Argentina plucked Marcelo Bielsa from Espanyol in Spain in 1998 and have been pleased with the results ever since.
They dominated the South American qualifying group and head into the finals as favourites.
Bielsa's first coaching job was in his home country with Newell Old Boys where he won the opening championship in 1990.
He coached in Mexico and the USA before returning to Argentina and won the 1998 closing title with them before succeeding Daniel Passarella as national boss.
He was criticised initially for bringing too European a style to the team, but they have gone from strength to strength.
Biesla has chosen an unconventional 3-3-1-3 formation.
It relies heavily on Manchester United's Juan Sebastian Veron in a free role, and a dynamic, fast, attacking style that also focuses on pressuring opponents hard when they have the ball.