Diego Maradona has long been known for his lucid and devil-may-care statements. As unpredictable behind the microphone as he was on the pitch, the famous No10 can be as charming and forthright as he can be volatile and controversial. At FIFA.com we compiled ten of best from the world's most famous Argentinian.

* "Yes, I am a ‘blackhead'* and proud of it. I'll never forget where I came from."
*From the Spanish cabecita negra - a derogatory term used to refer to people from Argentina who came from a poor background.
* "You are never in control with drugs, they control you. Anyone who says, ‘I can handle them' is either lying or deluding themselves."
* "Why am I always fighting against the powers that be? Simple, I loathe any form of injustice."
* "I've packed 70 years into my 40. I've seen it all. I went from a dirt track in Villa Fiorito to the top of the world. When I got there, I had to figure out for myself what to do. Nobody ever told me what it would be like or how to handle it."
* "I was and always will be happy with my ‘hand of God' goal against the English. I offer them a thousand apologies - that's the truth - but I'd do it again a thousand times."
* "My own little revolution is to defend the small people, not as a hero, not as some distant God, but just as a simple footballer."
* "I tried to find happiness playing football, and through it I tried to bring happiness to others. Football is the most beautiful game in the world. Yes, I made mistakes and I paid the price, but you can never tarnish football."
* "The only player that can't be replaced in the national team is Javier Mascherano. In Argentina, it's Mascherano plus ten."
* "I'll be the one making decisions. Of course, I'll listen to Carlos (Bilardo), because he's experienced and won a lot of things. But I am the one who decides who's playing and who's not."
* "This is a moment to enjoy. I'd be more than happy if my parents can see me going out on the field as the national coach, but I don't want to cry. The national team needs a man who makes people laugh and not cry, someone who can bring enjoyment and not tears."

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Whatever the perception of Diego Maradona elsewhere in the world, whatever might be written about him, all is forgiven in Argentina. There, el Diez is akin to a fairytale character, a child born into extreme poverty who grew into a man of unimaginable fame and fortune, a hero who has always dared to challenge the powers that be. This is the story of a man who started out with raw sporting talent and ended up becoming synonymous with his country’s sense of nationhood.

Since he retired fromthe game, Diego has gone through different situations and personal stages. However, his knowledge and constant passion for football has opened a new door for this challenge as the coach in a country where football is practically a religion. But Diego is not your average coach.

National pride
Pride is probably Argentinians’ single most distinguishing character trait, and that goes a long way to explaining just why Maradona came to be idolized by his people. Born in Villa Fiorito, one of the poorest slums in Buenos Aires, Diego had to overcome formidable obstacles throughout his childhood. “If I were asked to sum up Fiorito in one word,” he once said, “it would be struggle”. “If there was food you ate it, and if there wasn’t then you went hungry.” Yet with a mixture of sacrifice and perseverance, Pelusa (a reference to his curly hair) was soon to discover a world far removed from the one in which he grew up. He was soon to represent the hope and dreams of a forlorn people.

Though considered boorish by many in his homeland, Maradona came to embody the essence of being Argentinian. His tears after losing the FIFA World Cup™ Final in Italy in 1990, his insults to the Italian public as they booed the Argentinian National Anthem, and his scream into the camera after scoring against Greece at USA 94 were all experienced by millions of Argentinians as if those emotions were their own.

More than anything else, Maradona will be remembered for the ‘hand of God’ goal he scored against England at Mexico 86. In Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium, the now infamous goal, punched past the outstretched hand of the England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, was seen by many Argentinians as sweet revenge on their old enemies.

“The goal I scored with my hand was much more enjoyable than the second, even if that was voted the best goal ever in the World Cup finals. At the time I put the goal down to the ‘hand of God’. What ‘hand of God? It was the hand of Diego,” he wrote years later in his autobiography.

One life, a thousand enemies
The Pope, the Vatican, the US government’s foreign policy, Argentina’s ruling classes, Italian Silvio Berlusconi and AC Milan have all been in the player’s firing line at one time or another. And inevitably, the Argentine people immediately make Maradona’s causes and pet hates their own.

Pablo Alabarces, the respected Argentine sociologist, carried out a study on this phenomenon which he published in a book called Cuestión de Pelotas.(A Question of Football). In it he said: “We see Maradona as fighting the third world’s corner against inequality, injustice and the concentration of power and money in the hands of the few. He is seen as a Father Christmas-type figure, capable of making all our wishes come true.”

In a country where political and social standards are sometimes noticeable in their absence, Diego Maradona became a spokesperson and a role model for the masses. Not always consistent, but authentic, Pelusa always fought for his countrymen. In the past, it was on the pitch. Now, he’ll have to do it from the bench.

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Argentina's most famous footballing son has led an eventful life, the latest chapter of which has seen him take on the Albiceleste job. From the cradle to one of the most demanding posts in international football, FIFA.com charts the life and times of the man they call El Diez.

1. 30/10/1960
The third of seven children, Maradona is born in a hospital in Lanus (a southern suburb of Buenos Aires) to Diego Maradona and Dalma Franco (better known as Dona Tota).

2. 20/10/1976
Makes his Argentinian first division debut in Argentinos Juniors's 1-0 defeat to Talleres of Cordoba.

3. 27/02/1977
Wins first international cap, coming on for Leopoldo Luque in a 5-1 friendly win over Hungary.

4. 07/09/1979
Crowns a dazzling tournament as Argentina win the FIFA World Youth Championship Japan 1979. Collects the adidas Golden Ball and also wins the adidas Silver Shoe for his six goals.

5. 05/07/1984
Unveiled in front of 80,000 fans at the Stadio Sao Paolo after joining Napoli from Barcelona. Galvanises the team and revolutionises the city as Napoli win two league titles, the UEFA Cup and the Italian Cup and Super Cup.

