‘An unforgettable genius’
CONTROVERSY WAS NEVER FAR AWAY BUT MARADONA WAS A PRIVILEGE TO WATCH
DIEGO MARADONA’S place in sporting history and popular culture is secure for ever. The extraordinary Argentine will be talked about as long as football is played. He has left us far too soon at the age of 60, but his legacy will live on for generations.
Like those other sporting icons, Pele and Muhammad Ali, it is not just a mere name. It’s more of a language. Maradona. Say it anywhere. What images it conjures up.
For those of us who lived while Maradona was in his prime, it was a privilege. His story on the pitch can mostly be told in four World Cup tournaments.
His first, in Spain in 1982, at the age of just 21, saw him score twice and get sent off against Brazil. Four years later, in Mexico, his legend was cemented for all time.
In this country, there is an inevitable temptation to focus on the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the quarter-finals of 1986.
Let’s please not forget the genius of his second goal, too. It was as much ballet as football, as he glided past the England defenders one by one and slid the ball home.
Captain Maradona also scored an outrageous solo goal against Belgium in the
It was as much ballet as football as he glided past the defenders one by one
semi-finals, before inspiring his beloved Argentina to a 3-2 victory in the final over West Germany.
It is hard to remember any sportsperson ever having quite such an impact on one single event.
Four years later, Maradona helped a far less impressive Argentina side to the final at Italia 90, losing 1-0 to West Germany in a forgettable showpiece match.
By the time of the World Cup in America in 1994, the dark side of this superstar was apparent to the watching world. Remember his wild, bulging eyes, celebration after he scored against Greece? He was sent home from the tournament for failing a drugs test.
Controversy and scandal were never far away for the man born in a Buenos Aires shanty town, who is still something of a deity in his home city, particularly at Boca Juniors.
The club tweeted poignantly yesterday, ‘Eternas gracias. Eterno Diego’.
The most memorable period of Maradona’s club career was undoubtedly at Napoli between 1984 and 1991, when his generation-defining brilliance helped an unfashionable Italian club to their first ever Serie A title – they won two during his time there – and the Uefa Cup in 1989. And he remains a god-like figure in Naples still, his face adorning murals across the city. Management followed for Maradona after his playing days, most notably with Argentina for two years, who he led to the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
But sadly, drug abuse and health issues continued to plague Maradona. That said, yesterday’s news came as a shock across the world.
Not only have we lost an incredible sportsperson, but a passage of time. Part of the story of our lives too. The
great man himself sometimes said it best. ‘I am Maradona, who makes goals, who makes mistakes,’ he said.
‘I can take it all, I have shoulders big enough to fight with everybody. To see the ball, to run after it, makes me the happiest man in the world.’ The truth is it made us all happy. The remarkable, charismatic, often breathtaking Maradona. Gone, but never to be forgotten.
Thank you, Diego. Thank you for reminding us why we all love sport so dearly.