Maradona speaks about Argentina, Higuain and Tevez

CAIRO – 12 February 2018: Ex-football player and Argentinian former coach Diego Armando Maradona attacked the current coach, Jorge Sampaoli. Maradona claimed that the latter “betrayed” him against starting striker Mauro Icardi. Maradona said, "Higuain is ten times better than him" and analyzed the options of the Argentinean team for the World Cup in Russia.

In an interview with El Popular newspaper, Maradona spoke freely about issues regarding Argentinean football.

Asked about his relationship with Sampaoli, Maradona said, "I do not want to talk about him, first because he betrayed me, and, second, because I want him to do well."

Speaking about Argentina’s chances in the World Cup, he said, "we have no midfield deserving of the name. Lucas Biglia, with all the respect in the world that he deserves from me, how could it be imagined he'd be wearing the national team’s shirt?”

"Today, except for Messi, people have lost respect for the Argentinian team. Nobody is afraid of us. Look at the last game with Nigeria. We almost conceded eight goals. You know what happened in my time in a game like that. But Sampaoli is lucky. If the baby (Messi) is on fire, he will cover for all the mistakes. We have a 60 percent chance of being champions [at the World Cup]. Why? Because the others can make up the choir, but they can never replace him as the singer. He's the only singer. It hurts me a lot, but the reality is that it's going badly for us, and I can't see a way out. The title would be: 'After Messi, what next?’”

He turned to show his praise to Higuain over Icardi. "It's embarrassing to rely on Icardi. Pipa [Higuain] is 10 times better than Icardi," he said. "That guy (Sampaoli) doesn't know anything. The only thing he knows is what he's going to eat at his friend's house. Pipa has to have a new chance," he added.

Maradona wanted to see Carlos Tévez in the World Cup. "Of course, it's not a debate," he said when asked if Tevez should be included in the squad. "We don't have anything else. We're scraping the barrel to get a number nine," he concluded.