Suspicions Confirmed: Diego Maradona Out as National Head Coach
The football legend’s future was in doubt as coach of the Argentina national team, and now the suspicion is confirmed. After two years on the job and an embarrassing loss that eliminated the team from the World Cup, Diego Maradona will no longer be coaching Argentina's national team.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has decided not to renew Maradona's contract. The AFA did in fact offer Maradona a contract through the 2014 World Cup, but Maradona said he would only stay under his terms. Those terms were simply that he wanted to retain his entire staff.
AFA president Julio Grondona found it unacceptable as he had asked for several assistants to be replaced. Among the bunch was Maradona's close friend Alejandro Mancuso. The federation even stated that the decision was unanimous.
Now the question is, who will take Maradona’s place? Possible candidates for the now vacant job include Alejandro Sabella of Estudiantes and Miguel Russo of Racing. The team is already scheduled for a friendly against Ireland on August 11th, meaning the team will likely have to hire an interim coach for that game.
The 49 year-old Maradona’s term lasted an erratic 21 months in which the team was very close to missing the World Cup and was eliminated with a humiliating 4-0 loss to Germany in the quarter-finals.
The AFA hired Maradona in November 2008 after Alfio Basile resigned as coach. With limited experience, Maradona coached his team to a mixed tenure as the Albiceleste suffered two of the worst losses in the country’s football history. First they lost in a game that was as shocking as it was embarrassing in a 6-1 rout at Bolivia in World Cup qualifying. Of course, the second would be their most recent match.
Argentina played an exciting, entertaining attacking style in South Africa as Lionel Messi set up teammates Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain for the majority of the team’s offence. Maradona was very emotional on the bench but looked more like an enthused fan than a coach at times.
He had perhaps the most talented team in the world, but there were noticeable weaknesses that Germany clearly exposed in the quarter-final; one, their weak, undisciplined defence, and two, their slow midfield.
Another area that some placed blame on Maradona is the fact that Messi, while he set up teammates well, didn’t score a goal the entire tournament. Messi is regarded as the world’s greatest player and his coach couldn’t explain why he wasn’t scoring. He was left free to roam the field as Maradona said: "Nobody ever told me where to play. So I shouldn't have to tell Messi where to play, either."
There’s no doubt that Maradona is a legend in Argentina and has inspired the nation. He escaped poverty at a young age and he overcame drug and alcohol addictions, all the while being the greatest player of his generation. Cruel as it may sound, he may have overstayed his welcome in the football side of things.
The country’s president, Cristina Fernandez, had been openly supportive of keeping Maradona as coach. One legislator even proposed the idea of building a monument of Maradona to honour him.
Maradona was offered the chance of extending his contract, but delayed the meeting with Grondona to visit a friend in Venezuela. That friend is President Hugo Chavez.
Perhaps another reason for Maradona’s dismissal was his tense relationship with key members of Argentine football.
Maradona did have his share of supporters, but ultimately, it was the AFA’s decision. They clearly wanted some changes made to the staff, and because the federation and Maradona couldn’t see eye-to-eye, he was let go.
Let’s be clear though that this shouldn’t affect Maradona’s status as a football legend in Argentina and the world. After all, great players don’t always make the adjustment well to being coaches. Sometimes, it's better if they just stay in people's memories as an all-time great player.
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