They're taking Maradona's gang seriously now

Once tipped for disaster, Argentina and their eccentric coach are enjoying themselves

WHO’s CRAZY now? While Fabio Capello’s disciplinarian streak seems to have subdued England to the point of invisibility and France under Raymond Domenech have degenerated into a crackpot unit, Diego Maradona is having the time of his life in South Africa.

The Argentine general’s briefings in Pretoria have become a highlight of this World Cup. The man’s eccentricities made him an international laughing stock during Argentina’s ropey qualification campaign and his selection policies have provoked criticism among his local press.

But central to Maradona’s personality is a glorious indifference as to what the world thinks of him and in the bubble world of the World Cup that fearlessness serves him well.

Today, Argentina – tipped a few months ago as being set for a humiliating World Cup – will finish in top of their group if they beat Greece in Polokwane. In their first two games, they have played smart and sometimes sublime football and the players, in marked contrast to the Englishmen, are obviously enjoying the tournament.

Maradona, yesterday sporting a pair of dark, bejewelled sunglasses which might have been lifted from Beyonce’s tour wardrobe, noted the South American teams have been performing with notable smoothness in the opening rounds while the Europeans are struggling.

“It is because qualification is much more difficult than in Europe,” he explained before what has become a crowded and delighted press gathering. “Equador is another team that could be at the World Cup. And over there, you take on the Faroe Islands.”

In the weeks before the tournament began, Maradona has been happy to expound on what ever subject crossed his mind. The suits in Fifa must be utterly lost as to how to handle him.

He is simultaneously one of the chief icons in the history of football and a completely independent soul, hence his recent comments on Pele.

Argentina’s flashy dismantling of South Korea and their more low-key opening win against Nigeria have convinced the international audience of something that a cursory look at the squad list ought to have made clear all along: the Albiceleste are contenders.

Maradona considered this view yesterday and then breezily dismissed it, perversely declaring Argentina “aren’t favourites or candidates”.

“We have come to fight for a World Cup and I know a little something about what it means to play in one and be in the right mix of things.

“I don’t like being favourites before or during because any team can stick one past you and then everything you’ve worked for . . . Ciao!

“I like what I am seeing from my team. We are solid at the back; we are progressing in our attitude. But it has only just started. It is like being in a motor race. We are warming up the engines.”

Not content with slagging off Pele, Maradona continued to provoke Brazilians by challenging the validity of Luis Fabiano’s goal against Ivory Coast on Sunday night.

There was more than a strong suggestion of handball in Fabiano’s strike and the consequent goal signalled the beginning of a dazzling display from the Brazilians. Maradona naturally referred to his own handball in 1986 in what was a sanctimonious rebuke of Fabiano’s transgression.

“This is what I saw with his arm. He brought the ball down. It was evident. I thought it was a double hand ball. What’s tragicomic is the referee smiling afterwards.

“When I scored that goal against England, the referee didn’t score. He has so many doubts; he looked at his linesmen, there was no fourth referee at that time so he looked at the crowd to see it they would give him a hand. But yesterday the referee went back to the centre circle laughing and that’s what shocked us all. So if you saw it, why didn’t you penalise it?”

The implication is all honour and cunning has gone out of cheating: Fabiano’s indiscretion had the endorsement of the referee, and of the establishment – and that is what made it so unacceptable to him.

Meanwhile, Maradona rejected suggestions he would rest Lionel Messi for today’s encounter with Greece, stating that to omit “a player who is as good as Leo, who is the best player in the world, I think it would be a sin”.

Greece have been buoyed by their 2-1 win over Nigeria in Bloemfontein – the goals were the first the country has ever scored at a World Cup – but admitted they are outsiders going into this game.

Coach Otto Rehhagel said: “Argentina are a world-class team. They will clearly be better than us and we have got to see how we cope with them.”

The other Group B match between South Korea and Nigeria has been overshadowed by the deluge of death threats Nigerian midfielder Sami Kaita received in the days after his team’s defeat by Greece.

Nigeria were leading that match 1-0 when Kaita was sent off in the 33rd minute. The 24-year-old has received over 1,000 death threats by email since and has been detailed with extra security ahead of this match.

With two defeats, Nigeria are out of the running unless they beat South Korea by at least three clear goals and Argentina beat Greece. It could be Korean confidence has been badly damaged by the lesson inflicted by Argentina and this match might at least give the Nigerians the consolation of a World Cup win on their home continent. But it is unlikely they will do enough to leapfrog both South Korea and Greece on the table.

Argentina, however, should roll serenely through to the second round under the stewardship of Maradona.