Which it did and which we all knew that it would.

The way that he lives his life and with all the drama that always surrounds it, the latest episode in his very public soap opera is with the exit from the Argentina national team job.

He lives with his heart on his sleeve and none of us would want it any other way.

The figure that we once loved to hate we now have a soft spot for, the media darling that the media wish they could cover every single day.

Whatever happened, even if there wasn’t the back-biting you couldn’t see him hanging around anyway.

Diego gets bored easily. He goes into these “relationships” like it’s a torrid affair and then when he’s found out… Well you couldn’t imagine it any other way. It wouldn’t be Maradona if there weren’t accusations, bitter recriminations and yes… a tear in the eye.

I was almost tempted to name this post Don’t cry for me Argentina but in fact the Argentinian public didn’t. They reviled him as a player, but not as the coach. Better for everybody now that the AFA (Argentinian Football Association) has extracted this distraction.

So then to future and what next for El Diego ? Has to be club management of course. But which chairman is that crazy/suicidal enough to even risk a dramatic and roller coaster ride through a single season before the inevitable emotional press conference ?

Form a line over there please…

Some music to accompany these musings… and with some foresight, but they like us knew it would be inevitable that he would be in the news either very soon or very often, the Corrigan Brothers – with Shay Healy added this to YouTube:

I would keep composing a few more tunes about him chaps. You know that there’ll be more headlines.

Many of us are uncertain as to what to think about this. A few of us wanted to continue to watch the antics on the touchline. Some wanted to see him crash and burn.

But what about his actual tactics ? What about the actual team ? What went spectacularly wrong ?

When I first looked at the final 23 that Maradona had chosen from the 100 he’d called up before the finals, I was thinking that there was some potential weaknesses with their back line. Then as we saw Otamendi had a bit of a ‘mare, with Burdisso also going missing. Questions have to be asked about Demichelis and Heinze too.

But the eventual blame and maybe recriminations about their poor showing against the Germans will be laid on that man’s chubby shoulders. The Argentinians will be angry at their capitulation but I don’t think there will be a knee-jerk reaction and the firing of El Diego. He may jump himself because he does get bored easily. He’s had a taster of management and there could be a club side who might just be crazy enough to hire the crazy one.   Inter Milan to come calling to save them from Rafa ?

» To play him off the stage…for now… Here is a track from a previous post – The World Cup Goes Indie in which Indiecater records, a small label in Dublin asked various acts to compose a song about each World Cup contester.

This track was composed by the Dublin based band The Dirty 9s…

[See post to listen to audio] » The Dirty 9′s – Ballad of El Diego - Video

… and you can purchase this along with 31 other tracks via download (for only €5) or sent to you on a flash drive (for €10) by going to Fast Forward: The World Cup Goes Indie.

…After the previous swimsuit round (with a slight embarrassment for Miss England who forgot her costume and subsequently went out wearing nothing but a knotted hankie on her head) – we now come to the talent part of the competition…

Thank you Uruguay for entertaining us with their balloon animals, and Ghana with the piano recital during the break – it’s now the turn for Miss Germany… Here tonight being represented by Franz “Der Kaiser to you and me, kick and rush football not for him” Beckenbauer.

“Take it away, Franz !”

[See post to listen to audio] » Franz Beckenbauer – 1-0 fuer Deine Liebe (English: One-nil for your love)

- German Lyrics 1:0 für deine Liebe 1:0 hast du gesiegt Denn ich weiß, dass Alles Glück in meinem Leben Ganz allein in deinen Händen liegt 1:0 für deine Liebe 1:0 für dich allein Hab ich dich, dann Kann mir gar nichts mehr passieren Deine Liebe lässt mich glücklich sein 1:0 für deine Liebe 1:0 hast du gesiegt Denn ich weiß, dass Alles Glück in meinem Leben Ganz allein in deinen Händen liegt 1:0 für deine Liebe 1:0 für dich allein Hab ich dich, dann Kann mir gar nichts mehr passieren Deine Liebe lässt mich glücklich sein

- (Google Translated) English Lyrics 1:0 for your love 1:0, you have triumphed Because I know that All happiness in my life All alone in your hands 1:0 for your love 1:0 for you alone Hab ich dich, then Can I do nothing happens Your love makes me happy 1:0 for your love 1:0, you have triumphed Because I know that All happiness in my life All alone in your hands 1:0 for your love 1:0 for you alone Hab ich dich, then Can I do nothing happens Your love makes me happy

» More here.

Ah ha… thank you for that… lovely…

Now for our next contestant – All the way from the Argentines (Don’t mention the Malvinas !) down there in the Americas… it’s the effervescent and always smiling Diego Armando “drug taking, tax evading, hand of god cheating” Maradona. Who in this instance gets into a three way:

[See post to listen to audio] » Pimpinela and Diego Maradona – Querida Amiga - There is a video too.

