BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, July 13, (Agencies): Maradona’s doctor said Monday the Argentina coach was doing well and had not slipped back into using drugs and alcohol since his team was eliminated from the World Cup with a 4-0 loss to Germany in the quarter-finals.
Dr Alfredo Cahe said in a radio interview that Maradona was mulling over his choices. Cahe was critical of rumors spreading that the 49-year-old coach, who recently said he has been clean for six years, was severely depressed and using drugs and alcohol again.
“He’s a bit down, logically,” Cahe said. “But he’s not deeply depressed. Nothing like what they (the media) are saying here, that he has slipped back into his addictions. What a thing to say.”
Maradona has been holed up at his home in suburban Buenos Aires following the loss to Germany on July 3. He has not said if he will continue as coach.
“As he (Maradona) says, it was a strange game,” Cahe said. “I thought I was going to find him in much worse shape, but no. I see him being reflective. He’s not resigned to the loss, but angry because the victory escaped him.”
The Argentine Football Association has said he can continue if he wants, with Argentina the host nation for next year’s Copa America.

The World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands was the most-watched football game in US television history, drawing 24.3 million viewers, The Nielsen Co said Monday.
The final on the ABC network and Spanish-language Univision outdrew the June 26 US-Ghana match, which attracted 19.4 million viewers, and the 18.1 million viewers for the 1994 Italy-Brazil World Cup final, Nielsen said.
The 1999 USA-China final of the women’s World Cup drew 18 million viewers while the June 12 match between the United States and England, the opener for both teams at the 2010 World Cup, drew 17.1 million.

Pitch invader fined for final stunt: A Spanish football fan who ran onto the pitch before the kick-off of the World Cup final and tried to put a hat on the trophy has been slapped with a fine, media reported Tuesday.
Jaume Marquet Cot, who calls himself “Jimmy Jump”, was fined 2,000 rands ($260, 210 euros) by a Johannesburg court late Monday for trespassing and attempted theft of the World Cup trophy, The Star newspaper said.
Cot, a habitual pitch invader whose exploits are detailed on his website, www.jimmyjump.com, was not trying to steal the trophy but place a Spanish-style barretina hat on it to convey a message of freedom, a friend told The Star.
“He was trying to place the hat (on) the World Cup trophy, not steal it. He’s promoting freedom itself, freedom for everybody,” said his friend, Alex Sola.

Sarkozy blasts ‘disastrous’ team: President Nicolas Sarkozy damned the shamed French football squad on Monday, saying the team had been “disastrous” for their country’s image at the World Cup in South Africa.
“The image shown by the French team in South Africa? Disastrous. I said: ‘Those in charge must go’. They are gone, let’s not heap abuse on them. The players shouldn’t get bonuses. They didn’t,” he said.
Sarkozy, who had already privately made known his displeasure at France’s woeful campaign, was responding publicly for the first time since the team’s first round exit during a television interview.
Explaining why he had taken time out of his political schedule to meet former team captain Thierry Henry on June 24, Sarkozy said that he had wanted to learn more about why the team had failed so badly.

Herbert agrees to stay with NZ: Ricki Herbert will continue as New Zealand national team coach after taking them to their first World Cup finals in 28 years.
The 49-year-old would guide the All Whites through the qualifying rounds for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in conjunction with his regular coaching job at Wellington Phoenix in Australia’s top-flight A-League, he told reporters on Tuesday.
“New Zealand Football are happy to continue on with the partnership with Wellington Phoenix and the national team and I’ve agreed to continue on for the next period for the World Cup,” Herbert told New Zealand television.
Herbert, whose team won many admirers in South Africa after bowing out at the group stage undefeated with draws against champions Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia, had committed to both posts for three years after turning down offers from overseas.
He was among the lowest-paid managers at the World Cup, his annual salary of NZ$50,000 ($36,000) a quarter of his club pay, according to one New Zealand newspaper.
The 78th-ranked All Whites’ appearance in South Africa after a long qualification drought has seen soccer explode in the traditionally rugby-dominated nation.


Liverpool play down Torres injury: Liverpool are hopeful that the groin injury suffered by Spanish striker Fernando Torres in Sunday’s World Cup final is not as serious as was first feared.
The 26-year-old, who missed the end of the 2009-10 season with a knee injury, suffered the injury just before the end of the 1-0 win over the Netherlands.
But Liverpool doctor Peter Brukner told the club’s website: “We’ve been in touch with the Spanish medical team and they don’t think it’s too serious.
“We can’t say too much more at the moment until it is properly assessed on Tuesday.”
He added: “Some of the Liverpool medical staff will go to Madrid later in the week to fully assess the injury and organise his rehab. At this stage we don’t think it’s too serious.”
Torres has endured an injury-plagued season at Anfield although he finished as Liverpool’s top scorer with 22 goals in all competitions.
He suffered a groin injury late last year and underwent surgery on his right knee in January.
The striker returned to help Spain win the World Cup for the first time, but he did not score in the tournament and came on as a substitute in extra-time in the final.