Maradona likely to stay with Argentina

Diego Maradona is set to stay on as Argentina’s coach - despite the team’s loss to Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals - amid reports Friday that the Argentine Federation will offer him the job again through the next tournament in Brazil in 2014.

Maradona was a surprise choice to lead the team when he took over in the fall of 2008, as he had little coaching experience. The team struggled through the qualifiers, and the coach cycled through more than 100 players.

But Maradona’s Argentinians generally impressed football fans by winning all their opening matches and dispatching Mexico in the Round of 16.

Last Wednesday, a Federation spokesman said that Maradona - who has not been seen in public since his return from South Africa - would be asked to stay on.

Since then, there have been reports in the media that Federation President Julio Grondona is planning to meet with Maradona - who led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup - next week to discuss terms.

A Federation spokesman said that meeting will have “an open agenda without any strings attached.”

Grondona “will ask Maradona to report back and to give an assessment [of the World Cup] and lay out his vision for taking the team through to 2014,” the spokesman said.

Several stars have voiced their hope that Maradona will stay with the team.

AFP