Yousuf Al Serkal, the chairman of the UAE Football Association’s interim committee, claims the FA have held talks with Diego Maradona about becoming the country’s new coach.
The UAE FA are on the lookout for a permanent successor to Srecko Katanec following his sacking last September after back-to-back defeats to Kuwait and Lebanon in their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Emirati coach Abdullah Misfir has been in charge of the Whites on an interim basis since, but Al Serkal admitted last week the FA have stepped up their search for a new boss by drawing up a three-man shortlist.
Having confirmed Maradona, currently in charge of Pro League Al Wasl, is “one of the names” being considered for the role he has now intimated that talks have already taken place regarding the position. “Yes, we have spoken to Maradona along with two other prominent names,” said Serkal.
His admission comes just days after Al Wasl told Sport360° they wanted to see all talks regarding Maradona’s future left until the end of the season so the Argentine can concentrate on his job at the Zabeel Stadium. Only then, they said, would they be willing to “consider” an approach from the FA.
Maradona himself confessed last month that he would take over the UAE job “with pleasure” were an offer to be forthcoming, while he even suggested he would be open to the prospect of carrying out both jobs.
However, while Maradona is an attractive option for the FA, Al Serkal admits the 51-year-old’s financial demands could scupper their hopes of appointing him on a long-term basis. “It will be unwise to have a big name like Maradona within your country and never consider him for the national team,” he said. “He’s doing a very good job with Al Wasl and did very well with Argentina before. The Argentinean may be very expensive for our humble budget. There’s also a chance to recruit a good coach of international repute with less money.”
That will not be current Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni or his fellow Italian, World Cup-winning coach, Marcello Lippi after Al Serkal labelled reports claiming the FA held talks with ‘Trap’ as “completely baseless” while insisting no contact has been made with Lippi.
Former Al Jazira boss Abel Braga and Dutch legend Marco Van Basten have also been mentioned as possible contenders although, Yusuf Abdullah, general secretary of the UAE FA, remained tight-lipped over those rumours last week. “We are aware of the rumours but cannot confirm any names at this time as the process is still ongoing,” he told Sport360°.
Meanwhile, Al Wasl have said they will broach the subject of Maradona and the UAE job at the Argentine’s pre-match press conference at 8pm tonight ahead of their game against Bani Yas this weekend.
