Fine, I'll state the obvious. Maradona should not coach the Argentine national squad. Nor any other squad, really. And not just because he's a bad coach whose weird moves almost got Argentina eliminated even before it got out of the qualifiers. Not just because he's such a bad coach that the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) ranked him last in its 2009 ranking of national coaches (tied with Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino [another Argentine], Nigeria’s Shaibu Amodu, and New Zealand’s Richard Lloyd Herbert). [NOTE: See comments. This was incorrect. He was the lowest of those who received votes--tied for 22nd--not the worst of all national coaches, many of whom didn't get any votes; still, it's a sad statement on him that he barely got any votes.]

No, I ask Diego Armando Maradona to step down from his coaching post simply because he's so much more amusing when he dedicates himself to other pursuits. The last week brought news that he is launching his own TV channel (that's not a typo--it's a channel, not a show) and that the earrings the Italian tax authority took off him when he flew to Italy to hit a fat farm--he's hugely in arrears on his Italian taxes--fetched $36,400 at auction. Compared to that, debating his botched player substitutions and "you can blow me" tirades against the sports press really is sort of grim. Please, Diego, we miss your regular eruptions when you had more free time. Quit coaching, and get back to 24/7 playing the fool!