The End of an Era

I am opposed to any representative of Argentina's soccer team making a political statement. On principle, for that matter, I am opposed to a representative of any sports organization making political statements of the type that Maradona made this past week in Venezuela. It is not his place. Now let me make myself clear though, I am opposed to the person making public statements, but I am not opposed to the person holding these sentiments. I could care less if Maradona is best friends with Chavez and Fidel, and still loves and supports Che. There are a lot of people with these sentiments, and well, I don't care. But what Maradona did this past week was unsupportable. On the basis of his statements and appearances alone, he should be fired.

From the date of this writing, it appears that he will not be staying on as head coach of the Argentine national team. The reasons stem more from his barrio-like beliefs of keeping his most loyal aides by his side. Considering the fact that he grew up in Villa Fiorito, we need to understand his decision. When you grow up in those places you are in a true dog-eat-dog scenario. You must have a close group of loyal friends. I understand this, and really I understand his sympathy for "socialism". I understand his tirades at the media, and his decision to bring Veron and Palermo to the World Cup instead of Cambiasso and Zanetti. I understand, because if you take his upbringing and his education into account you shouldn't be surprised. It always stuns me when people act shocked at his actions. There is no need to. It is totally predictable.

I am mostly filled with relief that Don Julio and Diego were not able to come to some sort of agreement. Mostly because I look forward to a functional coach who can make the right decisions and win some hardware for Argentina. Everyone talks about Bianchi, but he hasn't coached in a long time, and is too afraid to tarnish his reputation. So I don't even consider him for the position. Sabella appears to be Grondona's choice, but he has limited experience as a head coach. Although his time as el Kaiser's sidekick on the national team and at River, Monterrey, etc could come in handy. Even with his terrific Libertadores win in 2009, he still needs more experience in my opinion. El Checo Batista is a great choice, given his experience with the last Olympic gold medal and his abundant experience on top of the U-21 national team. But his Olympic performance was not beautiful, it was more practical. (Although slamming Dunga's Brazil sure does count for something.) For me the two best choices are Ramon Diaz and Cholo Simeone. Ramon Diaz has the most amount of experience for the job, and Simeone has a beautiful tactical system. This isn't just my inner-River speaking, this is the reality. I plead with you, Don Julio, make the right choice.

Let's not forget what Maradona has done for us before we criticize him too much. As coach, he brought passion and a love for the albiceleste that no other coach has shown. And as a player he brought the entire world beauty that has never been replicated. Dale Diego, siempre vas a ser querido por todo el pueblo Argentino!