Flawed magician who cast his spell
DIEGO Maradona will forever be remembered in England as the flawed genius who shattered our World Cup hopes with the “Hand of God” goal.
The fiery Argentinian talisman sparked a furore unlike anything seen before or since when he blatantly punched the ball into Peter Shilton’s net.
He finished off the stunned Three Lions and their fans four minutes later by scoring a spectacular second after a mesmerisingly skilful dribble. Argentina’s 2- 1 victory in the 1986 quarter- finals in
Mexico City put England out and Maradona into the history books as a rule- breaking maestro.
Both countries had gone into the match with a rivalry spiced up by the Falklands conflict, four years earlier. The short, stocky forward said later his first piece of trickery came “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.
The then- England manager Bobby Robson said: “The first goal was dubious – the second was a bloody miracle.”
Maradona, then 25, led his side to victory against Germany in the final and continued to scale the heights of the game.
But demons on and off the pitch led him into a world of Mafia- controlled cocaine abuse, multiple sex scandals and subsequent poor health.
The fans who saw him light up the 1986 World Cup watched as he was banned in disgrace after failing a drugs test in the 1994 United States tournament.
Born in October 1960, and raised with six siblings in Villa Fiorito, a shanty town on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, he was spotted at eight.
So prodigious was his talent for a local club he was given a half- time slot performing ball tricks at professional games.
His first pro club was Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires, but he moved swiftly to Spanish giants Barcelona.
After his party lifestyle led to a rift with management, he moved to Napoli, where he transformed the club’s fortunes and became an icon.
When he helped them to the league title, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in a party lasting five days. He would play league games on Sundays then tour the city’s bars with pals, drinking and taking cocaine until the Wednesday.
His preparation for the next match would involve drastic detox and tough workouts.
Controversy followed when he was seen with leading figures from Naples’ Camorra crime syndicate.
He retired from the game in 1997 after scoring 259 goals in 491 matches, including 34 goals for Argentina.
Demons continued to plague him but his footballing legacy will never be diminished.
ACTRESS Maureen Lipman, pictured, recently made a Dame in the Queen’s latest Birthday Honours, will hopefully make up for a past gaffe when she eventually arrives at Buckingham Palace for the ceremony.
Recalling previously receiving her CBE some 20 years ago, Dame Maureen, 74, explains: “I asked the singer Barbara Dickson, ‘ How do you address her?’ She said, ‘ You call her Ma’am to rhyme with Pam.’ I knew right away I wouldn’t get that out of my head.”
Not in a good way, alas. Dame Maureen ended up calling the Queen “Pam” when the big moment arrived.
MEANWHILE, Dame Maureen’s Coronation Street co- star William Roache, 88, who insists ageing is a “belief system”, tells Woman’s Weekly he hopes to be playing Ken Barlow “when I’m 100, even 120”.
Providing he still has the energy, can fans look forward to plenty more twists and turns in Ken’s love life? Married four times, he’s to date had more than 30 romances on the show.
CURRENTLY making headlines with his much- publicised criticism of inaccuracies in TV series The Crown, Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer says he turned down an offer to appear on Strictly Come Dancing in a “nanosecond”.
“The thought of my children seeing me in spandex!” he light- heartedly adds. “I blushed even when I read the invitation.”
STARRING opposite Nicole Kidman in hit TV thriller The Undoing, Hugh Grant notes they both previously appeared as villains in the Paddington movie franchise.
Explaining he mischievously suggested a cameo for the bear would be fitting, Hugh, 60, jokily recalls: “I lobbied that it would add an extra layer of texture. If during some quite heavy scene between me and Nicole on the streets of New York with all the extras in the background, one of them was suddenly Paddington, pictured. I felt he should be there!”
Paddington sadly proved unavailable...
CLEARLY missing the attention of adoring fans, crooner Engelbert Humperdinck, 84, admits: “I’ve been walking around singing songs and hoping that somebody would take notice of me. But they’re all doing their own thing... it’s funny not to be noticed by people in the house.”
Somebody give the old boy a round of applause, for goodness sake!