DUBAI: Diego Maradona was fired as coach of Al Wasl on Tuesday after a season in which the soccer club finished in eighth place in a 12-team league and even failed to win a second-tier competition.
The former Argentine great had one year left on his contract. The club’s board of directors met on Tuesday and released a statement, saying it was ”decided to terminate his services and his technical staff.” A successor was not announced.
Maradona was on vacation outside Dubai and could not be reached for comment.
Expectations were great when Maradona arrived in Dubai on a two-year deal in May 2011. He was popular with fans and helped put UAE football on the map, but his team did not qualify for next season’s Asian Champions League or win any domestic titles.
”I was supposed to come here and meant to work and work hard and achieve something,” Maradona said at a news conference this year. ”It’s not about Maradona coming here and rating him as being success or unsuccessful.”
The final straw appears to have been the team’s failure in the GCC Champions League at the end of the season.
While Maradona didn’t deliver on the field, he provided plenty of antics in the league.
After his first victory at Al Wasl, Maradona was forced to apologise after kicking the hand of fan. Another time, he was accused by a coach of being disrespectful for the way he celebrated a goal.
The bearded and diamond stud-wearing Maradona once charged into the stands to confront Al Shabab fans who were taunting his partner, Veronica Ojeda, and the several players wives. He had to be stopped by staff.
As the losses piled up, he lamented the lack of talent but refused to accept responsibility for the team’s troubles. He insisted he had done all he could and that he would be ”sad” if he had to leave without finishing what he started. (AP)
