This photo is back when the "Hand of God" spent most of its time shovelling bisteca in his boca, but today Argentina announced that the skinnier version of Diego Maradona will be their new head coach. Maradona has had two stints as a coach for Argentinian clubs, but neither lasted more than a year. His last job in football was playing for Boca Juniors, and that was more than ten years ago. Since then he has spent more time in the tabloids than in the football(soccer) world. He has been in and out of the hospital with various problems, supports left-wing political causes and has appeared on a number of game shows. Certain countries are identified with a star player. Brazil with Pele, Germany with Beckenbauer, the Netherlands with Cruyff and Argentina with Maradona. His performance in the 1986 World Cup almost singlehandedly won the title for Argentina. He will not bring the tactical expertise of a Mourinho or Capello, but he will offer a personality that none in football(soccer) can rival. Considering that Argentina is one of the favorites to win the next World Cup, and with a young squad containing Aguerro, Messi, Tevez, Mascherano and Saviola just to name a few, this is an interesting decision. One thing about the Argentinians, they're unpredictable.
There was only one game in England today, a classic six-pointer between Newcastle and West Brom. Newcastle defeated West Bromwich Albion 2-1 thanks to a Joey Barton penalty and Martins header. Ishmael Miller scored the only goal for the Baggies. The victory takes Newcastle out of the relegation zone and into 15th place with 9 points. WBA have hit a serious skid, and currently sit in 13th with 10 points. A number of people(myself included) have praised their attacking style, but it seems to leave them quite open and result in a number of goals being scored against them. It's a tough loss for the Baggies, especially when a lout(idiot) like Barton scores, and Mowbray may need to rethink his strategy to stop their slide.One Liners
- Ramos blames transfer policy at Spurs, now everybody but the groundskeeper has had a finger pointed at them
- Mourinho drops Adriano for disciplinary reasons, won't be too long until he's back in Brazil
- Ronaldo wants to stay in Brazil, can't wait to be teammates with Adriano
- Ferguson compares Blatter to an African despot, that's about right
- Wenger says Tony Adams is ready, but this is also a man who has sixteen year olds playing for him
