Is it Maradona's time?
Diego Maradona will be 48 on Thursday. There were times when it seemed that he wouldn't get that far, with his well publicised struggles with illegal drugs and weight.
Now he is well on course for a happy birthday. He looks set to be announced as coach of Argentina, the job he has campaigned hard for since Alfio Basile stepped down two weeks ago.
On Monday the line from the Argentine FA was that Maradona was one of four candidates, there was no rush to appoint and all four would be spoken to.
Instead Maradona touched down in Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning, met with AFA president Julio Grondona in the afternoon and emerged to announce that although talks would continue, the job was his for the taking...
It is fair to conclude that Maradona is not the most logical choice. His coaching experience is limited to brief spells with Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing in 1994/5 - his combined record reads three wins, 12 draws, eight defeats.
In comparison his 1986 team-mate Sergio Batista recently took the Olympic team to the gold medal.
Miguel Angel Russo has won titles recently and his San Lorenzo side are currently top of the league, and Carlos Bianchi has a truckload of titles to his name. Bianchi was the people's choice; he came out on top in the opinion polls.
But Maradona has something that no numbers could ever measure. He is Maradona, and his very name resonates deep in the Argentine soul.
From the day he scored those two goals against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter final he has been more the embodiment of a national fantasy than a footballer.
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The phenomenon is explored in the excellent 2006 film 'El Camino de San Diego.' A
Maradona fanatic from the far north of Argentina finds a block of wood that bears a resemblance to his idol.
His makes it into a statue and decides to make the long journey to Buenos Aires to present it to Maradona, who is going through a health crisis.
The film is a road movie which places the figure of Maradona in the context of religious faith. Characters are portrayed gripping to a belief in the Catholic church, spiritualist rituals, Afro-Brazilian gods and even winning the lottery.
Maradona is seen as a part of an alternative Argentine holy trinity, along with Che Guevara and folk saint Gauchito Gil.
There is a side to Argentina that is all logical debate, putting the world to rights over a cup of coffee.
But there is another side of wild emotionalism. Football brings both sides to the surface - the profound tactical debates and the desperate commitment of the fans.
Maradona runs on emotion. As a player he was able to turn it into physical energy. As a fan he is similar, taking off his shirt and swinging it round his head as he leads the chanting.
When former prominent players take up coaching, many complain about the difficulty of acquiring the patience necessary in the new function. Will Maradona be able to acquire it?
He will be helped by experienced people. Carlos Bilardo, his coach in 1986 and 90, will provide back up.
Likely to be his assistant on the training ground is 1990 team-mate Pedro Troglio, a coach of some standing.
If confirmed, his team have more baggage than Brazil's current duo of Dunga and Jorginho.
For how long will Maradona and co be appointed? This could turn into an interesting question.
Argentina are not in the habit of sacking coaches. Either they resign or their contract comes to an end.
On Monday Julio Grondona was indicating that the new coach will not be given a four year deal, but will only serve until the next World Cup.
A cynic might wonder if there are hidden intentions here - that Grondona can hardly ignore Maradona now that he is healthy and ambitious, but that assuming Argentina don't win the next World Cup he can draw his sting and then get rid of him in little more than a year and a half. Time will tell.
In the short term there's the matter of what Maradona is likely to do. Recently he picked an Argentina side; Carrizo in goal, a back four of Angeleri, De Michelis, Heinze and Papa, Gago, Mascherano (the likely captain), and Di Maria, Messi, Aguero and Tevez. He later hinted at a place for Veron.
Conclusions - Riquelme has to hit top form to get back in, the door is closed for Zanetti and maybe Cambiasso, and Messi will be expected to become more like Maradona, a leader and an organiser of the attack - a role he played badly in the defeat against Chile that sparked Basile's resignation.
It's a huge challenge - just like the one that Diego Maradona has in front of him if he is indeed confirmed as the new coach of his country.
A glorious history, a rich culture, a production line of exciting players... South American football is endlessly fascinating. I cover the continent from my base in Rio.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~22~RS~)
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"is is"? is that some sort of dodgy Argentinian impression?
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Is is? Is that some sort of advanced journalistic phrase that us mere mortal's don't understand?
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"is is"? i never noticed it said is is til i read those sarcastic comments
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Perhaps it's a mistake. I hear humans make them from time to time.
Seeing as this is far an away one of the better blogs on this site I think we can cut the guy some slack.
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Its a mistake for Maradona to take this position/the fa to offer it to him. The expectations on the national side is immense, this is a team that are considered one of the best and its been to long since a major title. Im worried about the consequences for all concerned if they slip up in qualifying.
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maradona will have something no other coach could have as sooon as he walks into the job
respect.
the guy has a certain aura about him and im sure the players will be excited about playing for one of the best players in the world ever.
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maradona can barely look after himself let alone manage a national side that has always had huge expectations. cant see this working
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i think it's more than ideal. If it all goes wrong and he doesn't cut it, they've got him out of their system (Newcastle and Alan Shearer comes to mind), if it turns out brilliant, then he's even more of a national icon. I hope it turns out well for the little fella, he is and will always be the world's greatest ever footballer and considering where he came from and what he's overcome, it'd be nice to see him succeed.
also, surely his appointment will make the players give 150% when they walk out onto the pitch, afterall they arn't just playing for anybody, they are playing for their childhood hero
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I will agree with Tera Baap. The players will look up to him because he is someone they can clearly associate themselves with.
We all know that he has done plenty of mistakes in the past but I do feel the MAN deserve another chance with the national team.
By the way, I would like to take this opportunity to invite all of you to please visit my blog.
http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/
We have the best sources of Argentine football in English. Honest.
Your comments are most certainly appreciated.
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Maradona is a legend. He's my all time footballing hero. As a Scotland fan I'm looking forward to him appearing at Hampden next month (it's where he scored his first international goal and he genuinely loves the place).
The only worry I have with this appointment is that it is putting Maradona in the limelight again - where he is most vulnerable. The first little mistake will be jumped on and every move he makes will be scrutinised. He is also liable to start shooting his mouth off and digging a deeper hole for himself if he is criticised too much. Luckily, he has a great Argentina side to manage on the field. I believe them to be the best in the world (despite their position in qualifying) and Maradona can only make them gel stronger (his coaches can deal with the technical aspects).
Oh... and regarding the "is is" situation. I think it's discraceful that this was allowed to go past the editor before the article was posted... First Russel Brand and now this.... what is the BBC coming to?... ;-)
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I agree with post 7. Why was Maradona given preference to coaches of better pedigree, as evidenced by their success off the field. I wouldn't trust Maradona with a League Two side, much less the world force that is Argentina. If by a mans actions shall we judge him, then the choice of Maradona as national manager is by far the most erroneous decision made by the Argentian FA in recent times. What is the world coming to? Next thing you'll be telling me that Gazza wants to manage England.
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This morning I spotted a journalist typo. Excuse me while I self flagellate.
Oh and surely the Maradona thing is going to end in tears? Or is the coach behind the scenes going to be actually calling the shots while Maradona lends his charisma to the post match interview?
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Totally farcical,
The man is a cheat and a vagabond. I'm still hurting greatly from all those years ago and the pain gets deeper the longer England go wihout a major trophy.
To equate the poisnoned little dwarf with some sort of religion is an afront to all God Fearing folk such as Sarah Palin.
Why is Hernan Crespo not in the frame? Surely his run at Chelsea more than qualifies him fora life in the dugout - Maradona spent far more time on the pitch or re-hab and how does that qualify you to manage Crespo or Veron from his time at Man u and Chelsea are for more obvious candidates.
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Brilliant! Now hopefully they'll need a win in their last game to qualify for the World Cup and the opponents centre forward punches the ball in the net......makes my day.
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I wish him truckloads of good luck and am sure he has the goodwill of the Argentine public as well. With the array of good players he has at his disposal, 'twon't br too much of a task to turn the team around. What they ned is a n injection of self belief in the national shirt, in El Diego, they will get more than that. He was bold enough to criticise his successor (Messi), so who else is sacred? Is it his inlaw or the irrascible Heinze?
this is a guy they must and can respect, play for die for.
Truth though ; the honeymoon would not last because of Maradona's impulsive and atimes impossible nature.
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Top article
People poking fun at minor mistakes have little else to do with themselves.
For his performances in the Argentine shirt alone, Maradona deserves a crack at the whip.
Sentamental as it may seem, he is a god in Argentina.
Who knows? You can write off his previous managerial stints for a number of reasons including health and the situation around his appointment of previous clubs. (They were in serious trouble before turning to Diego to sort out the mess)
Only English fans call the man a cheat. He is much more than that. He is a competitor who is willing to go to extreme lengths to win. Isnt a pity the England players and fans take the moral high ground yet should the shoe be on the other foot, they would almost definately label him a God, a genius. Considering the adulation given to lesser geniuses like Hoddle, Waddle, Gascoigne, Charlton.
Jelousey.
Good luck to Diego should he get the role and fantastic writing again Mr Vickery
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So we would settle for winning by an English player punching the ball in the net would we? Not the fans I know, only morons would agree that that is the way to win a GAME.
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I've never understood how Maradonna is held in such high regard in Argentina. Sure he was a great footballer but he brought disgrace onto himself and the country. He's hugely flawed as a human being and I'd even suggest that his mental stability is in question.
The guy came from the ghetto and never rose above it in terms of his behaviour and how he handles himself. Combine that with his lack of coaching experience and it is incredible he is even in the frame.
I agree that Tim is the most insightful and intelligent writer on these Blogs.
And by the way, I'm not English and harbour no grudges regarding the 'hand of God' incident.
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if he does well diego will become even more of a legend in argentina (if thats possible) and if he fails no one is gona blame him, they gona blame the AFA for appointing him even though he has very little experience in management, so its a win win situation for diego.
but lets hope he does well cause he deserves some happiness after what hes been through.
im not a big argentina fan but i sure will be supporting him
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23carragold. Sorry mate but I would not. I'm all up for teams doing everything possible to win a game.......within the laws of the game. I am desperate for England to do well but please don't insult me and countless other fans. We don't like someone downright cheating against us so we cannot glory in one of our own doing it.
