The Uniqueness of Diego Maradona
“And that is why Maradona is the greatest player in the world.” Truer words were never spoken after Diego Maradona scored what is considered the Goal of the Century in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Maradona was a one-of-a-kind soccer player, he had otherworldly talent, bringing great joy to Argentina and soccer fans throughout the world during his glory days. Off the field, he was notorious for the things he did and said. It’s because of all this, that we mourn his passing.
Maradona’s greatest moment was the previously mentioned 1986 FIFA World Cup. While that was a solid Argentina squad, the reason they won was because of Maradona and it’s not a coincidence that he is the first player that comes to mind when that team is brought up. He came in eager to have a big tournament after being left off the 1978 team that won it all on home soil and then getting sent off in the last game of the 1982 World Cup while losing to bitter rival Brazil. Maradona was active from the start, assisting on 3 goals in Argentina’s first game vs South Korea. However, stars are fondly remembered when they perform on the big stage, and the most notorious moment for Maradona was yet to come. After knocking out Uruguay in the first knockout game, Argentina was set to face England. Things were tense between these two nations, but not necessarily because of actions on the field.
4 years earlier, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a set of islands east of Argentina which were occupied by Great Britain. At the time the Argentine government were trying to assert their power and gain support from the people (more on that later), and saw invading the Falklands as the perfect opportunity to do so. The plan was a failure as the conflict was over in 10 weeks and the British not only retained possession of the islands, but Argentina suffered twice the number of casualties. Morale in the country was low and the people were eager for something positive to happen.
Enter Maradona and an Argentina squad that was eager to beat England, not only to advance, but to get some sort of revenge for what happened in the Falkland Islands. What happened in this game sums up Maradona perfectly. Six minutes into the second half, a misplayed ball was headed towards the English goal. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton and Maradona went up for the ball and surprisingly, the shorter Maradona won the ball and sent it into the goal to give Argentina a lead. The only way Maradona could’ve outleapt Shilton was by using some extra, possibly illegal help. The referees failed to see it, but replays and pictures later showed that Maradona had used his fist while jumping to score the first goal. With VAR, this goal wouldn’t have stood, but alas this was 1986. This goal on its own is very memorable and was symbolic of how Maradona was a person: someone who wasn’t afraid to do what he felt was necessary even if it wasn’t the right thing to do.
Four minutes later, Maradona received a pass closed to midfield on the Argentine side. Ahead of him were four English defenders, and neither one of them could reach, stop or tackle him to stop his run. Maradona was not known for his speed, but during this run, he was practically unstoppable. Only goalkeeper Peter Shilton remained in his way, but he was able to fake him out and score to make it 2–0. Words simply aren’t enough to describe what a spectacular goal this was. Seriously, go on YouTube and check it out. If you can, look for the video with commentary by Victor Hugo Morales. It’s in Spanish, but there are videos with English subtitles. Morales starts crying and screaming due to the beauty of what had just happened and the most famous quote from his commentary was: “Cosmic kite, which planet did you come from, to leave so many Englishmen behind, for the country to be a clenched fist crying for Argentina?” England scored later to cut the deficit in half, but Argentina held on for the win. After the game, Maradona was asked if he had scored the first goal with his hand and stated the famous line, “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” This led to the first goal being known as the hand of God goal. Only someone like Maradona could manage to score two goals in the same game that are so notorious, albeit for different reasons.
Argentina then faced off against Belgium in the semifinals, and beat them 2–0 to advance to the final vs West Germany. They blew a 2–0 lead to the Germans only for Maradona to shine once more and lead Argentina to glory. Seven minutes before the final whistle, Maradona was racing towards the German goal and set up teammate Jorge Burruchaga to score what would be the third and winning goal. When the whistle blew, Argentina were World Champions and it was all thanks in large part to Diego Maradona. As captain, he had the honor of being handed the World Cup trophy and be the first one to lift it. Maradona had achieved the highest honor a soccer player could want: winning the World Cup. At 26 years of age, it appeared this wouldn’t be the last one he could win. Or so we thought.
