Currently wishing he could return to his playing days.
So the unmitigated disaster that has been Maradona, National Team manager edition, is hard for all to comprehend...except, of course, for all of those who (rationally) somehow foresaw the likelihood of failure...having lost four out of their last five, including a 3-1 home defeat to Brazil, Argentina, under Maradona's tutelage, has now relinquished its automatic qualification spot for next year's World Cup in South Africa.
Based on these managerial results, Argentines now seem to be reassessing their beliefs concerning their national football deity, in a way all the cocaine and the disqualification from WC 1994 for doping never could
To be fair, the god-like status and popular pull of he who scored via "the Hand of God" would be hard for any national federation to resist, but that does not obviate the fact that Maradona was grossly under-qualified as a coach having managed previously only with short (unsuccessful) stints at Manadiyu and Racing Club. Perhaps, instead of just taking lessons from Brazil on the pitch, the federation should've followed their off it as well. What does that mean? Well, Dunga was not the most popular manager, but his side has already qualified for South Africa with time to spare
Maradona, THE PLAYER, has rightfully reached a certain level of mythic proportion, given his service to both country and in raising the overall level of play, but this coaching stint is a losing proposition in the Michael Jordan/Washington Wizards kind of way, aka even worse than say the Michael Jordan/Professional Baseball Blip way (because, at that point, MJ still could come back, play, and win, thereby erasing all memory of previous sport-switching insanity)
So, if Argentina fails *shudder* to qualify for South Africa 2010, it is hard to see how Mr. Maradona's personal popularity wouldn't suffer, for absent lacing up his cleats again and putting the team on his back, he will have failed his country in the most glaring of ways
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