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Laughable. I'm thinking of the pictures of Maradona looking crazed after he scored against Greece at WC '94, i.e. the last international match he played before being banned for drugs. And how his weight ballooned and there were serious concerns he might die a few years ago. Then there was the cocaine addiction. And now the AFA is considering making his national team coach? With virtually no managerial experience.
If he is appointed he won't even last in the job until the World Cup. Is is a terrible idea.
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WordsofWisdom - are you saying that generally people from the "Ghetto" don't know how to behave or handle themselves? That's a tad disrespectful if you ask me...
And can you explain how Maradona disgraced his country? Surely lifting the World Cup as captain after the greatest ever individual display of footballing genius in a tournament is no disgrace...
WordsofWisdom - Your post reeks of ignorance.... not wisdom
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@aggersforcaptain
You sir, are definately on in a million.
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one*
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I can't believe the Argentinian FA have done this! What a ridiculous appointment - although it does make some sense with Tim's excellent exploration of the Argentine soul. However, appointing Maradona would be like the English FA giving the job to Gazza. Gazza might be having some issues now, but we all remember Maradona in rehab several times, battling weight and health problems. Surely this is not the right man to lead a footballing giant.
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aggersforcaptain is right. For all the problems with England football, at least the team aren't cheats. At least when they play for their country. No rolling around faking injuries, no shirt pulling, no diving. Well, not very much diving, especially now that Owen's not in the squad. Heck, during penalty shoot outs the England keepers don't even dive early. Which probably explains why they always lose.
Argentina, on the other hand, has the likes of Maradona and Messi. Brilliant players, but they won't hesitate to punch the ball into the net, then celebrate as if they did nothing wrong. Must be nice to have no conscience.
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I couldn't care less about the hand of god goal, if England scored that goal i wouldn't have complained. However, Maradona is no different from Flo Jo. Nobody who takes drugs to enhance their performance should be praised, regardless of talent.
I can't see this working out well for Argentina.
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Sorry 23carragold. I wasn't trying to come over all righteous it is simply the way I was brought up playing all sport. I coached teams in this way and we won and lost as the game unfolded. Cheating will spread as it is seen by youngsters on the TV. You won't believe after watching England struggle for so long, and being damn unlucky on more than one occasion, how desperate I am for them to be succesful. As an aside, I presume you nickname is a homage to the best all round defender in the Premier League?
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I don't think it's the same as England appointing Gascoigne at all. Gascoigne has nothing like the kind of status in England that Maradona has in Argentina. It's a very weak comparison. People respect Gazza for his football ability in the past but even at the time most people viewed Gazza as a clown and now see him as a sad derelict. Maradona has got himself back on track in recent years. He's like a demi-god in Argentina and on a short term basis the players will bust a gut to impress him. As long as he has intelligent coaches with him to work on more technical aspects, I don't see a problem.
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my first reaction to this news was shock as it has the potential to go terribly wrong.
i would love to be wrong and would be delighted to see such a national icon lead the most talented squad in the world in my opinion to world cup glory in south africa.
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I think this would be terrible news for the Argentine national team! its sort of the equivalent of Paul Gasgoine becoming the English national manager
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when its about maradona the logics does not work. God makes his scripts and always throw him in the winning side. he have some magic inside him which will make him successful. he is a hero to me. he will show the world something new.
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my comment
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I have no idea if he will be a good manager/coach. I do know that he is the most talented player of all time though and a god like figure in Argentina.
In the short term I think his presence may well inspire some of the players. In the long run though he will need to learn very quickly and have a great team of staff around him to succeed on the international stage.
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Cold war Kid,
The drugs actually decreased his performance, they were not any performance enhancing steroids but cocaine. read about his troubles with the white stuff and you will understand that Maradona would have been even better minus the cocaine.
As for the coaching idea, well it is a huge risk that is probably unfair on the other candidates. Grondona was criticised by Bianchi before, now, he will surely not be on the christmas card list.
The role is very tough for tacticians as it is and Argentina play in a style that requires a thoughtful coach to manage the talent and tactics, Maradona is a romantic and I fear that his judgement may be clouded.
But it will be an entertaining roller coaster of emotions from now on.
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A drunk, a drug addict and a cheat.
Yup, sounds like an ideal candidate to manage the Argentinian National side.
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Aggersforaptain? Did you cheer when up stepped Luis Garcia against Chelski?
Yeah i thought so.... So did I.
I'm red through and through and replays showed that it wasn't a goal. Granted we would have gotten a penalty if the ref hadn't awarded a goal.... But two wrongs don't make a right.
Sometimes the calls go our way, sometimes they don't... but please don't tell the world, you wouldn't cheer becuase we got the benefit of the doubt on a dodgy call.
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RESPECT for the man who is widely regarded as the best footballer ever.
How fitting for him to manage what is currently the best national team in the world.
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Just wanted to say thanks for the insight last week Tim, was quite interesting. Not as glamorous as it may seem to an outsider but interesting none the less.
Would have loved to have read the piece on the chairman threatening to shoot all of his players as well. Can you imagine that in the EPL?? I bet Daniel Levy would love to be able to have the freedom to do something like that!
Thanks Tim
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Putting Gasgoine in the same sentence or even article as Diego is hybris.
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@ aggersforcaptian
You are right.
Best all round defender.
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I'm also a Liverpool fan and the difference between Luis Garcia's "goal" against Chelsea and Maradona's hand of God is that Luis Garcia didn't cheat, didn't deceive the ref, his fellow players and the fans. OK, maybe it didn't cross the line, but the decision to award the goal was down to the ref and the linesman.
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Why do the Argentines always kick themselves in the teeth? A crazy decision and one that will end in tears for sure.
Sure they will qualify for the World Cup as the woman who washes the team shirts could pick a side capable of beating Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, but the crunch for Maradonna will come in South Africa. That is when the heat will really be turned on. I don't think he is stable enough to take on this role and can you really appoint a Manager who has so openly expressed his hatred for players of River Plate, the arch rivals of his beloved Boca Juniors?
His team selection, as outlined by Tim Vickery, is interesting in that he includes Heinze who is without doubt the weak link and his deficiencies have been exposed for sometime now.
For me the logical choice is Sergio Batista. He is the right age and took the Olympic team to the gold medal.
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aggerforcaptain....
.... With agger coming in a close second.
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Jamminben said "The man is a cheat and a vagabond. I'm still hurting greatly from all those years ago and the pain gets deeper the longer England go wihout a major trophy."
Which man is a cheat? Or do you mean Michael Owen's dive for a penalty against Argentina?
99% of footballers would have tried to do the same thing if they thought they'd get away with it. And "England go without a major trophy" because (wait for it!) WE ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!
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I guess someone who worships this guy was offended by my post comparing their idol to Flo Jo. Isn't this blog about opinions?
U13299637. If i argue your point my post will get pulled again. So i will just say that is debatable.
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Subterranean, realMir, matchboxmaster, U13299637 - at last some intelligent comments from people who understand the situation.
There are a lot of people who are ignorant regarding the type of man Maradona actually is. His past mistakes have only made him stronger and more determined to succeed for the country he adores. He is admired for being a leader, standing up for his beliefs and overall, his god-like footballing ability.
For those that are still dwelling on the hand-ball goal 22 YEARS AGO - get a life. He played you off the park that day and the skill he showed for that goal and more-so the second goal was unbelievable. It was all the more sweet for the Argentinean people because that game was against England.
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This will bring Argentina and Maradona down to earth. If they do well it will be because of the backroom staff, if they do badly he will take the brunt. It is a receipe for failure and angst. His character is to lead by example, I don't seem him as a mentor, leader, teacher type. I fear for the Mighty and great of Argentine football and for him.
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Haythnasr. I'm not actually a Red but simply acknowledging that Carra is the best all round defender. I must say though, you may have been a little lucky on a number of ocasions earlier this year but your looking good now.
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"aggersforcaptain is right. For all the problems with England football, at least the team aren't cheats. At least when they play for their country. No rolling around faking injuries, no shirt pulling, no diving. Well, not very much diving, especially now that Owen's not in the squad. Heck, during penalty shoot outs the England keepers don't even dive early. Which probably explains why they always lose.
Argentina, on the other hand, has the likes of Maradona and Messi. Brilliant players, but they won't hesitate to punch the ball into the net, then celebrate as if they did nothing wrong. Must be nice to have no conscience."
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You mean when Gerrard or Joe Cole and Lampard fall flat on their head every other time when they haven't been touched? (credit they get up straight after they hear the whistle)
Or when Ashley Cole knows he should be off but he's intimidating Riley claiming he got the ball and complaining for the yellow.
Or John Terry elbowing the keeper on the head or pulling a defender down every time he goes forward - and then also complaining to the ref.
Or the U-21s in the last finals seeing an opposition defender injured in the box but play onside off him and score.
Or Wayne Rooney scoring with his hand in Monaco as if he was playing volleyball and O'Shea & Rio 2 metres away celebrate and tell him well done.
Or Steven Taylor from Newcastle saving with his hand on the line and pretending he was shot on the chest by the football.
True the English are the best at fair play...only when it's in favour of them.-
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Maradona has a borderline personality disorder.
That is something we all know.
He is also a serial relapser.
One big high, or one big low - and it's odds on that he'll be under the table again.
Who do these people think they're kidding?
And what on earth do they think they're doing?
Insane.
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Another great blog,
As for the appointment, he will command instant respect and almost fear form players who will realise they are very much in his shadow, but great players rarely make good managers and hes probably the greatest player of all time so.....
I hope it works though. Football needs players like maradona to come through. As good as messi and aguero is, neither has even come close to doing what he did thus far.
And the fact he has had his problems adds to his popularity. It shows hes only human, something alot of stars often can show
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By the sounds of it, Maradona has come through his troubles and fair play to him if this is the case.
