Maradona is Argentina's new coach!

Newsflash! Football headline of the day, possibly the month, & possibly the whole year: Diego Armando Maradona is now Argentina's new coach! Yes, I cannot believe it either, but it has happened. Argentina's greatest ever footballer, possibly the world's greatest footballer of all time, has just been appointed by the Argentine Football Association as head coach of his beloved national team.

Maradona replaces Alfio Basile, who recently resigned after a string of poor results & performances by the Argentina football team. Basile has been under fire in recent months, during which Argentina's results have included a large number of draws against opposition that they are expected to beat comfortably, given the enormous amount of talent & potential in the Argentina players. The most recent result, the 1-0 loss away to Chile in a World Cup qualifier, was considered embarrassing & unacceptable enough to sound alarm bells & prompt much gnashing of teeth among Argentinian football fans. That result pushed Basile to the edge & he eventually resigned.

Quite what prompted the Argentinian football fraternity to appoint a man with limited top-level coaching experience, I don't fully know & might never fully understand. That lack of coaching experience is the main reason I'm not convinced that Maradona's appointment is the right move. I wouldn't have gone for him. There are a number of coaches with a lot more experience, who would seem more suited at present for the coaching position.

Carlos Bianchi: He's very experienced with solid track record, won plenty of Argentinian & South American club trophies with Boca Juniors.

Miguel Angel Russo: Like Bianchi, he has led Boca Juniors to become champions of South America. Before that, he won a number of titles with several other Argentinian clubs (Lanus, Estudiantes, Velez Sarsfield), so he knows how to build a side to success. He has also had spells coaching clubs in Spain, Mexico & Chile.

Sergio Batista: He coached Argentina to the gold medal at Beijing Olympics, so he knows how to relate to Argentina's talented young generation, though less experienced than Bianchi & Russo.

Hugo Tocalli: He won a couple of World Youth Cups for Argentina, so like Batista, he also has a rapport with the young Argentinian footballers.

Other names bandied around include Diego Simeone & Gabriel Batistuta, both of whom played for Argentina at the World Cup 1998. And then, some have suggested re-appointing past Argentina coaches like Daniel Passarella, Marcelo Bielsa & Jose Pekerman. On top of all that, there are a couple of other candidates who have escaped me. But Argentina are clearly not short of viable options for the coaching vacancy. Yet they went for Maradona. Nothing against him, but like I said, he doesn't have much coaching experience. Another thing is that his temperament can be questioned - he is never known for his calmness. Can he cope with all the intense pressure & scrutiny? If things turn sour, can he be relied on to make sound decisions?

For all my misgivings, there are some points that would appear to be in Maradona's favour.

One, his passion. He loves the Argentina team & fans can rely on him to do his utmost to bring success to his team. He will ensure his players play with the sort of passion that some feel has been lacking under Basile.
Two, his winning mentality. He has won the World Cup before as a player, so he knows what it's like to win & what it takes to win on a big stage. Yes, I know great players don't always (& often don't) make great coaches. But one cannot help but feel that Maradona's winning experience should be useful to "pass down" to Argentina's young generation.
Three, he will have the footballers respect. Due to his legendary status in Argentina, the footballers will all look up to him. People in Argentina simply will listen to him; he's got that presence about him. They might look to Maradona the coach & think: "He was my hero. Now he's my coach. He won the World Cup, gave a lot for Argentina & achieved much for Argentina. I want that success, too, I want to win the World Cup too & I will give my all for Argentina". Some observers feel that part of the problem faced by Basile was the "generational gap" - he could not relate to the young generation in the Argentina squad. Maradona should not have such issues.

Given the above, perhaps Maradona's appointment is not all bad. Perhaps. Who knows? I still would have preferred someone more experience to have been appointed. Personally, my top 2 choices would be Miguel Angel Russo & Sergio Batista. But we now have Maradona. Of course, as I'm a great fan of Argentinian football, I would love it if Maradona prove my misgivings wrong, & achieve great success as Argentina's coach. I wish Maradona the best of luck! Vamos Maradona, & vamos Argentina!