Diego Maradona's press conference at Al Wasl Club in Dubai
Diego Maradona has met the press for the first time since he was announced as the manager of UAE Pro-League club Al Wasl.
The former Argentina boss, and FIFA Player of the Century, turned up an hour and a half late, but it was worth the wait.
In an all too brief but entertaining press conference, Maradona gave his reasons for coming to Al Wasl, dismissed rumours of his reported salary, spelled out his vision for the future and turned his guns on FIFA.
You can relive the best bits of Maradona's arrival in Dubai by reading our live blog of the even below...
1.45pm: And that's all folks. Maradona gave a great performance. And yes. He is really here. This should be an interesting two years. Comments about his press conference can be sent via the form at the bottom of the page...
1.41pm: Back onto Al Wasl and the UAE. Maradona says the level of football he has seen is good and that he is confident he can make a good side. He again re-iterates that a youth policy will be the way forward for Al Wasl.
1.35pm: Another gem from Maradona: "FIFA is a museum full of dinosaurs who do not want to give up power." Not a fan of Blatter we're guessing then.
1.31pm: Another question about FIFA, another smart answer from Diego Maradona: "I was asked to be part of the FIFA family. So I said to them, What family?". He then goes on to say FIFA knows nothing about football and that we have to keep fighting them.
1.29pm: Maradona says he isn't looking for huge name players to come. So don't be expecting Messi to be linked. Al Wasl chairman bin Bayat steps in and says he agrees with the policy of signing young players. Maradona also says his aim is to win the league next season.
1.26pm: Maradona inadvertently closes the door on his old pal Martin Palermo by saying he wants to sign young players and not 'white elephants', adding that he wants to build a world class team so the players will have to be in good shape.
1.23pm: Maradona being asked a nice question about rivalry with his old pal Walter Zenga who is in charge of fellow Dubai club Al Nasr. Equally nice answer "As I scored many goals against him, I will also win many games against him."
1.20pm: Diego said that there would be new signings but that no names could be revealed right now. He added that he came to Al Wasl because he likes the city of Dubai and he likes the project.
1.15pm: Maradona has been laying into FIFA, telling journalists that we are discovering more corruption and said that FIFA needed to be run by footballers and not people who had never played the game before. He also addressed his lack of coaching experience and reminded everyone that Argentina finished fifth at the World Cup in South Africa.
1.04pm: El Diego saying he means business in the UAE and says if his players do not play with the same commitment that he has they should not be playing. He has watched his team on video and will make them a competitive side. He also denied that he was on 10m euros a year saying that players earn the big money, not coaches.
1.02pm: Maradona has the floor now and he's spelling out his vision for the Dubai based club. He said he feels good about the challenge of taking the Al Wasl job, adding that he feels the same way now as he did when he was in charge of Argentina.
1pm: The chairman is waxing lyrical as you would expect. He says bringing Maradona to Dubai was historic and that he embodies the ideals of Al Wasl football club. He added that El Diego is here in the UAE to help raise the standards of football from local to international.
12.54pm: Just as we were about to change the headline to 'Diego's pre-press conference banter', Maradona arrives to huge applause. He is accompanied by Al Wasl's chairman Marwan bin Bayat.
12.43pm: Another false alarm? Or did someone have a bet that they could make all the journalists sit there with headsets on for 30 minutes? Still no sign of Maradona. An hour and a quarter late now. We should have had a contest to guess exactly how late he would be!
12.31pm: Oooh. Movement. All the assembled press-folk have been told to put their translation devices on. Guessing we're about to get under way. This is either going to be the most entertaining thing ever, or a total snoozefest. There will be no middle ground we think.
12.30pm: Exactly one hour since the press conference was due to start. It is apparently 'imminent' but then it seems to have been in said status for the past 30 minutes. If you like we could perhaps describe the ceilings and the entrance to the hotel. All very plush and oppulent. I'm thinking the average sports reporter could not afford to stay here.
12:15pm: Our optimism that our pessimism had been misplaced was misplaced. The lights dimmed, and then they went back up again. Perhaps they were doing a test run? The latest news is that Maradona's flight to the UAE was delayed so it might be a little longer before he shows up. How much longer? How long is a piece of string is the thought that comes to mind. As you were then people. Gives you more time to think of a killer question for us!!
12.01pm: Journalists have been told they will be allowed to ask 'one short question' each. The pressure is on now. Any Sport 360 readers got any bright ideas as to what we could ask Diego? The lights are dimming now, so our pessimism seems to be wrong. The press conference will indeed start at around noon.
11.58am: The excitement is building in Dubai. Still no sign but this twitpic should show you just where the great man will be sitting http://t.co/r5h1XCC Let's play count the microphones!!! 11.50am: There really isn't that much happening, however the venue is very nice! The journalists (and there are a lot) all have wifi and comfortable tables and chairs. Plus Al Wasl scarves have been handed out.
11.36am: As was to be expected. A lot of milling around, but not a lot of Maradona. C'est la vie for Dubai. The latest we have heard is that the 11.30am press conference will start at 12noon. We're not too hopeful that will happen either.
11:20am: In true Dubai and Maradona style, the press conference is not at Al Wasl's stadium, but at the extraordinarily posh Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah. A bit of a step up from the usual sports presser.
from LIVE BLOG
