Happy 50th Birthday Little Fella
Diego Armando Maradona is fifty today. In an age where players who cannot compete on the World Stage can demand (and get) £250,000 a week (including bonuses) you have to wonder what sort of salary Maradona would command if he were playing today at the same level he graced the World Cup's of 1982, 1986 and 1990 - 1994 is best glossed over!.
We live in an era where every aspect of our sporting heroes lives are discussed, where minor indiscretions become judged and discussed as dmore important than the war in Afghanistan and where every silly girl who has ever been shunned by a professional footballer in a bar suddenly feels the urge to cry rape, get herself an agent and take her story to the highest bidder.
On the field, where it counts, Maradona was peerless for two summers (1986 and 1990) and it is for those reasons, and not some of his bizarre off field travails nor his 'hand of God' that we should celebrate his life and works. I don't really care if those who achieve greatness in any walk of life are not perfect human beings providing they do not inflict pain or suffering on others. All my heroes as a boy, I'm not sure adults should have heroes but that's another discussion, had flaws: Bobby Moore drank, Jimmy Greaves (ditto), Keith took drugs, Joe Strummer (ditto), Lennon (ditto), Spike Milligan was a depressive as were most of the Pythons - only Richie Benaud seemed 'viceless' but so what?
The photograph above was taken during the Argentina v Belgium World Cup sem-final in 1986, the competition when Maradona really was Argentina. I think the photograph shows fear on the faces of his opponent at that moment which was brilliantly captured. The film below shows the realisation of that fear, it's classic Diego.
3 comments:
Agree with every word...maybe he knew the hoohah the Hand of God would cause (ahem) so he scored one of the best goals ever 3 or 4 minutes later!**
Feeling sporty today...could really do with a Chelsea draw, Man City draw and Gooners win (sorry!)
Australia 26-24 New Zealand (win in injury time from a failed NZ kick to touch that would have stopped the clock!) hope the home nation games are good...O'connor another in a long...long...long line of brilliant Aussie backs
** Crowbarred-in aside: I happened to be in OZ for the '86 World Cup.
Australian sports academies are obviously doing something right. You get around don't you, Oz in 86!
Re the Maradona second goal v England Barry Davies commentary will stick with me forever, his "You have to say that was magnificient," caught the mood exactly. I actually remember clapping the screen! (for the goal not Barry Davies)
Dare I tell you I've been out of the country for more World Cups than I've been in it! And since 1978 I've only been in England for 2: for the 82, 86, 90, 94, 06 and 2010 cups I was living in Canada, Australia, Venezuela, Venezuela, Spain (but in Argentina and Chile for the later stages...and your world cup blog!) and Spain respectively.
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