Gabriele Marcotti: Maradona appointment makes sense

Diego Maradona will be confirmed as the new Argentina coach next Tuesday.

The 1986 World Cup-winner says he is on the verge of accepting the job after a meeting with Julio Grondona, the president of Argentinian Football Association (AFA) late last night. Luis Segura, the secretary of the AFA, has since confirmed that Maradona will replace Alfio Basile, who stepped down on October 16 citing personal reasons.

"My first job will be watching the players," Maradona said. "I'll try to talk to them one by one and then work at the training camp in Ezeiza with them.

"I arrived from Georgia at 10am and three hours later I was having a shower to meet Julio. As I was going to the meeting, I thought it was some kind of hidden camera show.

"The direction Julio wants for the national team is the same I have. My job will be watching the players and picking up the ones who are in the best form."

The Argentina squad boasts some of the world's best players, but they are struggling to qualify for the 2010 World Cup having won only one of their past seven qualifying matches to lie third in the South American Zone.

"I'm putting everything aside for this," Maradona added. "There is nothing that can make me look past the national team. Today my path is the national team, my task is to talk to the players and build a solid group. I am sure the guys and Argentinian football will pull through.

"I think we must make the players understand that our shirt is the most important thing, that they cannot exchange money for glory.

"Glory is much more than money. I know they know that, but we must make them remember that every day. We have enough quality to calm the nation. The road to the World Cup is not easy, but I believe in the Argentinian players.

"Everybody wants to play at the World Cup but we must show our traditions and our style on the field."

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has given his full backing to Maradona's appointment, despite the former Argentina captain calling the Barcelona forward a selfish player earlier this month.

"Those are things that you say at the time," Messi said. "I know Diego appreciates me and I don't hold any grudges. There's no problem. He's a great and I admire him for what he gave to Argentine football."

"I'm optimistic. The generation that won the Olympics is coming up. In 2006, if we had been a bit more fortunate in the (quarter final) with Germany we would have won.

"Argentina has gone too long without winning the World Cup."