Considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, Maradona died at the age of 60 of a heart attack following brain surgery earlier this month.
Here he is scoring a goal for Argentina against England during their quarter-final match in the 1986 World Cup that Argentina went on to win and then go on to win the title. Even if you know nothing about football, you can appreciate the artistry, skill, and concentration on display as he weaves around the defenders and goal-keeper before gently putting the ball into the net. It is often called the greatest goal of the century.
RIP Diego Maradona. No words.pic.twitter.com/oLGscwUmk7
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) November 25, 2020
The man was a cheat, and shameless with it. The Trump of football.
It certainly looks good. But it came a few minutes after the “Hand of God” goal, in which the only people not to see a handball were the ref and linesmen. It was obviously still a distraction for the England players.
But, even if you ignore what had happened, and looked at the goal on its own, it’s still ridiculous to call it “goal of the century”. If you watch football, you would see better goals every bloody season. It’s just part of the hype that followed Maradona throughout his career. He was certainly supremely gifted, but for skill and grace on and off the pitch, Pelé is still King.
If you are referring to the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal, while that was indeed reprehensible, Scott Murray in an exhaustive analysis of the game writes that the vicious treatment that Maradona received throughout the game at the hands of the English players, who should have been sent off but were not penalized, should also be taken into account:
240p.
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As for his “working over”, I guess it’s just as well he never played Rugby or AFL (or even Gridiron) — those are contact sports.
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But hey, he was rich and famous because of his skill at a sport, and got to live a nice hedonistic lifestyle. So, not that bad, and hardly sad.
Mano @3: Congratulations on finding a Scotsman critical of England. I watched the game. Murray is making shit up when he says Fenwick could have been sent off four times. Maradona himself praised the sportsmanship of the England side.
Of course, the subtext is “English suckers”. The Argentine press actually praised Maradona for cheating.
Sad for his fans, but not tragic. He had a good life.
I knew this was going to be the reaction around this comments section. No, he didn’t have a good life at all. He was in continuous poor health since drugs had made a number of him. And that wasn’t his fault: the people around him took advantage and abused of his trust. He was a victim. To all of you except Mano, and on behalf of my fellow Argentinians, fuck you (and your implicit racism) to hell and back.
Oh, I forgot to say that I didn’t even like the man that much. I’m not a fan of soccer and wasn’t into his far-left politics. But at least I have empathy, unlike the dreck that posts around here (especially John “emotionless psychopath” Morales and sonofrojblake the fascist).
“Here he is scoring a goal for Argentina against England ….”
How unoriginal -- it has been broadcasted on about every single channel. The Hand of God already has been mentioned.
“the vicious treatment that Maradona received throughout the game”
This is correct; however unfortunately this was typical for the 1980’s, the few exceptions like Portugal-France from 1984 notwithstanding. During those years my enthusiasm for football declined seriously.
I didn’t like Maradona very much either; his politicial views were so different from the life he actually led that I thought him a hypocrite. Still he is one of the greatest players ever, with Cruyff, Pele and Messi. Also -- and this should especially interest Americans -- Maradona had the best statistics on Worldchampionships ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q12s70yU33Y
Maradona’s control of the ball was exceptional.
There’s a great tribute to Diego from former teammate Jorge Valdano:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/nov/26/maradona-the-footballer-had-no-flaws-maradona-the-man-was-a-victim
mailliw @#10,
Thanks so much for this link. It is as fine a tribute from a team mate that anyone could wish for.
Tired:
Such empathy!
Thank you, I literally laughed out loud at that. I stated a dislike for the man for being a massively overpaid shameless cheat -- four words that don’t have anything to do with his race, implicitly or otherwise, and four words you can’t possibly begin to argue with when applied to him, given that he was a professional footballer and from all I’ve seen of that sport those words apply to most of them -- although Maradonna was the exemplar of all of them. (Robin Williams: “Cocaine is god’s way of telling you you have too much money.”)
And that opinion makes me -- a lifelong Labour voter, even in the depths of Corbyn’s disastrous regime (holding my nose), Remain-voter, pro-choice, Guardian reading sandal-wearer -- a fascist, apparently. You are the leader of the Judean People’s Front and I claim my five pounds.
