Maradona made a whistle-stop tour of Spain, Germany and England, during which he spoke to the likes of Lionel Messi, of Barcelona, Bayern Munich's Martin Demichelis, Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, of Manchester United.

"The result is totally positive," Maradona told Radio La Red. "When I talked to them, they felt something on their chest and their eyes opened incredibly.

"Tevez is a little bit nervous because he does not start (for United)."

Maradona added that he had made strides in his bid to convince Mascherano to take over the captaincy from the experienced Javier Zanetti.

He said: "I convinced Mascherano, but I will keep this deep in me. I told him the national team need him to be the captain and he understood it."

He added that other players had caught his eye while in Europe.

"I also watched a lot of matches," he said. "Other players such as Diego Milito, Gonzalo Higuain or Mauro Zarate will have their chance soon as long as they keep showing their current form at their respective club teams."

Maradona also indicated that Boca Juniors midfielder Riquelme could yet be called up for the clash with Scotland at Hampden Park on November 19.

He said: "I have to talk to Roman. We know he has played a lot of matches, but you cannot say no to the national team.

"Tomorrow I will ... analyse which home-based players we'll name to add the rest of the squad."