Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona was officially named coach of the national side on Tuesday by Julio Grondona, the president of the Argentine Football Association.
Grondona said that appointing the 48-year-old — who virtually singlehandedly took Argentina to the 1986 World Cup trophy — was extra special.
“Today is a special day for Argentine soccer,” Grondona said. “Maradona is the new technical director and Carlos Bilardo [the 1986 World Cup winning coach] is the general manager of the team.”
Maradona, whose first game in charge will be a friendly against Scotland in Glasgow on Nov. 19, said: “My dream is fulfilled. I feel anything but nervous. I’ve lots of sensations, but I feel serene because I can do the job, serene because I have Carlos alongside me and the support of Grondona.”
Maradona — who was part of the Argentina side that muscled its way into the 1990 final only to have two players sent off as they lost 1-0 to then West Germany — won crucial support a fortnight ago in his bid to become coach when the man charged with finding Alfio Basile’s successor threw his weight behind the World Cup winning skipper.
“I’d like Maradona to be the next coach,” said Noray Nakis, the president of the Argentine Football Association selection commission.
Tackled by reporters on whether he was concerned the legend that has built up around him as a player may be tainted if he fails in his new career as a manager, Maradona replied: “I’m not worried about the crown falling off me. On the contrary it would be worse if I hid and did not take up the job. We’re in a mini-crisis. We’ll get out of it.”
“I would be a coward if I was not here. The fact that I’m here demonstrates that I’m of the people,” he said.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS