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| Why I Want Diego Maradona to Succeed Posted: 11 Sep 2009 08:58 AM PDT
Understandably, Argentina fans are not happy. To quote Julian D from the Argentina blog “I’m just as angry and annoyed as anyone here about Maradona. I now also want him out.” Rather than getting into whether El Diego should resign or be fired (neither looks like happening), I’ve been thinking about why I’d prefer to see him succeed. There are all kinds of reasons to dislike Maradona (Hand of God, etc) but I’d really much prefer to see him a) not get fired, and b) qualify for the World Cup with Argentina. As I understand it, Maradona is a national institution in Argentina. As the greatest ever player in a football obsessed nation, how could he not be? He’s the man who won the 1986 World Cup in glorious fashion, and that can’t ever be taken away from him. But failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup would go some way to tarnishing his achievements. Not everyone (both inside and outside Argentina) approves of the way El Diego conducts himself. But until now that hadn’t mattered. He always had that legendary football career to bolster his reputation. No matter how many times Maradona fired an air rifle at reporters, he was still a footballing genius. And though playing football and coaching football are two very different things, in terms of reputation it’s the same thing. So if Maradona fails to get Argentina to South Africa, then that will be one of the things he’s remembered for. There will be some younger Argentina fans for whom this is their Maradona memory, which would be a shame. Of course, much of this is Maradona’s fault for thinking he was capable of coaching the Argentina national team. Even when his (very short) track record suggested otherwise. But from where I’m sitting, the Argentina FA are equally to blame. It was a shamelessly populist move from Julio Grondona and co, so they must share responsibility. But mostly I want Maradona to succeed because it will make an excellent story next summer. Can you imagine? A Maradona-led Argentina team in South Africa will provide all kinds of highs, lows, drama and entertainment. I also suspect that the team has a better chance of performing under Maradona in a tournament situation, where it all plays out in one intense month, than over the course of a season. But unless Argentina qualify, we’ll never know. |
Diego Maradona’s spell in charge of Argentina is not going well. The albiceleste are fifth in CONMEBOL qualifying right now, and could very well wind up in a playoff game vs the fourth place CONCACAF team for a World Cup 2010 spot. Or they could finish sixth and just be eliminated.| You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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