Maradona comes out in defense of Ronaldinho: "He is not a criminal"

Diego Armando Maradona, gymnastics and fencing coach La Plata, remains confined to his home in Bella Vista, from where he has granted a digital interview with the newspaper 'El Día de La Plata'. In it he spoke about the current difficult situation and how the return to football could take place after the sudden stop that took place last March.

Another topic he touched on in that talk was the imprisonment of former Barcelona player Ronaldonho Gaucho in Paraguay after being accused of a crime of falsifying documents. "What happened to Ronaldinho made me sad, he is not a criminal, he just went to work. His mistake is being an idol, it seems. He is my friend and I bank him to die," he said of the former Brazilian international.

Maradona praised the work being done in Argentina during the soccer break. "The economy is not going to be the same, the leaders are going to have to work hard to get around this. Luckily we have great leaders in AFA who have no doubt that they will make the best decisions to help football. Chiqui Tapia is doing a great job I work in the Argentine Football Association, let's not forget this and let's all help them because we all came out of this together, "he assured.

The legendary former Argentine soccer player also explained how he imagines the first game will be when he meets the stands again. "The first game with people will be like when you see your girlfriend after a vacation. And when it comes to playing again, it's a question I can't answer, the only thing I hope is that it will be soon," he wished.

His work with gymnastics

The gymnastics coach is clear that he wants to be able to enjoy football as soon as possible, now doing it from the bench. "It is a rare situation that we have to live in the country and in the world due to this coronavirus pandemic, of course I am eager to return to 'Estancia Chica' to work with my boys, the perfume of the grass is unique," he said. .

Maradona explained that he maintains contact by 'whatsapp' with his players and was convinced that he could avoid the descent to the second division. “With the work we were doing, I had no doubt that we were going to leave the relegation zone, we still have to know what measures the AFA will take. Accordingly, with the coaching staff we continue to plan at the foot of the canyon to be prepared for any possible scenario, "he said.