Diego Maradona is back as Argentina's soccer coach, ending a
two-month suspension imposed by FIFA following a profanity-filled
rant after his team qualified for the World Cup against Uruguay.
The Argentine Football Association said in a statement Friday
that Maradona will travel Sunday to South Africa to view
Argentina's training facilities in Pretoria.
After Argentina's 1-0 win over Uruguay, Maradona attacked
critics of his coaching in a tirade on television. Argentina faces
South Korea, Nigeria and Greece in Group B when the World Cup opens
in June.
Maradona is expected to be back on the bench for Argentina's
first exhibition of the year, a match scheduled for Jan. 26 at
Costa Rica.
Maradona has been out of the news since being suspended and
fined $25,000 in November. He was barred by FIFA from attending the
World Cup draw in South Africa in December. He also missed an
exhibition match in December, which Argentina lost 4-2 against an
all-star team from Spain's Catalonia region.
Maradona was one of the best players of his generation and
led Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986 in Mexico. But he has
faced widespread criticism since taking over a year ago as
Argentina's national team coach.
It is his first major coaching assignment and the team has
struggled despite deploying some of the best talent in the world,
including Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
