The Italian-Argentine coach Diego Maradona Sinagra, son of the legendary Diego Armando Maradona, shared on Friday that he is taking over as manager of Unión Deportiva Ibarra, a modest Third Division team in Tenerife, bringing with him the "character and work ethic" he inherited from his father, along with the drive from a family that taught him "to dream big." 

"My dad was part of football in the 80s and 90s, where defenders played tough, goalkeepers were just meant to save, and forwards had to head the ball well. But I always told him that nowadays, a goalkeeper has to play with his feet, and defenders have to build up the game... we’d argue a bit over that, but always with a laugh," Maradona Jr. recalled.

He also highlighted that his father instilled in him the importance of "being credible in the eyes of the players" and "striving to be honest," emphasizing that "it's not true that a coach can’t have a good relationship with their players," as long as the "boundaries are clear." Maradona Jr. will make his coaching debut with UD Ibarra in 24 hours against Arucas, the leader of the Canarian group in the Third Division. At his presentation on Friday, he was joined by the club’s general manager, Mirco Capezzoli, who played a crucial role in bringing him to Tenerife, a place he hadn’t visited until last Wednesday when he arrived on the island.

"My family and I had already talked about changing our lives and moving away from Naples... Mirco came to my home and presented me with this serious opportunity and his desire to have me here, and that means a lot to me. Beyond money, cars, houses, and all that, my heart leads my life. My head doesn’t rule me. And my heart told me to accept," he said.

UD Ibarra has played seven matches this season, winning two, drawing one, and losing four, which currently places them near the bottom of Group 12 in the Tercera RFEF. Maradona has acknowledged that the situation is "difficult" but insists it "can be improved." "In my family, they taught me to dream… It's hard to say how far we can go; it could be to the top (promotion) or the play-offs, but the only thing I can guarantee is that I will dedicate 24 hours a day to this team, working as I always have, 100 percent, because the dream in life is to win, but to do that, you have to work."

Regarding the team, Maradona Jr. expressed that he is "very happy" because he sees the squad as quite complete, which gives him confidence to achieve great things and implement a playing style in which they are "the protagonists" by maintaining "possession of the ball as much as possible" and "controlling different phases of the game." Even so, he reminded everyone that "there are no magic wands" and that he has only been working with the team for two days, so he will need time to "adapt to what the team has been doing" so far, but he is hopeful that, little by little, "new ideas" will be introduced, aiming to "be protagonists on every field" and "as effective as possible." 

"The first thing I told the guys when I arrived was to forget my last name. I am a coach here to contribute alongside an important coaching staff. They welcomed me, treated me well, but this Saturday, I will be able to tell them if it was a good start. Hopefully, that’s the case. We need God to be with us, because in this life, without God, we are nothing," Maradona Jr. concluded.