More Maradona Madness

Not content with leaving Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti out of his provisional World Cup squad, Diego Maradona has gone one further in his single-minded attempt to prove to the world that he is, frankly, as mad as a box of frogs.

Yesterday, Maradona announced his twenty three man squad and -bizarrely among those to make the final cut - were old time and frankly rubbish striker Martin Palermo as well as 30 year old one cap wonder, Ariel Garce.

Better yet, Maradona's car managed to run over the leg of a nearby cameraman ahead of the announcement.

Maradona's response to this unfortunate accident:

"What an asshole you are. How can you put your leg there where it can get run over, man?"

Honestly. You can't make this stuff up. What would the footballing world be like without Diego Maradona?

Sorry, Raphael, I Don't Think So

I came across a piece on CBC Canada that suggested this world cup will won by an individual or individuals with outstanding skills.

This may have been written in haste, in reaction to the unbelievable performances put in by Lionel Messi in the past few weeks, I don't know.

The thing is: the argument doesn't really stack up. And it appears that the author, Raphael Honigstein (a man who usually talks a lot of sense) knows it.

World Cups are won by teams not individuals. Honigstein points to Maradona's Argentina team in the '86 World Cup as an example of an individual inspiring his team to victory. However, it is instructive that this is the only example he provides. I would suggest that this is because: this is the only example there is and it is very unlikely ever to be repeated.

Italy's victory at the last World Cup is a far better indicator of how big trophies are won - a well organised collective playing effective football.

Maradona Not Going To Pompey

No sooner has Sulaiman Al Fahim taken over at Portsmouth, than rumours start linking Argentina legend Diego Maradona with a role at the club.

Al Fahim, you will remember, was the face of the group that took over Manchester City. He was the man that declared City would sign Cristiano Ronaldo for £134m and other similarly ridiculous things. He was soon sidelined by the group behind the Manchester City takeover, ADUG.

So, it's going to come as no surprise that Maradona himself has come out and said it's all nonsense.

To quote the great (and slightly unhinged) man :

"I was watching with my girlfriend and started talking to the TV: "Noooooo, this is not true!" The blood running through my veins is sky blue and white."

"In no way would I abandon ship. I'll say more. I've signed the contract and agreed to coach (the team) at the Copa America in 2011."

Good to see Al Fahim picking up where he left off at City, though. We need more characters in the game and I have a suspicion that Sulaiman Al Fahim is likely to be one of the most colourful.