Anybody feel sorry for Diego Maradona?

Pisco Sour

Is it just me that felt very sorry for Maradona after todays game. I know he isn't a particularly great coach but he has worn his heart on his sleave throughout this competition and seemed to have fostered a great relationship with all the players in the squad. He looked absolutely broken at full time, and no doubt he'll go home to severe criticism now.

Its just been great to see him back doing good things the last few years and I fear that the backlash that he will undoubtably receive now back home could result in him going back on the drugs. He's not the most stable of characters by all accounts. I'd rather see Maradona as a bad manager than the Maradona we saw 6 years ago.

Maybe I'm being too sentimental. Theres no mercy in football really.

Peyton Manning

Not at all. It was absolute lunacy not to bring Cambiasso to the World Cup, a crime only surpassed by that of bringing Maxi Rodriguez.

Bodhisopha

No, i feel more sorry for Messi, it's his time to shine, not Maradonas.

johnmcdnl

Germany were by far the better side and Argentina were a shambles compared to them.. That's Maradona's responsibility so I can't really feel sorry for him in footballing terms...

yes he's going to go home now and be slated by the media I'm sure and that could result in him going back on drugs etc etc... But when I fail at something I don't have to turn to drugs.. why does he? I know he's had his problems but perhaps it's time he just stood up and held himself accountable for his actions (jusus I sound like my mother:P)

yes I fear for his health too I suppose and it's just unfortunate that so much expectation was put on this team because anything less than a world cup victory was going to be considered failure as far as I can see..

eagle eye

No way you can feel sorry for him. He really was not up to the job and questions have to be asked as to why he was given it in the first place.

wandatowell

I feel sorry for his tailor

eagle eye

eagle eye wrote: »

No way you can feel sorry for him. He really was not up to the job and questions have to be asked as to why he was given it in the first place.

That's more like it.

Of course he was gonna take it once offered.

IvySlayer

He picked his squad and tactics. No sympathy. They looked OK against Nigeria, good against SK and Greece, but that was down to individual players. Tactically, they weren't a cohesive unit.

They got lucky against Mexico, Germany just outclassed them. Not bringing Zanetti and Cambiasso was a joke.

Yakult

nope, teams win and lose. they'll get over it!

TonyD79

He left out the 3 players that would have made the difference against German Cambiasso, Riquelme and Zanetti. They were allways going be found out but I thought that would be by Brazil or Spain not the Germans

cooker3

I feel sorry for Messi far more then Maradona.

titan18

Ya,kinda,think he had a hard time of things.Zanetti was terrible when he played for Argentina, Cambiasso should be there but he isn't better than Mascherano, and if Riquelme was brought, he doesn't get in ahead of him or Veron,who I can only presume wasn't fit to play.

I'd criticize him for other things,playing Higuain over Milito, bringing Palermo and not playing him.Basic gameplan seemed to revolve around getting the ball to Tevez and Messi and he didn't really have an alternative,particularly after Veron got injured.Seemed hesitant to change things today aswell, when maybe bringing on Veron or Milito,Aguero earlier or Palermo as he'd offer something different would have been a possible choice.

x in the city

the best player in the world he once was, but leaving out cambiasso was a epic fail

he had no tactics at all, the lads on rte were right when i think giles said he just picks a team, gets them into a hudddle and sends them off into the pitch.

germany on the other hand are tactical masters, the biggest losers are the ones who didnt back them throught the wc at quite astronomical odds (my included )

Xavi6

He made some strange decisions and has ultimately paid for them. That's the way it goes.

Having said that, I wouldn't have brought Riquelme either.

happydayz182

x in the city wrote: »

the best player in the world he once was, but leaving out cambiasso was a epic fail

he had no tactics at all, the lads on rte were right when i think giles said he just picks a team, gets them into a hudddle and sends them off into the pitch.

germany on the other hand are tactical masters, the biggest losers are the ones who didnt back them throught the wc at quite astronomical odds (my included )

and the loosers who piled on them for the serbia match(which i thought there were excellent in) an have held back since...

and will pile on them for the spain match...when they lose 0-1:(

x in the city

Im putting 100e on whatever this guy says

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/sport/soccer/article_1567229.php/Psychic-octopus-predicts-Germany-will-beat-Argentina

Diabhal Beag

He did OK. He brought them to an acceptable round of the WC. He was beaten by the better side but his defense was always going to do him over. Leaving out Zanetti and Cambiasso was ridiculous and he could have used them today (How the **** does Cambiasso get left out when Jonas Guttierez is playing?).

