Martin Demichelis has thanked Diego Maradona for getting him through his form crisis.
Maradona endured a huge amount of criticism for the struggles he had trying to get Argentina to the World Cup.
Qualification was not assured until the final round of matches, which was little short of a disgrace for the two-time winners.
Despite having so many star names to choose from, most pundits wrote the South Americans off as potential champions, purely because they did not feel Maradona was capable of getting any consistency from his team.
However, while the man widely recognised as one of the best two - along with Pele - ever to play the game, remains a volatile customer, he has also managed to retain a bond within the Argentina squad that will not be broken easily.
It certainly helped Demichelis in the aftermath of his crass blunder against South Korea in the group stage, and it could spell trouble for Germany in tomorrow's eagerly-anticipated quarter-final clash at the Green Point Stadium.
"Maradona has given me so much support," Demichelis said. "I didn't see him much as a player, only through watching matches on TV.
"But as a coach he has grown a lot. The words he uses are very convincing and makes us feel very positive about ourselves.
"No-one can question him because we have played four matches at the World Cup and won them all."
Having responded to personal criticism with his barb at England's John Terry, Demichelis actually thinks it is a good thing he is being targeted.
Although defences are bound to be influential in a tournament where matches have largely been tight throughout, for Argentina their strength undoubtedly lies in their staggering list of forward stars.
Quite apart from Lionel Messi, who has yet to score in South Africa, Maradona can call on Golden Boot contender Gonzalo Higuain, plus Manchester City's Carlos Tevez, who scored twice in the last-16 victory over Mexico.
And just in case his side hit problems, Maradona has Diego Milito in reserve, knowing his goals swept Inter Milan to Champions League glory in May.
"I prefer to be the target," Demichelis added. "It is better for the critics to look at me rather than the strikers.
"It means they can keep their minds fresh and positive at all times."
Not that Demichelis believes he is in for an easy time in a grudge match that has been stoked up by German allegations of provocative tactics from their opponents.
Franz Beckenbauer might have labelled England a "kick and rush" team, but after spending seven years in the Bundesliga, Demichelis is aware that German strengths lie in a very similar area.
"You have to highlight the way Germany use the aerial game," he said. "Most of their players are very tall and their goalkeeper likes to get the ball forward fast.
"We will have to watch that and make sure we are ready for it tomorrow."