Diego Maradona to coach Dubai-based club Al Wasl
Over-large suits, heavy petting on the pitch and lewd suggestions to journalists after crucial victories are about to come back into fashion: Diego Maradona has secured a return to management after agreeing a two-year deal with the Dubai-based club, Al Wasl.
The Argentine legend has been out of football for almost a year after leaving his post with his national side following their quarter-final exit to Germany at last summer’s World Cup.Maradona, a maverick voice throughout the tournament, ended his reign by accusing his mentor of betrayal, insulting his former employers in the Argentine Football Association and then spending much of the next six months asking for the job back.
That he arrived in Dubai for negotiations over the weekend and has reportedly agreed a two-year deal with Al Wasl, beginning next season, suggests that he has finally given up on that wish.
An Al Wasl statement read: “Al Wasl Sports Club is proud to announce the appointment of Diego Armando Maradona as head coach of Al Wasl Football Club, in a momentous development that will see the football legend lead the team for the next two seasons.”
Vice-chairman Marwane Ben Bayatt added: “Al Wasl Sports Club has become synonymous with achievements of this calibre, and we are very pleased to be welcoming Maradona to a long line of accolades in the club’s history. This partnership embodies the vision of the club as it embraces forward thinking developments in the region to establish unprecedented standards for the sport.”
Maradona, described by the club as “one of the greatest players of all time”, will be formally introduced at a news conference next month by the club, who lie fourth in the UAE league. He met officials for talks over the weekend after flying in from Grozny, where he had played in a controversial game held by the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
His managerial achievements do not rank as high those he recorded as a player. His Argentina reign ended in credit, despite being beaten 4-0 by Germany in Cape Town, after his side impressed in the group stage and in the second-round victory against Mexico.
His team were beaten 6-0 in Bolivia in the qualifying campaign, though and they reached the finals thanks to a late strike in torrential rain in Uruguay. Maradona, clad in a suit at least two sizes too large, celebrated by sliding down the touchline. He was noted in South Africa for kissing each of his players as they left the pitch. How such behaviour will be greeted in the UAE remains to be seen.
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Interesting to see how he'll do in Al Wasl.