Diego Maradona has stepped down as coach of the Argentine national football squad, the Argentine Football Association has confirmed.
The AFA voted not to renew his contract. Under-20 coach Sergio Batista is to become the caretaker boss.
Argentina had been hotly tipped ahead of the 2010 World Cup but were knocked out at the quarter-final stage, getting thrashed 4-0 by Germany.
The camaraderie among Maradona and his players was one of the big talking points at the tournament in South Africa. Even after crashing out of the event, there was still grassroots support for the eccentric legend. Maradona himself expressed a desire to stay on as national coach, but his refusal to change his backroom staff put him at odds with Argentine football’s governing body.
According to a statement on the AFA website: “Mr Julio Grondona made the members of the executive committee aware of the conversation with Mr Diego Maradona, setting out the points which had come out from the meeting.
“The executive committee unanimously resolved not to renew the contract with Mr Diego Maradona as coach of the Argentina national football team.”
AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo added: “Maradona’s requirements were very far from the FA’s possibilities.”
