Maradona from demigod to a simple mortal for the Argentineans (Yahoo)

Diego Maradona did not need many matches as coach to descend from the Olympus as demigod of the Argentinean to a simple mortal, as coach of a team that failing two matches of the eighteen of their South American group is in a position to have to play two extra matches in front of the fourth team of the final hexagonal of the Center and North American group that up to now is Costa Rica.

Maradona did not get to put in good form an eliminatory that was already complicated for Argentina when he assumed as coach in 2008 substituting Alfio Basile and from six matches that the team played under his conduction he lost three and scarcely won two vs Venezuela and Colombia at home. From the three defeats, one of them was vs Bolivia in the height of the city of La Paz by 6-1, meanwhile the other two were in the last two matches of the group vs Brazil at home (1-3) and vs Paraguay (1-0).

The expectation as to Maradona as coach between the Argentineans was more directed in the motivation that could generate in his players, due to his great history as footballist with the vest light blue and white, but the preferred of the fans was without any doubt the successful coach of Boca Juniors and Velez Sarsfield, Carlos Bianchi, in not very good relations with the president of the federation (AFA) and vice-president, master of the FIFA, Julio Grondona.

Grondona opted for Maradona influenced by his surroundings and there the problems started to increase that made to return the Argentinean team to situations that were absent since many years ago, arriving to a situation in which it does not depend on themselves to arrive to the World Championship in South Africa and until now they must play two extra matches to come to a place.

Maradona wanted as an assistant one of his ex comrades in the World Championship in Mexico 1986, Oscar Ruggeri, confronted with the directives of the AFA but besides, surprisingly, neither had he good relationship with the “ten” himself. AFA did not accept that designation and quickly it was clear that all the army the coach had was just the motivation to wear the Argentinean vest, but the players insist that there is no a tactical line and many say that when from the inside of the field they require some instruction in front of some special matter, the reply is spiritual only.

Step by step, the bad scores and certain managements by Maradona generated polemics, disagreements and a uneasy environment in the team. For instance, they did not like that one of his sons-in-law, the forwarder of the Atletico Madrid, Sergio Aguero, the other, Fernando Molina, took charge of the area of press of the ex crack and also his present brother-in-law formed part of the delegation or that the defender Gabriel Heinze increased his specific weigh in the final decisions.

Maradona used sixty two players in the four matches, among the convoked, what shows the grade of erratic of his convoking policy and does not seem to offer continuity in each position, what generates a great uncertainty among the team.

Neither was clear the reason why some of the players with very good (and regular) renders in their teams were not convoked. The strongest case is that of the attacker Gonzalo Higuain of the Real Madrid, with an exceptional season as it was the last one, and that even he renounced to play for France, country where he was born, never had he the opportunity to show himself and the same happened with the forwarder of Lazio, Mauro Zarate. In change, Maradona encouraged the veteran Ariel Ortega commenting that if he completes some good matches, he will return to the teams light blue and white, and vs Brazil and Paraguay were called Martin Palermo and Rolando Schiavi, 34 and 36years of age, respectively.

Another debate regarding the team was related to the convoking or
not of players of the own Argentinean League, ovre those who are abroad. Maradona formed a list of players of the local media mixing with the “Europeans” but did not obtain good results and everything was fading until generating the idea that whatever happens the team will not improve.

Already vs Brazil and Paraguay, the margin of error of the Argentinean team was minimum and continued being so because besides the defeats, what was seen was a tired team, without forces nor conviction, playing despairingly vs teams better placed and more solid.

Today, in the fifth place of the South Amercan list and two appointments from the final, Argentina does not depend on itself to reach the World Championship but for that there would have to be many changes on behalf of the AFA, meanwhile Maradona’s image is day by day worse proving that his knowledge is scarce and it is clear why he does not count with the title of technician neither he knows to handle the very good values that he has in the team in the individual as Leo Messi, Carlos Tevez and Agüero, Juan Veron, or Javier Mascherano and not only this, but he generated a complicated air among the players meanwhile he insists that he will not retire…

Adding to all this, his discussion without any sense with his principal midfielder, Juan Roman Riquelme, who renounced to the team due to the tactical disagreements and anger due to some critics published by Maradona in the media, influenced remarkably in the game, each time more erratic and far the midfielders of the forwarders.

And if there is not enough, after the small triumph vs Colombia in Buenos Aires, Maradona started to press to play as local in Rosario, saying that there the people “are more feeling” but it was not so and ended losing absolutely vs Brazil

For all this, that was a slow process of one year, people start to see in Maradona perhaps the best player of all the times, but outside the fields he is just a fallible man. Good-bye to the myth.