Buenos Aires - Argentine coach Jorge Valdano thinks it would be "risky" for former Argentina team-mate Diego Maradona to be appointed for the vacant position of national team coach, following the exit of Alfio Basile.

"Diego has not had an experience as coach, barring something sporadic, and it is not easy to be a coach. I think it is risky," Valdano told the Argentine television channel TyC Sports on Tuesday from Spain.

Valdano and Argentine football legend Maradona played together on the team that won the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

"It is very difficult to land in the national team without having had prior experience in clubs," Valdano said.

However, he stressed his "respect for Diego."

Following Basile's resignation last week, Maradona put himself forward as a candidate to coach Argentina. He 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.

There are other candidates for the position, including Argentina junior teams coach Sergio Batista, also a member of the 1986 World Cup squad and the recent winner of the Olympic football gold medal with Argentina in Beijing 2008.

Current San Lorenzo coach Miguel Angel Russo and former Boca Juniors coach Carlos Bianchi were also being billed as candidates.

The Association of Argentine Football (AFA) is reportedly set to announce its decision Monday. (dpa)