Diego Maradona has called on the Argentina Football Association to give him another crack at managing the national team after accusing Jorge Sampaoli of throwing away the team’s prestige.
Argentina, who qualified in the final round if fixtures for the World Cup in Russia, were humbled at home in a 4-2 defeat by Nigeria on Tuesday evening to leave the former Sevilla manager on the brink.
Maradona not only claimed it was time for Sampaoli to go, but suggested that he would be the prime candidate to replace him after comparing his winning record to any of Argentina’s recent managers.
The list of statistics shows that Maradona’s winning record of 75 per cent, achieved between 2008 and 2010 as Argentina coach, is the highest out of any manager since Cesar Luis Menotti’s reign in the 1960s.
Writing on Instagram, Maradona said: ‘Who won more? Make your own conclusions. I am furious because they are throwing away our prestige, but it is not the fault of the lads. ‘I want to return.’
Maradona was sacked as Argentina coach after an unsuccessful World Cup 2010 campaign
Argentina were booed off the pitch after submitting to defeat against Nigeria, in which they threw away a 2-0 lead and conceded three times in the second half to leave confidence ahead of the 2018 tournament at an all-time low.
Maradona took Argentina to the World Cup in 2010 by the skin of their teeth, finishing fourth in the South American qualifying group with the same number of points (28) that Sampaoli’s side achieved this year.
He was unceremoniously sacked after a 4-0 defeat by Germany in the quarter-finals in South Africa. It was later claimed by the legendary player that he could have continued had he allowed the AFA to replace his entire coaching team.
