Ole Diego Ole Diego!
I spent the last 4 days immersed in the world of Maradona. I give to you a summary of this tragic genius from the book MARADONA The Hand of God by Jimmy Burns.
The football prodigy named Diego Armando Maradona was born in a shantytown of Buenos Aires to an Indian father and an Italian mother where life was a misery of labour and lack It was 1960.
Were the Gods purposeful in placing their divine child in squalor? Perhaps. For how else is hunger created? Argentina was a country wracked by corruption, poverty and above all, a God-like worship for football. Adversity and survival characterized Maradona’s early childhood, preparing him for the ferocity so required in the competitive often hostile world of football
When his uncle gave him a football for his third birthday, the squat little boy slept with his arms around it all night. By 8, he was able to do tricks with the ball that surpassed older boys. Every scout and official who watched him play walked away dazzled by the magic the young boy displayed. Imaginative, proactive and with an ankle that rotated more than usual, the 15-year-old wild-haired genius quickly found himself the youngest player in footballing history to play in a premier-division match. Jersey number 10 and later on his club Boca Juniors forever emanate of his legend
The La Bombonera stadium was Maradona the Messiah’s sacred ground. For thousands shout his name, call him savior, and name their children after him. The press loved him and articles confirmed him as as Pele’s natural successor at the top of football. When he won the first World Youth Championship cup in Tokyo of of 1979, the Argentine junta used the victory to dismiss human right charges against it by urging citizens to flood the city square of Plaza Del Mayo to celebrate nationalism. On more than several occasions was Maradona exploited by the junta and self-serving politicians to ingratiate themselves to the people
Unfortunately, Maradona lacked the psychological strength and maturity to weather the trials of the football world. Having been plucked from youth and given to nothing but football, he was emotionally a child. Politically naïve and accustomed to adulation, depression quickly set in. The pressures of the fickle fans who called your name and booed when you played on an off day became too much. The longing to escape was marred by the inexorable link between football and politics. With a war raging between Argentina and England in the Falklands War, the government needed Maradona as part of its propaganda, refusing to entertain offers from football clubs
But deals were made and kachings were rife. it was in 1982 that Maradona was bought by Barcelona for $7.3 million one of the biggest transfer deals in football then. Yet Barcelona remains a bad memory for Maradona. By then many bad habits had sunk in. Missed trainings, constant partying, a secret drug habit and an extravagant lifestyle that included buying a palatial castle, luxurious cars and paying for his entourage of family, friends and hanger-ons. His finances were in shambles. Perhaps he too had a temper and an entitlement that stemmed from being the best. There were numerous quarrels between the player and the Barcelona FC officials.
He played inconsistently, often plagued by old injuries that were remedied with powerful painkillers. When Barcelona lost 0-3 to Manchester United and was eliminated in the European Cup of 1984, Maradona was jeered by fans. As the dejected player walked to the dressing room he sobbed uncontrollably and screamed, “Why, why do I sacrifice myself if when I struggle to play I’m treated like this?”
And therefore in 1984, Maradona abandoned Barcelona and continued on to the city of Naples where he joined the less glamorous Italian club Napoli. 70,000 Neapolitans packed the stadium to watch the arrival of Maradona including the Camorra, the untouchable Neapolitan Mafia who controlled the city. A friendship was struck between the two entities although Maradona was as usual the more naïve. It was in Naples that Maradona thrived. Where the Catalans of Barcelona made Maradona and his people feel unwelcomed, here he walked about like an unchallenged king and women were as available as boats
World Cup Mexico, 1986 will go down in history as Maradona’s zenith. Argentina was to meet England in the quarter finals, a heavily charged game where feelings were still raw from the Falklands War. The 10-week war had seen the English clobber the Argentineans. So thick was tension that each team was briefed to keep politics out of football. The game was further amped by the presence of outstanding English goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
It was in this game where the “Hand of God” was coined. Steve Hodge hooked the ball for Shilton but in a clash of bodies and hands, Maradona emerged and sent the ball into the net. Goal!!! But a hand was involved! It was a goal that was hotly contested and appealed yet finally allowed to the chagrin of the seething English. Argentina gleefully heralded it as “viveza” (craft and intelligence). Years later, Maradona smiles, never admitting openly to this transgression.
But it was the second goal that was the stuff of dreams, of athletic supremacy and only one borne of genius. Maradona’s dribbling skills have been second to none, the ball glued to his boots while he raced around half the English team, helpless to his magic. His team mate Valdano who ran alongside to help make the goal realised midway his irrelevance. Not even a tackle by an English player succeeded in foiling what was to come. Maradona passed the ball from right to left before casually slipping it past Shilton. The roar erupted and therein cemented to the eyes of the spectators the brilliance of Maradona. Years later, Maradona reminisces that second goal as the goal he dreams about. He cannot believe he made so magic a goal
The champion doesn’t stay up there very long. Maradona’s erratic ways and drug problem spirals, his shoulders heavy with the burden of a football world. He confesses to being terrified of loneliness and keeps his family close. Those nearest and dearest have described him as sensitive and always willing to help. Perhaps it is also that tribalism that leaves no room for criticism. Maradona cannot be told off. And therefore, he succumbs to the wiles of unsavoury characters, one of them, an unqualified doctor who causes him to be booted out of the World Cup in 1994 for testing positive for dope. FIFA who has been lax with drug controls conveniently scapegoates Maradona and his errant doctor, further reinforcing the footballer’s hatred against them. He continues to denounce his 15-month ban as a conspiracy by the FIFA.
In retaliation Maradona starts a football union that sees the bad boys of football like Eric Cantona showing up. FIFA is triggered. Again, governments play off the status of Maradona and the player tours the world in a shadow of vested interests
The years after are filled with rehabilitation, addiction and a slew of programs off the pitch. He gains weight, he loses his stamina, and often disappears for days on drug binges. And yet Argentina idolizes him. In a testimonial match in 2001, 60,000 fanatical fans call his name and he cries publicly with emotion
In the Beijing Olympics of 2008 Argentina takes gold and Maradona voices his desire to manage the national squad. It is a decision that leaves many wary and requires no less than 3 personal phone calls from the heads of Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina, not less the Russian Renova Group to move matters; all who are in favour of Maradona bringing soaring profits and political expediency.
The book ends somewhat abruptly and I am baffled as I thumb the pages looking for closure. Maradona leaves me while he coaches with the erratic manner of what is to be expected. Players are confused and commentators struggle to understand his strategy. Among the players under his madness is one extraordinary player named Lionel Messi. It seems to be that the end of one legend is the birth of a new one.
Maradona passes away in November 2020 of a heart attack. He was 60.
The tragic hero that is Diego Armando Maradona. For all his human failings, this football prodigy inspired an entire world, delivered hope to the working class and above all, brought pride to his country.
He who said before an audience in Oxford University, “Family, friendship, solidarity, justice. What more can one expect from God?”
Ole Ole Ole Diego Diego!
