BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona has found another job he’d like — coach of Boca Juniors.
Almost five months after being released as Argentina coach, Maradona said he like to lead Boca Juniors, the Buenos Aires club where he became a star.
The favorite to take over Boca is Banfield coach Julio Cesar Falcioni, but Maradona seems to be lobbying hard for the job.
Maradona acknowledged on Thursday in an interview with the magazine Gente that he’d need to mend his relationship with Boca’s top player Juan Roman Riquelme. Riquelme played briefly for Maradona on the national team, but then declined to continue — apparently angry that Maradona had criticized his style of play.
"I’d die to lead Boca, but first I should talk with Riquelme," Maradona told the magazine. "There are many things I have to talk about with many people."
The Boca position became available when Claudio Borghi resigned last month. Interim coach Roberto Pompei has handled the team since then and Boca is expected to name a new coach before the Clausura opens in January.
In addition to Falcioni, Racing coach Miguel Angel Russo has been mentioned as a candidate, along with Carlos Bianchi, who is out of a coaching job.
Maradona, 50, was dismissed as Argentina coach following a humiliating 4-0 loss to Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals. The Argentina Football Association would have kept Maradona, but demanded he dismiss several of his assistant coaches as a condition for keeping the job.
Maradona declined and was let go in the midst of a national debate about coaching acumen.
Several months later, before Sergio Batista was named the new national coach, Maradona said he’d consider firing his assistants in order to get his job back.
Maradona remains popular and has popped up in public from time to time since losing his job, appearing at a recent Real Madrid training session and last week at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
