Argentinian soccer great Diego Maradona said he has received a "serious" offer to coach soccer in Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Euro 2012 National Agency citing an interview he gave to Spain's EFE news agency.
Maradona, 50, said he has received coaching offers in two European countries, one of which was from Ukraine.
Ukraine’s national soccer team has lacked a head coach ever since Myron Markevych resigned in August 2010 amid a match fixing scandal invovling a soccer club he coaches in Kharkiv. Yuri Kalytvyntsev took over as caretaker coach while the federation’s management seeks a permanent replacement.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s football federation could not confirm the Maradona coaching offer, however. "I just read about this myself 15 minutes ago," the spokesperson said. "I don’t rule anything out, however, but I cannot confirm this at the moment."
Arguably soccer’s best player ever, Maradona coached his native Argentinian national team to the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals in South Africa.
Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
