Diego Maradona has hit out at Jorge Valdano for not doing enough to help the Argentine national team.
Valdano, a former international team-mate of Maradona, is currently director general at Primera Liga giants Real Madrid.
The Spanish outfit currently have three Argentine players on their books - Gonzalo Higuain, Fernando Gago and Ezequiel Garay - and the trio remain very much in Maradona's thoughts ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
However, first-team opportunities are proving hard to come by for the South American stars at Santiago Bernabeu, hindering their prospects of featuring in South Africa this summer.
Maradona feels Valdano should be doing more to aid the cause of his compatriots as he knows better than most, as a World Cup winner in 1986, the thrills of representing your country on football's biggest stage.
Rival"Valdano is one the biggest rivals to Argentina at the moment because he first sent Gabriel Heinze away from Real Madrid and has now prevented Fernando Gago from leaving in search of regular football," said the outspoken national team coach.
"He knows they are two players that I have in mind for the World Cup. Fortunately Gabriel is somewhere he can play (Marseille) but Fernando doesn't play and I can't call a player into my team that is not match sharp.
"He (Valdano) is doing the same with Gonzalo Higuain, even though he is scoring more goals than (Karim) Benzema and Raul.
"I think it's disgusting that an Argentinian is preventing other Argentinians from playing regularly.
"I know that many things are decided by the coach Manuel Pellegrini, but it seems to me that Valdano is not doing enough to help our guys."
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