Germany have a great team and I would love to see them win the World Cup.

Carcharodon

I feel sorry for him in respect to a joke he became through the years due to him being in the spotlight since a child and people taking advantage of him through out his life.

And then made coach based on him being viewed as a God but clearly he lacks the real management skills.

fullstop

After the Schweinsteiger jibe, no

Nemanja91

Not in the least, I just don;t like them man.

flahavaj

I'll be sorry to see the back of him in this tournament in terms of the great entertainment he provided on the touchline etc.

But he was a poor choice of manager. While he undoubtedly got them playing with committment, his formation and tactics were mental and the team was way way too lopsided, not to mention his misuse of the best player in the world. How they could have done with Zanetti to handle Podolski and Cambiasso to go toe to toe with Schwiensteiger this afternoon.

kinaldo

He's an arrogant clown who I have no sympathy for at all. He can certainly dish it out but he can't take it. He should also never have been given the job in the first place. Any decent coach with all that talent at their disposal should be getting to the final or semi final at least.

tdv123

titan18 wrote: »

Ya,kinda,think he had a hard time of things.Zanetti was terrible when he played for Argentina, Cambiasso should be there but he isn't better than Mascherano, and if Riquelme was brought, he doesn't get in ahead of him or Veron,who I can only presume wasn't fit to play.

I'd criticize him for other things,playing Higuain over Milito, bringing Palermo and not playing him.Basic gameplan seemed to revolve around getting the ball to Tevez and Messi and he didn't really have an alternative,particularly after Veron got injured.Seemed hesitant to change things today aswell, when maybe bringing on Veron or Milito,Aguero earlier or Palermo as he'd offer something different would have been a possible choice.

Thats because Maradona played him as CB. Thats like Ferguson telling Evra to play at center back.

Cambiasso had a much better season than Mascherano & Riquelme is in a different classs to Veron mate.



Here's what the basics of the team would have looked liked if any sane manager was in charge.

---

Mascherano

---

Cambiasso----

---

Riquelme

---

Messi

---

Tevez

---

Higuain/Aguero

---

Here's what Maradona had.

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Mascherano

---

Maxi

---

Di Maria

---

Messi

---

Tevez

---

Higuain

---

Boskowski

The Houston Chronicle (Wikipedia) wrote:

To understand the gargantuan shadow Maradona casts over his soccer-mad homeland, one has to conjure up the athleticism of Michael Jordan, the power of Babe Ruth — and the human fallibility of Mike Tyson. Lump them together in a single barrel-chested man with shaggy black hair and you have El Diego, idol to the millions who call him D10S, a mashup of his playing number and the Spanish word for God.

.

Shanotheslayer

Gutted for Messi.

Boskowski

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Gutted for Messi.

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I'm sure he'll get over it with all the millions and Champ League titles and whatnots

Dublin_Gunner

I don't feel the slightest bit sorry for Maradona, or for Messi as many have stated.

Messi had an awful tournament. He was uncreative, couldn't shoot, lacked pace and imagination. Nope, that noone's fault but his own.

Sure, Diego picked some strange squads (how could he leave Veron out, after havign a couple of masterful games???)

How or why he had Maxi & Di Maria playing is another curiosity, as well as not giving Aguero enough time at all.

Nope, they just weren't good enough when it came to the crunch, even though they'd shown signs of excellence in earlier games.

Shanotheslayer

Boskowski wrote: »

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I'm sure he'll get over it with all the millions and Champ League titles and whatnots

They are not World Cups

Daemonic

Don't feel sorry for him or Argentina. Diego as manager was something they had to get past at some point, now he's had the job they can move on and employ someone who can get a balance between the undoubted attacking ability and the need to do the dirty work of defending and winning the ball so Messi et al can do their thing.
Messi, Aguero, Higuain etc. will all be in their prime in Brazil in 4 years and what could be sweeter for Argentina than to win the World Cup on enemy territory

JerryHandbag

A little bit....I'll miss his antics on the sideline whenever Argentina scored. He had that kind of passion almost like he was a fan as well as the manager, when you compare him to some of the other managers, Del Bosque for example who barely raises an eyelid when Spain score!

However, its true he was out of his depth in a tactical sense. But looking at pictures of him right now, after the 3rd goal went in, he looked a broken man close to tears. He's had his glory days and brought so much joy to football over the years, today might well be his swansong.

titan18

tdv123 wrote: »

Thats because Maradona played him as CB. Thats like Ferguson telling Evra to play at center back.

