Maradona named head coach of Dubai`s Al Wasl

Dubai: Argentina legend Diego Maradona is to take over as coach next season at Dubai`s Al-Wasl, the club vice-chairman Marwane Ben Bayatt announced on Monday.

"We have reached an agreement with Maradona and we will release details later," Ben Bayatt said. The 50-year-old Maradona was manager of the Argentina national side at last year`s World Cup in South Africa, but was sacked after they lost 4-0 to Germany in the quarter-finals. His name had been mentioned in connection with several coaching jobs since then, notably in the English Premier League and in Iran, but nothing came of these speculations. The Dubai job was first mentioned on Saturday when Maradona paid a visit to the Al-Wasl training facility and headquarters and club officials said an announcement could be made shortly.Al Wasl are currently fourth in the domestic league and have been looking for a coach since firing Sergio Farias in March. Maradona is the greatest player in Argentina`s history, having led the country to their second World Cup title in 1986 in Mexico and a runners-up finish four years later in Italy. He won 91 caps for his country and scored 34 goals in a career that spanned 21 years and saw him play in Argentina, Spain and Italy. His coaching career started at Textil Mandiyu in 1994, moving onto Racing Club the following year before he took charge of the Argentina national side in November 2008.He subsequently oversaw an occasionally chaotic qualifying campaign that included a record 6-1 drubbing at altitude in Bolivia. Initially, the side played well at the World Cup in South Africa and won all three group matches before beating Mexico in the last 16, but Germany thrashed the two-time champions 4-0 in the quarter-finals and Maradona was given the boot soon after. Bureau Report