Word of God: Diego Maradona 'Wants to Return' as Argentina Boss After Nigeria Friendly Defeat
Diego Maradona has put himself forward for a return as coach of the Argentina national team, after Tuesday night's 4-2 friendly defeat to Nigeria.
La Albiceleste led in the first-half courtesy of goals from Sergio Aguero and Ever Banega, but they were pegged back by their impressive opposition.
Maradona took to Instagram after the game to emphasise why he should be considered to take charge of the national team once again, posting a table of the statistics of Argentina's recent managers.
"Who wins more??" he wrote. "Let's draw our conclusions, I'm mad because they give away our prestige, but the players are not the ones to blame, I WANT TO RETURN!!!"
The table showed that Maradona, in his 24-game tenure, achieved a win percentage of 75%, better than all of his competitors.
Gerardo Martino follows closely behind Maradona with 74% in 29 games, ahead of Alejandro Sabella, who led Argentina to the final of the World Cup in 2014.
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Interestingly, Carlos Bilardo is the manager with the lowest win percentage, despite having led his nation to a famous success in 1986, with Maradona the influential figure at the centre.
The legendary former Argentina captain has been vocal in his criticism of current boss Jorge Sampaoli, whose time in charge to date has been tumultuous and controversial.
A superb hat-trick from Lionel Messi against Ecuador in the final World Cup qualification game was enough to secure a place in next summer's finals, but it had seemed a very realistic possibility that Argentina might miss out.
