That has got to be the biggest news in world football at the time of writing. According to ESPN Soccernet, Diego Maradona, the druggie, the genius, the man who fired shots at journalists, has a church dedicated to him (that’s how ridiculous this world is these days), the talisman and most famously known for scoring THAT goal against England with his bare knuckles and attributing it to the “Hand of God” officially was unveiled as Argentina’s national coach. Being incredibly experienced in management having amassed an astonishing total of 8 months as a coach in two different teams, this guarantees to be either a spectacular failure or success. Besides the “Hand of God”, Maradona is held in almost complete reverence in Argentina having led them to the 1986 World Cup almost single handedly and for leading unfancied Napoli to two Italian league titles and the UEFA Cup. His appointment definitely generates great interest and the world will be looking forward to see if he can lead this vastly talented Argentina side to World Cup glory in 2010. Acknowledged by most as one of the best players in the world, second only to Pele, his journey starts in Glasgow against Scotland on November 19th. One thing’s for sure, he will need the Hand of God to get him the World cup.
After 6 years of trying, East Timor have actually avoided losing a game. Yes, 6 years! For those who wince about your team being rubbish etc. Spare a thought for these guys! East Timor were in fact, 10 mins away from beating Cambodia before conceding an equaliser in a 2-2 draw last week (Just imagine the celebrations). This amazing team of port workers, soldiers and part time workers do not earn a single cent for their commitments to international football. Now that’s love for the game indeed! They only boast one professional footballer in Alfredo Esteves who plays for Wollongong FC in New South Wales. There are no usable pitches in the country with little of the financial aid that has been given since gaining independence in 2002 flowing into sport. According to their talisman Esteves, all he hopes for is for a “patch of grass to play in” Things though, are starting to look better for the team that is rock bottom of the internationl football world rankings with this precious point gained against Cambodia and almost clinching a shock draw against Hong Kong a year ago. Will be following the trials and tribulations of this plucky team from here on on this site. Have a good weekend.
Cheers,
Dan
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