appointed Argentina coach Diego Maradona said Monday he had lined up Liverpool's midfield destroyer Javier Mascherano for the captaincy. “I convinced him. While I am in charge I need him as captain,” Maradona told La Red radio. “He can transmit much of what he does in the center of the pitch - we're not asking him to be a leader immediately,” Maradona said as he prepares for his coaching debut at the helm of the ‘albiceleste' away to Scotland in a Nov. 19 friendly in Glasgow. Current skipper is Inter Milan's Javier Zanetti. Mascherano, 24, initially said he did not feel ready to take on the responsibility. Maradona last week toured several European countries to check on the form of a raft of top names including Mascherano and Barcelona's Leo Messi. With their next World Cup qualifier, at home to Venezuela, not until on March 28, Maradona is hoping his surprise new broom will lift a side currently third in the 10-team South American qualifying group. Four teams qualify for the Finals in South Africa but their form has been patchy with just one victory from their last seven matches - when they beat Uruguay 2-1 on Oct. 11. They then lost to Chile for the first time in 35 years, prompting Alfio Basile to step down. Maradona explained that he wanted to regalvanize the side - “but you can't change history from one day to the next.” Looking back at his whistle-stop visit to Europe Maradona singled out Messi, Manchester United's Carlos Tevez and Mascherano, saying he had found them “motivated to the hilt.” Maradona is, meanwhile, also hoping to make former defender Oscar Ruggeri his assistant despite media reports of opposition from Argentina Football Association president Julio Grondona. “I don't think Oscar's impossible,” said Maradona. The choice of his assistant has already become a hot topic. At one stage Maradona said Jose Luis Brown and Sergio Batista, teammates from the 1986 World Cup-winning side, would take on the role. But he then changed his mind, saying the decision was not final. Ruggeri's recent coaching record would make him a controversial choice. He resigned at Mexico's Tecos UAG after losing his first six games in 2003, then took charge of Independiente in his homeland before resigning four months later after being jeered and insulted by fans at a home game. In 2004 he went to Spanish second division club Elche but was fired after 20 games. He returned to Mexico and joined America, the country's richest club, and this time lasted six matches. Ruggeri's last coaching job was with San Lorenzo in 2006 where he was again fired after poor results including a 7-1 home defeat by Boca Juniors.
