Diego Maradona, a Divine Talent with More Than a Touch of the Devil
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14 Thursday, November 26, 2020 Sports Diego Maradona, a divine talent with more than a touch of the devil AFP Manager Cesar Luis bered forever – for very differ- BUENOS AIRES Menotti omitted “El Pibe de ent reasons. Oro” (the golden kid) from his In the 51st minute, as Peter DIEGO Maradona was foot- squad in 1978. Argentina, the Shilton reached to catch the ball’s archetypal troubled ge- hosts, went on to win the com- ball, Maradona, some seven nius, a world-beating player petition for the first time. inches shorter, jumped along- whose life and career scaled the The following year, under side him and with a deftness most dazzling heights but also Menotti, Maradona led Argen- that fooled the eye, flicked the plumbed the darkest depths. tina to victory in the under-20 ball through the England goal- Maradona, who died on World Cup in Japan, winning keeper’s arms and into the net. Wednesday at the age of 60, be- the Golden Ball for the tourna- After the game, Maradona came a global icon after leading ment’s best player. said he scored “a little with the Argentina to the 1986 World head of Maradona and a little Cup but he was not a squeaky with the hand of God.” clean idol like Pele, and made Four minutes later, Mara- little attempt to hide his fiery dona picked up the ball in his personality and many vices. own half, beat six England “I am black or white, I’ll players, including Shilton, never be grey in my life,” he before squeezing home. FIFA once said. later named it the “Goal of the Maradona was short, pow- Century”. erful and quick. He was also In 1990 in Italy, almost a ferocious and astute com- I AM BLACK OR immobile because of an injury petitor who refused to be in- to his much-kicked left ankle, timidated even though many WHITE, I’ll never Maradona steered a defensive opponents tried. Above all, he and limited Argentine team was sublimely and imagina- BE GREY IN back to the final even though tively skilful. they won just two games and “No ball ever had a better MY LIFE. scored only five goals. experience than when it was at Late Diego Maradona In a dire final, it took An- his left foot,” said his Argen- dreas Brehme’s 85th-minute tina teammate Jorge Valdano. penalty for West Germany However, while Maradona to this time get the better of is remembered for his mas- His senior World Cup Maradona. terly composure on the ball, debut in 1982 in Spain went Four years later in the he was also famous for his fre- badly. Maradona was treated United States, Maradona Argentinian forward Diego Maradona celebrates after teammate Claudio Caniggia (not pictured) tied the score at 1 during the World Cup quent lack of control both on brutally by defenders and end- seemed restored to health. semifinal between Italy and Argentina in Naples, Italy, on on July 03, 1990. (DANIEL GARCIA/AFP) the field and off. He struggled ed his tournament with a red He scored against Greece and with addiction, notably to co- card for retaliation as Argen- celebrated by racing to scream first season but the club only he fathered an illegitimate Mexico, and also two fiery He was a strident sup- caine, and with his weight. tina, already eliminated, lost into a TV camera, a disturbing finished fourth in the league. child, made friends with the lo- years as Argentina coach porter of Cuban leader Fidel Diego Armando Maradona to Brazil. mixture of joy, relief and rage. He missed much of the fol- cal mafia and enemies of the tax from 2008-10. Castro, whose image he had was born on October 30, 1960, But he ended his last lowing campaign after Athletic collectors. He also fell deep into Even though Argentina tattooed on his shoulder, in Lanus, just outside Buenos Hand of God World Cup like his first, pre- Bilbao’s Andoni Goikoetxea cocaine addiction. His tempes- suffered a record 6-1 defeat by and Venezuelan leader Hugo Aires, and grew up in one of He atoned four years later, maturely. After Argentina beat broke his ankle, and when Bar- tuous time in Italy effectively humble Bolivia in qualifying, Chavez. the poorest areas of the Argen- propelling his country to vic- Nigeria in their second group ca lost to Bilbao in that year’s ended in April 1991 when he and Maradona was banned for In 2000, FIFA ran an on- tine capital. tory in Mexico and making the game, Maradona failed a test cup final, Maradona