Diego Maradona: “I’m still the Coach of the National Team”

Argentina, October 15, 2010

Diego Armando Maradona was interviewed by Germain Paoloski for Telefe, and declared, in relation to Argentina’s Football Team, that “I’m still the coach.”

The interview began with a question about the match he will play tomorrow against Uruguay, mainly about the participation of Caceres, who recovered after a wound from a gun he received in an assault and that kept him in the hospital fighting for his life.

Maradona said “I saw Caceres dead” and that he worried too much because “it can happen to anyone.” He expressed his concern about the incident and said that today in Argentina you can not walk the same number of blocks than in Spain. “Today I can not walk peacefully in Argentina, in Spain I use to walk 2 miles and nothing happens.”

About tomorrow’s game, said he is grateful to the Uruguayan players and stated that their participation will make a good match.

But the main theme of the interview was around Argentina. When he was asked about his return as coach, Maradona remove the doubt saying “I have the doors closed. I would like to be coach again, but today I have the doors closed.”

“I was still the coach after Germany, and within two weeks I became the four of hearts,” said Diego, based on the response that the AFA gave to him after the situation of the World Cup.

And he added that “if today I had the chance to turn back the time I would do exactly what I did, face Germany with the same players that I did it.”

Diego had been criticized for the list of players who went to the World Cup. It was said that it was a marketing strategy, to sell players abroad. In this regard Maradona replied that “it was said that there had been arrangements to sell players, but the reality is that nobody told to me anything. I did all the lists, I do not sell players, I put on the field the ones that are best. “

One of the most pungent phrases of the interview was based on his position today towards the National Team “I will return there have to be many changes, but I’ll come back.” And said “I do not see Argentina’s matches I’m still hurt.”

Paoloski then asked about his position with his staff, because the AFA asked him to continue but without Mancuso and Enrique. “Grondona said that he wanted to change some things, he offered me to continue without my staff, so I asked him not to be guided by rumors and to fix the problems with them personally.”

And regarding his relationship with Bilardo he confessed that “I still feel betrayed, and every day I suffer more because of that.”

The last question was, Who should be the coach? To which the Diego replied, “I’m still coach. They can come many names but I’m still the coach. The result left me outside, but are things that can happen to anyone in football. “