Elsewhere on the planet football fans are known to have a healthy debate on whether the greatest player on earth was Pele or Maradona, except here.
I think its time we english got rid of this chip on our shoulders and just acknowledge the man for what he is: A footballing genius.
Whether he is up to it tactically as a manager as he was technically as a player will be interesting to see.
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He's not a logical choice for any kind of position of authority, other than perhaps the new face of cocaine.
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LokomotivRosco. You are right Maradonna's second goal in that game was truly awesome, one of the best I have ever been privileged to witness. But to say the skill he showed for THAT goal? Come on!
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How moving and inspirational the best player in history to manage the current best player in the world and his natural successor.
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Its always a merry go round with the national team coaches.After Maradona it'll be Passarella then maybe Pekerman,Bianchi and hey presto Basile is back in his old job.
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It could go either way. He'll either be the best thing to happen to Argentina or be their Keegan. At the moment it's anyone's guess which he'll be.
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I have a question that is rather polemic here in Brazil, but I would like to know the opinion from the British - who are, after all, the guys who created football -: who played better, Pelé or Maradona?
I, personally, cannot state an opinion on this, given the fact that I'm too young and I have seen them only in short videos of their best moves - I was 8 when Maradona played in the USA/1994 World Cup. I would like to see unbiased opinions (which are really rare, around here). What do you think, Tim?
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well said Rafa's magic box
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NikosBg. Gerrad should have been sent off for simu;ation (as they call it these days) ditto Joe Cole. Cashley should, have been sent off for dissent, ditto Terry and so on and so on. Referees need to put their foot down but unfortuinately they don't seem to be backed up by the FA. Sorry but downright cheating is spoiling this beautiful, wonderful game where anarchy is slowly taking over.
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Pedblan. Without doubt is has to be Pele. Two footed and great in the air. George Best was also and Pele said he was the best he'd seen. Unfortunately he couldn't prove it at the WC due to him being Irish but Pele definetly comes before maradonna....a wonderfully gifted player but not two footed and crap in the air.
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Maybe if this works out England will look at Gazza to be the next England manager!!
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What's the odds on Claudio Canniggia becoming his assistant ?
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"I have a question that is rather polemic here in Brazil, but I would like to know the opinion from the British - who are, after all, the guys who created football -: who played better, Pel? or Maradona?"
Pele was/is a superstar and celebrity, Diego more of a people's man. People also tend to pick their favourite based on which of the two eras they grew up.
Pele enjoyed more success but had a national team of legends of comparable quality around him, most of Maradona's teammates have been forgotten. He also single-handedly led Napoli to glory which is a huge achievement and admirable on its own.
But Garrincha is another strong and underrated candidate for best footballer ever.
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People who live in glass houses should not throw stones... why we don't go back to the 1966 World Cup where the Germans played Uruguay with a British ref and Argentina played England with a German ref, both with controversial situations? Why we don't remember that goal by Hurst which wasn't a goal?
Or how about Owen throwing into the swimming pool lately with Argentina? Even the more actual volleyball kind of attempt from Scholes playing for Man. Utd. in front of Zenith? ...yes I know only we Argentines cheat.
In what respects to Maradona, I hope to be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that we will be able to qualify for the 2014 WC.
Funny how here in Argentina opinion poll´s showed how nobody wanted Maradona as a coach. Maybe because not everybody here hails him as a God.
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aggersforcaptain - regarding that goal. I stand by my comments...
He made a wonderful run, played a brilliant one-two with Steve Hodge, continued his run then had the brilliance to realise that he was too short to beat Shilton to the ball with his head, so he flicked his arm out - genius.
I know this is technically against the rules but it wasn't seen by the officials and it stood...
I also have to say, he also showed skill when responding to media questions surrounding the goal.
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nacho_52 wrote:
"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones... why we don't go back to the 1966 World Cup where the Germans played Uruguay with a British ref and Argentina played England with a German ref, both with controversial situations?"
---
Do you remember, in that semifinal the ref sent Rattin off midway through for no apparent reason...We still don't know why!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kChRz8jr0tk
And if you add that goal in the final...when the assistant didn't run to the centre until he was asked...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vIm9yMCEBhg
That's the only way England could win the world cup.
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LokomotivRosco. Fair play, the build up was brilliant, he lhen leapt like a salmon and CHEATED. He didn't flick his arm out he punched the bloody thing. Cheating is cheating whether it be Maradnonna, Messi, Cole, Owen whoever
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Gazza to Boston? Welll....ok. Merson to Walsall? Bit of a gamble! Kinnear to Newcastle? You've got to be kidding! Maradonna to Argentina? Are you naffin' well taking the &*#%! What next? Fergie to Liverpool? Robson (either)to Man U? Avram Grant to anywhere......
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I quote from Wikipedia (so that the younger ones can learn how England won their only World Cup):
"Argentina's Antonio Rattín became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley. Afterwards, the German referee, Rudolf Kreitlein, said that he had sent off Rattín BECAUSE HE DIDN'T LIKE HOW HE LOOKED AT HIM (IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT THE REFEREE DID NOT UNDERSTAND SPANISH).
Rattín at first refused to leave the field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. Only after 30 minutes England was able to score against an Argentinian team with 10 players.
This game, even today, is called by Argentina as el robo del siglo (the robbery of the century)"
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NikosBg. That is a good point about Rattin who seemed to be picked on by the referee. England had to dig in against the team that was the best in the tournament that year. The sending off was wrong but England were lucky to win but how often have we seen the best team in a game get beaten. There was certainly, in my honest opinion, no cheating by England.
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Diego Diego Diego. Do never understimate the little man. I know he is not a good coach, but he wont be alone there. Grondona is a mafioso, disgusting and full of crap. Hopefully, Diego will the energy from his heart do bring again happiness to people. do not understimate the little man. English fans know about that. I want to wish good luck to him and a happy birthday
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"no that's deliberate handball in the box, a red card, off you go fatty."
----
lol red card for deliberate handball, in which rulebook did you read that mate, the 1966 WC rulebook maybe? hehe
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I'm too young to remember the 1986 World Cup. I don't even care about the 'hand of God' incident - every country cheats from time to time, including us.
What I find distasteful about Diego is his seemingly sheer lack of respect he has for himself and his own reputation. Performance-enhancing drugs, class-A recreational drugs, pointing guns at paparazzi...actually, I admit the latter may be tempting at times, but that doesn't excuse it.
And this man is supposed to be a role model for Messi et al? Diego may inspire affection, nostalgia, and respect for his talent, but that doesn't mean he'll inspire respect for his intellect.
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Just wanted to say great blog Tim. I'm 15 and this blog teaches me a lot about not just South American football but South America in general, job well done.
As for Maradona, mentally he can whip the players into shape, he has that character that the players would respect and put their all in for. However, it's whether or not he has the skill, tactically and whatnot. We'll wait and see.
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NikosBg,
agree with all what you said.
BestSpam1979,
the players cheat, not the countries. I know what you mean with that but it's a difference we have to make.
Maradona maybe is a role model as a player but certainly not as a person. In any case the guy had an addiction and and got recovered from it (by the way I'm not sure if he took performance enhancing drugs, rather the contrary), he's trying to rule his life... I don't like him as a person but fair play to him.
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Only English fans call the man a cheat????
I think the world realises that the man is a cheat. However, I'm sure they also acknowledge his genius with the football and recognise that his ability was worthy of winning the world cup back in 86.
As for his managerial skills, this can only end in tears.
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Tera Baap - the only thing Maradona has got that other coaches don't is a record of alcohol, drug and beef-burger abuse. Coaches who have won titles and achieved things do have respect, earned through their management career. Don't get me wrong, for what Maradona did in his playing career he deserves to be respected as an all-time great, a talent unsurpassed even by the likes of Ronaldo and Zidane. However, his off the field record is - well I'm not sure what word to use, abysmal or tragic? Both then. He's one of those guys, like Gazza, who despite all his character flaws, people still love him because a) he was a fantastic footballer and icon of the game and b) because he's as passionate as they come. But, would England put Gazza in charge? Not even 5 years on weightwatchers and a continuous passing of drug tests would tempt even the most optimistic of England fans. Great to have around in the media, but not management material. I really do hope he succeeds but every brain cell I have tells me that this strange decision will lead to very little success on the field. It's an unusual decision and one has to wonder if Maradona has other powers at work here, surely any sensible association would not put their national team in the care of a lovable but entirely inexperienced and flawed man. I'm not suggesting God of course, he has bigger matters to deal with, such as the cridit crunch and Jonathon Ross and Russel Brand (no heaven for them), but there must be pressure from somewhere. It's not sensible and you wonder if Argentina is actually a place in Newcastle.
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This appointment is bonkers. Maradonna was one of the greatest footballers ever, we all agree, but he has virtually no coaching experience, he is an unstable personality with well documented substance abuse problems, and has no concepts about modern training and tactics.
This one is a train wreck waiting to happen.
On the bright side, if they stick with him through the World Cup, it's one less contender for the trophy, because despite the Argies talents on the pitch, a team needs tactics, management and leadership off it - and Maradonna cannot provide those things in the required quantity.
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is the beeb not liking my comments again today???
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I'd prefer to see Pekerman or Tocalli return so that Argentina can pick up where they left off in 2006 World Cup playing sublime football. Pekerman probably knows he made mistakes but he brought pride back to Argentina after all the rubbish they went through first with Maradona then with the failures following that.
I dont think Maradona should be rewarded for all the damage hes done to his country's reputation.
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Surely this is what football is about: emotion. The emotion of Maradona combined with the emotion of the Argentine players and fans will be a wonderful, unique experience. as an Englishman, I fail to see how Paul Gascoigne managing England can even be compared. How many ten year old English kids know about Gascoigne? I don;t expect there to be too many. But how many 10 year old Argentines know about Maradona? This is folklore in the making.
For all those England fans who question why somebody of Maradona's character should manage Argentina - we live in a country where Joe Kinnear thinks it is acceptable to praise the "bravery" of his convicted criminal midfielder to score a penalty, and a manager who purposely ended the career of another player during his playing days is idolised and called the future of management at Sunderland. Which is worse?
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An ex-footballer, not anybody but the best in history, who has been there and done it all, an inspirational icon for fans and younger players alike. Having alongside a coaching expert who guided him to World Cup glory in 1986. Managing what is the world's best team with the world's best player in it. It's the ideal scenario and recipe for success.
It'd be so nice to see the god lift the World Cup once more.
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MOYESYSIDE - someone else who thinks Maradona let his COUNTRY down??? Where is this coming from?
I know many Argentineans and although they all believe he perhaps let himself down on a few occasions, never will they accept that Maradona disgraced his country? That's ridiculous...
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55.
I dont know that much about Pele really. Its like Bobby Moore, we're just told how good he was. Maradona for me is different as Ive seen him in action in 3 world cups and plenty of internationals over the years. For me out of those 2 he is the greatest. Personally though I dont like players who have the reputation for winning things single handedly when they play a team sport. I think Zidane has to be regarded as better than both Pele and Maradona really. A player who stood out in a talented side that won things and thats just at international level.
Maradona was a great player, but like George Best theres just something odious about him that transcends all his efforts on the pitch.
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"Only English fans call the man a cheat????"
Yes.
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88. LokomotiveRosco
He made Argentina all about HIM. I dont doubt for a minute that he is highly regarded in Argentina. I imagine the payback over the Falklands war for the Hand of god goal and the second goal which is regarded as possibly the greatest ever in world cup history are good reasons alone. But I think if i was Argentinian then Cambiasso's goal v Serbia, a TEAM effort, which followed a decline in Argentina on the world stage both in terms of the football played and the tarnished reputation due to Maradona's expulsion in 1994 would bring me far more pride.
I think of the 3 things he most famous for - hand of god and solo goal in 86 and the crazy eyes in 94 - the 2 negatives outweigh the positives. He let himself down more than anything else.
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Here is a link that describes why I agree with Tim Vickery.
http://my.nowpublic.com/sports/why-maradona-bad-argentina
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Having a self-proclaimed revolutionary as a national team manager certainly makes a change. Sure I was angry about the Hand of God goal, but that's all in the past now. There's no denying his talent as player.
He will command respect and instill passion into the team. There's plenty of experienced international managers who have tried and failed in the past, so why not give the man a chance.
I like his preferred Argentina team. It's none of my business I suppose, but I still think having a good Argentina side, like having Brazil on good form, is vital for world football. I would certainly prefer them to win the World Cup than Italy or Germany.
So good luck Diego.
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I would compare this in a sense to Staunton being the Ireland manager. No where near Maradona as a footballer, Staunton was one of the most consistent performers in a green shirt and certainly a player who won quite a bit with his various clubs in his career and was at the world cup and european cup too I believe as a player. He was solid in defence.
As a manager he was crap.
Keegan as a player was brilliant, apart from a quick rush to top of the premier league with newcastle, he will be seen as a crap manager, a bottler.
Given for every team there are 22 guys and one manager, then in those 22 perhaps one or two will make a great manager, one or two will make a good manager...and the other 18 will be crap... I don't see Pele, Zidane, Rumminige, Socrates, Cantona, Romario, Weah, Blokin, managing , and I don't see Maradona doing either. But if he does pull it off, holy wow and then some.
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Seems like more of an emotional appointment by the Argentine FA.
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I've lived and worked in different parts of Europe - still do - for the last ten years. Everyone I've ever met considers Maradonna one of the very best. No-one else calls him a cheat.
Time to swallow the sour grapes, England, and move on.
Some of you are starting to sound like Palin and McCain (and their strange insular supporters).
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Top 10 of completely inappropriate choices for national managers:
1.
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Having Maradona manage Argentine is like having Gazza manage England. It will all end in tears!
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Good Article again Mr Vickery
although u want to be careful not to over exhort yourself you know, after all you have wrote 2 articles for the beeb this week. hahaha lol
i agree that Maradonna is most definitely not the best choice for the job, obviously the right choice should of been Sergio Batista, closely followed by M.A. Russo and C. Bianchi, but there is undoubtedly something that 'the greatest ever cheat' himself will bring to the job, as referred to the aura and high esteem that he is held in, in his own country. he will inspire and get something out of the players that possibly others wont, maybe that is the decision behind the appointment, but inevitably i still feel that it will all end in tears due to his limited coaching capacity, but if he has a good team of coaches behind him
then who knows what will happen.
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Top 10 list of totally inappropriate choices of national manager:
1. Argentina - Maradona
2. Denmark - Stig Tofting
3. Scotland - Duncan Ferguson
4. Australia - Mark Bosnich
5. England - Gazza/Joey Barton
6. Wales - Mickey Thomas
7. Columbia - Faustino Asprilla
8. Romania - Adrian Mutu
9. France - Eric Cantona
10. Brazil - Edmundo
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Comment 17 - aggersforcaptain
"We would settle for winning by an English player punching the ball into the net would we?"
Check out how Paul Scholes scored his first goal vs Poland in the qualifiers for either WC 98 or Euro 2000. Blatant and deliberate handball.
So it appears that yes, you would.
Just as I would if a Scots player did it.
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MarcaDaddy: The chairman you are referring to is the chairman of Rosario Central. The club haven´t been doing too well in the league to say the least, and he was at a meeting with the barra bravas of the club, read hardcore fans bordering on hooligan element. He was on a rant about how the team needs to shape up and he got a little carried away, saying that the club "bust their backsides every day for the players" and that the players needed to start using their heads, otherwise "I´m going to kill them all/los voy a matar a todos". Needless to say a swift apology was issued the morning after, a couple of senior players had their say, and the rest was dealt with internally.
As for the rest of the blog, I´ve seen a few people commenting that Argentine players are cheats and so is Maradona, and such. Part of this is because in England things are very black and white with regards to any set of rules, you stick to the letter of them, or you break them, there´s no middle ground. In a lot of Latin countries, there is a grey area in the middle, where pushing one´s luck is tolerated so to speak, and this goes with football.
In Argentina there is a word for this which eludes me, but the people have a special respect for gains made in an intuitive, unconventional manner, perhaps even circumventing the rules slightly but not completely taking the mickey, especially if one gets away with it. The end result being that making the most of tackles and timewasting etc are not seen as cheating, they´re all part of that grey area in the middle. And if that doesn´t convince you that foreign players aren´t the devil´s spawn and English aren´t saintly white, here´s three more words, Steven Gerrard diving. ;-)
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Clarke_one_nil - you say that you can't even compare Maradona managing Argentina to Gascoigne managing England. This appears from you post to be based on the fact that "kids" in Argentina know who Maradona is but kids in England perhaps don't know Gazza. This is because Maradona almost single-handedly (no pun intended) won the World Cup for Argentina and he was a footballing icon across the world. Might I add because of his playing ability. Gazza on the other hand was a world class player but he never won the World Cup, therefore we don't remember him as the glorious world cup winner which he would have been if we'd won it in 1990 or even the Euros in 96. But Maradona and Gazza are are flawed characters, both have made collosal mistakes in their private life, and so I question why you would have a character like that leading your national team. Diego's managerial career, as Tim Vickery outlined, is both minimal and even in those few games he didn't inspire his teams to more than 3 wins. It's lucidcrous to make a managerial appointment based on iconic status as a player. Those coaches in the running who have achieved something in the game will have every right to feel an irrational and unfair decision has been made. That respect that Maradona commands will quickly evaporate in the changing room of a team who aren't winning, they'll always respect him as a player but you need a manager who people respect as a person and as a coach. Neither Gazza or Maradona deserve that respect.
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Respect to Argentina.
How few countries in the world would appoint a notorious drug abuser and recovering alcoholic to their national management position!
It's a great gesture, in that it says his status as a footballer is more important.
Chances of it working for more than 6 months - minimal.
Maradona had one talent in life, kicking a football around. Successful management requires many which he patently lacks.
However to me he will always be the man who scored those magnificent goals - the ones the English STILL haven't got over, after all these years.
VIVA!
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Tim,
A nice article as always.
Something that I thought you forgot to mention is the good analysis done by Diego. I remember 2 of his comments clearly. One about the Messi goal against Getafe and his comment on the comparison with his own. And the other, the more recent one, his controversial comment on Messi. Both these comments were pretty impressive.
Even looking at the team that he has chosen, in your blog, even that is a good formation.
At this point in time, it is hard to tell the merits/demerits of the appointment. But I guess Argentina were in need of a leader either on or off the pitch. And Diego just provides that.
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On the subject of Greatest Ever Players
I believe that although Pele and Maradonna are undoubtedly 2 of the greatest ever players to play the beautiful game, people seem to forget one man who was every bit as good of a player as either of them if not even better as he was just as quick, just as skilful, was 2 footed, good in the air, fantastic passer and an absolute Genius with the ball at his feet and able to glide past player after player with ease better than anybody, but for all this he is forgotten as he didnt play for a so called big footballing superpower but lowly old Northern Ireland, so he had no chance of showing his magic on the world stage, Yes of course
George Best - Probably the Greatest Ever Footballer.
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If I was Maradona I would not touch this job with a 10ft bargepole. It can only end it tears and all it will serve to do is reduce his stanfing amongst the people of Argentina.
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One more thing I forgot in that post was a possible reason or two for Diego´s appointment. Firstly, there has been a bit of a campaign around Buenos Aires for Diego to be the new manager of the Selección.
Secondly, people have been losing faith in the national team, the recent game with Uruguay wasn´t sold out, and there´s a rivalry between the two countries. The "general/popular" tickets, the cheapest on offer were on sale for a couple of days, compared to the Paraguay game beforehand where all of them sold out in a few hours at most. Maradona is a big draw in himself, and will ensure sold out games as long as he´s in charge, the Monumental isn´t exactly a small ground, so to fill it each time makes a big difference.
