Diego Maradona began life as Argentina coach with a low-key 1-0 win over Scotland.
At the Hampden Park stadium where Maradona scored the first goal of an
international career that would make him his country's greatest player, Argentina showed only flashes of the sort of skill that Maradona was famous for, not least for the move that led to Maxi Rodriguez's eighth-minute goal.
But Scotland troubled the visitors and could have earned a draw if they had taken advantage of several defensive lapses.
Elsewhere John Terry atoned for his part in a dreadful mix-up to score a late header and give England a 2-1 win over old rivals Germany.
Missed opportunities
James McFadden had two good chances to equalise in the first half and another early in the second, but Argentina could also have had more goals, with Javier Mascherano and Ezequiel Lavezzi both going close.
Aside from Maxi's goal, there was little evidence of the entertaining performance Maradona promised would reward Scottish fans for their warm welcome.
Still, the Atletico Madrid midfielder's low shot past goalkeeper Allan McGregor at least rounded off a slick move and gave a hint of the passing game that could evolve under Maradona.
The World Cup-winning captain's debut as coach was largely a quiet one, with little of the frantic gesticulating and wild cheerleading that had characterised his time as a fan of the national team, but his team showed the competitive edge they will need to improve upon their current placing of fourth in South America's World Cup qualifying group.
The home crowd, who greeted Maradona with cheers and sang an anti-English song in his honour, were riled by several tough challenges by Martin Demichelis and Javier Zanetti - both of whom may have been trying to compensate for mistakes that could have led to goals.
Although at least two of the six changes to the team that lost at Chile 1-0 on October 15 were forced upon him by the absence of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, Maradona's selections have already suggested a ruthless streak as he searches to improve upon the poor recent performances under his predecessor, Alfio Basile.
Low key
Maradona spent most of the match huddled on the bench, his diminutive figure exaggerated by the outsized coat insulating him from the cold Scottish night, and barely celebrated the first goal of his tenure.
There were two brief forays to the touchline in the first half, apparently to instruct his defence, but he was so composed he did not even uncross his arms when Maxi slipped the ball past McGregor.
His arms tight to his chest to keep out the cold, Maradona was uncharacteristically calm in his reaction to the slick move involving Carlos Tevez and Jonas Gutierrez.
Tevez found space on the right and crossed to Gutierrez, who had time to play a simple pass to the onrushing Maxi, setting up a simple finish.
With Javier Mascherano having drawn a save from McGregor with a volley even before the first goal, the home fans seemed to anticipate a rout.
Aware of the gulf in class between a team mostly drawn from Europe's premier clubs and their own, which featured seven players from the Scottish Premier League and three from England's second tier, Scotland's fans were soon erupting into ironic cheers of ‘Ole!’ each time their team put together a string of passes unmolested.
Crowd support
They also cheered Maradona when he walked to the touchline in the 18th and, after seeing Lavezzi go close, almost celebrated a moment three minutes later.
Zanetti let Kris Commons cross from the left and McFadden turned and shot inside the area, only for Demichelis to deflect the ball over.
Argentina goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo then spilled a speculative long shot and fullback Kris Broadfoot only just failed to redirect a curling free kick by Commons on target.
McFadden robbed Demichelis in the area but shot straight at Carrizo just before halftime.
That brought Maradona, who in 1979 scored his first international goal in a 3-1 win over Scotland, to the touchline again, suitably animated for him to have undone his coat despite the cold.
England win
John Terry atoned for his part in a dreadful mix-up to score England's winner in a 2-1 victory over Germany in an international friendly at the Olympiastadion.
England moved ahead midway through the first half when German goalkeeper Rene Adler missed an attempted punch from a corner, leaving defender Matthew Upson to prod the ball home.
The visitors should have made it 2-0 when Darren Bent was through on goal in the second half but the striker allowed Germany's substitute keeper Tim Wiese to save and moments later the home side were level.
Terry chose to shepherd the ball back toward England's replacement keeper Scott Carson, who hesitated and allowed Patrick Helmes to help himself to an equaliser.
Captain Terry made amends when he headed in from a Stewart Downing free kick with the clock ticking down.
Weaker team
England were missing half a dozen or more of their best players, including Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney, while Germany were without Michael Ballack, Torsten Frings and Philipp Lahm and the lack of quality showed.
The visitors, who have been re-energised since the arrival of Italian coach Fabio Capello, enjoyed the best moments in the first half and should have gone two clear when Bent rounded the keeper only to slip and shoot wide.
Shaun Wright-Phillips also cracked the post for England with a long-range effort in a seesaw second half.