Maradona's dreaming job

Former Napoli star Diego Maradona dreams to return to club as manager. "I would like to manage Napoli when Benítez leaves," he told. ‘Maradona’s crazy!’ is the general thought when you came to talk about former Pibe de Oro. And crazy was his manager career, started dating back to 2008, when he took over Argentina’s manager job. And the turmoil continued during his brief stint with UAE Pro League’s side of Al Wasl, when his contract was terminated in July 2013, just 14 months into his two-year deal, as team failed to offer enough signs of progress under his regime. Everywhere he went, his stewardship were tempestuous at least. Arguments about his tactics knowledge can go on for years. He started 2010 World Cup campaign changing Argentina’s shape slightly, having the main goal to set team’s tactics in the way to let Lionel Messi shine. The tournament ended in a mess with Diego Maradona’s side literally trashed by Germany 4-0. Argentina struggled for fluidity and showed defensive weakness. There was little element of tactics to talking about. He fielded his team mainly into a 4-4-2 diamond formation playing with a surprisingly high line. He instructed his full-backs to don’t allow past the halfway line in a moment when they became the most important players in the modern teams. “Why do they need to cross the halfway line?”, he once said, “that’s what my wingers are for.” He asked Messi to play as attacking midfielder, a position in which Barcelona’s star isn’t suited, behind the attacking pair of Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain. He left Argentina’s three central midfielders with too much work to do with the result they were outnumbered in the key clash against Germany. He tried to build a defensive-oriented team based 7 players defending while the offensive trio was given a free role with the result to have a team relatively able to keep possession well but no to shut games down. The fantastic football his team promised behind   Tévez, Messi, Angel di Maria and Higuain never apparead. Maradona paid for his controversial tactics and found himself out of job with the Argentine Football Association that opted not to renew his contract. After his experience with Argentina was over, Maradona found a job as Al Wasl manager. But Maradona’s reign with Wasl was characterized by a number of controversies off field, while his side struggled on field with the result that chairman Marwan bin Bayat, the man who hired him, resigned following disappointing showings. So he was sacked after just 14 months in charge. As manager, Maradona has to grow a lot. But perhaps – and it might be a big perhaps – he could still be able to do that Sir Alex Ferguson has always done at Manchester United or what Jurgen Klinsmann has done with Germany, i.e. enhance team spirit following excessive but efficient rants, not coaching and leave the tactical side of the game into the hand of a more expert tactician. Could it works with Napoli or in a league such as Serie A, which required thinking tacticians on the bench? Maybe or maybe not. Surely Napoli’s fans are enjoying watching Benitez’s side and still want to continue to do it. Leave the ‘Maradona dream’ or ‘nightmare’ alone.