Diego Maradona said on Tuesday he was on the brink of being appointed Argentina coach. “It's a bit early for congratulations but it's an idea which seduces me,” he told the Fox Sports cable television channel in a telephone interview. “We will continue talking tomorrow.” “The idea is to start working immediately after the official announcement with the players who are in Argentina and then take the first plane to talk to the ones in Europe,” said Maradona. The former Argentina captain had earlier met with Argentina Football Association (AFA) President Julio Grondona. “He has decided for this project,” Maradona told Radio La Red after the meeting. “It appears that Julio never had any other coach in mind.” Carlos Bilardo, who managed the 1986 World Cup-winning team led by Maradona, was also at the meeting and is expected to be part of his staff. Maradona would replace Alfio Basile, who quit after the 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat by Chile two weeks ago. Maradona faced competition for the job from Carlos Bianchi, the former coach of Boca Juniors, whom he led to four national league titles, San Lorenzo coach Miguel Angel Russo and Sergio Batista who took the Under-23 squad to Olympic gold in Beijing in August. Maradona is a gifted yet controversial figure whose off-field antics could never overshadow his brilliance on the pitch. The pint-sized midfielder is widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time. He shared FIFA's Player of the Century award with Brazilian legend Pele. A glittering career at national level brought him a World Cup winners medal in Mexico in 1986 - the same tournament as the infamous ‘Hand of God' incident against England in the quarterfinals. He was also part of the team that came runnerup four years later in Italy after a shameful 1-0 defeat against West Germany which saw two of its players sent-off. At club level he played for Boca Juniors, before moving to Barcelona for two seasons in 1982. After Spain he moved to Napoli, his bustling play and talismanic presence driving the Neapolitans to two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990 and a UEFA Cup triumph in 1989. He finished his career at Boca in 1997, having retired from the national team three years earlier. But controversy was never far from the dark-haired maestro. He was twice banned for drug infringements, he was linked to the Mafia and was not fond of paparazzi intrusion into his private life. However, it is the illegal goal against England that towers above all else. The goal came during Argentina's 2-1 win over England, when he rose above keeper Peter Shilton to punch the ball into the net. Despite English protests the referee never spotted the incident and the goal stood. Michel Platini, UEFA president, once remarked: “The things I could do with a ball, he could do with an orange”.
