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Onus is on Maradona

Faraz Ihtesham
Diego Maradona is obviously not aware of the fact that how a defeat of Argentina against their bitter rivals Brazil is treated far away in Bangladesh where he is revered as an iconic image
and his team the most loved one like Brazil.
Football fans here were spilt into two groups when Diego's Argentina hosted Brazil at home in a crucial World Cup qualifying match on Sunday morning with one section glued to TV sets with a hope that their idol would do something magical in his new role like he did as a player with his Midas left foot.
But coach Diego turned out to be a total disappointment after Argentina suffered a 3-1 loss, their first home defeat in sixteen years. The painful defeat against Dunga's Brazil has left Argentine fans pondering with this question on their minds: 'Is Diego the right man forthejob?'
Is Diego picking the right players? How does he want Argentina to play? Does he have a set goal? Will Argentina make it to South Africa?
When it comes to choosing his squad, Maradona's selection of players is totally
bizarre. He continues to ignore established Europe-based players in favour of inexperienced South American counterparts. And this policy has backfired in crucial moments.
If one takes a simple glance at Argentina's defence, it is evident that they are weak when it comes to counter quality attack. Yet Maradona overlooked his available top class centre-back in Inter Milan's Walter Samuel instead playing debutant Sebastian DominguezofVelezSarsfield against Brazil.
Dominguez had a forgettable night. He struggled throughout the match and was cruelly exposed by the speedy Brazilians.
Maradona's continued persistence with the slowing Gabriel Heinze instead of trying someone else is also baffling. If Diego cannot sort out his defence Argentina will continue to struggle against the likes of Brazil.
What about Maradona's gameplan? He said before the Brazil tie that he was planning an all-out attacking strategy’. In the game itself, Argentina were so pre-occupied with attack that they did not bother to defend setpieces properly and they paid a heavy price for their blunders.
After the game Maradona pointed out that he didn't like the fact that each time Brazil attacked Argentina they scored a goal. Diego
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should have paid more attention to his defence before the match instead of focusing only on attack
There is also room to speculate on whether Maradona has any set objectives.
Maradona was obstinate in his approach to try and beat Brazil playing an all-out attacking football but he could have been a bit more cautious.
Before the Brazil encounter Argentina were occupying the fourth place in the table with 22 points while Ecuador were breathing down their necks in fifth position on 20 points. Ecuador had already lost their game against Colombia before Argentina kicked off against Brazil. So a draw would not have been a bad result for Argentina as it would have increased their lead over Ecuador. But Maradona's Argentina failed to adjust accordingly as the changed situation demanded.
Argentina's next test is away to Paraguay in a couple of days time and the fans are wondering if the unthinkable might happen. Another defeat and the prospect of not making it to the World Cup in South Africa looks a real possibility.
Argentina have little time to recover. They have to put all their miseries behind them and learn from their mistakes before it is too late.
Clearly the onus is on Maradona.