The 46-year-old is currently in Rosario for the showbol challenge, with the hosts defeating Uruguay 8-5 on Saturday.

"I respect [current Uruguay coach Oscar] Tabarez with all my heart and that it is why I'm not going to talk about that issue," said Maradona.

There had been rumours in the Uruguayan press recently that the former Barcelona playmaker had struck an agreement to coach the national team in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

"Some rumours appeared in the last hours, but I respect the professor [Tabarez] as he has a great career. While he is on the bench I'm not going to talk with anybody."

Meanwhile, Maradona has taken a swipe at the people who did not believe he would recover after being admitted to a psychiatric hospital in May to aid his battle against alcohol addiction.

"After they admitted me they believed that I would never walk again," he said.

"However, today I run. I silenced a lot of voices that said that I will never run behind a ball again in my life."