1960-2020
The world of football is in mourning today following the news that Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60.
Revered by many as the greatest player of all time, he was a special talent, the like we see, in sport, once in a generation. And as brilliant as he was, as an outrageously gifted forward, some of his behaviour away from the pitch made the headlines too.
Argentina’s president Alberto Fernandez has decreed three days of mourning as millions of football fans around the world, particularly in Argentina and Naples, shed tears and share memories of their favourite player. The news that he died from a cardiac arrest at his home in Tigre overshadowed tonight’s Champions League matches, and when Napoli play Rijeka in the Europa League on Thursday night there won’t be a dry eye in the stadium.
Diego Armando Maradona was born in 1960 and raised in a poor shanty area in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, as the eldest son in a family with Argentine and Italian blood, and he became a legend in both countries. A speedy and two-footed attacking midfielder he rose through the ranks of his local club, Argentines Juniors, before signing for Boca Juniors and then moving to Barcelona in 1982. He spent two years at the Camp Nou and then headed to his spiritual home in Naples, where he spent seven seasons at Napoli FC. On his signing the city welcomed him with open arms, 75,000 fans greeted him and a local newspaper wrote that, despite the lack of ‘a mayor, houses, schools, buses, employment and sanitation, none of this matters now because we have Maradona.”
And how he delivered, scoring over 100 goals in all competitions and leading the club to its first Serie A title in 1987 and its second in 1990.
World Cup winner
As a very young England fan I recall the best and worst of Maradona as he led Argentina to World Cup triumph in 1986 in Mexico. His team arrived as favourites, the main reason being the form of their talisman and captain who was head and shoulders above any other player in the world, and they coasted into the quarter-finals where they would meet Bobby Robson’s England.
England supporters thought they could beat Argentina (an English trait) if they could keep Maradona quiet, but the three Lions fans were wrong, as their idols could only stand and watch as the little genius stole the show, scoring twice in a 2-1 victory. His first was the infamous ‘Hand of God’ when he deceived the referee with a clever hand to lift the ball over England keeper Peter Shilton and into the net.
That was infuriating to the English, but there was nothing but admiration for Maradona when he scored his second. At 5ft 5in he had such a low centre of gravity that, combined with his incredible skill, he was virtually impossible to knock off the ball, and believe me, some of the best defenders in the world tried and missed by a mile.
On this occasion, he left four defenders in his wake as he slalomed through the England half at such pace and with incredible grace, before he wrong-footed Shilton and slid the ball into the net. England fans still moan about the ‘Hand of God’ but marvel at what is universally agreed to be the best World Cup goal in history.
Maradona died on the very same day that Manchester United icon George Best died on…15 years ago. Two of a handful of the most gifted players of all time will forever be remembered on the 25th of November.
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