Maradona was consulted by Racing to register Matthäus (Kicker)

The vice-president of Racing Club of Avellaneda, Pablo Podestá, communicated that to register Lottar Matthäus as coach, the directive commission consulted several persons, among whom nothing less but the coach of the Argentinean team, Diego Maradona, who had a favorable opinion, as well as the midfielder, Ezequiel Carboni, now in the Italian Catania and his player in the Red Bull Salzburg, champion of the Austrian Bundesliga in the season 2006/07.

Maradona, ex rival of Matthäus in the finals of the World championships 1986 and 1990, maintain a very good relationship to such a point that both assisted at their respective farewells as players, though other ex players have been consulted those who passed through the German football as Leo Rodríguez (at present representative of players) or Adrián De Vicente, and even San Lorenzo present coach and for many years integrant of the Argentinean team in nineties and ex coach of Racing, Diego Simeone.

Matthäus will be coming this afternoon at the International airport of Ezeiza finally accompanied by his young wife, the Ukrainian Kristina Liliana, about whom several local communication media ironically indicate that the operation depends on her possibility to obtain a job as a model being this point the clue of their stay in Buenos Aires. Podesta himself said ironically that the young Kristina “ will have no problem to work. For instance, she will be able to work perhaps, in Marcelo Tinelli’s program”, one of the major audience of the TV that uses to contract wives of the players to sing or dance.

Matthäus comes to a Racing Club needed of success and in the last places of the table of the Aperture Contest and what is the worst, of the averages to avoid the descend of category (an index of the last three complete seasons is being taken into account, and each season has two short tournaments) and its contract is due in June 2011, he will collect for his signature 900.000 Dollars (600.000 present Euros) per annum, what is less than other coaches in the Argentinean football are receiving.

Yesterday by Internet, he followed for the second time the alternatives of the match that his new team lost 0-1 against Newells Old Boys of Rosario. Formerly, he saw the match using the same system when tied 1-1 vs Lanus and in a dialogue by phone and by electronic mail with the directives, he stressed the devotion and fight of the players, but he remarked that the team “is lacking order”.

Matthäus will be lodged in one of the best five stars hotels of the city, located in a modern zone of Puerto Madero, on Rio de la Plata bank and will be introduced officially tomorrow and it is expected that on Saturday he will attend to the match that Racing will play at home vs Atletico Tucuman by the twelfth round of the championship (they are in total nineteen).

The vice-president being consulted by this magazine, he confirmed that though Matthäus does not speak spanish he manages well English even with the directives, in Italian with the present temporary coach, that now will pass to work together with him, Juan Barbas, and he will even be able to dialogue in perfect German with the physical coach, Juan Jung.

The unexpected registration of Matthäus as coach of a club of Racing´s tradition (the first to consecrate as Intercontinental Champion in 1967and the biggest trophies collector in the years of foundation of the Argentinean football) has been received with skepticism by the fans of “La Academia” (one of the nicknames of the club), because many relieve that a local coach should have been convoked, with a better knowledge of the media.

The former coach of the team, Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, loved by the fans though he renounced a few days ago due to the poor results in this contest, though he had much incidence in avoiding the descend in the former season he was firm about Matthäus registration by Racing, in a dialogue with the channel Todo Noticias. “It is as I would have gone to coach Schalke 04. If I give a step aside, I will go to live in another quarter, but he has to go back to Germany if he is not lucky as it happened when he worked in Brazil”. He also told that it is Matthäus who has to adapt himself to the Group and not the woman to the country” and “the players are who save the team and not its coach”.

Different media recall that in 2006, coaching the Atlético Paranaense, Matthäus left the city of Curitiba, where he was living, saying that he was missing his five children and due to problems with his ex wife,though it is said, that it took him twelve days to communicate the club that he was not be coming back..

“I think it may be a good experience and that Argentina is a country that does not close the doors to anybody who comes to work”, declared openly the ex captain of the Argentinean team Daniel Passarella, presently candidate to be elected president of the River Plate, and like Matthäus, ex player of the Inter of Milán.

The decision to register Matthäus came when after analyzing the antecedents of several Argentinean coaches and of the Uruguayan Sergio Marcarían, Racing directives received a call from the agent Juan Cobián, ex Argentinean footballist who will pass through England and personal friend of Matthaus representative, Sascha Empacher, who recommended him for the position and offered the first contacts.

It is speculated that something that could decide to register Matthaus obeys that the neighbor and rival of Racing, Independiente de Avellaneda, reopens its Stadium, reconstructed after almost two years and also looking for new sponsors. Racing directives promise to register four players of category for the end of the year thus to reinforce the team.