"What made things happen is that I succeeded in making the players get over their fear of losing and that's what we needed to do. We played for the people, the shirt and the light blue and white of Argentina," Maradona said. But after a first 20 minutes dominated by Argentina, Scotland troubled the visitors and could have earned a draw if it had taken advantage of several defensive lapses. James McFadden had two good chances to equalize in the first half and another early in the second, but Argentina could also have had more goals, with Javier Mascherano and Ezequiel Lavezzi both going close.

After a strong opening spell, Argentina struggled to produce the entertaining performance Maradona promised would reward Scottish fans for their warm welcome. Still, Maxi's low shot past goalkeeper Allan McGregor at least rounded off a slick move and gave a hint of the passing game that could evolve under Maradona.

"There were lots of great performances to fill me with hope for the future," said Maradona, showing the confidence that once characterised his game on the field.

"With these players we can be confident looking ahead. I can assure the Argentine people these players will give their lives for the shirt. I could go on and on. They will give everything and not leave anything on the field when they play for Argentina."

The 1986 World Cup-winning captain's debut as coach was largely a quiet one, with little of the frantic gesticulating and wild cheerleading that had characterized his time as a fan of the national team, but his side showed the competitive edge it will need to improve upon its current placing of fourth in South America's World Cup qualifying group.

"I'm a very proud manager tonight,'' Maradona said. “It was a great experience. The lads made me feel very relaxed throughout. We lost our way a little bit toward the end of the first half. We've been in a little bit of a mini crisis but the players have shown they are men and made me very proud."

The home crowd, which greeted Maradona with cheers and sang an anti-English song in his honour, was riled by several tough challenges by Martin Demichelis and Javier Zanetti, both of whom may have been trying to compensate for mistakes that could have led to goals.

Although at least two of the six changes to the team that lost at Chile 1-0 on October 15 were forced upon him by the absence of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, Maradona's selections have already suggested a ruthless streak as searches to improve upon the poor recent performances under his predecessor, Alfio Basile.

"It's difficult to compare different managers. When you start to play with a new manager, the motivation is so different. Maybe it's a little bit extra when you see Maradona on the bench," Mascherano said.

Maradona spent most of the match huddled on the bench, his diminutive figure exaggerated by the outsized coat insulating him from the cold Scottish night, and barely celebrated the first goal of his tenure. There were two brief forays to the touchline in the first half, apparently to instruct his defense, but he was so composed he did not even uncross his arms when Maxi slipped the ball past McGregor.

His arms tight to his chest to keep out the cold, Maradona was uncharacteristically calm in his reaction to the slick move involving Carlos Tevez and Jonas Gutierrez. Tevez found space on the right and crossed to Gutierrez, who had time to play a simple pass to the onrushing Maxi, setting up a simple finish.

With Javier Mascherano having drawn a save from McGregor with a volley even before the first goal, the home fans seemed to anticipate a rout.

Aware of the gulf in class between a team mostly drawn from Europe's premier clubs and their own, which featured seven players from the Scottish Premier League and three from England's second tier, Scotland's fans were soon erupting into ironic cheers of "Ole!" each time their team put together a string of passes unmolested.

They also cheered Maradona when he walked to the touchline in the 18th and, after seeing Lavezzi go close, almost celebrated a moment three minutes later. Zanetti let Kris Commons cross from the left and McFadden turned and shot inside the area, only for Demichelis to deflect the ball over.

Argentina goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo then spilled a speculative long shot and fullback Kirk Broadfoot only just failed to redirect a curling free kick by Commons on target.