Maradona to trim squad on his return from ban
Source: Agencies |
January 27, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ARGENTINA coach Diego Maradona began gearing up for the difficult task of trimming his vast player base by more than two thirds for this year's World Cup finals.
Maradona has called up more than 90 players for 15 matches, eight of them World Cup qualifiers, since his first game in charge, a friendly against Scotland in Glasgow in November 2008.
"They say I've called up a lot of players but I ask what trainer has played local matches? None," Maradona said referring to having picked squads of exclusively home-based players for friendlies in Argentina.
"So, of course I called up many, but I want to see them all," he told a news conference in the western city of San Juan where a team of home-based players will play Costa Rica in a friendly match.
"First I have to make a list of 30 and afterwards there will be 23 left for the World Cup," Maradona said.
Maradona has just returned from South Africa, where he visited Argentina's Pretoria base for the June 11-July 11 World Cup finals. His 23-man squad is expected to be made up largely of European-based players, the cream of Argentine footballers who were predominant in the qualifying matches.
However, the team played poorly and inexperienced coach Maradona resorted to looking for more and more options at home.
"Tomorrow we'll see the development of the locally-based players and see what we can get from the local national team," Maradona said.
Maradona made his trip to South Africa after serving a two-month suspension, which ended on January 15, for insults directed at reporters at a news conference in Montevideo after a 1-0 win over Uruguay secured Argentina's World Cup berth.
"(The ban) was very hard but it's past and now I'm only thinking about the World Cup," said Maradona, who missed the draw in Cape Town on December 4 when Argentina was drawn in a group with Nigeria, Greece and South Korea.
"Those two months were very painful. I asked FIFA if I could pay a fine with my money and not to distance me from the players but I couldn't do absolutely anything, just speak to the players on the phone. I don't wish it on anybody."
Maradona has called up more than 90 players for 15 matches, eight of them World Cup qualifiers, since his first game in charge, a friendly against Scotland in Glasgow in November 2008.
"They say I've called up a lot of players but I ask what trainer has played local matches? None," Maradona said referring to having picked squads of exclusively home-based players for friendlies in Argentina.
"So, of course I called up many, but I want to see them all," he told a news conference in the western city of San Juan where a team of home-based players will play Costa Rica in a friendly match.
"First I have to make a list of 30 and afterwards there will be 23 left for the World Cup," Maradona said.
Maradona has just returned from South Africa, where he visited Argentina's Pretoria base for the June 11-July 11 World Cup finals. His 23-man squad is expected to be made up largely of European-based players, the cream of Argentine footballers who were predominant in the qualifying matches.
However, the team played poorly and inexperienced coach Maradona resorted to looking for more and more options at home.
"Tomorrow we'll see the development of the locally-based players and see what we can get from the local national team," Maradona said.
Maradona made his trip to South Africa after serving a two-month suspension, which ended on January 15, for insults directed at reporters at a news conference in Montevideo after a 1-0 win over Uruguay secured Argentina's World Cup berth.
"(The ban) was very hard but it's past and now I'm only thinking about the World Cup," said Maradona, who missed the draw in Cape Town on December 4 when Argentina was drawn in a group with Nigeria, Greece and South Korea.
"Those two months were very painful. I asked FIFA if I could pay a fine with my money and not to distance me from the players but I couldn't do absolutely anything, just speak to the players on the phone. I don't wish it on anybody."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
