So what do the Maradona tactics look like, especially given Ibarra picked him for football reasons, not just the lure of nepotism?
“When coaches talk about philosophy, it’s always very difficult to answer,” he says.
“But I’ll explain.
“All of us coaches want to have 80% possession of the ball. All of us coaches want to be protagonists. All of us coaches want our teams to always be able to play well.
“But in the five years of experience I’ve had as a coach, I’ve realised that unfortunately it’s not always possible. Clubs in general always look at the results. They don’t care about everything else.
“So in my opinion, the philosophy must be to be able to combine the idea of football that a coach has with the results. And it’s not easy.
“We all want to be Pep Guardiola, we all want to be Mikel Arteta, we all want to be Enzo Maresca. But it’s not easy because not everyone has the City, the Chelsea, the Arsenal players.
“So we have to do what is necessary and adapt our idea to what we have available.”
But like his father, tactics had very little to do with it. The Maradona years of the game were more to do with sheer talent – but also principles of the game.
So if tactics are fluid, and his father’s influence remains there, what does the son of Maradona want from his players?
“I start with a fundamental principle, which is to give priority to players who know how to play football,” he adds. “And more so, those who to try to be a protagonist.
“For example, my tactical principle is the third man running, pass and move, being direct when possible. Otherwise it’s about keeping possession as much as possible.
“But then, I repeat, every game and every situation leads you to have different principles or maybe different from what you have.
“For example, if there is a game where you have to be more direct and play more up to the attackers, I believe that a coach, even if he has the philosophy of possession, should do that.
“For example, we talk a lot about Guardiola, about possession, about keeping possession. But the Guardiola teams, when they have to be direct, they are direct.
“At City there are a lot of plays that go direct to Erling Haaland. And maybe the idea of playing for Guardiola is not reflected much there, but it works.
“I always hope that my teams can read the games and the situations.”
His father was known as El Pibe de Oro – the Golden Boy.
His son is still flying that football flag, rising up the ranks in the coaching game – and given his success at Ibarra, he seems to have that golden touch.
