Dubai: New Al Wasl coach Diego Maradona has launched a scathing attack on Sergio Batista and his management of the Argentina national team, insisting that it is a grave error to leave Carlos Tevez out of consideration for the Copa America.
The former Argentina coach has this week signed a lucrative contract to direct in Dubai for the next two years but made it clear in an interview held on Wednesday that the scars of his exit from the Albiceleste are still far from healing.
Maradona, who was removed from the post in July 2010 after taking Argentina to the World Cup quarter-finals, was incensed that his close ally Tevez was set to miss out on the Copa and claimed that the nation had gone backwards since Batista had taken over.
"What I cannot understand is the Carlitos situation. How can they say there is a better forward than Tevez; he has got to be drunk or a complete idiot," he said, in a fiery chat reported by Ole.
"Kun (Aguero) had been separated as well. He and Tevez are players who have earned an incredible level of prestige in world football. We are not talking about promising players. If you see afterward that (AFA president) Humberto Grondona is teaching kids of 15 years old to kick opponents, you just want to shoot yourself in the balls."
Maradona then turned his attention to those who had criticised his tenure as Seleccion coach and insisted that his side played far better than Batista's remodeled XI.
"Everyone criticised me but today's team, which is a joke, is not criticised, that is the difference. I know how things are and in my opinion, we have taken 1000 steps backwards," he added.
"It upsets me because we had earned respect and a human quality inside a really good team, that now the new people are throwing out the window."
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