Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona will be confirmed as the new Argentina coach next Tuesday. The 1986 World Cup-winner says he is on the verge of accepting the job after a meeting with Julio Grondona, the president of Argentinian Football Association (AFA) late Tuesday night. Luis Segura, the secretary of the AFA, has since confirmed that Maradona will replace Alfio Basile, who stepped down on October 16 citing personal reasons.

Carlos Bilardo, who was in charge of the 1986 World Cup-winning team captained by Maradona, is expected to be part of the two-time world champions’ new coaching staff. The AFA said on its website that the new coach would be officially announced on November 4.

“Next Tuesday, after the meeting of this association’s executive committee, the naming of the new technical staff of the national team will be made official,” said a statement.

The appointment of the explosive Maradona, one of the game’s greatest players and also one of its most volatile, would appear to be a huge gamble by the AFA.

Maradona, who since retirement has been treated for drug addiction, obesity and alcohol-induced liver disease, has had only two brief stints as a coach in the 1990s with Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing Club. Both spells were undistinguished.

“My first job will be watching the players,” Maradona said. “The idea is to start working immediately after the official announcement with the players who are in Argentina and then take the first plane to talk to the ones in Europe,” he said.

“I’ll try to talk to them one by one and then work at the training camp in Ezeiza with them,” he added.

“I arrived from Georgia at 10 am and three hours later I was having a shower to meet Julio. As I was going to the meeting, I thought it was some kind of hidden camera show.

“The direction Julio wants for the national team is the same I have. My job will be watching the players and picking up the ones who are in the best form.”

The Argentina squad boasts some of the world’s best players, but they are struggling to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, having won only one of their past seven qualifying matches to lie third in the South American Zone.

“I’m putting everything aside for this,” Maradona added. “There is nothing that can make me look past the national team. Today my path is the national team, my task is to talk to the players and build a solid group. I am sure the guys and Argentinian football will pull through.

“I think we must make the players understand that our shirt is the most important thing, that they cannot exchange money for glory.

“Glory is much more than money, we must make them remember that every day. We have enough quality to calm the nation. The road to the World Cup is not easy, but I believe in the Argentinian players.

“Everybody wants to play at the World Cup but we must show our traditions and our style on the field.”

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has given his full backing to Maradona’s appointment, despite the former Argentina captain calling the Barcelona forward a selfish player earlier this month. “Those are things that you say at the time,” Messi said. “I know Diego appreciates me and I don’t hold any grudges. There’s no problem. He’s a great and I admire him for what he gave to Argentine football.”

“I’m optimistic. The generation that won the Olympics is coming up. In 2006, if we had been a bit more fortunate in the (quarter final) with Germany we would have won.

“Argentina has gone too long without winning the World Cup.”

Maradona, appears to have been chosen mainly for his motivational powers and the admiration he commands from the players and public.

Other members of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup team, in which Maradona was at his peak, could be invited to join the technical staff. Argentina visit Scotland for a friendly next month while their next World Cup qualifier is at home to Venezuela in March.

FACT FILE

Born: October 30, 1960
Professional debut: For Argentinos Juniors on October 20, 1976
International career: 91 caps for Argentina with 34 goals
World Cups: 1982, ’86, ’90, ’94
Clubs he played for: Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona,
Napoli, Sevilla, Newell’s Old Boys
Honours: 3 Fifa Golden Ball awards,World Cup-winning captain in
1986, Serie A top scorer in the 1987-88 season, South American
Footballer of theYear in 1979, 1980 and joint Player of the Century
with Pele in an Internet poll conducted by Fifa in 2000.
Coaching stints: At Mandiyú de Corrientes and Racing Club de
Avellaneda