Diego Maradona makes surprise move to become chairman of Dynamo Brest in Belarus

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  • Diego Maradona with his Dynamo Brest colours (Twitter/@MatiasMorlaAb).

    The latest twist in Argentina legend Diego Maradona’s unpredictable post-playing career has taken him to Belarus after he surprisingly signed on as chairman of ambitious Dynamo Brest.

    Maradona, 57, had most recently been employed by Fujairah in the UAE’s First Division League following five years away from coaching. On April 27, he parted ways within hours of his failure to gain automatic promotion to the Arabian Gulf League with his undefeated side – only for a club announcement about a shock one-year renewal three days later to be instantly rubbished.

    This latest posting has taken him to the eighth-placed outfit in the 2018 Belarusian Premier League. A three-year contract has been inked, granting the joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century wide-ranging powers.

    “Yes, Diego is with us,” Brest tweeted. “Legendary football player Diego Armando Maradona signed a three-year contract with the football club, Dynamo Brest, and took office as chairman of the club’s board.

    “Diego Maradona will be engaged in issues of strategic development of the club, as well as interacting with all its structural units – including the children’s academy.

    “Maradona will begin his role after the end of the World Cup in Russia.

    “In Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi will be held a press conference with the participation of Diego Maradona and representatives of the club. The date of the press conference will be announced shortly.”

    The ex-Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Napoli icon was excited about this latest challenge.

    “I am president of the club, Dynamo Brest,” he posted on Instagram. “Thanks for the trust and for thinking of me.”

    Brest are a club on the up, determined to break BATE Borisov’s grip on the domestic game.

    They claimed the Belarusian Cup in 2017 and added the 2018 Belarusian Super Cup with a 2-1 triumph against BATE in March.

    Reverberations were felt across the globe late on Tuesday to match those caused when Maradona agreed to end his half-decade exile from the dugout and lead the ambitious Wolves for 2017/18.

    But profligacy in front of goal saw a draining 11 draws registered. Their final-day stalemate caused them to be critically knocked into third place by Ittihad Kalba.

    In his absence, replacement Dr Abdullah Mesfer defeated the AGL’s bottom-placed side, Hatta, 3-1 on aggregate in the promotion play-offs and earned a top-flight return for the first time since 2015/16.

    Al Wasl had previously sacked Maradona in July 2012, halfway through a two-year deal. This followed a trophyless 2011/12.

    Prior to this, his contract had not been renewed by Argentina in the wake of a 4-0 quarter-final thrashing by Germany at World Cup 2010.

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