Diego Maradona will return to the benches to take charge of Gymnastics and Fencing La Plata , a team of long history but little in success, although with a particularity: it is the club of which Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is a follower, former president and probable Argentine vice president since December 10.

"The agreement is closed at 99 percent," said TN, one of the country's main news channels. Maradona, world champion in Mexico 86, will be presented as coach on Friday. 'Clarín' added that "details of the coaching staff are missing," but that the hiring of Maradona is a fact.

"The idea is that Cristina Kirchner is in the stadium," the television signal added. The presence of the two-time president would not be an extravagance, since Maradona has taken pains to criticize the current head of state, Mauricio Macri , and to support Kirchnerism. Focused on the campaign for the presidential elections on October 27, it is not clear whether the former head of state will be present at the La Plata stadium.

Cristina Kirchner's interest in football is scarce, although she always declared herself a follower of the team, which was passionate fan Ofelia Wilhelm , her mother, who died a few months ago.

Gymnastics and Fencing, founded in 1887, is the oldest football club in Argentina, although it never managed to be champion of the first division in the professional era. The contrast with Estudiantes , the other great club of La Plata, is remarkable, since the latter won four times the Copa Libertadores, and even the Intercontinental by winning Manchester United in 1968.

The decision to hire Maradona is already being beneficial for Gymnastics even before being finalized. According to the club, the news is generating an increase in the number of members, and several companies were already interested in sponsoring the team, which is at serious risk of descending to the second division at the end of the season.

Maradona, 58, has an already long experience as a coach. He started in 1994 in Mandiyú de Corrientes and sat on the Racing bench of Avellaneda and Dorados de Culiacán , among other teams. His biggest challenge was to lead the Argentine national team in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where Lionel Messi's team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Germany with a catastrophic 4-0.

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