by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport) | October 29th, 2008
Diego Maradona will be 48 on Thursday. There were times when it seemed that he wouldn’t get that far, with his well publicised struggles with illegal drugs and weight.
Now he is well on course for a happy birthday. He looks set to be announced as coach of Argentina, the job he has campaigned hard for since Alfio Basile stepped down two weeks ago.
On Monday the line from the Argentine FA was that Maradona was one of four candidates, there was no rush to appoint and all four would be spoken to.
Instead Maradona touched down in Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning, met with AFA president Julio Grondona in the afternoon and emerged to announce that although talks would continue, the job was his for the taking…
It is fair to conclude that Maradona is not the most logical choice. His coaching experience is limited to brief spells with Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing in 1994/5 - his combined record reads three wins, 12 draws, eight defeats.
In comparison his 1986 team-mate Sergio Batista recently took the Olympic team to the gold medal.
Miguel Angel Russo has won titles recently and his San Lorenzo side are currently top of the league, and Carlos Bianchi has a truckload of titles to his name. Bianchi was the people’s choice; he came out on top in the opinion polls.
But Maradona has something that no numbers could ever measure. He is Maradona, and his very name resonates deep in the Argentine soul.
From the day he scored those two goals against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter final he has been more the embodiment of a national fantasy than a footballer.
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The phenomenon is explored in the excellent 2006 film ‘El Camino de San Diego.’ A
Maradona fanatic from the far north of Argentina finds a block of wood that bears a resemblance to his idol.
His makes it into a statue and decides to make the long journey to Buenos Aires to present it to Maradona, who is going through a health crisis.
The film is a road movie which places the figure of Maradona in the context of religious faith. Characters are portrayed gripping to a belief in the Catholic church, spiritualist rituals, Afro-Brazilian gods and even winning the lottery.
Maradona is seen as a part of an alternative Argentine holy trinity, along with Che Guevara and folk saint Gauchito Gil.
There is a side to Argentina that is all logical debate, putting the world to rights over a cup of coffee.
But there is another side of wild emotionalism. Football brings both sides to the surface - the profound tactical debates and the desperate commitment of the fans.
Maradona runs on emotion. As a player he was able to turn it into physical energy. As a fan he is similar, taking off his shirt and swinging it round his head as he leads the chanting.
When former prominent players take up coaching, many complain about the difficulty of acquiring the patience necessary in the new function. Will Maradona be able to acquire it?
He will be helped by experienced people. Carlos Bilardo, his coach in 1986 and 90, will provide back up.
Likely to be his assistant on the training ground is 1990 team-mate Pedro Troglio, a coach of some standing.
If confirmed, his team have more baggage than Brazil’s current duo of Dunga and Jorginho.
For how long will Maradona and co be appointed? This could turn into an interesting question.
Argentina are not in the habit of sacking coaches. Either they resign or their contract comes to an end.
On Monday Julio Grondona was indicating that the new coach will not be given a four year deal, but will only serve until the next World Cup.
A cynic might wonder if there are hidden intentions here - that Grondona can hardly ignore Maradona now that he is healthy and ambitious, but that assuming Argentina don’t win the next World Cup he can draw his sting and then get rid of him in little more than a year and a half. Time will tell.
In the short term there’s the matter of what Maradona is likely to do. Recently he picked an Argentina side; Carrizo in goal, a back four of Angeleri, De Michelis, Heinze and Papa, Gago, Mascherano (the likely captain), and Di Maria, Messi, Aguero and Tevez. He later hinted at a place for Veron.
Conclusions - Riquelme has to hit top form to get back in, the door is closed for Zanetti and maybe Cambiasso, and Messi will be expected to become more like Maradona, a leader and an organiser of the attack - a role he played badly in the defeat against Chile that sparked Basile’s resignation.
It’s a huge challenge - just like the one that Diego Maradona has in front of him if he is indeed confirmed as the new coach of his country.