FIFA World Cup 2010: Argentina Coach Diego Maradona Apologizes to Platini, Maintains Stance against Pele
Diego Maradona is coaching the Argentinean side in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Like always, this time again he has been surrounded by controversies, and once again he is up against Pele and Michel Platini.
Pele instigated the trouble by claiming that Maradona has no credentials as a good manager and he knows that. Pele believes that Maradona only took the coaching job for the money. Michel Platini also challenged the managing style of Maradona.
These comments were passed after Argentina’s 1-0 victory in their Group B match against Nigeria. In that particular match, Argentina did not play good football; their midfield, especially, let them down. At that point, rather than focusing on his job, the match with South Korea, Maradona used the previous day’s press conference to launch a counterattack.
Maradona said that Pele should go back to museum and that Platini is French, so he thinks he is the best. Maradona believed that the comments came because his team failed to convert chances into goals; therefore, he promised journalists that the goals would definitely come in the future. He also showed his contentment at the World Cup, but used the opportunity to criticize the Jabulani ball. He said that if everyone were talking about it then there must be something wrong with it. He also suggested that both Pele and Platini should test the ball in the ground to see for themselves.
This rift between the football giants of the world is not a new thing. Pele was the biggest contender of Maradona in the award for the best player of football, while Platini is also one of the greatest French footballers. Therefore, these comments are being passed to undermine each other’s credibility. Even years after their retirement, the battle for the best in the world continues to make headlines in the newspapers.
This war of the words would not damage anyone but Argentina. Maradona’s focus is being shifted to petty matters. He should, right now, be more worried about the lack of quality at some points in his team, rather than being conscious of his reputation. Although Argentina beat South Korea in the next match by 4-1, the problems are still there.
Right now, Maradona should be worrying about Lionel Messi. He is the current best player in the world and is not scoring any goals. This should be troubling Maradona, and he should be the one to counter the criticism that has been thrown towards Messi from all corners of the media. He should be worrying about the injuries to Veron and now to Walter Samuel. These injuries should add to his problems in the midfield and in the defence of the team.
Rather than focusing on people who do not matter at all, Maradona should focus on his players. He should focus on his forward line of Messi, Tevez, Aguero and Higuain. These are the people who need encouraging remarks and football lessons from Maradona.
One thing is for sure, that the remarks came after Maradona’s failure to lead his team to victories in the recent qualifying campaign, as Argentina struggled to make it into the World Cup. Their first match performance was not an improved one, which led the two big giants in FIFA to make such comments, rather than focusing on the World Cup and the problems associated with it, like the Jabulani ball and the stadium noise due to vuvuzelas. This is probably not the best time to fight among themselves, but a time to see some other youngster’s rise to glory in the world of Football.
After winning the next match against South Korea with a comfortable margin, Maradona apologised to Platini in the post match conference. However, he said that he would stick to the comments he made about Pele. This battle will go on, but it would be better for these superstars, as well as the fans of football, if it does not disrupts the big tournament.
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