Diego Maradona, the head coach of Al Wasl, stole the limelight from his players in his first official match against Al Jazira on Thursday despite the fact that the attendance was far below what was expected.
Maradona was surrounded by many photographers before, during and after the match. He spent the whole game on his feet trying to touch every ball that came his way. He chested one and volleyed another to the amusement of the few fans who turned up.
Maradona kept the journalists waiting after the match and when he eventually came it was almost impossible to get a straight answer out of him. His main comment was: "The arrangements for the match were not good as I was surrounded by many people taking pictures which disturbed me."
Maradona was at one time the best footballer on earth, but he is not projecting the right image as Al Wasl coach in a country where the game has only been professional for three years. The players need a role model to take them step by step on the right path. Whether Maradona can be that remains to be seen.