There has been a common perception here that the players don´t quite give 100% for the Selección, that they´re afraid of going back to their clubs injured, the AFA obviously feels he can convince the players and the public otherwise. Also people feel that players have been used in wrong positions, that there are too many similar players in the team, for example, Mascherano and Cambiasso are both number 5´s, a defensive midfielder, Demichelis and Zanetti get used in that area too more often than not now at their clubs so tend to drift into that area instead of the positions they were given in defence.
Heinze has been found out at international level, he´s too short or not commanding enough in the air to be used as a centre back, and he´s not athletic enough to be the storming full back the team needs. Monzón or Placente would be better choices, and you could do the same up front with Agüero, Messi, Tévez and Riquelme all wanting to play in the 10 role.
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Indeed Samwell2804 indeed.
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Maradona is THE GREATEST PLAYER EVER TO GRACE THE FOOTBALL FIELD.
and stop moaning you Hippocrates, and yeah I dont have to be an Argentinian to acknowledge this .
Dont scream like PEPE do all the time with all his FIFA politics.
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Go and watch Maradona play and cry.
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Samwell2804 - you're wrong. He'll be remembered as a violent drunk just as maradona will be remembered for the drugs and other negative stuff.
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At 2:37pm on 29 Oct 2008, The Hand Of Hidden Forces wrote:
Maradona had one talent in life, kicking a football around
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And stealthily punching footballs in World Cup quarterfinals. He was phenomenal at that.
It's the fact that such a great player did what he did, on that stage, and then celebrated in the manner he did, that makes it all the more galling. England hasn't won the World Cup, or anything else, for going on 50 years. OK, so maybe the '86 team wouldn't have gone on to win it but for the Hand of God, but maybe they would. And as an England fan I reserve the right to forever feel aggrieved at what Maradona did.
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Dont be jerks all you brits.
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Maradona must be the greatest ever footballer as mhaseeb77 wrote it in capitals.
Moyseyside – That depends on whether you choose to read the front page or the back page. Ultimately, being a violent drunk doesn't detract from the fact he was probably a better footballer than any other man in history.
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Being Argentine I had to take a step back on this. I was told Russo was going to be coach at one time then Bianchi. I wanted Bianchi to be honest, he is a legend. When I got a text from my friend that Maradona was coach I went on certain website and Diego was set to coach Argentina. You know I was a bit worried about it. It is like having a Ferrari but not having the keys for the car is how I somewhat feel about having Maradona as the coach. BUT Batista is going to be an assitant as well as Bilardo will be over looking everything. So maybe it will be Bilardo pulling all the strings and he will be advising Diego. And having Batista there is really good, he is a logical man and played with Diego in 86. But overall lets wait and see how this turns out.
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And for those who are crying about his past. That was off the pitch. And people can not get over the past is a shame. Do not look back on history CREATE it history.
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So the end for Pupi Zanetti. I will never forget that goal he scored vs England in France. Came from the back of the England wall and scored a goal on a FK. But I think it was time, as much I respect the man it was time. He is Inter's Maldini, never aging, never having a bad game. I think the squad will really need Maxi Rodriguez in the team as well as Cambiasso.
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My best pal at work is Argentinian and he is ecstatic! "S...santa Maria...Diego! Diego!" were his exact words. I think it's amazing. Scotlands favourite player (for the hand of God obviously followed by the best goal ever) will make his managerial debut at Hampden too. Their is a God...and his name's Diego
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Putting his hand up once
vs
diving theatric by most players nowadays
Which cheat is worst?
Maradona always stayed on his feet when he could go down so many times. Cut the hand of god some slack, will ya? Lets not be bitter England supporter.
No one else ever single handedly lifted a team to magical height like he did with Napoli. Him and Zidane (in appropriate head butt) are probably only 2 guaranteed to picked in anyone's all time fantasy starting 11. They are the epitomes of football idols.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah8xBnjtYWw&feature=related
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115
you cant separate the man from the player Im afraid. you can try but you will fail.
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'Legendary footballing idols' don't always make the best coaches. He'll need to learn fast and gain some experience from the coaching staff if he does take the job.
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Has Maradona ever coached ? No. He may be the best player there ever was but there are very few "legends" who coach successfully and usually they have previous experience. He should leave it and go back to television.
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Saltwaters, did you even read the article above? Tim Vickery clearly demonstrated Maradona´s previous coaching experience, it may not be much, and it may not have gone that well, but he has coached before, give him that much.
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Personally it is a gamble but i gotta be honest i wish him all the luck, he's been through a hell of alot!
all the best diego!
give it your best shot!
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As an Argentine i think this is a Bad idea,
so what if he is a legend he is not stable and never really has been, the players need someone to support them they always believe they have won before they do and Maradona will only encourage this.
I think its a great shame if he does get appointed but you can't guess the future he might end up being quite good . . . .
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I don't think he's been the same since he split up with Guy Ritchie to be honest. I don't think we'll see him hitting the heights of, say, Get Into the Groove or Papa Don't Preach as manager of Argentina.
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after reading a few more articals i do love how every english person seems to know how every argentine must be feeling.
you don't and its safe to say most people although regard him as a great have moved on a bit there are other great argentine players as well
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At 4:31pm on 29 Oct 2008, Richie_9 wrote:
I don't think he's been the same since he split up with Guy Ritchie to be honest. I don't think we'll see him hitting the heights of, say, Get Into the Groove or Papa Don't Preach as manager of Argentina.
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To say nothing of the starring performance as Eva Peron, especially the always memorable, "Don't Cry for me Argentina"
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Seems to be as dodgy an idea as Keegan coaching England.
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Hats off to the Argentinian Hierarchy for taking a gamble here.
Purportely, no players are as patriarchal as the Argentines are, hence their failures must have hurt deeply.
So having tried to focus on technical brilliance (remember THAT goal...what was it, 3 whole minutes of passing?) and still got nuttin, maybe now they have decided to concentrate more on the passion, and who has it more that Diego Armando Maradona.
One of those elite characters in life no-one can take their eyes off of, who incidently refers to himself as MARADONA when giving interviews etc..
I think its a great move.
No danger of the players not respecting their coaches achievments here.
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Hats off to the Argentinian Hierarchy for taking a gamble here.
Purportedly, no players are as patriarchal as the Argentines are, hence their failures must have hurt deeply.
So having tried to focus on technical brilliance (remember THAT goal...what was it, 3 whole minutes of passing?) and still got nuttin, maybe now they have decided to concentrate more on the passion, and who has it more that Diego Armando Maradona.
One of those elite characters in life no-one can take their eyes off of, who incidently refers to himself as MARADONA when giving interviews etc..
I think its a great move.
No danger of the players not respecting their coaches achievments here.
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Really hope it works out for the greatest footballer of all time.
He should never have had a 2 year worlwide ban at his peek for taking recreational drugs. Others that owned up like Paul Merson were given a sympathetic ear, Maradona was made an example of. A bit like him being ridiculed for his handball, Paul Shcoles against Zenit we will be selectively forgotten about.
Viva Diego.
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The appointment of Maradona as the Argentine coach will rank as one of the most stupid moves since the Oxford Debate invited him to speak.
The only good part is that it effectively takes the Argentines out of the World Cup in S.A.
Diego (God) will fail badly, get fired, go back to drugs and die in misery wasting a prodigious talent. Looking at his list of achievements, it is telling that the '86 World Cup was a highlight in a run of relative mediocrity.
It has always amazed me that the second goal against England in the '86 WC quarters somehow absolved him from the outrageous cheating in the first. THAT is when a "3rd umpire" should have been introduced into Football and Maradona should have been sent-off!!
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
What amazes me in this debate, is the blindness of the Brits. You were never going to win the world cup, handball or not. You were never good enough. You don't have the higher moral ground here in any way shape of form. Your managers apart from Bobby Robson have been a disaster, your team suspect and spoiled. For a nation that once was mighty, you don't seem to able to take being beaten very well. If Maradona is such a mediocre talentless cheat, what does it make every English team in any of your lifetimes writing here. If he is so unworthy, why is the BBC devoting so much netspace to him. Basically you are entitled to not like the guy, but there comes a point where you have to stop being untruthful to yourself and accept the facts. Not the one incident that you are all still so strangely hurt about, but the many brilliant moments in his career. The difference between him and English greatness is probably demonstrated in the fact that somehow he has managed to get past his problems, with the help of his nation. While Gazza, probably because of his nation, has failed miserably or more rightly has been failed by you all. So stop bleating about a goal that never was, and go find your fallen heroes and do something for them. It's the least they deserve.
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Argentina just hit the self destruct button if hire him.
Glad to see that though, I am no Argentina fans.
So it is likely an Europe side or even African side will win the WC. Brazil is not in good form either.
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Collie 21
Superb.
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As far as I'm concerned, Argentina are welcome to appoint Maradona or whoever they want as their coach.
The fact remains that the man cheated in a World Cup match. There is no way to justify that. The fact that other people have cheated at times is irrelevant. I don't condone them either.
Even the fact that it was done against England isn't really relevant. I imagine that if, say, this had happened against Brazil, they would not have been too happy.
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Didnt Mark Hughes have NO managerial experience before taking over at Wales? OK, Argentina are much better than Wales, but nearly taking Wales to Euro 2004 says a hell of a lot.
He did excellent at Blackburn, and it is to early to say how he is doing at Man City.
Hand of God or not, Maradona still ran rings around 6 English players as though they weren't even there.
So good luck Maradona. Hope you do well.
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So Mitchell_Inman
Is Paul Shcoles a cheat?
Is Michael Owen a cheat?
Is Steven Gerard a cheat?
Is Wayne Rooney a cheat?
It's endless...
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Collie... Superb
But Brits was the wrong terminology.....
English would be more suitable, didn't see any sad scotsmen after the incident.... haha get it up yous :D
peace
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It is like England appointing Alan Shearer to manage our national team. A nice idea....but utterly reckless.
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Hello, first of all sorry because of my english, I´m from Argentina.
