Football Update: Maradona Accuses AFA of Betraying Him
Argentina’s outgoing coach Diego Maradona has pointed his finger at the Argentine soccer chiefs for letting him down despite claiming that there was an understanding between them.
Maradona made the extraordinary outburst a day after Argentine Football voted unanimously to sack him as national team coach.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) made the decision not to renew the contract of one of the greats of the game following his team’s exclusion from the World cup.
Argentina was drubbed 4-0 by three time champions Germany in the World Cup quarter-finals, which broke the hearts of millions in the South American soccer powerhouse.
The usually outspoken former captain and winner of 1986 World cup was bitterly disappointed at the ouster.
He took a swipe at AFA President Julio Grondona and the technical director of national teams, Carlos Bilardo.
The playmaker had claimed that he wanted to continue as coach but that during the meeting with Grondona, the national governing body’s chairman the playmaker was asked to replace seven members of his coaching staff.
"Grondona lied to me, Bilardo betrayed me," roared a clearly angry Maradona, adding that the Federation was not interested in retaining him and only were just keen on replacing him as soon as an opportunity arose.
"Maybe some of the people who made this decision thought I was going to betray my collaborators. I can imagine that they would think that because in my position they would have, they would have betrayed them."
One of the most popular players from the soccer mad nation claimed that he was passionate about the sport and vowed to fight on for the betterment of the game in his country.
The diminutive coach was dressed in a navy suit and blue shirt, and looked depressed and distressed from the call made by the governing body.
He appeared to fight back tears as he read from the statement, adding that he was still struggling to what he at the time called the most devastating day of his career, the day his team crashed out to the Germans in the most ignominious fashion.
Maradona felt that the Federation was equally responsible for the debacle in the World cup in South Africa.
"Whoever it is that takes over the team, they should know that betrayal is just around the corner, and there are people that don't want the best for Argentine soccer; they only look after their personal interests and their own bank accounts," he said.
Maradona who has been coaching the national team for the last two years and was expected to hold the reigns for much longer despite having very little coaching experience.
President of the country, Cristina Fernandez, was happy with the team’s performance, despite the exit. She has backed Maradona's tenure since the World Cup exit and said she was sad that he had been dropped; she hoped that the team would be able to re-group under a new coach.
"I don't know what could have happened. It really saddens me, and it would be good if they got together and tried to fix things," Fernandez said.
During his turbulent reign with the Argentine team, the legendary player faced a ban for two months for a foul-mouthed outburst at a news conference.
He asked the members of the press, to “suck it” after he was incensed by a volley of questions as the team barely scraped through the qualifiers.
The start of the tournament was convincing for the South Americans after their opening World Cup games.
However, Maradona’s dreams of winning the tournament as both player and coach were nipped in the bud by a rampant German outfit.
Tags: