MARADONA vs. River Plate. Will we play in Rosario?

We all know when Diego MARADONA speaks, you never get a dull press conference.

The week before the match between Argentina and Colombia, MARADONA said the pitch at the River Plate stadium was terrible. He said the pitch where he learned to play football in the shanty town of Villa Fiorito was in better shape than that of the Estadio Monumental.

The match is history now, but the debate and the controversy are only just beginning.

Why? Because River Plate's President, José María AGUILAR, wrote a couple of letters to the AFA.

One in which he express his disappointment after MARADONA's comment about River Plate and their stadium and the other one, surely the most controversial, asks the President of the AFA, Julio GRONDONA, whether MARADONA passed the medical examination before taking over as a national team manager. AGUILAR also asks whether MARADONA signed his contract with the AFA or not. It is of public knowledge that Diego is still to sign his contract.

Under the current state of things, the rumours of Argentina playing at home against Brazil in Rosario, are gaining a lot of steam.

The Rosario Central stadium was mentioned by MARADONA as one of his favourite grounds in the country in which the opposition can feel the pressure of the home fans because they are closer to the pitch than at River Plate.

The fact that the match could be played away from Buenos Aires is also something Diego would like to see, in order to make our national team more of a federal team. People from the inner Argentina will have more chances to attend the match.

Regarding the controversy between MARADONA and River Plate, Julio GRONDONA said: "I think this is a big misunderstanding. These things happen".

"The truth is the Monumental Stadium's pitch was in bad conditions when Diego said what he said".

"I think we, the AFA, will have to look for alternatives in order to have the clearance to use other stadiums as alternatives. We would have to count with FIFA's permits to do that, but we'll have to work towards finding the best solution".

"I know they have made a lot of work in Rosario Central's stadium and we will see if FIFA clears us to use that stadium in case we decide to change and move from River Plate".

So don't be surprised if Argentina host Brazil in Rosario, just as we did in the World Cup 1978 (0-0). Argentina played three matches in that World Cup winning campaign (beating Poland 2-0 and the famous win over Perú 6-0).