FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024
The song could so truly have been sung by Diego Maradona, just as was done in the Broadway musical Evita by the actor playing the role of the former first lady of Argentina Eva Peron. Recall the lyrics: Diego Maradona never left Argentina, he had his wild days, his mad existence but he kept his promise, and Argentina didn’t keep it distance. The promise was winning the soccer World Cup, and he did it in 1986, led Argentina to the finals again four years later in 1990, only to be edged out by West Germany. The mad existence and the wild days were the drug abuse period of his life, but through it all Argentina loved him and he never left his country. And Argentina will cry, like it has cried for no other.
Argentina were crowned World Champions in 1986, but it was Maradona who single-handedly led the country to victory. In that World Cup he scored the goal of the century and also the infamous hand of God goal, both in the same game and four minutes from each other. History will be both kind and harsh to him. On the field, he played like none before him and none who have come after him. He could turn a game around all by himself and he did it often both for his country and his clubs. No, without him Argentina would not have won the 1986 World Cup, not when Argentina was playing against the likes of Michel Platini of France, Gary Lineker of England and not forgetting Lothar Mattaus of West Germany, in a team coached by none other than Franz Beckenbauer.
The news of his death was awful, but also sadly true. Football has lost one of its most legendary players. The football world will mourn his death, but two countries in particular will be in mourning – Argentina of course and Italy – where he had a long stint with the club Napoli in the Serie A. The club won its first Serie A title with Maradona at the helm. He also played for Barcelona and Sevilla in the La Liga. He went on to play with other teams, manage many others including the Argentina national team but the success that came his way as a player, eluded him as a coach, even as fame and controversy dodged him throughout his life.
Goa will also mourn Maradona. He is no stranger to Goa and its legion of football fans. For Goan football aficionados, the 1986 World Cup was the first that they watched live on television. Few families owned televisions then, and neighbours would congregate in the late night in the house where there was a television to watch the matches being played in Mexico. And soon Maradona became a household name in Goa. There were babies named after him in that period, surprisingly none of those have made it to the soccer fields of Goa in the later years, or we would probably have been cheering a Maradona scoring a goal in the Goan football fields. He was a hero to many young boys in Goa, who thought they were little Maradonas who could dazzle the world.
Maradona will be missed, not just on the football field but also off it. He was voted the best player of he century, until FIFA amended the rules and honoured him along with Pele. That’s how popular Maradona was, and now he just was.