I understand perfectly when the people says that is an error to put Maradona as coach, I know he had a lot of differents problem in his life and i know that hi do some controvercials comments, all argentains know that, but on the other Hand, he have a good health now, mentally too, he understand how to play football (futbol in argentain) on this days, i think he will make excellents strategies with Carlos Bilardo (his coach on 1986) that will be with him.
But the most important, i think that you must be argentinian to understant the pasion that maradona transmits, he is a Hero in this land, is the only person that gave us happiness, hi will transmit pasion to Messi, Aguero, Tevez, etc... thats what we need, prowess in the hint accompanied with an planing. Bye, Chau.
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Klinnsman to manage Germany or Marco Van Basten to manage Holland or Beckenbaur to Manage Germany....This has worked in the past.
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i am not a fan of Maradonna or Argentina, however, i do have Argentine friends here in Spain ( nice people as it goes ). my concern is that Maradonna was very ill not so long ago and football management can be very harmfull to ones health ( Souness springs to mind ). now, i wish ill health on no one, but just suppose the pressure of this appointment does take its toll on him, can you imagine the outcry from those who claim to love him? i think for Maradonna personally, this is not a wise move.
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Collie21. It would be a lot easier for you, and others, to just accept the fact that Maradona will not get praised by a large majority of English fans. No big deal really.
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An appointment based on sentiment but considering the status of the man and the team he is inheriting, it might just work!
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I am fairly sure that someone will be around to give Maradonna "a hand" should he need it.
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First of all we must understand that Maradona has Carlos Bilardo as is his assisstant, who will be doing all of the tactical work. Maradona will be there to motivate the players, and to make the tough desicsions, even guys like Messi and Riquelme will have no choice but to respect what he has to say. It´s clear that Riquelme will have to earn his place in the squad which is very important, as he walked into the team under Basile, and Riquelme will not train hard unless he absolutely needs to. Maradona will not be doing the tactical planning.
That being said, it is a huge risk. The guy has virtually no coaching experiance and although he has cleaned himself up very well in recent years both physically and mentally he is a man who has always lived life on the edge. It will be interesting to see how he copes with having so much pressure on his shoulders.
I hope he succeeds, I have always had an affection for flawed characters, and "El Diego" certainly is one.
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Maradona is not going alone at this. They have given him Batista who led the U-20 team to a WC last year and to a gold this year as an ast and Bilardo will be the in charge of everything, If this was Batistuta who was named the coach, I do not think too many people would of had a problem. It seems the people are from England and just can not stand Maradona.
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Maradonna was NEVER the best player in histroy, or even of the last few decades. He's certainly a loud character rarely out of the papers, but there have been many as good or better. It's all hype.
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At 4:31pm on 29 Oct 2008, Richie_9 wrote:
I don't think he's been the same since he split up with Guy Ritchie to be honest. I don't think we'll see him hitting the heights of, say, Get Into the Groove or Papa Don't Preach as manager of Argentina.
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To say nothing of the starring performance as Eva Peron, especially the always memorable, "Don't Cry for me Argentina"
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That's right. Although, for me, the Sex book was a step too far. I mean, who wants to see Maradonna walking nake down an American highway? Not me for one. Probably only Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross.
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Wonderful choice, we can watch him make a complete "dogs breakfast" of the job and then after humiliating himself get sacked.
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why dont to believe in magic? why do we have to always go with the "system"? footballers are not robots and is not all about strategy and tactics, a team without spirit lacks on the most important thing in football. You call him an ignorant, you are not being better underestimating the best player ever and believing that in football is already everything wrote and said. I don't know if we will win this WC but i'm sure that will be different and that we will remember it for a while at least, i already feel the adrenalin running in my veins just thinking about it. After all is just a sport, nobody is going to die if he loses, is not everything about winning either, i love football and ofcourse i love diego armando maradona.
DIEGO A MUERTE CON VOS
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Who said romance is dead?
If it doesn't work, then so be it. Argentina's recent history in big international competitions is not enviable, and another failure will not be a complete surprise.
If it works?
A victory for style, for beautiful football and for a rekindled belief in the magic of football. I have my fingers crossed.
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don't underestimate the power of grondona, either...what he says goes for the most part in argentina footy...
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If appointed Maradona and his trusted lieutenants would do a good job.
Let us wish Diego a very happy birthday.
Dr. Cajetan Coelho
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Being Argentinian, I have to agree with some of you. We have a great squad, we had a terrible coach like Basile and now we are going to try with Diego.
He does not have much experience, but he is a great motivator. Maybe the help of Bilardo, Batista (I hope) and some others like Troglio, works well.
Hope to see good Argentinian and English teams in the final of the 2010 World Cup.
PS: Forgive my English :)
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" jamminben13 wrote:
Totally farcical,
The man is a cheat and a vagabond. I'm still hurting greatly from all those years ago and the pain gets deeper the longer England go wihout a major trophy."
HA HA!
Go on Maradona!
The greatest player of all time.
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Big job for a sick man? Such national prominence for a drug addict is devoid of any approbium or correctional sanction. On the contrary, Argentine FA seem rather to endorse (or reward) bad behavior. Drug addiction and obesity are anti-sport, and should not be the main qualification for selecting national coaches. And what happens next if the "gentleman" Chief coach Maradonna should succumb to a seizure/Fit in public glare on the field ? That will be a national and international shame! Surely, FIFA will nver approve of such sacrilege.
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He is not the first ex-player with limted coaching experience look at Klinsman Bilic or Van Basten to coach their national side.Who are his coaching staff going to be?
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Par for the course in Argentina. Maradona isn't even a coach. Now he won't do bad with the team because it must be one of the best in the world and he will delight or frustrate everyone, depending on what side of the fense you are on. He'll also entertain everyone. He's a clown. His greatest and only quality is that he is an Argentine God. BTW, soccer in Argentina is completely and totally rigged, but that won't worry our Diego, he can live with it. Why doesn't the BBC do a profile on Argentine soccer supremo Julio Grondona, aka the godfather. What a character: he and Maradona will make quite a duo, just wait and see
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If Maradona becomes the manager the national team will play with heart and not with brain.
Only the presence of Maradona will make players do well or try to do well.
But as a coach..i dont have high hopes
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Who is going to manage Maradona!? This is a tougher job than managing a team that plays itself.
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The only truly great players who made great managers were Cruuyf and Beckenbauer, both are astute and intelligent men.
Maradona, for all his greatness, has the intelligence and stability of Paul Gascoigne, this will end in tears (of laughter as far as I'm concerned).
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well done Northern Dancer a man who speaks sense
it depends which bit of the paper u read
Front Pages
or
Back Pages
George Best will always be the most talented individual to grace the football field
and all that from the Small Country of Northern Ireland. not bad eh
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Collie - well said, I am English but a more succinct analysis of our current cultural nadir would be hard to find.
My wife is Aregntinian and I have spent a lot of time in Argentina (wonderful place and people) - most Argentinians I have discussed this with are somewhat worried or unenthusiastic about this appointment but will get behind their legend and I am sure will not be tearing Diego down in the gutter press should it all go wrong! Rather than feeding on his demise when he went through his bad times they feared for him and supported to him - even Castro stepped in to help - just contrast that with how we deal with people's problems culturally!
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His Managerial record does exactly speak volumes. Icon or not - how will Argentina react if it all goes upside down. South American fans have never had a problem expressing their feelings towards managers.
Maradona is some one they hold close to their hearts.
Will status save him from the wrath of fans when Argentina do struggle.
I guess its a true test for Maradona and his iconic status in Argentina
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1) Tim Vickery is the foremost journalist when it comes to South American football - his monthly column in World Soccer is a must for any serious footy fan.
2) Maradona for the Argentina managers job? Perhpas when Fabio leaves the England post we should give it to Paul Gascoigne. Although a fabulous player, I agree with earlier posts that Maradona in the spotlight spells disaster. I recall that it was still fairly recent that Maradona overdosed, had awful weight problems, shot at journalists..... How can Sergio Batista and Carlos Bianchi be ignored. Surely these two men with my preference for the latter are the only candidates for the job.
3) Maradona did cheat, yes - find me a modern footballer that does'nt?- he just did it on a big stage and with the Falklands history between the two nations it became that infamous incident. Genius footballer, useless manager thus far but he will get the job and I will eat my hat if required!
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An absurd decision and one that the AFA may have not yet truly made. This all may be in the little junkie's head. I for one would rather he crawled back under his rock and didn't contaminate the World Game again.
As for his managerial credentials this dude is like Kevin Keegan but with a drug, violence and alcohol habit. He may be the people's choice, but with so many other qualified candidates this has the making of a train wreck (much to the delight of many I suspect)
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Reminds me of Staunton getting the Ireland job and we all know how well that worked. It could prove entertaining to watch though, and who knows, he might actually succeed.
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Whatever next? Steve McLaren for England......
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"The man is a cheat and a vagabond. I'm still hurting greatly from all those years ago and the pain gets deeper the longer England go wihout a major trophy."
As if England would've beaten Argentina even if he hadn't punched the ball in?
Do you also consider Paul Scholes a 'cheat and a vagabond' or are these sentiments reserved for Johnny Foreigner when he cheats?
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Nice to see the English are still so bitter and unforgiving after, what 22 years now? Anyway Maradona just saved you the humiliation of yet another penalty shoot-out exit in Mexico86. Think of it that way.
Time will tell if the player who is the greatest ever to have played the game, as far as I am concerned (though Pele was before my time) will be a success as manager. But this is following a trend of legendary players with no managerial experience being given the top job at their national team (eg. Klinsmann, van Basten, to name but two). At international level, players shouldn't need too much coaching. They will be inspired to play for Maradona, although tactics might be a weakness, but Maradona was used to playing with a team of average players at Argentina and Napoli, and giuded them to victory. So while some great players failed as managers due to impatience with those less talented than themselves, surely Diego will not.
