Buenos Aires - The appointment of football legend Diego Maradona to the post of coach to Argentina's national team coach was met with cautious surprise by fans in the football-crazy South American country.
While Maradona's past talent as a footballer is never questioned, many are casting doubts on his ability to coach the senior team, based on his scarce experience managing club teams and the poor results he obtained in the effort.
The former footballer's troubled personality, complete with drug and alcohol abuse that put his life at risk in recent years, also cast a shadow over the appointment.
However, in recent months Maradona has appeared serene and has reportedly stayed away from past addictions.
The Argentine daily La Nacion described Wednesday as "daring" the decision that the Association of Argentine Football (AFA) made just a few hours earlier.
"Diego is risking the Maradona myth," the daily noted.
It spoke of the "fear of seeing the Maradona myth sitting on a bench that very much resembles an electric chair." The legendary former player will thus "expose his idyllic dimension - and also his human defects - to the mistakes and the common happenings of an earthly task," La Nacion noted.
"As a fan, having Diego in the Argentine bench is inspiring," the sports daily Ole said. "It is his best moment, he looks lucid, close to the players."
However, it admitted that as a coach he is an "unknown."
An opinion poll that the online edition of the Argentine Clarin carried out late Tuesday showed that 36,096 voters, 73.9 per cent of the total, disagreed with the appointment.
Maradona has had two experiences as coach - at the Argentine clubs Deportivo Mandiyu and Racing Club - but both were in the mid-1990s and his teams showed poor results.
In the national team, he is set to head a team which will also feature Carlos Bilardo - the coach of the team around Maradona that won the 1986 World Cup - as manager and possibly other members of that winning team.
"It will be me who makes the team and who disposes it on the pitch," Maradona warned.
AFA was set to confirm the designation Thursday, the day of Maradona's 48th birthday. (dpa)
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