appeased nervousness in the very short term, and a 2-1 loss to Chile in Santiago dealt Basile a final blow. Reports were rife of the veteran coach's struggles to handle a young squad that challenged his authority.

Argentine football czar Julio Grondona surprised many by calling upon eager football legend Maradona to take over as coach, despite an undeniable lack of coaching experience and a difficult character.

After leaving behind his history of drug and alcohol abuse, Maradona appeared ready to lead Argentina to football glory again.

His debut in a friendly against Scotland in November was a global media event, and calm and motivation seemed to be back in a difficult changing room.

The coach's official debut, in March, stoked hopes with a 4-0 thrashing of Venezuela in Buenos Aires. But celebrations were short- lived.

Tactical errors, an underestimation of high altitude in La Paz and lack of experience set up Argentina for its worst-ever defeat: 6-1 to lowly Bolivia.

Since then, nothing has been easy for Maradona and his men.

Clashes with Grondona and other Argentine football officials, disagreements over his own team's make-up and players' exhaustion from Europe's most demanding championships - were soon apparent, exacerbated by very poor performances by Messi and many others.

Maradona never found his ideal team and has called on about 80 players in less than a year as coach. Footballers seemed not know - much less understand - his strategy and often looked lost on the pitch.

Argentina's struggles culminated in an all-or-nothing match Wednesday against Uruguay: a win meant a World Cup berth for either side, and a defeat could have spelt the end of World Cup hopes.

With a 1-0 win, Argentina earned a ticket to South Africa.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the salvaged qualification will be enough to keep Maradona on the bench until the start of the World Cup in June. (dpa)