I echo Rob Grigjians:
Meanwhile: I’m no fan of football generally. But it seemed everyone in England was in the long hot summer of ’96, at least for a bit, and some moments transcend sport. This goal is one reason is why you can always find a Scotsman to slag off England at football. It’s not a long flashy run like Maradonna’s -- it’s two touches, one with each foot, the second on the volley from the first. But what touches:
https://youtu.be/p1Y-p1twR0I
Gascoigne is a similarly naturally talented but “troubled” player, a shadow of his former self due to alcohol and drug abuse and mental health problems. One glaring difference is that to my knowledge nobody, including him, has ever tried to blame anyone else for his problems.
mnb0 @9:
The 60s and 70s were worse. Pelé was literally kicked out of the 1966 World Cup by Bulgaria and Portugal.
Sadly sometimes the obsessive nature that lets someone completely master their craft goes together with an addictive personality.
The jazz musician Charlie Parker’s genius was ended far too soon because of his addictions to food, alcohol and drugs.
Parker and Maradona alike were fanatical about disciplined practice and perfectionism.
@13 sonofrojblake
Gascoigne also has a long history of domestic abuse and racist outbursts. A grest footballer in his day, but on the whole a nasty piece of work.
Also worth pointing out that in Pelé’s FIFA list of the top 100 players, Gascoigne isn’t even one of the top 3 Newcastle United players (Shearer, Owen, Keegan) -- never mind one of the top 7 English players: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_100.
Maradona is one of the all time greats, Gascoigne was a good attacking midfielder.
mailliw @17: That FIFA 100 list is a joke, as many commentators have noted. Gérson, Jairzinho, Bobby Moore? None of them made it either. Yet David Trezeguet did. Hilarious.
Gascoigne and Scholes should be on the list before Shearer, Owen, Keegan or Lineker.
@18 Rob Grigjanis
Really, Gascoigne should be ahead of the Premier League’s top goal scorer of all time?
Shearer is one of that rare breed nowadays, a football romantic who stayed at the club he supported as a boy, despite offers from all the big European clubs.
As regards great footballers going to the dogs, I think George Best put it best “I spent most of the money on girls, booze and fast cars. I wasted the rest”.
@14RobG: “The 60s and 70s were worse. Pelé was literally kicked out of the 1966 World Cup by Bulgaria and Portugal.”
And the relevance of this is …..?
Oh wait, just pushing one of your obsessions again -- Pele this time. Never mind that I wrote
“Still he is one of the greatest players ever.”
and hence did not contradict your “Pele is king”.
You’re pathetic.
mnb0 @20: I didn’t say anything about you contradicting me. I merely pointed out that the 60s and 70s were even more brutal than the 80s. Do you disagree?
The relevance? The subject of targeting gifted players came up in the comments on a blog.
I don’t remember you being this touchy in the past. You seem to be looking desperately for an argument where there is none.
mailliw @19: Yes, I’d rather have Gascoigne in his prime in my team than Shearer at his (of course, both would be better). Gascoigne could create chances, for himself and others, from nothing. Shearer and Lineker were superb finishers, not creators.
@22 Rob Grigjanis
Maybe I have a bad feeling about Gascoigne because he personifies some of the worst stereotypes about Geordies -- the boozing, the domestic violence, the punch ups and so on. Mostly we are gentle, modest, hospitable folk.
Shearer is a much more dignified figure and also Newcastle’s top scorer of all time. I may be a dreamer, but I like the idea of players who dedicate themselves to playing for the team they grew up with, though there aren’t many around nowadays. I live in Germany now so I tend to follow German football -- I can only think of two examples off hand -- Thomas Müller at Bayern and Marco Reus for Dortmund.
I do thing Maradona was right to protest against the conditions imposed on players by football’s governing bodies. That hasn’t stopped, UEFA insisted that Borussia Dortmund played a Champions League game on the day after their team bus was subjected to a bomb attack.
mailliw @23:
So are we Loiners. No, really. But I wouldn’t recommend wearing the wrong colours among a group of NUFC, or LUFC, supporters. 😉
In 1999, I went to a pub (in Toronto) to watch the FA Cup Final between Newcastle and Man U, in the company of a Man U supporter. We didn’t realize it was a Toon Army hangout until we entered to a sea of b&w stripes. It got a bit tense as the game progressed, but my friend kept his cheers to a whisper, and there was no spilling of blood or beer. Shearer strove mightily in defence (mostly) and attack, to no avail.