THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina is on the verge of missing out on its first World Cup since 1970, which makes every aspect of Diego Maradona’s coaching tactics fair game.
Even his sleeping habits.
Maradona has openly acknowledged he likes to get up late, which is why the team trains once every afternoon, as it did this week to prepare for Saturday’s critical World Cup qualifier at home against Peru.
At the same time, he has blamed three straight losses in World Cup qualifying on "a lack of time" to train his players, who he said need lots of rest.
"Keep in mind, they (players) are coming off 14-hour trips and if you don’t let them rest — you’ll kill them," Maradona said.
Maradona’s training sessions tend to consist mostly of short pickup games, a style that has been widely criticized by Argentine reporters.
Thursday’s session lasted about 50 minutes. It took Maradona about 90 minutes afterward to prepare to speak with reporters. He appeared to be wearing makeup when he arrived, and his responses varied between very short or very rambling.
Earlier in the week, he said he might resign after the next two matches, but he quickly backed away from that and he argued he’d been misquoted.
"I wish we could have them train … have them do plays, work with the ball, but we can’t do it like that," he said. "The guys do what they can. One has a muscle problem, another comes in with a swollen ankle. Another has back pain.
"You worry that if you push them you won’t have them for the game."
Saturday’s match and another four days later at Uruguay may decide if Argentina makes the 32-team tournament next year in South Africa. Anything less than two victories could leave Argentina out of the World Cup or facing a two-legged playoff in November for a berth.
Also Saturday, Chile visits Colombia, Ecuador hosts Uruguay and Paraguay travels to Venezuela. On Sunday, Brazil plays at Bolivia. The final five qualifiers are set for Wednesday.
Brazil and Paraguay have already clinched two of the four qualifying places from South America. Chile is next with 27 points and positioned to be the third qualifier. Then follows Ecuador with 23, Argentina with 22 and Uruguay and Venezuela with 21. Colombia has 20.
If Argentina finishes fifth it faces a playoff with the No. 4 team from CONCACAF for another berth. If it finishes sixth or lower, it’s out.
Hired a year ago with basically no coaching experience, Maradona has won only two of six World Cup qualifying games. In six games, the team — containing arguably the world’s top player, Lionel Messi — has scored only six goals. And that includes a 4-0 victory over Venezuela.
Of the 11 players expected to start on Saturday, about half started in the last qualifier — a 1-0 loss at Paraguay. Maradona has continually juggled his lineup, using 76 players in his year in charge.
He’s likely to give two players their first caps — Liverpool left back Emiliano Insua and Estudiantes midfielder Enzo Perez.
Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain, who has played only one game for the national team, is expected to play up front with Barcelona’s Messi. The midfield playmaker will be Benfica’s Pablo Aimar, who last played for Argentina two years ago.
Peru has never won a match in Argentina and has already been eliminated from reaching the World Cup. Still, the Peruvians relish the role of spoiler.
"History says that we never win in Argentina," Peru captain Nolberto Solano said. "We’re going to try changing this. If we do, Peru will turn into the ‘bad guy’ in the movies — leaving them (Argentina) out of the World Cup."
Asked if the next two matches were the most important of his career, Maradona gave a nuanced reply. He led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title and the South Americans then finished as runner-up to Germany in 1990.
"I played two finals," he said. "Those were the most important games of my life. We won one in Mexico, and the other one Germany stole from us. But yes, I suppose as a coach, these are among the greatest (matches) of my career."
And maybe the last.