LONDON — He's battled drug addictions and obesity. He's been kicked out of the World Cup for doping and sentenced to jail for shooting an air gun at reporters. He scored a famous goal by punching the ball into the net.

Not exactly the traditional profile of a national team coach.

But this is Diego Maradona, one of soccer's all-time greats who is still idolized by Argentina's fans.

Maradona, who turns 48 on Thursday, and Carlos Bilardo have been asked to lead the national team by Julio Grondona, head of the Argentine Football Association.

Negotiations are continuing but the plan is for the superstar to be the coach and Bilardo, who was coach when Maradona led the team to a World Cup triumph in 1986, the general manager.

It's a combination that, on paper, should thrill Argentina's long suffering fans, who have seen their team of hugely talented stars fail to win the World Cup since that famous triumph 22 years ago.

But it could be another disaster waiting to happen for the star whose career has scaled the greatest heights and sunk to the deepest lows.

Even in Argentina, Maradona is revered one minute but considered an embarrassment the next because of his eccentric behavior and longtime problems with drugs and alcohol.

Blessed with mesmerizing dribbling skills, the left-footed Maradona scored two of the World Cup's greatest goals against England and Belgium on the way to Argentina's title triumph in Mexico in 1986.

Before scoring that goal against England, however, he blatantly cheated by jumping to attempt a header against much taller goalkeeper Peter Shilton and punching the ball into the net with his left hand, the one he later called "the Hand of God."

Maradona won domestic titles with Argentina's Boca Juniors, Spain's Barcelona and Italy's Napoli, each time becoming a huge favorite with the fans with his inspirational play and ability to leave defenders chasing shadows.

It was during his spell with Napoli, however, that he ran into problems off the field, banned from the game for 15 months after testing positive for cocaine.

Although he returned to lead Argentina to the 1990 World Cup final, Maradona's drug problems continued and he received another 15-month suspension and was kicked out of the 1994 championship in the United States.

Maradona went from one crisis to another, shooting an air gun at reporters waiting outside his house, attempting to fight off a paternity claim in Italy and then running into serious health problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse.

In April 2004, a hugely overweight Maradona had a heart attack. After his recovery, he had gastric bypass surgery and slimmed down, but still fell ill with hepatitis and had treatment in a psychiatric clinic for his alcohol and drug problems.

While federation boss Grondona says he has visualized Maradona as the national team coach since 1979 and that fans and players welcome the return of their greatest player, the Argentine media argues that the star's troubled history makes his appointment a big mistake.

Wednesday's La Nacion cited Maradona's volatile nature, unstable health, temperament and confrontational attitudes, and a columnist said the star would risk the "Maradona Myth" by taking the job.

Argentina has a wealth of talent with the likes of attacking stars Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, yet a series of coaches have failed to get the best out of them.

Now Argentina looks set to turn to Maradona, historically its biggest name but with little success or experience at coaching.

Theoretically, purely from a soccer point of view, Maradona the coach could turn out to be almost as good as Maradona the player.

But it would be like putting a fan in charge of the team rather than a trained, experienced coach.

All his enthusiasm might be compromised by selecting only his favorites instead of the players who are in form. He will inevitably run into problems with the critics he made in the media. Being national team coach would put him even more in the spotlight.

Argentina's soccer federation hopes it will cure its problems by appointing the nation's greatest ever player. It may well create even more.