Diego Maradona has left his post as Argentina boss after a
unanimous vote from the Argentine Football Association.
Maradona had been offered a new four-year contract but said he
would only continue on condition that his backroom staff remained.
He met with AFA president Julio Grondona on Monday, but the
differences between the parties could not be resolved.
Grondona revealed details of the talks to the board on Tuesday
and AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo has now confirmed
Maradona's deal will not be renewed.
There was a big chasm that made it impossible to find an
agreement," he said. "We will not renew the contract. For the match
against Spain, scheduled for September 7, we may already have the
new coach.
"It is difficult to agree. The hardest difference to agree on
was changing some of Diego's staff. Nobody has been sacked. A
contract has not been extended because the conditions were not the
suitable. When you cannot agree with somebody you love, you are not
happy at all. I always want to talk to him, but sometimes it is
difficult because this is not the best moment.''
Other AFA board members appeared less saddened by the situation,
however. General secretary Jose Luis Meiszner told cable channel
C5N: "I would be hypocrite if I didn't admit there was a general
disliking of several aspects of the cycle that ended with the World
Cup. We did not see any intention to show humility, to say things
should have been done better. There was no evaluation, no review,
no conclusions. These are the things you have to think about in
order to think about the future.''
Luis Segura, a member of the executive committee and former
secretary of national teams, added: "He made it too difficult for
us. He rejected all changes. Diego said he did not want any
changes. That's unfair.''
A statement on the AFA website added: "The president of the
Argentinean Football Association, Mr Julio Grondona, made the
members of the executive committee aware of the conversation with
Mr Diego Maradona, setting out the points which had come out from
the meeting.
"The executive committee unanimously resolved not to renew the
contract with Mr Diego Maradona as coach of the Argentina national
football team."
Maradona faced heavy criticism during his time in charge of the
national side, with the team struggling during qualification for
this summer's World Cup before exiting at the quarter-final stage
with a 4-0 defeat to Germany.
Grondona, though, had defended Maradona's performance in South
Africa and suggested last week that he
expected him to remain in charge.
Estudiantes boss Alejandro Sabella, Racing Club's Miguel Angel
Russo and Sergio Batista - currently in charge of the country's
Under-20 side - are believed to be in the running for the position.
Batista, who took Argentina's under-23 side to gold at the 2008
Olympics, will manage the team for the international friendly
against the Republic of Ireland on August 11.
Grondona suggested Batista might remain in charge for some time
as no candidates were yet in the frame for the full-time
position.
"We have time to choose the technical staff,'' he said. "We have
not thought about anybody yet. Batista is a member of the staff of
this body so he will obviously fill the place as long as is
needed.''
