ARGENTINA: Maradona Says Brit Premier League Team Interested In His Hire.

ESPN/

     Diego Maradona, out of work since Argentina's humiliating elimination from the World Cup in July, says he is in preliminary talks with a British Premier League club about becoming their new manager.
   "In February I will be traveling to England to listening to a formal proposal from a team from there who wants to talk to me," said Maradona.  "If they convince me I might accept the position. I'm not desperate (but) I know that some day I'll be the coach again of some team."

ARGENTINA: Footballer Maradona Turns 50, His "Saddest Birthday;" Also Happy Pulpo Paul Died.

C.PRESS/        Diego Maradona turned 50, calling it the "saddest birthday" because of Argentina's loss in the World Cup. He said he began mourning when his team was knocked out of the World Cup.
          Recently, Maradona also tweeted that : “I am happy your gone Psychic Octopus, it’s your fault we lost the World Cup.”
          Pulpo Paul's passing was mourned by most of the world football community.

ARGENTINA: New Polls Say "Nunca" To Maradona Return.

AP/      New polls show that nine out of 10 Argentines DON'T want Diego Maradona back as coach of their national soccer team.
    Maradona was seen to be almost pleading in a recent TV interview saying "I'd give my life" to have the job again.
    He was fired after the team was defeated by Germany, 4-0 in the World Cup quarters.
  91.1 per cent of about 10,000 in the newspaper Clarin's poll said they did not want him back. In the La Nacion newspaper, 93 per cent of 6,185  were against Maradona's return.

ARGENTINA:1ST UPDATE:Is It Goodbye, Maradona? Apparently So.

LINK CHANGE/ BLOOMBERG/ UPDATE: 28 July/   
  National soccer coach Diego Maradona, who vowed to keep his entire coaching staff, ended his tenure after an impasse over staff members. The Argentine Football Association asked Maradona to fire seven staffers. He responded that he wouldn't renew his contract if the AFA dismissed even one of his staff. The AFA thus did not renew his contract. Sergio Batista, the coach of Argentina’s under-20 team will lead the senior squad in its next match on 11 August v Ireland.

ARGENTINA: MaradonaTo Continue As Soccer Coach.

MOMENTO24/       After speaking with Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona, Diego Maradona confirmed that he will continue coaching the national football team and will finalize the contract on Monday.

ARGENTINA: Thousands Cheer Return of Soccer Team.

TELEGRAPH/    Unlike the Brasilians in Rio, tens of thousands of Argentine fans warmly welcomed their returning soccer team despite a humiliating 4-0 defeat by Germany. And many also want Diego Maradona to remain as coach for next year's Copa America, which Argentina is hosting. One banner read: "May God let your enemies live long enough so they can stand up to applaud your successes." "I never expected people would react this way, but it's a huge joy," said player Jonas Guttierez. "The fans gave us an incredible amount of support. We are very angry because we wanted to stay in the competition for them, but could not." (Foto: EPA)

ARGENTINA: Crushed By Germany 4-0, Maradona Considers Resigning.

CP/GOOGLE/     The legendary renaissance of Diego Maradona is over. "I may leave tomorrow, but I'd like that these boys continue showing who they are and keep playing real Argentina football," Maradona said after the team's humiliating defeat to Germany. "I'll have to think carefully about it(the future) ... and talk with my family, and the players. There are many issues here. The day I stopped playing football could have been similar to this. The sadness is really strong, it is tough. We had a wish to go beyond today and be among the four best teams in the world. We had this dream and the opposite happened. I lived through this in 1982 as a player. I was a boy and didn't realize. Today, I am 50 in October and mature and it is the toughest day of my life. This is like a kick in the face. I have no more energy for anything." As to his nation's reaction to the defeat. "Are you joking?" he said. "This is a country where you live and breathe football. I don't think that any will be happy when the team loses 4-0." (Reuters foto)

CUBA: Soccer Fever Breaks Out In La Habana.

GLOBALPOST/ NICK MIROFF/      Cubans call soccer/futbol, simply "pelota." Enthusiasm for "pelota" is growing on the island where baseball is king, despite the fact that Cuba has not qualified for the World Cup since 1938. “We still have a long way to go,” said Yusniel Biscet, a 23-year-old mechanic wearing a bright yellow Brazilian soccer jersey. “We don’t have good fields here, or equipment, or coaches. There’s no tradition.”

MEXICO/ARGENTINA: Underdogs Take On Messi, Maradona And Legend.

LATIMES/         "Mexico does not have the weapons to win against a team like Argentina," Jose Ramon Fernandez, one of Mexico's top sports commentators, said in a radio interview. "Argentina has talented players and a good game. What does Mexico have? Nothing. It will look ridiculous."  A Mexican newspaper survey reported that more than two-thirds of Mexicans felt that their team would lose. Though Mexico defeated France 2-0, many believed it was the French team's implosion rather than Mexico's talent that was responsible for the victory.

ARGENTINA: Maradona Mellows After S.Korea Win.

AFP/GOOGLE/   "Everything is OK," Diego Maradona said after a workout, even praising players. Argentina struggled to qualify for South America and many wanted to dump Maradona, who led Argentina to their most recent World Cup triumph in 1986. But a 4-1 win over South Korea seems to have relaxed the nearly 50-year-old Argentine man/child coach.

ARGENTINA: Satire: Maradona Ejected For Bringing Beer On the Field.

ELCHIGUIREBIPOLAR.COM/ SATIRE/
Is this the truth or fiction about Argentina's futball coach celebrating after the recent match vs Nigeria?
Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 in their Group B opener in Johannesburg on Saturday with an outstanding performance from Lionel Messi.

ARGENTINA: World Cup Will Test Maradona's Legacy.

LAT/  Ken Bensinger/ LONG Profile/   Argentine's insist that Diego Maradona is the greatest player of all time. He's also the team's rookie coach for the 2010 World Cup and heads what one coach called the "most talented" in the 32 nation tourney. But odds makers don't like Argentina's chances because of Maradona. They think he's too inexperienced, too volatile, too unsophisticated and too arrogant
( protagonismo) and instead favor Spain and Brasil. "The years go by and Maradona continues to be the most popular athlete in the world, the most loved and also the most hated," said writer Eduardo Galeano.

Maradona Lashes Out Against Argentine Media And Its Soccer Coverage.

MERCOPRESS/
At a press conference in Montevideo at the end of the crucial match between Argentina and Uruguay, Coach Diego Maradona attacked Argentine journalists who he said smeared the image of the national team, and insulted them before the cameras.
After barley beating Uruguay 1-0, Maradona, who led his country to World Cup glory in 1986, used crude terms to attack repeatedly "those who did not believe" in him.