Source: Team_Talk
Masch denies Maradona rift reports
Javier Mascherano says Diego Maradona had the full backing of the Argentina squad and was certainly forced out of the job by player power.[LNB] Despite crashing out in the semi-finals of the World Cup following a 4-0 defeat to Germany, Maradona was offered a new four-year contract by the Argentinian Football Association.[LNB]Nevertheless, the 49-year-old turned down the offer after being told he had to change seven of his backroom staff by AFA president Julio Grondona.[LNB]Reports of dressing room unrest and player revolt have surfaced in recent days, but Mascherano, who was captain during Maradona's reign, says the two years spent playing under the former World Cup winner were perfectly harmonious.[LNB]"There was a climate of total harmony and in the years I have been with the national team I have never seen anything like it," he told Radio Rivadavia in Argentina.[LNB]"It hurts to see these things."[LNB]And Mascherano is even more hurt by the reports of a supposed lack of respect for Maradona.[LNB]"I heard that we didn't respect Maradona and that is a lie," he said.[LNB]"I don't need to grab a microphone to back him. The best way to do it is on the pitch and in the training camp - each one of us did what we had to do."[LNB]The midfielder, who has been tipped to leave Liverpool this summer, says an analysis of what went wrong in the World Cup is now needed and believes Argentina need a real plan if they are to be successful in future.[LNB]"We have to analyse it - not just that match but the rest of the games as well," he said.[LNB]"The main thing is the project. It's fundamental to look for that and then see who the ideal person is to lead it (as coach).[LNB]"But we need a plan. Spain didn't win the Euro and the World Cup by chance. It's a project, from the youngest to the oldest."[LNB]In his role as captain, Mascherano says he will now sit down with Grondona to discuss the future of the national side.[LNB]"I will speak to Julio. We'll speak about lots of things, about everything that happened. There are young players who must stay on," he said.[LNB]"We are in a moment to start again from scratch. We can't carry on as we have been, otherwise we will be banging our heads against a brick wall in Brazil (in 2014)."
