ARGENTINA manager Diego Maradona has received heavy criticism especially after the humiliating 6-1 away defeat to Bolivia in the 2010 World Cup qualifier in May.

THIS IS HARD WORK: Maradona wants to bring down the Brazilians

When asked if it was easier to solely dedicate himself to playing football rather being a manager, Maradona had no doubts about his answer.

“It was much easier being a player. I only thought about getting the ball and enjoying myself. Now I have to take control of around 25 players. There are things that complicate me,” he told Ole.

“I’ll tell you one thing, guys — the other day there was a freekick in a training session and Lionel Messi took it. I moved to the side, the ball rebounded off the wall and it came to me...I take it on my left foot, it was so nice. The player came out of me. I said: I’ll nail it. Someone would have noticed because my eyes opened.”

It is clear Maradona has yet to adapt himself to being a manager and he revealed his strengths and weaknesses.

“I think the best I can give the players is all of my experience and I base myself on this. I am sure if they see me well they will be well. That is my strength. It is a new experience for me.

"Some experiences have gone well and others not too well, but I always look at the players in the face. That is what I was taught by Cesar Luis Menotti, Carlos Bilardo, Alfio Basile and Miguel Angel Lopez.

“What hurts me is that I couldn’t count with Oscar Ruggeri by my side. He has more experience and maybe he could have given me a hand. Maybe we could have done a better job together.”

Los Albicelestes have struggled in the World Cup qualifiers and Maradona explained how he deals with this anxiety.

“Talking to the players. Knowing how Javier Mascherano is. I speak a lot to him, I also speak a lot to Gabriel Heinze. But it is hard to find Messi. It is easier to talk to Barack Obama than to Messi. But sometimes I find him. I speak to Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero, with Maxi Rodriguez. I kill the anxiety watching videos. I watch the matches we have played.”

Maradona also responded to declarations made by Brazil captain Lucio, who said he wants to eliminate Argentina from the World Cup when they clash in a decisive qualifier in September.

“We’ll see if they can. We have four difficult matches left, but we have our minds set on the Brazilians. Brazil are the team we want to bring down.”

If Argentina don’t claim maximum points against their archrivals they could miss out on qualification for the World Cup in South Africa next year.