Comparisons with Gascoigne are valid, however. Gazza is far and away the best player ever to have played for England. Beckham, Rooney etc couldn't have laced his boots (or his drinks). Gazza wasn't as good as Maradona, but then again he never really fulfilled his potential. Maradona did. But the comparison is that Maradona was fat, an alcoholic and a drug addict after his career finished. He was at death's door. But it seems he has got his act together. Gazza might not have shot any journalists (though he might have been justified to feel tempted) but his fall from grace has been just as drastic as Maradona's. So let's hope Gazza can see Maradona making a comeback, and do likewise himself. At least as far as his health goes - I don't think making him England manager would do him or anyone else any good!
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Not only is it an excellent article it also seems to have elicited the full gamut of responses ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. I rarely listen to radio or TV shows that allow the public to have their say as they rarely contribute anything meaningful, inciteful or even amusing. On this occasion some of the emails have been excellent which sounds a bit patronising.
I know Argentina well and have seen their team beat Venezuela 5 - 0 in Buenos Aires in a qualifying match a long time ago. Both Crespo and Veron were outstanding. At one stage of the game I was the only person watching the match. Everyone else was looking at a dark shadow peering out from one of the stanchions in one of the boxes behind me. All I could see was what looked like a pumpkin with a mass of curls in it. when I asked what was going on the person who had taken me just said in a very reverential and almost breathless manner the one word 'Maradona'. It was only after he went back inside the box that the fans started watching the game again.
The problem is that there is no logic when it comes to either football or Maradona in Argentina. Someone told me that religion is a given and that everyone is (or pretends to be) Catholic and they do not get excited about it - just a way of life. Football is the religion there and Maradona is easily the High Priest. He does walk on water as far as most of them are concerned.
The attitude to crime over there is different as well as there is a lot of petty theft. He gained in stature with his 'Hand of God' goal because it was considered that he had picked the pockets of the English. Look at the choice of words - Hand of God - which would be considered blasphemous if not at least morally dubious in most societies. It is a toss-up as to which was considered the better goal in that match. I was bemused but not surprised to see that the second goal was voted the best ever scored in the World Cup by BRITISH supporters (probably helped by the Scots, Welsh and the NIrish all voting several times each!) but that is pretty fair however you look at it.
There will always be some bitterness about the first goal because it was handball and it was cheating. The point is that football is more important than life and death (to quote the great Bill Shankly) in some countries and I hope we never get to that level in England as it no longer is fun or enjoyable. I do not attend matches in Turkey because they take it all far too seriously at times.
On a personal note I do not like Maradona. I detest him because he is only revered for his football skills and all the terrible flaws in his personality are overlooked. He is a dreadful example for young kids and has no redeeming qualities that I am aware of. I like my sporting heroes to have something more than just athletic prowess but being English I would say that wouldn't I? I met Bobby Moore once and whilst he was not exactly riveting company or the centre of attention he had an aura about him that was very reassuring. You just felt he would do the right thing when it came down to it.
Whatever happens Maradona will not be the loser. He could break all the 10 commandments in public in one day and the masses would continue to make excuses for him and revere him. He will probably do quite well as a manager as many of the players will have the same sort of background and will relate to him. I suspect that Steve McClaren could have done with some of that respect and probably Sven as well. Capello has the respect of the players because he was a good player and is a good manager. If Maradona was the greatest player of all time as many say then he does not need to be a great manager to get some decent results with the quality of players at his disposal. Having said that I hope Argentina regret this decision as much as we have regretted the appointment of McClaren. Their public have voted for a much better candidate as did ours but their FA is presumably as daft as ours.
Think I will stick to cricket and rugby.
Cheers, Joe.
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I really should be working as I have a lot of quotes to prepare before leaving the office tonight. I just feel I have to respond to many of the people who seem to think we (the English) are being xenophobic about Maradona.
I was born abroad in Iraq to an Iraqi Father and English mother. I speak Arabic and currently live in Turkey. I have lived half my life outside the UK. I consider myself English but I had to apply for British Nationality. I think I am pretty well qualified to comment but I am sure there are plenty of people out there who know better. Think of this:
- If Gazza was the best player England have produced why is he not placed on a pedestal the way Maradona is in Argentina? The reason is because he lost all his kudos and mojo by being a silly burke. There is no chance that Gazza would ever be picked as the England manager as even the FA are not that daft. So, when we judge our heroes their private behaviour reflects on them as well. One of the reasons George Best was always devalued was because of his off the field antics.
- DPanna refers to Paul Scholes and I am struggling to recall why? What did he do that conmpared to Maradona? I saw him knock the ball in the net with his hand whilst playing for Man U but he got booked and the goal was disallowed. Are you saying that everyone does it but Maradona was better at cheating than the rest?
- I know the English are strange about this issue as I always get told off by them for not being sporting enough at times. I am a bad loser and I know it. Only an Englishman would express regret at seeing Brian Lara being out for a second-ball duck playing against England as he would like to have seen the great man 'play his shots'. I thought the chap who said this was being funny at the time but he was being absolutely serious. I, in the meantime, was getting close to being chucked out for celebrating like a madman.
In summary, the English are not the moral policemen of the sporting world but they are relatively fairer than any other race I have spent time with. I give the Swedes credit for being pretty decent as well as they are also 'good' losers. So, in summary from what I have seen the English do not appreciate cheats regardless of their nationality and I hope it stays that way. As for the sarcastic comment about England not being likely to have won regardless of the punched goal my only civil comment to that is simply we will never know will we? I did not expect Spurs to get a draw last night as Arsenal were far superior.
Racial stereotyping is always a bit iffy and not very PC nowadays but if you are comfortable with people cheating as the norm then you think everyone else is and is just being hypocritical if they complain.
Cheers, Joe.
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Appointing Maradona is like England appointing Gascoigne......completely stupid
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I have always enjoyed Chavez as president. Overall Venezuela is not my country.
Unfortunately in this case, I was born in Argentina.
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It has been very very interesting reading these posts. Gazza can not be compared to Maradona and i am not even talking about skill as a footballer. What no one has brought up in 182 comments are the social differences. An English player could never reach the height that Maradona reaches purely because you have not suffered like an Argentine. You would find it quite easy to forgive the ONLY person who united a country and brought happiness to them all if you lived in a society that steals all your money and potential and quite happily leaves you on the street to starve to death.
If you want to understand what its like to be an argentine watch a bit of this video
then you will realise that for all his flaws, our politicians help us to forget them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH6_i8zuffs&feature=related
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I think this is hilarious to be honest. Would we be happy had Gazza been appointed the new England manager? I personally think this is pretty much a direct comparison, i.e. an incredibly tallented player who went completely off the rails following the end of their playing days. Both have got a screw loose, and I certainly wouldn't want that guy in charge of our national team (or Gazza for that matter).
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Klinsmann and van Basten did pretty good jobs with no real coaching experience, and neither of those is anywhere near the status Maradonna is in Argentina.
He should get the players incredibly motivated, especially as I imagine once you're out of favour with him it's hard to get back in, and that's 50% of the job done. They have so many good players that tactics and formations should be secondary.
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Argentina are going to struggle with him.
An absolute shocking appointment, i can only see them going down in the rankings.
Being a great player doesn't make you a great coach and he could hardly discipline himself never mind teach it to players.
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I don't see why people are going on as if this is the disaster decision of the century. What has having experienced coaches done for England or Argentina in the past ten years anyway? Both England and Argentina have had experience coaches before and have won nothing. So who is to say that this appointment is a bad thing? And who is to say that England would be a worse team if Gazza was the manager? They achieved nothing with Sven who is a very good manager no matter what anybody thinks. If Capello produces no significant results it'll be on to the next high profile manager to win England nothing. Meanwhile the FA is probably overlooking home grown candidates with an unreal amount of passion for the job and country in favour of the highest profile continental manager.
Appointing Maradona may backfire, but no one really knows for sure. At least the Argentine FA is willing to appoint Argentines to manage the national team. Rather than going for the highest paid continental managerial mercenary.
I think Maradona will be good for Messi as a player. I think the Maradona-Messi comparisons are a bit hasty. Messi is a great player, but still nowhere near as good as Maradona was. Hopefully working with Maradona will refine his game and take him to the next level.
How great would it be if Argentina won the next World Cup? Would that silence the critics? No it would probably just bring out the sour grapes brigade.
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"Considering the adulation given to lesser geniuses like Hoddle, Waddle, Gascoigne, Charlton."
None of whom, to my certain knowledge, ever scored a goal with their hand in a World Cup quarter final.
Maradona is a cheat, a clown and a buffoon, a puffed up, self important mountebank.
I hope this appointment is the final nail in his coffin.
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Will Maradona be good for Messi as a player?
Well, he certainly has nothing to teach him about scoring goals with his hand.
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Its going to all end in tears. Passionate? Ask KK how far passion gets you at intnl level. I hope they do qualify for the world cup under Maradona in order for a chance for our newly discilplined and organised England to take revenge.
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its never going to last.....
it will start well and it will look all great but in the end his lack of coaching experience will catch up with him, its sad that one of the best footballers ever will end his currer on a low
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Anyone who was fortunate enough to see Maradonna play in his prime, will know the man was light years beyond world class ( not least if we describe some of our English players as 'world class' ).
However, will he have the patience to deal with footballers who just cannot see the lines, or hit the lines he could?
I feel he may have a positive effect initially - getting the best out of the players as they will wish to impress the 'master'.
A little a la Kevin Keegan.
But when it comes to tactics....can a man with such a golden touch 'dumb down' enough to get an alternative message through?
Will Maradonna accept average play?
Unlike Keegan, however, he will be working with some of the most talented and passionate football players on earth.....so it may work!
Simply, as always with Maradonna, there will be no middle ground.....this will either turn out marvellous and Argentina sweep all before them....or they will implode and fail to qualify for the WC.
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Why Maradona for pete's sakes? Great players don't necessarily make great coaches. What on earth were the higher-ups in the Argentinian FA thinking when they hired him? The guy's got no experience and time and time again we've seen him falling off the band wagon what with his personal problems and so on.
