Sports
DIEGO Maradona has warned the Argentina coach, Jorge Sampaoli, to step up his game at the World Cup or forget about coming back to Argentina.
Maradona was incensed by what he saw as a lack of preparation in his nation’s disappointing draw against Iceland and blamed the coach, reports Goal.com
Diego Maradona suggested that Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli find a new country to call home if he continues to underachieve at the 2018 World Cup.
The 1986 World Cup winner stole the show in Moscow on Saturday as he took in his nation’s first game of the finals.
And the Albiceleste legend pulled no punches in registering his displeasure at what he saw from Sampaoli and his players.
“If he carries on like this, can’t come back to Argentina,” he fired in Telesur’s ‘De la mano del Diez’ show.
“It is appalling not to have a single prepared move. Knowing that all the Icelandic players are 6’3″ we looked for headers at all the corners. We didn’t do a single short one.”
Maradona said that the blame for the draw laid solely on the ex-Chile and Sevilla coach, who has previously faced criticism from the man who led Argentina to the quarter-finals in the 2010 World Cup.
“His game plan was a disgrace. I don’t blame the players. I blame a lack of preparation because there obviously hasn’t been any,” Maradona added.
“The time for talk is over. You can take 25 coaches with you, but do some work – we saw that Iceland had worked harder than Argentina and that hurt me a lot.”
Argentina resume their World Cup campaign against Group D leaders Croatia, who triumphed 2-0 over Nigeria in their World Cup opener. – Punch
– Jun. 19, 2018 @ 14:39 GMT |
Tags: 2018 World Cup: Don’t come back to Argentina If you continue like this Maradona tells coach