6. 29/06/1986
Captains Argentina to success at the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico™. Scores five goals to claim the adidas Silver Shoe. His second against England is still considered the greatest FIFA World Cup goal of all time.

7. 25/06/1994
Appearing at his fourth FIFA World Cup finals, he plays his last official match for Argentina in the 2-1 defeat of Nigeria in Boston. After the game he fails a drugs test and is sent home.

8. 25/10/1997
Plays his last professional match, coming off at half-time in the superclásico against River Plate at the Estadio Monumental to be replaced by Boca Juniors team-mate Juan Roman Riquelme. Announces his retirement five days later.

9. 10/11/2001
Joined by Roberto Ayala, Juan Sebastian Veron, Javier Zanetti, Enzo Francescoli, Eric Cantona, Davor Suker, Carlos Valderrama, Hristo Stoichkov and others, Maradona plays his farewell match front of over 50,000 fans at the Bombonera.

10. 28/10/2008
Fourteen years on from his last match in the No10 shirt that catapulted him to glory, news breaks of Maradona's appointment as Argentina coach.

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One of the game's greatest players, and also one of its most troubled and volatile, Maradona is expected to get the job despite having had only two short coaching stints in the mid-1990s totalling 23 games.

"People have spoken a lot about experience but I have had 20 years with the Argentina national side," said Maradona, who captained his country to FIFA World Cup™ victory in 1986.

"So it makes me laugh when they say I'm inexperienced," added Maradona, who since retiring has fought off drug addiction, alcohol-related liver disease and obesity and at one stage four years ago spent 10 days in intensive care.

"Football hasn't changed," he added, speaking to reporters outside his Buenos Aires home. "I don't think there's anything there that can surprise me."

Maradona added that the presence of FIFA World Cup-winning coach Carlos Bilardo as the team's director of football would compensate for any inexperience.

"I have Bilardo at my side and he has as much experience as anyone," Maradona said. "I think they have given this to me at the right moment," he added when asked if he was now more mature.

Maradona played down comparisons with former Brazil captain Dunga, who was appointed coach of his country's national team after Germany 2006 despite having no previous experience.

Dunga, a hard-tackling midfielder, won the Copa America last year but has been fiercely criticised for his team's recent displays. "I didn't play like Dunga - he kicked, I didn't," said Maradona.

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Considered by many the finest footballer ever to play the game, Argentina legend Diego Armando Maradona is just days away from fulfilling his greatest remaining ambition: coaching his beloved Albiceleste. The mythical No10 will be officially named as the 42nd senior national team coach in Argentinian Football Association (AFA) history on Tuesday.

"Maradona has been offered the role of national team coach and Carlos Bilardo that of technical secretary," AFA spokesperson Ernesto Cherquis Bialo told FIFA.com. "All that remains is to hammer out certain details: who is going to be working with them and what their duties, powers and obligations will be. Once these are decided, the Executive Committee will meet over the course of Monday and Tuesday to approve the project, as laid down in the (AFA) statute."

What better birthday present for El Pelusa, who turns 48 this Thursday? In an intriguing quirk of fate, Maradona's first match in charge will be against Scotland in Glasgow in November, in the very same city and against the very same opponents where El Diez scored his first senior goal for the Albiceleste in June 1979.

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For Maradona and the national team, it was love at first sight, right from his first appearance way back in 1977, just four months on from his top-flight debut. Under the watchful eye of then coach Cesar Luis Menotti, who masterminded Argentina's first FIFA World Cup triumph the following year, Maradona came on as substitute for Leopoldo Jacinto Luque in a 5-1 win over Hungary on 27 February. The outrageously gifted left-footer would go on to represent his country at no fewer than four FIFA World Cup finals.

In total, the former Boca Juniors and Napoli star won 91 full international caps for his country, scoring 34 goals. Twenty-one of those matches and eight goals came at FIFA World Cups, including five strikes as he inspired Argentina to victory at Mexico 1986. Head coach on Mexican soil was none other than Carlos Bilardo, newly appointed technical secretary of the country's national teams.

"It's the one ambition that I'd yet to fulfil," admits Maradona on his new role. And though he has been linked with the position on many previous occasions, this is the first time an official offer has been made. "It was easy for me to say that they [the AFA] didn't want to give me the job and I could just stay at home and not carry any responsibility. I wasn't well back then, but now it's a different story," says Maradona, who has already started contacting some of his future charges.

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Maradona's two previous spells in a head coaching role both came about during the ban imposed after testing positive at USA 1994. Though he lacked the relevant qualifications, this obstacle was circumvented by his partnership with Carlos Fren - an old friend from his Argentinos Juniors days.

His first coaching adventure in the Argentinian top flight came about on 3 October 1994 when he took the reins of Corrientes outfit Deportivo Mandiyu. There he lasted just two months, presiding over one win, six draws and five defeats. The team eventually finished second bottom of that year's Apertura standings and were relegated to the second tier.

One year on, with Fren still at his side, Maradona was given the opportunity to coach Racing Club - one of Argentina's biggest clubs. His time in charge began on 24 February 1995 with a 1-0 home defeat to Ferro in the first matchday of the Clausura, and ended four months later on 6 May. Of his eleven matches at the helm of the Avellaneda side, the team won two, drew six and lost three.

But times have changed, and so has Maradona. Calmer and more thoughtful than before, the former Argentina captain is also fortunate to have at his disposal an impressive stream of young talent and players established in the world's biggest leagues.

For Maradona, the recipe for success is a simple one: "The players have to believe in the jersey again. You have to make the players understand they need to give everything for their country, because that's what really matters. Money is no substitute for glory."

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