Diego Maradona... Will He Make a Miracle or a Mess of it?

Diego Maradona the god... Diego Maradona the cheater... Diego Maradona the coach! The whole of Argentina still sees him as a divinity. Former England goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, and the whole of England have bitterly thought of him as the god whose hand had so unceremoniously ousted them from the 1986 World Cup. Today, the entire football community knows him as the Argentina national team coach. An appointment which undoubtedly rose eyebrows in the football community and sent shockwaves across the world. What exactly were Maradona's coaching credentials? Was his appointment just meant to serve to lift a team that was underachieving during the qualifying campaign? Was he simply to be a figure head, controlled by the Argentine Football Federation (AFA)? Only the first question can be answered with conviction, and that is that Maradona had none. He had tried his hand at club management in his homeland (with Mandiyu of Corrientes and Racing Club) during a largely unsuccessful 2-year period (1994-96). It was then to be a stratospheric ascension for the Argentine icon when he presented his candidacy for the vacant Argentina job in 2008.

The AFA, to much of the world's surprise, named Maradona as the new Argentina coach. The nation celebrated the appointment while the rest of the world looked in bewilderment at this most surprising turn of events. It all seemed an inspired choice at first however as Maradona kicked off his reign with a 1-0 win at Hampden Park, in a friendly against Scotland, and went on to win three on the bounce. The honeymoon period came to an abrupt end however as Argentina were humiliated 6-1 by Bolivia in a qualification match. It was to be an arduous road to South Africa as Argentina sat 5th of their qualifying group with two games left. Maradona however secured victory in both these crucial games to book their place to this summer's tournament.

Of course it is Maradona's management which is of more interest to us than his qualifying campaign. His final 23-man squad is one which holds some surprises, both for its inclusions and especially for its exclusions. The most startling of which has been the omissions of Champions League winning duo Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso. Zanetti is the most capped player for his country (136 caps), and yet the Internazionale captain who led his side to it's first Champions League trophy since 1965 seems to have not played his way into Maradona's plans. Cambiasso's exclusion is just as strange for a player who - largely underrated amongst most football aficionados - ranks amongst the best in his position. What is most troubling is Maradona's inability to settle on a system. During the qualifying campaign he often switched between 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. His indecisiveness was further highlighted by the number of call-ups he has made during his tenure. Indeed Maradona has called up an impressive 60+ players during Argentina's qualifying campaign. This would hint at the fact that Maradona might not be able to cope with the tactical demands of the game. His indecisiveness was on display once again in how long it took for Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain to get called up. Moreover Maradona has shown preferential treatment to some players, which has affected his squad selection. Trying to force Aguero into the lineup alongside Messi and Tevez was one such occurrence. Indeed the Athletico Madrid ace is Maradona's son-in-law, which - I only speculate - may have played a role. This offensive set up, albeit impressive on paper, is unbalanced as it offers little width and not enough interplay in the final third of the pitch. All these three players enjoy keeping the ball at their feet and running at defenders, which gives defenses time to set up in front of them and slows down the speed of counterattacks. Boca Juniors striker Martin Palermo's inclusion at the expense of Inter Milan hitman Diego Millito for most of the qualifying campaign is yet just another indicator. Another such example was the selection of Estudiantes captain Juan Sebastian Veron. A player of renowned ability and unquestionable experience, especially amongst Serie A fans, but whose career somewhat sunk into anonymity following his big-money transfer form Lazio which resulted in a failed 2-year stint at Manchester United. Thus it begs the question as to why he was picked over the aforementioned Cambiasso.

Of course there have been positives to Maradona's tenure. The team has been lifted and plays with more confidence than it did at the start of the qualifying campaign. Some young and talented players have been added to the team such as Benefica winger Angel Di Maria and Palermo playmaker Javier Pastore. Finally, the bottom line is that Maradona has successfully qualified for the World Cup. But his selection of largely untested and inexperience players somewhat outweigh the positives. Highly rated Velez Sarsfield defender Nicolas Otamendi, and Colon defender Ariel Garce as well as Newcastle United winger Jonas Guitierrez (who played his football in the English Championchip until the club's promotion this year) cannot possibly - at least I think - make an impact at this level. Especially if we consider some of the alternatives at Maradona's disposal such as Olympique Lyonnais attacker Lisandro Lopez, who has enjoyed a successful maiden season in France. Moreover, to unjustly miss the plane is Olympique de Marseilles playmaker Lucho Gonzales - albeit he missed a large portion of the start of the season through injury - who should have surely made the trip to South Africa. An especially glaring oversight considering the rift between Maradona and Argentina midfield maestro Juan Roman Riquelme, which would have seen him snubbed anyways. Of course Argentina does have one saving grace, and one on whom all the world will have their eyes on and on whose shoulders all of Argentina will place their hopes. As for the 2009 World Player of the year and Ballon d'Or Winner, Lionel Messi will be hoping to emulate the kind of performances Maradona put on display in Mexico 1986, when he single-handedly carried La Albiceleste to World Cup glory. And as for Maradona the coach, we will wait and hope that his legend comes out of all this unscathed.