started a tested positive for cocaine and two months at the end of 2009 line Player of the Century poll. He made his debut for Ar- tournament his own. for ephedrine and was thrown spectacular mass brawl, floor- was banned for 15 months. for an obscene tirade at jour- Maradona gained 54 percent gentinos Juniors just before In the final, Maradona set out of the tournament. ing four opponents. He wound down his play- nalists, he still led the team to of the vote, Pele was second his 16th birthday and his de- up the 86th-minute winner A similar pattern of wild Facing a ban in Spain, ing career with one season at the World Cup in South Africa with 18 percent. FIFA declared but for Argentina at age 16 in against West Germany. He highs and lows marked Mara- Maradona moved to Napoli, Sevilla, one at Newell’s Old where they won their group them joint winners. February, 1977. scored twice in the semi-final dona’s club career. becoming the first player to Boys and two at his beloved before being thrashed 4-0 by Maradona married his His career is defined by the against Belgium, beating four Maradona moved to the break the world transfer re- Boca. Germany in the quarter-finals. long-time girlfriend Claudia World Cup, the four he played defenders for the second. club he supported, Boca Jun- cord twice. All the while, Maradona’s Villafane in 1984. They had in and the one he missed. But the match that defined iors, in 1981 and won his sole His dazzling play trans- Player of the century off-field problems continued. two daughters, Dalma and Gi- “I have two dreams,” Mara- his tournament, and possibly Argentine league title the fol- formed a club from a poor, Over the next two and a He went into drug rehab aninna, and divorced in 2004. dona told Argentine television his international career, was lowing season. much-mocked city and led half decades he had six short on several occasions. When he He also had a son, Diego at the age of 17. “My first dream the 2-1 quarter-final win over He left for Barcelona for a them to their only two Serie and unsuccessful stints man- quit cocaine, he binged instead Junior, born in Naples in 1986, is to play in the World Cup. And England, in which he scored world record fee in 1982. He A titles. aging clubs in Argentina, the on drink, cigars and food and although he only acknowl- the second dream is to win it.” two goals that will be remem- won the Copa Del Rey in his In a whirlwind seven years United Arab Emirates and ended up in hospital in 2007. edged paternity in 2004. Maradona in his own words and of others AFP BUENOS AIRES DIEGO Maradona, who died on Wednesday at the age of 60, will forever be remembered as one of the greatest footballers of all time but also one of the most controversial. Here, AFP Sport looks at some of the best quotes on Maradona both from the man himself and from others in football: Maradona in his own words Players observe a “To see the ball, to run after minutes’ silence for it, makes me the happiest man in Argentine football the world.” legend Diego Mara- “I made mistakes, and I paid dona prior to the UEFA for them. But the ball is still pure,” Champions League — Speaking to the crowd at his Group A match be- 2001 testimonial. tween Bayern Munich “I am Maradona, who makes and Salzburg in goals, who makes mistakes. I can Munich, Germany, on take it all, I have shoulders big Wednesday. (AFP) enough to fight with everybody.” “You can say a lot of things about me, but you can never say I don’t take risks.” “I am black or white, I’ll nev- A file photo given by the Maradona family showing Diego Maradona with his er be grey in my life.” mother Dalma, in Buenos Aires, in what it is supposed to be the last picture of member. He was always getting Cup with Italy in 2006. Glenn Hoddle. “When I wear the national him with her, according to the Maradona family. (MARADONA FAMILY/AFP) kicked around and he never com- — “The best player I’ve seen in — “The crucial difference with team shirt, its sole contact with my plained, not like some of today’s my life. A genius.” – Former AC Pele is that Maradona wasn’t sur- skin makes it stand on an end.” back and change history I would — “Diego, for all Argentinians, strikers.” – Maldini. Milan and France defender Marcel rounded by great players; he had to “I hate everything that comes do. But the goal is still a goal, Ar- is God. And he always will be.” -- — “Maradona. When he was on Desailly. carry the team himself.