BUENOS AIRES -THE end of Maradona's tenure at the helm of Argentina's national team has dealt a hard blow to his fans, even though his performance as coach was a far cry from his genius as a player.
Maradona accused Argentine soccer chiefs on Wednesday of conspiring to oust him and many fans think he deserved a more dignified exit despite Argentina's disappointing showing at the World Cup. 'He is an iconic figure and deserved a more graceful farewell,' said Federico Garcia, 33, who works in retail.
'Here in Argentina, we love Maradona. I think the heads of the AFA (Argentine Football Association) kicked him out in a dodgy way.' AFA's executive committee voted unanimously not to renew Maradona's contract as coach on Tuesday, citing 'unbridgeable differences' with the former player, who led Argentina to World Cup victory as captain in 1986.
A solemn Maradona retaliated the following day saying he had been 'betrayed' by soccer chiefs and that he had not been given enough time to shine. 'You know that my cycle lasted only for one and a half years. It was the shortest tenure in the past 35 years,' he said.
In downtown Buenos Aires, many people said Maradona was 'stabbed in the back' and that he was not given a proper shot at running the squad.
'He didn't do such a bad job as coach. We haven't been beyond the quarter-finals in a World Cup since 1990, so I don't think he did much worse than others given that the team was in disarray when he took over,' said Claudio Yago, 54, who owns a newspaper stand. -- REUTERS