Cambiasso had a much better season than Mascherano & Riquelme is in a different classs to Veron mate.

Zanetti played at right back for Argentina and was really poor.He plays midfield for Inter most of the time, not at right back.As bad as Otamendi was today,I don't think Zanetti would have done better.If he had brought Zanetti and he was ripped apart by Podolski today, some people would have criticised him for bringing a guy almost 37.

Mascherano is a better defensive midfielder than Cambiasso.I like Cambiasso and he should have been brought.Also,I think it might have just been the way I worded it, but I didn't mean to say that Veron was better than Riquelme, it was meant to be that if Cambiasso and Riquelme was brought, Cambiasso would imo be 4th choice midfielder after Mascherano,Riquelme and Veron.

Much like Dunga,I'm pretty sure people would have criticized Maradona if he failed to win the WC with the team he had.

eagle eye

titan18 wrote: »

Zanetti played at right back for Argentina and was really poor.He plays midfield for Inter most of the time, not at right back.As bad as Otamendi was today,I don't think Zanetti would have done better.If he had brought Zanetti and he was ripped apart by Podolski today, some people would have criticised him for bringing a guy almost 37.

Mascherano is a better defensive midfielder than Cambiasso.I like Cambiasso and he should have been brought.Also,I think it might have just been the way I worded it, but I didn't mean to say that Veron was better than Riquelme, it was meant to be that if Cambiasso and Riquelme was brought, Cambiasso would imo be 4th choice midfielder after Mascherano,Riquelme and Veron.

Much like Dunga,I'm pretty sure people would have criticized Maradona if he failed to win the WC with the team he had.

Maradona could have played any number of formations that would have made this Argentinian team World Cup winners imo.

He could and should have had all three of Cambiasso, Riquelme and Zanetti in that squad.

Zanetti isn't really that important though, although he is a better full back than anybody he did play.

Anyways he could have played

---

Cambiasso---Mascherano

---

---

Riquelme

---

Messi

---

Tevez

---

Aguero

or any two of Tevez, Higuain, Aguero, Millito and Di Maria in attack. With Cambiasso and Mascherano sitting in front they would stop pretty much everything and Riquelme or Veron would create just like Xavi does for Spain.

He could also have used this formation

---

Mascherano

---

Veron

---

Riquelme
Messi

---

Tevez

---

Aguero

This would work too with Veron being buzzing around in a deeper role like he does for Estudiantes. Again you can have your choice of attackers. You can use Cambiasso instead of Mascherano if you wish as it doesn't really make a huge difference, they are both world class in that role.

What he did was just unbelievable having Maxi Rodriguez lost in midfield, Di Maria attacking on either side, Tevez and Higuain in each others way almost, and Messi having to come deep to get near the ball. He left arguably Argentina's best player in this World Cup on the bench for the last two games and that is Juan Sebastien Veron.

cooker3

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

I don't feel the slightest bit sorry for Maradona, or for Messi as many have stated.

Messi had an awful tournament. He was uncreative, couldn't shoot, lacked pace and imagination. Nope, that noone's fault but his own.

Rubbish, He had roughly 30 shots on goal, hit the post 2 or 3 times, provided assists and set up moves. As for lacking pace... did you watch any match? He didn't play as well as he has for Barcelona but to describe it as an awful tournament is laughable.

x in the city

http://blog.jameslist.com/2010/diego-maradona-prefers-double-hublot-wrist-watches/


diego wont be needing many watches now..:o


10grand a pop for them watches. lololz

UnknownSpecies

I'm only sorry that he didn't have to run through t streets of Buenos Aires naked

x in the city

dorgasm wrote: »

I'm only sorry that he didn't have to run through t streets of Buenos Aires naked

that would have been epic, I loved Diego as a player, easily the best ever I have seen.

(got an ultra rare 86 Argentina '10' jersey stacked away...:D), but as a manager he is clue less. and he seem ****ting himself during the entire game which is not good, it would pass onto his team.

compared that to jody, he was coolness personified, the whole german team was mustard. simple

Dave!

No, he shouldn't have taken the job

Jazzy

Negative

inforfun

The man once did this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebs7Qe2nmOI

And will therefor always have my sympathy.


The problem with Brazil and Argentine is/was that they both had a couple of positions in the team where they had to play players who were of much lesser quality than the rest of the team. Holland and Germany exploited that.

Maradona provided entertainment on and off the pitch.
Compare that to the likes of Hitzfeld and Rehagel who were only there to park buses.