Maradona: Argentina bosses betrayed me
Reuters - Thursday 29 July 2010, 02:32
BUENOS AIRES - Diego Maradona accused
Argentine football chiefs of betraying him on Wednesday, a day
after they voted unanimously to end his tenure as national team
coach.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) decided not to
renew Maradona's contract following the team's 4-0 drubbing by
Germany in the World Cup quarter-finals.
In his first public comments since the defeat, Maradona
took aim at AFA President Julio Grondona and the technical
director of national teams, Carlos Bilardo.
"Grondona lied to me, Bilardo betrayed me," a sombre
Maradona told a news conference at a restaurant, reading from a
prepared statement.
"Grondona told me in the changing room after we were
eliminated in South Africa... that he was very pleased with
the work I'd done and he wanted me to stay on," he said. "When
we were in mourning, Bilardo worked in the shadows to kick me
out."
Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup victory as captain
in 1986, was appointed as coach in 2008 despite having very
little coaching experience.
During his tumultuous spell in charge, Maradona was banned
for two months for a foul-mouthed outburst at a news conference
and the squad barely scraped through the qualifiers.
After convincing wins in their opening World Cup games,
Argentina became one of the tournament's favourites, but
Maradona's dreams of lifting football's most-coveted prize as
coach were dashed by the Germans.
Dressed in a navy suit and blue shirt, Maradona appeared in
a reflective mood, occasionally appearing to fight back tears
as he read from the statement.
He said he was still recovering from the loss to Germany
but put some of the blame for the patchy World Cup campaign on
AFA.
"They called me to put out a fire and then when I did, this
happens," he said, adding that he had taken over the team
during a time of crisis and had been dropped before being able
to finish the job.
He said he wanted to continue as coach but that during a
meeting with Grondona, the AFA head had asked him to replace
seven members of his coaching staff.
"He knows it's impossible for me to continue without my
coaching staff, Maradona said. "I defend everyone from the
masseuse to the assistant because I have values and I'm not
going to change."
"I've given my all for the Argentine soccer shirt... to
wear this shirt again... And I'm convinced that the players
felt this again ... maybe that was my job."
Grondona said he had asked Maradona to stay, but said
changes had to be made among the coach's staff team.
"I can't see how there was a betrayal of any kind,"
Grondona told reporters.
"Perhaps he sees betrayal as trying to make things better.
... the only thing I was looking for was to make a change, not
to get rid of Maradona."
President Cristina Fernandez, who has backed Maradona's
tenure since the World Cup exit, said she was sad he had been
dropped.
"He took over the national team when it was a hot potato
and lots of people predicted we wouldn't even qualify for South
Africa," Fernandez said at the presidential palace.
"I'm really sad about Diego, I think the team put on a very
dignified performance," she said. "I don't know what happened
(with Grondona) but it saddens me, they should come together
and fix things."
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