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Paraguayan sporting officials have labelled national team coach Cesare Maldini "a coward" and called him "a bad choice" following the country's elimination by Germany in the second round of the World Cup.

Maldini, who guided Italy to the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup, replaced Sergio Markarian as coach of Paraguay in December.

Jose Medina Sagales, who took over as the AFP's president during the World Cup, was a harsh critic of Maldini's appointment from the time it was announced.

"I was always right, and with the World Cup failure my thoughts have been proved right," he said.

"Our failure in Korea and Japan was because of choosing Maldini, certainly a bad choice."

Maldini stepped in after Markarian was fired by the Paraguayan Football Association (AFP) in November for poor results in matches after securing the team's passage to the World Cup.

After taking Italy to within a whisker of beating eventual champions France in 1998, Maldini may have thought he was familiar with the pressures of international football management, but his failure to sate a second country's hunger for World Cup success has brought a venomous response in Paraguay.

The country started the World Cup finals with a 2-2 draw with South Africa, then followed a 3-1 defeat to a Fernando Morientes-inspired Spain, before a 3-1 win over Slovenia edged them ahead of South Africa into second place in the group.

That was followed by a dull and defence-oriented 1-0 loss to Germany in the second round, a performance which infuriated Alfonso Colman, the president of Sport Colombia.

"Maldini was a coward for having played so defensively against Germany," said Colman.

"We qualified for the second round because of a miracle, not because we deserved it."

Juan Caceres, Sportivo Luqeno president, slammed the £470,000 the AFP spent to secure Maldini's services for just six months.

"Hiring Maldini was a big mistake for Paraguayan football. A lot of money was invested to bring him, and he was a failure," said Caceres.

Osvaldo Ferras, Sportivo San Lorenzo's president, criticised the timing of Maldini's appointment, claiming the former AC Milan and Azzurri boss had little knowledge of the players he would be leading.

"It was a mistake bringing Maldini as coach. He doesn't know our football and in such a short time he couldn't do anything," he added.

Maldini set the quarter-finals as his primary aim for the team.

"My intention is to do well at the next World Cup, to go beyond the last 16," he said when he was announced as coach in December.

"I am not here for the money," he insisted, "but because I consider it a challenge and an honour to coach Paraguay."