The Argentina coach Diego Maradona took a swipe at fellow greats Pelé and Michel Platini and also criticised the World Cup match ball at a press conference in South Africa.

Speaking before Thursday's Group B match with South Korea in Johannesburg, Maradona rounded on Pelé, who has been quoted as saying that Maradona took the Argentina job only because he needed the money. He said that Pelé should "go back to the museum" and claimed that Platini, the Uefa president, thinks he "is better than all the rest".

Maradona also criticised Platini over reported negative comments by the Frenchman about the 1986 World Cup winner's coaching ability: "Platini? I'm not surprised, I've always had a very distant relationship with him, it's always just hello and goodbye, nothing more than that.

"We all know how the French are, and Platini is French, and he believes he is better than rest."

The Jabulani ball also came under Maradona's scrutiny after questions about the dearth of goals and lack of excitement in the World Cup so far.

"I'm having a wonderful time, to me a World Cup is something that's quite amazing. I'm not worried by the fact there aren't many goals, I'm sure there will be goals, I'm sure the players will see to that," he said .

"Of course in the first matches you are more careful, perhaps more careful than you should be.

"And, of course, there's the ball. I don't want to go into the ball again because everyone is talking about it, but it is important and it does play a part and I would ask Pelé and Platini to go out there and play with the ball and take a closer look at it to see if it's a good one or bad one, and to stop talking rubbish about me."