Former Argentina coach Diego Maradona is interested in taking over the Portugal job after Carlos Queiroz was fired last week, according to reports.
Queiroz was sacked after a poor start to the country’s Euro 2012 qualifiers – a 4-4 draw with Cyprus followed by a 1-0 defeat to Finland – and for his involvement in a row with anti-doping agents before the World Cup that saw him given a six-month ban by the Portuguese football federation (FPF).
The Portuguese federation is believed to favour a move for a coach with international experience, and Jose Pekerman and Javier Aguirre have been linked, as well as Maradona.
“It’s true [Maradona is interested],” Alejandro Mancuso, one of Maradona’s assistants during his spell as Argentina coach, told A Bola. ‘
‘Diego and I talked about it, and it is a project that attracts us. He is willing and has availability, but has not been contacted yet.”
Pekerman, another former Argentina coach, is also interested in the job.
“Many national sides wanted to hire him, but he was not interested. The Portuguese team, yes, that interests him,” his agent Jose Sanchez Parra told the Portuguese radio station Renascenca.
Aguirre, who resigned as Mexico coach after the World Cup finals, has reportedly expressed an interest in the vacancy.