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joeperriman - May I just say that you have made some excellent points there and some quite good analysis.
I think that by you
"rarely listening to radio or TV shows that allow the public to have their say as they rarely contribute anything meaningful, inciteful or even amusing. On this occasion some of the emails have been excellent which sounds a bit patronising"
you have a lot of pent up frustration for you to get out and have a good rant about, which you have managed to do in a quite spectacular style and also a very insightful, well crafted articulate piece of writing.
Good Work Son
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joeperriman sound slike a right barrel of laughs!! goon
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Mascherano (the likely captain)
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seriously?? not a great choice of captain in my opinion
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I thought Tim Vickery has got it about right regarding Diego Armando...
I have been to see Boca Juniors in their "Chocolate Box" and it is certaily not short of passion.
Whether he has management skills remain to be seen, but with the likes of Messi at his disposal, there is no shortage of talent.
We therefore have the equation PASSION + TALENT = ?
I can never see them being particularly consistent but the moments of brilliance if that is the right word will certainly take them far...
With Diego in charge I wonder if Señor Messi would declare himself unfit for his country yet a few days later be on the field for a certain London club?
Answers on a postcard...
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No oranges at half time for the Argies, with Maradonna in charge they will all be on the 'bugle gear !'
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I hope the nasty little man gets the job and then we thrash the backsides off his team at the World Cup. Preferably adding insult to injury with an extra fake goal after the game is won.
He may be a hero in his own country. He was also a highly talented player. But to England football fans he will always be a dishonest cheat.
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sorry, i only skimmed through the text. why isnt their a future for zanetti? it wouldnt be long anyway, but surely he should play til the world cup anyway, he can clearly still play well enough. anyway, any words on kerreinho or something or other, tim, the lad linked with LFC.
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My last post was pulled, so here goes from a different slant.
Argentina WILL qualify for the next world cup, FACT. You only have to get in the top 4 from 10 countries including my adopted country Bolivia also Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Chile.
They would qualify with Madonna as coach.
I am more concerned about Brazil qualifying than Argentina. They were rubbish against Bolivia in Belo Horizonte, where they scraped a 0-0 draw. Dunga out! Dunga out!
Professional footballers are ALL cheats, it's just a matter of degree. EVERY footballer claims a corner when he knows it's a goalkick, and roll about on the floor faining injury, until their team mate pats them on the head, and says you've got the foul, then they get up and run into the position for the free kick. How I hate that!
The "hand of god" goal was down to incompetent officials and nowadays would get a card, unless the ref and assistants have white sticks. Or was Rob Styles! Giving goals and penalties to Manchester teams.
Their is talk of Maradona's lack of coaching. Well at the Olympics he coached the football team, the basketball team, the women's and men's hockey teams. He has been coaching for 30 years, maybe not professionally. He was all over Beijing, and I'm sure made a difference to the Argentine performances.
His physical condition is infinitely better than it was a very few years ago. I believe his addictions are under control and he has lost about 30 kg (4+ stone, ca. 70 lb).
Some great players have made great coaches e.g. The Kaiser, Cruyff, van Basten, Klinsman, Mike Didke. Maybe Maradona will follow suit. Shearer for England after Capello!!
The hand of god goal paid us back for the Falklands war. Everytime I cross the border at Villazon/La Quiaca, I see a sign that says "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" meaning "The Falklands are Argentinas" and have a little chuckle and say "Oh no they're not!".
I see lots of Argentine sport and appreciate there passion, maybe if England had a fraction we would win something.
Argentina has a God on earth, his name is Diego Armando Maradona.
Good luck to you.
Maybe we'll meet in the 2010 final, England v Argentina, where all 22 players remain on the pitch for the duration. (cf Rattin 1966, Beckham 1998), all good goals scoring and foul goals not. Nice thought. We are allowed to dream.
He remains the most important player to his team, EVER. Can you imagine how good he would have been if he also had a right foot?
For me the best players ever
1 Pele
2 Best (best player NEVER to play in the world cup)
3 Maradona
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Maradonna was a great footballer and to Argentina fans he is a footballer whose exploits they glory in, but that often does note translate into being a great coach. Many outside Argentina will see this as a weak point in the Argentina team and try to exploit it.
That it will end in tears and rebuke is as sure as death and taxes.
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http://www.webjam.com/football_channel/$football_blog/2008/10/31/maradona
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"They were rubbish against Bolivia in Belo Horizonte, where they scraped a 0-0 draw. Dunga out! Dunga out!"
You Mean Rio de Janeiro, of course.
The match was played at the Engenhão, Botafogo's stadium.
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Note to BBC....
Simple enough to enable accents in your forum software.
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"They were rubbish against Bolivia in Belo Horizonte, where they scraped a 0-0 draw. Dunga out! Dunga out!"
You Mean Rio de Janeiro, of course.
The match was played at the Engenh?o, Botafogo's stadium.
Wherever the played, I mean if they can't beat Bolivia at home, they don't deserve to qualify.
That was the worst performance I've ever seen from a Brazil team.
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Richie_9:
Rene Artois summed up his fall from grace, (and subsequent weight gain) best in the gritty docu-drama 'Allo, Allo', where his portrait is frequently described as "The Fallen Maradonna with the Big B00bies".
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great for football.maradona is a great.
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This is great news for non-Argentines. This coke head will be a complete disaster. Maradona is bat s*!# crazy!! He'll have the team in chaos in no time.
Forget the sublime ball artist. This is a whole different kettle of fish. Completely new assignment. Has he ever managed ANY team, never mind the national one?
He'll have to schedule training to fit in with his visits to detox!
What a hoot.
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Maradonna is a hero in Scotland just like he said. It is a constant source of amusement to us every time the English press mention the 'Hand of God'.
Let's not forget he scored arguably the greatest goal of all time in the same game.
Anyway, most Scots know that is irrelevent nowadays. What is important is that his life is turning around. He's been given a last chance to prove he was just another great footballer gone wrong. He's done a lot of damage to his body of the years - too much that it won't seriously shorten his time left here.
I wish him every success in the time he has left, though preferably starting after the game vs Scotland at Hampden.
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This topic is something that has annoyed me over the years. Post 25s “Maradonna is a cheat and a disgrace to football for what he done” about sums up this ridiculous opinion that a section of English support think regarding Maradonna’s handball against saintly England. He can certainly be classed as a disgrace for a number of things he did during his career, but not this.
One thing that has amazed me on this topic over the years is that nobody has ever seemed to mention the referees part in it all. Anyone with half a brain and has actually taken part in a game of football at any level will know that there are many incidents each game that take place that would gain an advantage to a team/player if the referee does not spot the foul. This includes tackles, diving, handballs, pulling at defenders, blah blah blah. It is the referees job to spot these and give the foul accordingly.
Maradona’s handball just happened to be one that occurred at the highest level of the game.
It is this thought that he “cheated to win a game” that is ridiculous.
I think what actually annoys folk more is that he never actually admitted the handball for a number of years afterwards, then coining the “hand of god” title”. My thoughts on this are what difference would it have made. The result wouldn’t have changed, the game wouldn’t have been replayed, and Maradona wouldn’t have been pulled up as it wasn’t an offence that would have merited that. He himself would have also known it was a handball, not admitting it to simply wind the English up. He only needed to watch a replay of the ‘goal’.
The referee not giving the foul was the main wrongdoing in the whole incident.
The opinions some people hold about him regarding his ‘cheating’ would make him even more of a genius if it was the case. If he managed to think in the blink of an eye “Right, am gonna handball this in into the net as revenge for the Falklands, the ref aint gonna see it and am gonna get away with it” (Argentinian twang of course), then it is almost god like. Alas, he simply tried his luck and got away with it.
Unfortunately the English seem to want to think he has took part in a side of the game that they do not. And the are very wrong !!!
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Putting Maradona in charge of Argentina is like putting Gazza in charge of England. Yes he was a great player but is also a tad loony. Its a terrile and desperate move. Maradona is idolised by Argentina and the only way is down. Be quite a laugh to watch though.
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I think the way Maradona is preparing his team has the marks of victorious team and he may well win the World Cup 2010. People didn't take Billrado's 86 team seriously until the world realized how disciplined Argentina was. What people didn't know then was how Billardo went about forging cohesive and technically sound team. From the little information we can gather Maradona is modeling this team to the winning side of 1986. When Billardo was given the manager job he flew to Barca and gave Maradona the captaincy right from the beginning. In his autobiography Maradona talks about how critical and emotional that was for him. It is no accident that Maradona travels to Europe and meets players in their respective clubs and offers Mecherano the captaincy. He understands the psychological effect that this has for the players.
Also from the technical point of view Maradona is seasoned enough to know the moment when the coach's game plan is put into action. For the 1986 team it took the first game against Korea for Billardo's game plan to be put into practice. Maradona writes “All the Bilardo’s meticulous plans, all his tactics his obsession with positions, suddenly it fell into place and we were putting it into practice against Korea."
I would not be surpised if he wins the world cup
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I think the way Maradona is preparing his team has the marks of victorious team and he may well win the World Cup 2010. People didn't take Billrado's 86 team seriously until the world realized how disciplined Argentina was. What people didn't know then was how Billardo went about forging cohesive and technically sound team. From the little information we can gather Maradona is modeling this team to the winning side of 1986. When Billardo was given the manager job he flew to Barca and gave Maradona the captaincy right from the beginning. In his autobiography Maradona talks about how critical and emotional that was for him. It is no accident that Maradona travels to Europe and meets players in their respective clubs and offers Mecherano the captaincy. He understands the psychological effect that this has for the players.
Also from the technical point of view Maradona is seasoned enough to know the moment when the coach's game plan is put into action. For the 1986 team it took the first game against Korea for Billardo's game plan to be put into practice. Maradona writes, "All the Bilardo’s meticulous plans, all his tactics, his obsession with positions, suddenly it fell into place and we were putting it into practice against Korea."
I would not be surpised if he wins the world cup
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