Big news coming out of Argentina today as Diego Maradona will no longer be the coach of the national team.
This bizarre series of events follows the news a few weeks back that he was going to be staying on through the 2014 World Cup. Typical with Maradona, nothing is as simple as it seems and the man is a one-man circus. Why anybody expected things to be any other way is a great question?
His stint as coach of the Albiceleste ended far less successfully than his time as a player with the national team. The Argentine Football Association, which hired the former star in November 2008, said Tuesday that his contract will not be renewed. The decision came 3½ weeks after his team, led by star Lionel Messi, was eliminated from the World Cup with a humiliating 4-0 loss to Germany in the quarterfinals.
"Diego shut himself off to any change," executive committee member Luis Segura said on Argentine television. "Diego has all the right to do what he wants. But so does AFA."
The federation had offered Maradona a four-year contract through the 2014 World Cup, but Maradona said he would do so only if his entire staff remained.
That was unacceptable to AFA president Julio Grondona. He had asked for several assistants to be replaced, including Maradona's close friend Alejandro Mancuso. The federation said its executive committee unanimously decided to not keep Maradona.
AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo called the decision "very painful" but said there was no way to solve the impasse.
"The president said that there was a significant difference between what AFA wanted to achieve and Maradona's aspirations for the future," Cherquis Bialo said. "There was a wide gap, and it was impossible to narrow it."
The spokesman hinted, however, there might be a role in the future for a man with an unpredictable history.
"This marks the end of a first chapter with Mr. Maradona," Cherquis Bialo said. "The doors to this house, as always, will be open to him."
Youth team manager Sergio Batista was appointed interim coach for the Aug. 11 exhibition at Ireland, which will be followed by a Sept. 7 home exhibition against world champion Spain. Possible permanent successors include two club coaches in Argentina: Alejandro Sabella of Estudiantes and Miguel Russo of Racing.
Asked about the full-time coach, Cherquis Bialo said: "The people who were in the meeting have no name in their imaginations. It has just been announced that the contract with the coach will not be renewed. And so, a new stage begins."
You've gotta admire the fan-boy tendencies and blind loyalty by the AFA. Basically, they're saying that they'll let Diego go chill for a couple years but if they don't see immediate results, he'll make his triumphant return in a few years and we'll forget this whole charade ever existed. Got it?
In his final act, Maradona selected Argentina's roster for an exhibition against Ireland on Aug. 11.
Messi, Higuain and Javier Mascherano lead the selections, who will be coached by Batista.
Several players left off the World Cup team were picked, including midfielders Jesus Datolo and Fernando Gago, and forward Ezequiel Lavezzi.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Mariano Andujar (Catania, Italy), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands)
Defenders: Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan, Italy), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle, England), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich, Germany), Gabriel Heinze (Olympique Marseille, France), Emiliano Insua (Fiorentina, Italy), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan, Italy), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City, England)
Midfielders: Ever Banega (Valencia, Spain), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina, Italy), Datolo (Espanyol, Spain), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid, Spain), Gago (Real Madrid, Spain), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle, England), Mascherano (Liverpool, England), Javier Pastore (Palermo, Italy), Maxi Rodriguez (Liverpool, Liverpool)
Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid, Spain), Higuain (Real Madrid, Spain), Lavezzi (Napoli, Italy), Messi (Barcelona, Spain), Diego Milito (Inter Milan, Italy), Tevez (Manchester City, England)
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