Argentinian Town star Sixto Peralta has again expressed his love for the FA Cup. After the Dagenham and Redbridge game he was gushing in his praise for the competition and he is looking forward to cup action, this time against Manchester City.

It is the exploits of two Argentinians from an earlier era which really whetted his appetite: "I love the FA Cup competition, it is so different to other cup tournaments anywhere in the world. Of course two Argentinians have a place in its history. Only the other day I saw once again the great goal scored by Ricky Villa for Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester City in the cup final. It was on 100 Great Sporting Moments on television and it sent a little tingle down my spine to see it."

It seems that English football gets a bigger audience in Argentina these days than is used to. During Mauricio Taricco's spell at Portman Road he was disappointed that little attention was paid to English football with the Italian and Spanish leagues getting far more attention.

Peralta says that his family got to see his goals from the earlier round of the FA Cup and also see Premiership matches: "My family saw the two goals I scored and I'm sure they will see the game against Manchester City, everyone in Argentina will be watching."

Peralta hopes his national side will impress in the World Cup in the summer, despite the current economic situation which is causing clubs to have to sell players or cut the wages of their players: "The economic situation won't cause the team problems in Korea/Japan. Virtually all the players on our national side play in the European leagues so are not affected. They want to win the World Cup for the people of Argentina because they know how much they are suffering."

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls