Maradona gives thumbs up to Bauza appointment

BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona has hailed the new Argentina coach Edgardo “Paton” Bauza as a man with a record of sacrificing everything for national glory.

Bauza, 58, was appointed Argentina coach on Monday after the departure of Gerardo Martino, who left after disappointing defeats in the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Copa America Finals.

“I’ll never forget him at the 1990 Finals,” Maradona wrote on his Facebook account. “We were a generation which gave everything for the national team,” Maradona wrote.

“And he sat and supported us so well despite sitting on the bench throughout the entire World Cup.”

Bauza’s main task now is to convince Lionel Messi, who has never won a major trophy with Argentina, to reconsider his abrupt decision to quit the national team.

At the Mexican World Cup in 1986 Maradona’s Argentina edged West Germany 3-2 in the final in front of a sell out 115,000 crowd at the Aztec Stadium.

Four years later in Italy, the Germans took their revenge, beating Maradona’s side 1-0 with a late penalty.