A top official of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) is warning that the national team may fail to qualify for next year’s World Cup in South Africa, and he’s blaming coach Diego Maradona.
“Nobody seems to realize that we have one foot in the intensive care unit,” said Enrique Merelas, a member of the AFA’s executive committee and a close friend of AFA president Julio Grondona.
Merelas has been a consistent critic of Maradona’s coaching and management of the team.
“I can’t put up with the coaching staff any more, and I never agreed with hiring Maradona,” Merelas said in an interview late on Monday with the radio station FM Sensitive.
Argentina have lost two of their last three World Cup qualifying matches, prompting questions about Maradona’s coaching style and his tactics. The two-time World Cup winners are in fourth place in the qualifying group, the final spot that guarantees a place at next year’s World Cup in South Africa.
Merelas and Grondona have both urged Maradona to return Juan Roman Riquelme to the team.
A skilled midfielder and playmaker, Riquelme retired from international soccer in March saying he and Maradona did not get along. Maradona criticized Riquelme’s play and overlooked him for several friendlies after he was named coach in November. He says Riquelme needs to apologize to get back on the team.
“Why does he have to apologize to return?” Merelas asked. “Apologize for what?”
Riquelme is a polemical figure. Some believe his organization and passing are keys to Argentina’s attacking play. Others say he’s too laid back and doesn’t word hard enough for the team.
Brazil leads the South American qualifying group with 27 points followed by Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22). They are followed by Ecuador (20), Uruguay (18), Colombia (17) and Venezuela (17).
The top four advance automatically to South Africa. The fifth-place team faces a playoff with the fourth-place finisher from North and Central America and the Caribbean for another qualifying berth.
Argentina’s two remaining home qualifiers are on Sept. 5 versus Brazil and Oct. 10 versus Peru. Argentina have away matches on Sept. 8 in Paraguay and on Oct. 13 in Uruguay.
His nickname might mean “Little Gabriel,” but even though he is just 1.21m tall, Gabriel dos Santos Araujo is a giant of Paralympic swimming. “My name is Gabrielzinho and I’m going for three gold medals at the Paris Paralympics,” the smiling 22-year-old Brazilian said, before receiving a kiss on the forehead from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at an official ceremony last month in Brasilia. Gabrielzinho’s objective at the Paralympics, which opens on Wednesday, is to upgrade from the two golds and one silver he won at the Tokyo Games three years ago. When he is not doing
BACK ON COURT: After arriving on court in a brightly colored outfit with a giant bow, Osaka stunned Ostapenko to record her first top-10 win in four years Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday survived US Open first-round wobbles to stay on course for a semi-final showdown, while two-time champion Naomi Osaka made a tearful and colorful return to Flushing Meadows. World No. 1 Sinner fought back from a set and break down to defeat 140th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald in his first match since being embroiled in a doping test controversy. Italian Sinner battled to a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win over American opponent McDonald at Arthur Ashe Stadium, racing away with 18 of the last 22 games. The 23-year-old was returning to action just a week after it was revealed
NOT THIS YEAR: Teams from Taiwan have won 17 titles at the tournament, second only to the US with 30. This year was the nation’s first championship game since 2009 Taiwan fell just short in Sunday’s championship game of the Little League World Series (LLWS) in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, losing 2-1 to Florida. Despite the defeat, it was still the best finish for Taiwan at the LLWS since Taoyuan’s Guishan Little League, the country’s representative again this year, lost the 2009 championship game 6-3 to California. Entering Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Sunday on a five-game winning streak in Williamsport, Guishan took an early lead in the opening frame on an RBI single by Hu Yen-chun. However, Guishan failed to extend the margin as its players struggled at the plate, tallying only five
HISTORIC GAME: Taiwan, which have claimed the title 17 times, more than any other international team, have a chance to win it for the first time since 1996 Taiwan could not get much going at the plate on Saturday. However, the way starter Lai Cheng-ci was pitching, it did not matter. Lai struck out 12 batters and allowed just three hits in 5-1/3 innings as Taiwan beat Venezuela 4-1 to advance to the Little League World Series (LLWS) championship. “He’s the ace pitcher for the team and he shows leadership,” manager Lee Cheng-ta said through an interpreter. “He’s calm and he works hard, so every time we’ve had an important game he’s always the one to be carrying the responsibility.” Taiwan also managed only three hits, but collected eight walks and