Comments on: Emotions in football

By: Miguel Rosado

Miguel Rosado — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:40:29 +0000

Bilardo will be behind him, he knows so much about football and will play a major role in that coaching staff.

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:10:42 +0000

Pfff, I hope the Argentinian football association lurks here… Well said Bob. I also believe that to be a successful coach these days, you need to be a good people manager (this is not something top class players like Maradona or Van Basten ever had to learn before this job) and you need to understand the “technicalities” of coaching: nutrition, physical condition, biorhythm, team work, etc etc…

I am not against Maradona and I loved watching him (bar the disgraceful hand ball against England!!) but this is not good. I think…

And no , Ghost, I’m not John Galt as far as I know… But I’d like to be!
He gets the girl in the end, doesn’t he?

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:22:59 +0000

In thinking about situations when truly excellent players have become truly excellent coaches, two come quickly to mind–Cruijff and Beckenbauer. As players, both were gifted physically, instinctively and mentally in all facets of the game of football. The mental understanding of the sport then transferred nicely into highly effective (and occasionally brilliant!) coaching. I believe that Bergkamp has the same potential, that is, to become an excellent coach. He shared the same qualities as Cruijff and Beck, as a player, so the mental intelligence should translate to coaching, if Dennis works at it.

Maradona is a different person altogether. Physically and instinctively–certainly one of the best ever. Mentally–very limited. It showed most when his physical skills started to leave him (at a relatively early age). He did not have the intelligent understanding of the sport that would have allowed him to play well even though his physical gifts were diminished. As to training, tactics and strategies–I agree with the bloggers who see no reasonable expectation of Maradona to have those mental skills. In addition, he apparently has problems with addictive behaviors, which often are exacerbated under stress. So, a long term, happy choice for Argentina? I think not.

By: chatchat

chatchat — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:53:37 +0000

I am all for Maradona coaching Argentina! Then Oranje will have a better chance in 2010!!

By: finnster01

finnster01 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:15:21 +0000

Maradona coaching Argentina makes about as much sense as brushing the dust of Greenspan for the Fed… The lad has completely lost his marbles and you would think a country like Argentina could do a bit better than that? That is making a mockery out of the fine art of coaching.

Besides, don’t they have to be qualified coaches these days? What kind of FIFA coaching credentials does Maradona have? I doubt he could pass his driver license exam.

By: Carlos

Carlos — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:12:10 +0000

I personally think Maradona is a worse case than Gascoigne. Apart from his cocaine habit, what about shooting reporters with an air rifle and a host of things you expect from a spoilt 12 y old ?
Am a big fan of Messi and Riquelme and Argentina can play some great football. But when you hire someone for an imprtant post surely you do a little personality and background check. Don’t think Marco can even be mentioned with Gascoigne and Maradona – character and civilised wise !

By: sims

sims — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:10:44 +0000

MVB not a psycho drug addled looney bird.

By: Michel-Olivier

Michel-Olivier — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:50:31 +0000

@ sims
come on, maradona is no gascoigne. if marco can do it why not diego

By: sims

sims — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:44:48 +0000

@MO, How many chances does this guy get before you admit he’s a pysch patient?

By: Michel-Olivier

Michel-Olivier — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:59:40 +0000

it’s not official yet