The above picture was the defining image of Argentina’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Peru in the rain on Saturday, and perhaps Diego Maradona’s tenure as national team coach to date.

For many in Argentina, Maradona’s reactions are indicative of an approach to the job that is too emotional.

Whatever he is really thinking, he often looks slightly bemused on the touchline when his team are not in control. He has been criticised for being unable to make the right substitutions, though he did pull a rabbit out of the hat with the introduction of mircale maker Martin Palermo, a striker who has been dubbed “the goal optimist”.

When Maradona celebrates he is like any fan and while his dive on to the sodden pitch after Palermo’s winner made for great pictures, the sports talk shows have been asking whether it was the image the national team manager should be giving.

The always elegant Cesar Luis Menotti, the coach who wrought a sea change in how Argentina’s national team is run when he took charge in 1974 and set the tone for two World Cup victories, is probably having nightmares watching the present side.

Yet here they are, one win away form clinching a place at the World Cup finals.

Might emotional Maradona yet have the last laugh?

PHOTO: Diego Maradona celebrates Argentineas winning goal in their World Cup qualifier against Peru in Buenos Aires, October 10, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

Is Martin Palermo’s amazing winner for Boca Juniors on Sunday, a header from nearly 40 metres that bounced just once on the line of the six-yard box on its way into the net, worthy of an entry into the Guinness Book of records?

This is a question Argentines have been asking, while TV sports chat shows have been running footage of other remarkable goals and moments in the career of the 35-year-old striker.

Palermo himself barely knew what had happened on Sunday. His expression as he celebrated his feat said it all. First a quick run, taking his shirt off and waving it over his head. Then a stance with feet and arms out wide in front of the hardcore fans at the Bombonera, soaking up the adulation but also with a wry grin as if to ask “How did I manage that?”

Velez Sarsfield goalkeeper German Montoya came out of his box to kick the ball clear. It went at head height towards the centre circle. Palermo, standing just outside the circle 38.90 metres from goal headed it right back and it sailed, veering towards the right, into the net. Another 10 metres and it would have hit the post or gone just wide.

“It always happens to me. When I look for similar stories of other players there aren’t any. Things happen to me that I can’t explain,” Palermo told TyC Sports cable TV.

Diego Maradona is probably going to give Palermo, who scored twice with two orthodox headers in a friendly 2-0 win against a weak Ghana team last Wednesday, a start in Argentina’s critical World Cup qualifier against Peru at the Monumental on Saturday.

It is another remarkable moment in the career of a striker who won seven caps in 1999, one of which came in a match against Colombia in which he missed three penalties, and then did not put on an Argentina shirt for 10 years.

Last month, he made his international comeback as a substitute in Argentina’s 1-0 defeat by Paraguay that has left Maradona’s team teetering on the edge of World Cup oblivion. Argentina’s only real chance of that match fell to him in stoppage time but he was just short of getting to Rolando Schiavi’s header across the face of goal.

A younger Palermo would probably have reached it and turned it in for an equaliser. Maradona hopes he can score against the Peruvians and Palermo said his wonder header on Sunday has been a confidence booster.

“Mentally, it’s a great boost for what’s coming with the national team,” said Palermo, who, if he plays, will win his 10th cap.

“Obviously it’s not the same to arrive (at the match) in good form as getting there in (the middle of) a bad run,” added Palermo, whose Boca side had lost their previous four matches before Sunday’s 3-2 victory over league title holders Velez.

PHOTO: Argentina’s Martin Palermo celebrates after scoring against Ghana during their friendly in Cordoba September 30, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

The fact that Martin Palermo is Boca Juniors’s regular penalty taker speaks volumes about his strength of character.

Back in 1999, Palermo made international headlines for the wrong reasons when he missed three penalties for Argentina in their 3-0 Copa America defeat by Colombia. Yet, instead of hiding in his hotel room, Palermo came out and faced the media the next day, promising to get on with his career.

Three days later, he bounced back to score in a 2-0 win over Uruguay. Nine years later, Palermo is Boca’s all-time leading scorer, having overtaken the previous record of 180 goals set by Francisco Varallo in the 1930s. His Argentina career never got off the ground but he has become a cult figure at Boca, having returned after stints with Villarreal, Real Betis and Alaves in Spain.

By Argentine standards, Palermo is a somewhat clumsy, lumbering forward. Yet his ability to bounce back from adversity and his knack for alternating brilliance with tragicomedy have endeared him to the club’s fanatical supporters. At Villarreal, Palermo famously broke his leg while celebrating a goal when he stood on a small concrete wall which collapsed under the weight of fans.

After returning to Boca, he was one of the central figures in a brawl which sparked a crowd riot in a Libertadores Cup game against Guadalajara. The match was abandoned, Boca were knocked out and Palermo banned. On the flipside, Palermo succeeded where Pele had failed by scoring from just inside his own half against Independiente.

Boca’s last two matches in the Libertadores have been fairly typical of his ups and downs. Two weeks ago against Chilean champions Colo Colo, Palermo missed another penalty with his team 1-0 down and reduced to 10 men. Yet, two minutes later he scored — and Boca went on to win 4-3.

Tuesday’s match against Mexico’s Atlas was one of his unlucky days. With the score at 1-1 and Boca on top, Palermo contrived to miss an open goal from six metres as he sidefooted the ball wide. Atlas came out for the second half with fresh ambition, won 3-1 and left the defending champions facing an early exit at the group stage.

But you can be sure that Palermo will be forgiven by Boca fans. And don’t bet against him scoring a hat-trick in the final group game at home to UA Maracaibo.

Brian Homewood, Rio de Janeiro