» More here.

Scintillating…just scintillating…

Going back to Europa again and to the low countries… to the Netherlands…Holland… the land of the Holland..ish peoples, who is being represented by Ruud “a big management failure at Newcastle, Feyenoord and even LA Galaxy” Gullit, who admits to being:

[See post to listen to audio] » Ruud Gullit – Not The Dancing Kind

» More here – Including an anti-Apartheid song.

“Super…super… schexy indeed…”

So once again we take an intercontinental passage back to South America and the beaches of Rio… the sand… the samba… and representing them is Edson “El Rey” Pele :

[See post to listen to audio] » Pelé & Gracinha Leporace – Meu Mundo E Uma Bola (My World Is A Ball)

» More here.

Thank you for that. Captivating…

“Join us again after the break where to entertain us whilst the judges are making their decisions… Kevin Keegan will perform a medley of his greatest hi.. some of the singles he’s released… ”

Or will he ?

After the Uruguay/Argentina match El Diego blasted the assembled reporters with: “You lot take it up the @rse – if the ladies will pardon the expression.” whilst one of the sponsor’s models stood behind him. Also in the audience was the Guardian’s Marcela Mora y Araujo.

Because of this outburst – along with some crotch grabbing for the television cameras in the tunnel outside the dressing rooms – you will not be surprised to read that FIFA is investigating.

So it still remains to be seen…ah who are we kidding. A slap on the wrist/a fine or something but he will be there. Sepp Blatter wants it. He’s good for the ratings.

- Let me take you back to a more calmer time in his life… (Do you mean inbetween those moments when he didn't do the lines of coke ?) Hey stop that !

Back to 1987 and when he got into a threesome…oh you’ve got me at it now… with a couple who have the lovely name of Pimpinela.   I’ll leave you to add your own remark here.

[See post to listen to audio] » Pimpinela and Diego Maradona – Querida Amiga And yes there is a video.

As you can hear and see above, he didn’t take lead vocals, but instead harmonized with Joaquín’s wife Lucía – But he did get up and do a turn quite recently by the looks, at some party:

» Thanks to Carrascus from the Spanish version of F&M: Blogin’ In The Wind for some material here.
If you scroll down the page you’ll find more stuff hanging around Diego, including Bono from U2.

» Plus don’t forget the post from the other day.

As much as we love to hate him we still want to see him at the finals. Don’t we ?

Just to see him fail on a bigger scale maybe.

Or maybe it is Messi we want more. But one man doesn’t make a team and if that team doesn’t qualify then by all rights they shouldn’t be there.

What is Diego saying to Veron there ? And what is Messi thinking ? Answers in the comments please

But why should Lionel suffer because another football association decided to appoint a previous talisman… icon… flawed genius… [delete where applicable] in the hope that their national team would sail through just by his presence…his aura (I see above that he does bathe).

Maradona is our white (beached) whale and our final sweet revenge will be if he goes sliding once more.

Isn’t it ?

[See post to listen to audio] » Francesco Baccinini – Diego Armando Maradona

Extra Link: Top 10 Crazy Diego Maradona Moments

Another Link: YouTube vid of Diego himself singing: “Marado Marado, Diego Diego”

These were the finals which included the best ever Scottish team never to win the cup, as well as Archie Gemmill and that goal.

And like in 1966 it was the host country what won it. That team included one Osvaldo César Ardiles and Ricardo Julio “Ricky” Villa.

– Wikipedia has the full story of the whole tournament.

As for the music… well as mentioned Scotland had probably the best players they’ve ever had and there were a few songs released to celebrate their appearance. But those are for another day. For this post, like yesterday’s we are concentrating on some songs that commemorate the event.

The best of this lot, in my opinion is from a much underrated singer Moon Williams.     A note about this next song from his own site:

…Before the next release Moon secured a deal to record the theme song for a six week TV series on the World Cup. The series was called Game of the Century and the song was called Argentina Heroes. This beautiful ballad encouraged the England team to come back as Argentina Heroes – sadly the England team never got the chance to go, let alone return. They failed to qualify. The record company failed to get the single out for week one of the series and thus missed a golden opportunity to chart. It finally drifted out in week 5 of the series and went straight to no 67 and then the series ended. Coupled together with the failure of England to qualify no one, except Moon and his management, saw any point in continuing the push.

» Moon Williams – Argentina Heroes

Next up: Ennio Morricone, which is a name that should ring a bell. He composed the soundtracks for A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly plus loads and loads more.

» Ennio Morricone – World Cup Argentina

Finally one from a local band:

» Buenos Aries City Band – World Cup March