Diego joins exclusive footballing club
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
PARIS, Nov 4 (AFP): When Diego Maradona was named Argentina coach last week he joined an exclusive club of legendary stars who had moved from playing for to managing their national teams.
Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer, Marco van Basten, Mario Zagallo and Kevin Keegan are some of the big names to have swapped the field of dreams for the dugout.
And while some have made the switch effortlessly, others have found out the hard way that success on the pitch doesn't necessarily assure success at the side of it.
Platini once said of Maradona that, "The things I could do with a ball, he could do with an orange", but the similarities between the two are greater than the current UEFA president's self- deprecation would imply.
The midfield maestro engineered France's 1984 European championship triumph and went on to be voted player of the tournament, much like Maradona two years later at the World Cup finals in Mexico.
A triple Ballon d'Or winner (1983-85), Platini played in three World Cups, helping France reach the semi-finals in 1982 and 1986, picking up 72 caps (49 on them as captain) and scoring 41 goals.
He took over from Henri Michel as national coach in 1988 at the age of 33, but could not steer the stuttering team he inherited to the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy.
In the qualifying stages for the European championships two years later, it seemed as if the Platini potion had finally cast its spell, with France undefeated going into the Sweden finals.
Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer, Marco van Basten, Mario Zagallo and Kevin Keegan are some of the big names to have swapped the field of dreams for the dugout.
And while some have made the switch effortlessly, others have found out the hard way that success on the pitch doesn't necessarily assure success at the side of it.
Platini once said of Maradona that, "The things I could do with a ball, he could do with an orange", but the similarities between the two are greater than the current UEFA president's self- deprecation would imply.
The midfield maestro engineered France's 1984 European championship triumph and went on to be voted player of the tournament, much like Maradona two years later at the World Cup finals in Mexico.
A triple Ballon d'Or winner (1983-85), Platini played in three World Cups, helping France reach the semi-finals in 1982 and 1986, picking up 72 caps (49 on them as captain) and scoring 41 goals.
He took over from Henri Michel as national coach in 1988 at the age of 33, but could not steer the stuttering team he inherited to the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy.
In the qualifying stages for the European championships two years later, it seemed as if the Platini potion had finally cast its spell, with France undefeated going into the Sweden finals.