When Argentina was blown out by Germany in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, many blamed head coach Diego Maradona for the team’s early exit.
Maradona is no longer Argentina’s coach, but he’s still getting blamed for the team’s difficulties at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Julio Grondona, the president of the Argentine Football Foundation, raised eyebrows on Saturday by calling the soccer legend a “jinx” after the team’s narrow 1-0 victory over Iran.
Maradona was in attendance for Saturday’s contest, which was still tied in the 90th minute before a spectacular goal by Lionel Messi gave Argentina a 1-0 win.
Grondona told reporters that Maradona was watching the game but left just three minutes before Messi’s heroics.
“When the jinx left, we won the game,” Grondona said, via AS.com.
Maradona, who scored 34 four goals in 91 international appearances for Argentina from 1977-91, was unable to attend his country’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. They won 2-1.
Argentina has already clinched a spot in the round of 16, but maybe Maradona should play it safe and watch from home if he wants his team to make a deep run in this year’s World Cup.
Photo via Twitter/@prensagrafica
