Maradona interested in taking over as Aston Villa manager
Published:Diego Maradona is the latest name to be linked with becoming the new manager of Aston Villa after Martin O’Neill’s departure.
Current USA boss Bob Bradley and former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson are among the high-profile candidates reportedly being considered by Villa chairman Randy Lerner.
But Maradona, who led Argentina to the World Cup quarter finals this year before rejecting a new contract, is believed to be keen on a move to England.
His European representative Walter Soriano said: “I think Diego would be very open to the idea of coming to England and managing Aston Villa.
“He is very attracted to English football and the way of life in your country. He loves the English countryside and your respect for privacy, so he would be very happy there, especially at a big club like Aston Villa.”
Reserve team manager Kevin MacDonald is another name being linked with the job after leading the Midlands club to a 3-0 victory on the opening day of the Premier League season at home to West Ham.
Villa are 200/1 to win the Premier League for the first time following the victory and 8/1 to secure Champions League football by finishing in the top four.
After a quiet summer on the transfer front and the loss of O’Neill, many football fans were predicting a tough season for Villa, but they are 15/8 to match their results of the last three seasons and finish in the top six.
Meanwhile, Villa’s next game is a Europa League qualifier away at Rapid Vienna on Thursday and they are evens to secure victory.
Villa met Rapid in the same stage of the competition last year and were defeated 1-0 in Austria, a repeat of the same result is 6/1.
Stewart Downing was the first goalscorer in Villa’s win over West Ham and is 12/1 to grab the opener against Rapid.
