AFA head: Maradona could eventually return as national coach
By DPA, IANSWednesday, August 4, 2010
BUENOS AIRES - Just a week after Diego Maradona was ousted as Argentine national coach, the head of the country’s football association signalled the football legend could eventually return to the post.
“Anyone can come back,” Julio Grondona, the powerful president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), told the German Press Agency (DPA).
Last week the AFA announced Maradona’s contract as national coach would not be renewed after talks between the coach and Grondona failed to produce an extension for a contract. Maradona has since called Grondona a liar.
However, Grondona made clear that Maradona could only be welcomed back if he accepted the association’s conditions and agreed to changes to the coaching staff.
A legendary striker who led Argentina to a world championship in 1986, the 49-year-old Maradona coached a team that struggled to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
Once in South Africa, though, Argentina raised expectations by running overshod in the group stage with three straight wins. They followed with a 3-1 victory over Mexico in the Round of 16 before being knocked out in Cape Town with a 4-0 humiliation against Germany.
