FIFA World Cup 2010: Maradona admits defeat
Maradona’s Argentina lost their quarter final match against Germany by 4 goals to nil, after the match there has been a lot of speculation surrounding Maradona’s future.
Maradona is a cult figure in Argentina, he is seen as the greatest national hero ever to live in Argentina and is widely seen by the Argentineans as someone who is incapable of doing wrong. Despite having a chaotic off the field time with his life after his retirement from football in 1997. He played a total of 91 times for Argentina and scored 34 goals in those games.
His talent as a footballer was without question impressive to say the least but when he was appointed the manager of the Argentinean national football team in 2008 a lot of foreign football experts voiced their opinion about how they thought it was a bad appointment given Maradona’s long addiction to cocaine which ran from 1983 till 2004. He also has had various health problems since his retirement from professional football
Before the match against Germany, Argentina were one of the favorite teams to win the FIFA World Cup of 2010, especially back in Argentina where people thought that Maradona would guide Argentina to victory in the World Cup just like Beckenbauer did with Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Maradona was also very vocal about his team’s capability in the press and did a fantastic job at keeping everyone in the Argentinean camp happy given that there were a lot of big name players in his squad.
The fact that Maradona himself was a football player and that too an extra ordinary one who won the world cup for his country commanded respect from the players who were striving to achieve the same under his guidance but it wasn’t to be.
Recently, Maradona revealed to a local newspaper that his time with the Argentinean team was done and he was quoted as saying that his chapter is over. He also stated that he has given everything he can as a manager for the national team. It appears that even Maradona’s best was not enough for Argentina who were demolished on Saturday by a young German side.
A representative for the Argentinean Football Association told the press that Maradona has yet to resign officially; therefore he is still the manager of the Argentinean national team at the present moment. He also said that President of the Argentinean Football Association, Jorge Grondona will meet with Maradona after the World Cup ends to discuss this matter in detail.
A close friend of Diego Maradona told the press that the resignation is still being discussed and that he is not in a position to confirm it. He also said that Maradona is spending time with his family at the moment and is thinking about his future. Maradona’s present assistant and ex-Argentinean team mate Alejandro Mancuso said that he believes that Diego will stay on as the coach because he is not someone who will quit without winning the World Cup as a manager with the team.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has urged Diego Maradona to stay on as the manager despite the World Cup disappointment; in an appearance before the public she stated that no one had ever given Argentina more sporting joy than Maradona. The reaction of the Argentinean public is a bit mixed. They see Maradona as a legend but according to online polls held by popular newspapers, they believe that he should leave the post.
Argentinean fans greeted the team and Maradona in Argentina after they arrived home following their loss to Germany in the quarter finals. One of the fans on the occasion said that Maradona was the best coach for the national team and whatever he didn’t have in experience as a coach was compensated by his courage and mystique. Another fan who is employed in a shoe factory said that Maradona was a great player but was not prepared to coach the national team at the highest level.
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