Diego Maradona will be offered a new four-year contract to stay on as Argentina coach, the Argentinian Football Association has announced.

AFA president Julio Grondona will meet with Maradona next week to offer him the chance to guide his nation to the Brazil 2014 World Cup after the AFA executive committee determined he remains the right man to command the national team after a respectable showing at the World Cup in South Africa.

Maradona had little coaching experience before taking Argentina on a roller-coaster ride to World Cup qualification. Few gave him any chance of turning his undoubtedly high-quality squad into World Cup contenders but they impressed on their way to the quarter-finals before being humbled 4-0 by Germany.

Grondona intends to meet with Maradona no later than next Wednesday to discuss the contract extension. Maradona said after his side’s exit that he would consult his family and the Argentina players before deciding whether he intended to stay on.

Juste Fontaine’s record 13 World Cup goals in 1958 included four in the third place play-off against West Germany, as France achieved their best-ever finish in the tournament. Fontaine who was born at Marrakesh in Morocco in 1933, began his career with Nice and won League and Cup winmner’s medals before making his international debut against Hungary in October 1956.

He was in and out of the national team and won a place in Sweden only after an injury to Renè Biliard. But he combined with Raymond Kopa to provide one of the tournament’s most lethal strike forces and he scored in every game. Fontaine who scored 30 goals in 21 internationals, moved to Rheims shortly after his World Cup exploits and appeared for them in the 1959 European Cup final, when they lost to Raymond Kopa’s Real Madrid.

His career was cut short at the age of 27, when he broke a leg for a second time. He became president of the French Footballers’ Union and had a brief spell in charge of the national team and Paris St. Germain. Fontaine’s 13 goals remained an overall record until surpassed by Gerd Müller in 1974, although no man has bettered his tally in one tournament.

Paolo Rossi’s career lay in tatters in 1980, after he was suspended for three years following an alleged “fixing” scandal. Rossi continually protested his innocence and the ban was commuted to two years. Born in September 1956, knee problems dogged him with Juventus’ junior side and they loaned him to Como, then to a Serie B club, Lanerossi Vicenza, who converted him from a winger to centre-forward.

Rossi became an instant sensation and his 21 goals helped them to promotion and the club paid £1.500.000 to take him permanently. After being relegated, however, Lanerossi transferlisted him at £3.000.000, but he refused to join Napoli and went to Perugia on loan. It was a result of their game with Avellino in 1980 that he was accused of taking a bribe after the match ended 2-2 and Rossi scored both Perugia’s goals. In 1981, whilst still suspended, Juventus bought him for £500.000. His suspension ended on April 29th 1982 and he was immediately recalled to international football in the 1982 World Cup.

The tournament started poorly for Italy. In a group with Peru, Poland and Cameroon, they only managed to score two goals. They went through on more goals scored than Cameroon. Not many fancied Italy to progress further when they ended up in the same group as Brazil and defending champions Argentina. A narrow 2-1 against Argentina gave sign of improvements. But Rossi still hadn’t scored after 4 matches. Teamcoach Enzo Bearzot gave him a last chance to impress in the deciding match against Brazil. In a memorable game where Brazil only needed a draw to reach the semifinal, Rossi scored a magnificent hat-trick, and Italy won 3-2.

He continued to impress in the semifinal against Poland and scored both goals in the 2-0 victory, and in the final he scored the first in the 3-1 victory over West Germany. With that goal he also secured the topscorer title of the tournament.

One of the finest ever players in the game, Ferenc Puskas never was able to fulfil his true potential in a World Cup, despite being silvermedalist in 1954. He began his career in 1943 in Kispest a suburb of Budapest, and at the age of 18 in 1945 he made his debut for Hungary against Austria in his country’s first post-war international match. Puskas played in the fabulous Hungary side that trashed England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953, the first team outside Britain to beat England at home.
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Nicknamed “The Vulture”, Emilio Butragueño went on to become one of the most lethal strikers in the Europe in the 1980s. He was a smart player and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time scoring most of his goals from inside the penalty box. He was born in Madrid and started playing for Real, the club he was about to serve for most of his career. Emilio formed a deadly partnership with Mexican Hugo Sanchez during many successful seasons.

Butragueño scored a goal in his international debut for Spain against Wales in October 1984, just months after Spain finished second in the European Championship. He was a regular in the team by the 1986 World Cup in Mexico as Spain looked like serious title contenders. They progressed rather easily from their first round group and met Denmark in the second round, a replay of the semifinal at Euro 84. Butragueño experienced one of his finest days as soccerplayer as he became the first man since Eusebio in 1966 to score four goals in a World Cup match as Spain ran out 5-1 winners against one of the tournament favourites. A defeat to Belgium on penalties in the following round ended Spain’s dream of a first World Cup title.

