FIFA World Cup 2010: The aftermath of Argentina’s defeat against Germany 4-0 in quarter-finals- Diego Maradona was the real problem
It has been a long wait for the Argentinean fans to do good at the biggest stage of football. Argentina is a great football loving nation, and they have been providing the World with the greatest talents in Football. These players have been playing a pivotal role in their clubs’ victories over the number of years. However, the Argentineans have failed to reproduce the results that Maradona and his men did in 1986. However, with the presence of the likes of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain in the side, the fans were hopeful. Thus, the Argentinean football association brought in Diego Maradona, to complete the recipe for the eventual victory at the World Cup in South Africa.
However, Maradona faced a lot of problems, as soon as he made his way into the International Football, as a coach. Argentina struggled to qualify for the World Cup, as they lost six matches and drew four, thus, struggling its way into the World Cup. The team’s performance was abysmal as they qualified with the goal-difference of three, which had a clear indication that the team has defensive problems. Everyone doubted the Maradona’s talents as a coach of an International team. However, the players always seemed happy to play under the influence of an Argentinean Legend, Diego Maradona. It was his influence that was countering his lack of tactical knowledge, which is always required for being a good team manager.
Despite the general happy mood in the squad, there were some players who had issues with Diego Maradona. One of the major players was Juan Roman Riquelme, the Argentinean anchorman in the midfield. Riquelme was the Argentinean captain at that time, and was the leading goal-scorer and assist-maker in the qualification campaign for Argentina. However, he had his troubles with Diego in the practice sessions, after which he finally decided not to play under him. Even when Maradona wanted him back in the squad, Riquelme did not respond to his calls, as he considered him to be egocentric person, who has no regards for the team.
This mistake caused a lot of problems to Diego Maradona, who had to choose a weaker squad for the trip to South Africa. However, Maradona was so full of himself that he did not take some other players with him either, like Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Zanetti and Gabi Milito. This was a bad decision by Maradona, who missed these players in the World Cup, especially in the match against Germany, as his team faced the crisis in defence and midfield. Even, the quality of Argentinean forward-line remained inactive, as the supply from the midfield, in the absence of some quality players, was missing. The defensive errors, leading to a humiliating defeat against the Germans, led the eventual downfall of the Argentinean team, a campaign that ended immaturely, once again.
When Argentina had a good run in the World Cups, by winning all their matches till the quarter finals, the critics turned in favour of Maradona. However, many believed that the Argentina team has not faced stiff resistance and they would collapse under such pressure. These critics believed that Argentina has nothing but the influence of a legendary hero; such an influence would not be enough to make it through to the whole tournament. Hence, as soon as Argentina faced Germany, a relatively tougher opponent, they had no reply to the onslaught. Suddenly, people who had been praising Maradona, started to find faults with his methods.
There were a lot of tactical errors made by Diego Maradona in the Quarter Final. His defence failed to mark the Germans properly and gave them enough spaces to make their moves. In addition, the defenders looked reluctant to close-down on German players, thus the Germans continued to build the pressure. The Argentinean midfield was always vacant, while Messi had to go back to the half-line to get the ball forward. All these point towards the lack of tactical know-how, as Maradona failed to re-adjust his team according to the circumstances.
Throughout the World Cup, Maradona engaged himself in unnecessary war of the words with Platini and Pele. This brought nothing but dirt for himself and his team, as he failed to live-up to his own expectations.
Now there is a time to save Argentina, and the best option is to let Maradona go and give the job to someone who is responsible enough. At least the new coach would be thinking about the team, rather than his own self-interest and false ideals.
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