Argentina coach Diego Maradona refused to blame the negative effects of competing at altitude after his side were humiliated 6-1 by Bolivia on Wednesday, thus registering their worst defeat in 60 years.
Bolivia’s goals came from a Joaquin Botero hat-trick and Marcelo Martins, Alex Da Rosa and Didi Torrico, while Argentina found the net through Luis Gonzalez at La Paz’s high-altitude Hernando Siles’ stadium.
But the former World Cup winner, who thus suffered his first defeat since taking over as coach last year, refused to explain his faltering team’s performance on playing at 3,650m above sea level.
“No, the altitude was not an issue. We came up against a team that gave very little away and basically they were the better team,” Maradona said. “It seemed to me that Bolivia gave everything they had, they played well and showed us good football.”
That remark prompted applause from media representatives, apparently for Maradona’s sense of fair-play.
He added: “Whoever played against that Bolivian team would have suffered the same fate as us. I suffered with them [the players]. Every Bolivian goal was a dagger in my heart.”
Argentina goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo, who had a memorable night for the wrong reasons, was first beaten in the 12th minute by Bolivia striker Marcelo Martins, who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine.
However, the Argentines, twice world champions, were level in the 25th minute when Porto’s Luis Gonzalez hit a shot from 30m without much conviction, but an unexpected bounce meant it went past Bolivia keeper Carlos Arias and into the net.
Bolivia went further ahead in the 34th minute through hat-trick hero Botero of Mexican club Correcaminos, Mexico.
An inspired and motivated Bolivia went 3-1 ahead just before the break, and Da Rosa and then Botero got further goals in the 50th and 66th minutes. Torrico scored the sixth and final goal with three minutes to go. Angel Di Maria was sent off in the 63rd minute to make a terrible night even worse.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
RSS