Maradona Officially Appointed Coach Of Argentina

Diego Maradona was officially presented as the coach of the Argentine national team on Tuesday evening. He stated that it "is a dream come true" and that he will "work as much as possible" so that the national team can enjoy success...

Diego Armando Maradona officially took over as the new coach of Argentina on Tuesday evening. The Argentine football legend affirmed that it "is an honour" and that it is a "dream come true" for him, because it is a position that he has wanted to occupy for many years.

"It's an honour," said Maradona. "Being named the coach of the national team is a dream come true.

"I'm going to give it my all for things to turn out well. We are going to work hard every morning in order to give the national team what it deserves. I want to maintain this project with Carlos (Bilardo), both of us are going to be at the head of everything," added the successor of Alfio Basile, who resigned on the 16th of October, the day after Argentina lost 1-0 to Chile in Santiago.

"This arrives during the best time of my life. Every morning I can wake up, every lunch time I mean (he laughed). I have the confidence of my daughters back, I enter a beautiful dream which is the national team, my parents are well, I'm well spiritually and emotionally, I can't ask for more. It arrives in the best moment of my life, I'm going to work with everything I've got," an emotional Maradona stated.

Despite lots of speculation in recent days, Maradona didn't end up revealing his coaching team: "We haven't decided it yet. But Checho Batista and Tata Brown are at our services."

Possible assistants include, Miguel Angel Brindisi, Oscar Ruggeri and Alejandro Mancuso. "Lots of names have appeared and lots more certainly will. We have to have a very clear mind when selecting who will be by our side," insisted Maradona.

When asked if he is afraid about possible failure with the national team, something that could further damage his reputation, Maradona affirmed: "I'm not afraid that my crown might fall. It would be worse to hide in the shadows" .

Maradona will take a flight to Spain later on in the night, as he is planning to attend the UEFA Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Juventus at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Gregory Sica
Source: goal.com