At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Maradona was affected by injuries but still managed to shine in a knockout game vs Brazil where he set up Claudio Caniggia’s game winning goal. Argentina would once again face off against West Germany in the final, but the Germans avenged the loss 4 years earlier with a 1–0 win. In 1994, Maradona returned to the national team at the World Cup and was active in the first two games, scoring vs Greece and assisting in both goals vs Nigeria. However, his international career would be cut short due to failing a doping test after the second game. Argentina felt the effects of losing their big star as they lost their final group game vs Bulgaria and were knocked out by Romania in the next game.
At the time, the doping may have not served as a surprise to some as Maradona’s battles with a cocaine addiction were well known by then. Maradona began using cocaine while at FC Barcelona in 1983, and continued to do so when he played in Napoli afterward. Maradona was fined and suspended by Napoli due to his cocaine use interfering with his concentration as a soccer player. Despite this, Maradona’s glory days club wise were also during the 1980s, as he led Napoli to 4 domestic titles and one continental trophy. If Maradona had run for public office in Napoli, chances are he would’ve won in a landslide as he is worshipped there due to his spectacular play and the heights the team rose to while he was there.
As great as Maradona was on the field with his clubs and national team, he could also be a mess off the field. You’d think the latter would cause people to dislike him, and he definitely has some detractors. However, there are more people who admire and even worship him. Why? It’s pretty easy to see why especially in both Argentina and Napoli. As previously stated when I mentioned the Falklands War, the Argentine government was looking for a way to gain support. This is because a military junta was in power in time, which had a terrible human rights record. Political opponents disappeared, and they were held and tortured in clandestine detention centers. Children or the ones that pregnant women in captivity gave birth to, were given up for adoption without the parents knowing where they ended up. This caused many to assume their relatives ended up dead as they never heard from them. Another way the junta got rid of opponents was by taking infamous death flights, were they dumped the bodies of those who were dead or tortured into the Atlantic Ocean from a plane. On top of all this, the junta did a terrible job running the country as their policies caused economic stagnation. To provide a distraction from all this, Argentina invaded the Falklands, but it didn’t work out as the junta were forced to give up power only a year later. With all these circumstances, Argentines wanted something to make them smile and Maradona came through. That’s why his staunch defenders could see him sink to the depths he sank to and still find a way to say something positive about him.
As for Napoli, Maradona arrived in the city at a time where that city also needed something positive. Napoli is in Southern Italy which has long standing tension with the North due to many reasons, one of the primary ones being due to the South being historically poorer. The city with most of the region felt they were neglected by the Italian government, and this had led to a good number of Neapolitans wanting to secede. Maradona’s spectacular play and success on the field allowed the locals to forget about the troubles if only for a brief moment, and enjoy some happiness they had never experienced before. This is visible to this day. When news broke of Maradona’s death, Napoli team officials said the stadium would be named after him. The many murals around town were filled with candles, flowers and people mourning the loss of their great hero.
The same happened in Argentina, as people gathered to mourn and also celebrate the life of a man who brough them so much joy. I was not fortunate to see Maradona in action. I possibly saw maybe one or two of his games when he finished his career at Boca Juniors in 1997. My dad did see him play, and even saw him in person when Maradona and his then Boca Juniors squad played a friendly in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. My father said Maradona made his opponents look like children due to his skill and talent. Even recently, he told me he didn’t think there would ever be another like him due to the love of the game he displayed while playing. I believe that’s why so many mourn his passing. Here was someone who not only won on the big stage, but enjoyed doing it. He was someone we could relate to as his struggles off the field reminded us he was a human being. As someone once said, watching Maradona play was like watching your crazy uncle go out and play the beautiful game. In that case, the world just lost a crazy uncle. Rest in peace, cosmic kite. You will never be forgotten.