Emilio failed to show his real class in Italy four years later and did not manage to score a single goal in the four games he played as Spain reached the second round. He was then the new team captain and took more responsibility in the defensive work and let Julio Salinas do the running up front. It was to be the last tournament he played for Spain. At clublevel, Butragueño had much more success winning five straight league championships with Real Madrid during the second half of the eighties. He left Real in 1995 for a career in Mexican soccer and retired a couple of years later.

Nicknamed “Der Afro” for his big curly hair, Paul Breitner was a starplayer at an early age. He signed for Bayern Munich when he was nineteen in 1970 and made his debut for the West German national team the following year. Paul started his career as a full-back, but moved up in midfield towards the end of his career. He had a very good right foot shot which he used frequently with great results.

Breitner was a member of some of the finest teams Europe has produced. West Germany won the European Championship in 1972 and two years later, on home soil, they mopped up their second World Cup title. Breitner scored three goals from his defensive position, two long range thunderbolts against Chile and Yugoslavia and a penalty in the final against Holland. Also in 1974, Bayern Munich won the European Cup making it a fantastic year for “Der Afro”. At 22, he had already won everything a footballer could dream about winning.

Breitner now searched abroad for new challenges. Real Madrid was next destination and he continued to win more trophies in the Spanish capital. When he came back to Bayern after three years in 1977, he had won two league championships with Real and a Spanish Cup title. Paul’s international career was in the meantime temporarily over. Disagreements with the coaching staff and certain players made him stay away from the West German national team for several years, but he changed his mind on the eve of the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Rummenigge was one of several players who said the team needed him after a run of poor results in the build-up to the finals.

In his midfield role, Breitner guided West Germany to the final where Italy beat them 3-1. Breitner scored the West German goal making him only the third man, after Pelé and Vava, to score in two World Cup finals. He retired in 1983 having won many trophies including seven league championships in Spain and West Germany. Breitner was also named German Player of the Year once.

Franco Baresi, born in Travagliato, is one of very few players at top international level to have spent an entire career at one club. He made his debut for AC Milan in 1978 and won the Serie A already in his first full season the following year. Franco was one of these players that didn’t look very impressive physically compared to what you would expect from a central defender. He usually operated as a sweeper behind the defensive line, and controlled the pace of the game from there. He read the game impressively well, which was the main reason to why he was so outstanding.

It took some time for him to break into the national team because Enzo Bearzot, the coach at the time, preferred the Juventus trio Cabrini, Gentile and Scirea in defence. The latter occupied the sweeper’s position in the World Cup winning team of 1982. Baresi was included in that squad, but never played a minute in Spain which he didn’t like. He then rejected to play for Italy as long as Bearzot was in charge which made him miss the 1986 World Cup. Bearzot then retired and Baresi once again said yes to the Azzurri. Italy reached the semifinals at Euro 88, Franco’s first tournament with Italy, and another semifinal in their own World Cup in 1990. Italy lost to Argentina on penalties, but beat England in the bronzematch.

Baresi was captain when Italy travelled to America for the World Cup in 1994. At 34, he knew this was his last chance to win the World Cup, but an injury in the first round against Norway made him miss several matches and he wasn’t ready until the final against Brazil, where he played the game of his life. Brazil evenutally won on penalties and Franco missed one of the penalties for Italy. It was his 81st and final match for Italy.

He played three more years for Milan before retiring, having won six Serie A championships, three European Cups and two World Club Cups among his many titles. AC Milan paid tribute to him by making his number 6 jersey immortal. No player in the future will ever wear that jersey again for Milan.

Born in Sacele, Gheorghe Hagi’s, outstanding talent was discovered quickly and after playing for Farul Constanza and Sportul Bucharest for a short period of time, he was transferred to Steaua Bucharest in 1987. In Romania’s premier club, he won the league and cup double three years in a row. Hagi was a very skillful and creative player and very often did unpredictable things with the ball.

Gheorghe played in his first World Cup in Italy in 1990. Although he displayed a few flashes of brilliance in some games, that year was not going to be his best. Romania bowed out in the second round after losing to Ireland on penalties. Hagi was at the peak of his career by the time of the World Cup four years later in America, and he showed the world what he was capable of doing. He was the best player of the tournament alongside the likes of Romario and Roberto Baggio. He also found the net three times in that World Cup with one of them being a wonderful 40 yard lob against Colombia. However, once again penalties stood between Romania and further advancement as Sweden won in the quarterfinal.

Hagi played for Real Madrid, Barcelona and Brescia with variable success and never quite unleashed his true potential at clublevel abroad. He struggled with disciplinary problems on the field and was suspended several times. When Romania qualified for the World Cup in 1998, he said it would be his last tournament. Romania reached the second round and lost 1-0 with the goal scored…yes, from a penalty. He made a come-back prior to Euro 2000 and got sent off in his 125th and last match for Romania in the quarterfinal against Italy. Hagi spent the final stages of his career in the Turkish league for Galatasaray where he had success winning the UEFA Cup and played some of his best soccer at clublevel ever.