DIEGO MARADONA IS heading to Belarus as chairman of a small top-flight club with big European ambitions.
The Argentine legend posted a photo on Instagram late Tuesday of what Dynamo Brest said was a three-year contract to serve as chairman of the board.
“Thanks for the trust and for thinking of me,” Maradona wrote in his post.
Dynamo Brest also posted pictures of the 1986 World Cup winner holding up a green and red Belarusian flag while wearing a matching black T-shirt and shorts.
Maradona stepped down as coach of United Arab Emirates second division club Al-Fujairah last month after failing to secure their promotion.
Dynamo Brest were acquired by new owners three years ago who are intent on breaking the historic dominance of the country’s two big sides: Dynamo Minsk and BATE Borisov.
The 57-year-old will be in charge of the team’s transfer policy and strategic development.
“Will Maradona be able to help Belarusian — particularly Brest — football? I think the answer is obvious,” said club spokeswoman Olga Khizhinkova.
She also insisted that the global star intended to spend most of his time in the small city on Belarus’s southwest border with Poland.
“We are already looking for a place for him to live,” Khizhinkova said.
“We expect that if not the whole time, he is going to spend a substantial portion of his time in Brest.”
Dynamo currently sit eight in the 16-team Premier Division.
The club were formed in 1960 and spent their first 32 years in the Soviet Union’s second and third divisions.
Dynamo were automatically promoted to top-flight Belarusian football when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
They finished third in the inaugural Belarusian season but have never qualified for Europe.
The team’s new owners have told Belarusian media that they intended to acquire new talent and invest significant resources in the club this year.
Khizhinkova said Maradona will come to Brest after completing a Russia World Cup assignment for Venezuelan television.
- The original article has been updated to change the spelling of ‘Dynamo’
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Anyone else sick of all this ‘he lost the dressing room’ rubbish as if its acceptable for players to down tools or not try because they dislike the manager? If I was a Chelsea fan, I’d be outraged. These players are grown men or astronomical wages. The fact that it’s seen as acceptable in modern football for players to not bother sums up everything that’s wrong with it
To be fair to some of the players beano, n there’s a few of them that I really don’t like, I think it’s mainly mourinhos attitude / ego / bizarre post match interviews, and his deplorable treatment of the medical staff that is responsible for this! Players are responsible for their own performances I agree but when there’s been a consistent and prolonged malfunction like this one then the buck has to stop with the manager. And frankly his behaviour throughout this whole period has been disgraceful. If the manager is behaving in that way, why would the players play or behave any better. ?
Redundancy of 40.000.000 €!! Happy days special one…
Maybe now the players who have been playing totally rubbish will start getting the stick they deserve with no mourinho to blame or to Base the news stories on when Chelsea lose.
just be cafeful passing stamford bridge cause they giving ev1 3points:-)
Absolutely insane sacking Mourinho. After all he’s done for the club you would think he earned the right to stay until the end of the season at least. If 2 or 3 players were an issue in the dressing room he would have gotten rid in January.
Did you same the same about Garry Monk?
why did this take so long