The Madness of Maradona's Reign as Argentina Boss
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- čas přidán 22. 09. 2020
- Diego Armando Maradona is one of the greatest footballers of all time, but he probably isn't one of the greatest managers of all time.
Despite struggles with his health and almost no managerial experience, Maradona was appointed as the new manager of the Argentina national football team in October 2008.
His two-year reign would include La Albiceleste's qualifying campaign and participation in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and there was rarely a dull moment for El Diego.
In this documentary, HITC Sevens takes a look back at Maradona's time managing Argentina, reflecting on the chaos and turmoil one of football's most colourful characters two years in charge of the two-time world champions. - Sport
I can guarantee he had way more highs than lows but not the highs you’re talking about
Fantastic comment. A1
the only high he had was losing 6-1 to Bolivia.... in La Paz's heights
As manager? No way
As a player? He had a fantastic 3 year peak
Rip
The man still qualified for that 2010 WC though so he still did an okay job in my eyes
Hahaha the story about how Maradona called up that defender just because of that dream is so funny😂😂😂
And it was a bang average veteran with no chance of international, not a borderline option. After he was called fans put a flag that said "Garcé come back with chocolates" that is a tipical tradition when people go out on holidays.
@@jmgpptt Garce trae alfajores
The sadest thing was that this defender was the only natural RB of the team. He was so bad, Maradona tried to move Otamendi and Burdisso (both CB) and Gutierrez (LM) to the RB through the cup. None of them were any good and still Garce did not play single minute. Meanwhile Zanetti was not picked. Otamendi as a RB was one of the worst players in the game with Germany that Argentina lost.
@@elr492 Not the only one, Clemente Rodriguez was also a natural RB who was in the squad
@@PaulMc660 I'd say he was LB that could play in the right as well, but he played most of his career at the left. Similar to Casco today, sure he can play RB but he always plays LB unless there is no RB. But yes, Clemente would have been an alternative. Still not calling Zanetti was completely absurd, but Maradona thought him and Cambiasso were bad luck (mufa). Preferred to take Garce and Bolatti.
Despite everything the man had an unparallel effect on Football......
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
In 2009 I attended a Catalonia - Argetina friendly played at Camp Nou. Maradona managed Argentina, Johan Cruyff managed Catalonia. I doubt I will ever see a greater pair of football legends as opposing coaches in the same match.
Catalonia won 4 2 but I remember a young guy I had hardly heard of who played very well. His name was Angel di Maria. He scored an amazing goal that night.
Never heard of him
Bros got a World Cup now
Who thought he’d be able to coach a club, he’s the last person i’d want to coach, encourage and improve a squad of 25 players.
9q
nostalgia from the fans
Bloody hell, imagine the scenes if Gazza got the England job 😂
That could be the plot of another Mike Bassett Movie
HITC could make a video imagining what might happen.
@@senorsoupe have always wanted to see that movie looked a right lol
Now that would be something 😂
He'd probably send the whole squad out for a wild night just before the Euros Final 😂😂
You forgot to mention several things. 1) His fight and expulsion of Riquelme from the team (at the time of the best players of the team). 2) the day he said his team was Jonas Guiterrez, Mascherano plus 9 and 5 games later Guiterrez was a sub. 3) the fact that he practiced before the cup a defensive 4 4 2 with Veron as the playmaker and brain of the team, the week before he switched to a 4 3 3 sent Veron to the bench and included Tevez. Veron was benched thereafter. 4) his final starting team has 4 cb, 1 cdm, 2 wingers (di maria maxi rodriguez) and three forwards (messi, tevez higuain). It looked like a 1940s 5 forward ofensive team. And so many more... it's sad really. Argentina had a fantastic generation and they wasted it by giving it to him
Can’t believe he’s passed away, RIP El Diego
Really?? You can't believe an obese drug and alcohol abuser with heart problems passed away!!!
@@shubhalgupta8875 bruh..
The most memorable moment was when Maradona thought Muller was a ball boy only for him to score and brutally destroy his team 😂😂😂
I still think the reason Schweinsteiger and Muller fucking hate Argentina so much is because of that. They've destroyed us time and time again
Dylan Yung nah they’re just good players and wanted to win even if they love Argentina I doubt they’d play worse just so Argentina can win. I don’t think there is much hatred for any particular country
@@delk1299 @Dylan Yung maybe Germany as a whole don't really like Argentina. Hate is a really strong word. Cause during 2006 WC, Argentines after final whistle got in a pointless brawl and Frings got screwed for no reason where he got booked. With him, Germany would have probably beaten Italy cause he was one of the best players with Ballack. In 2010, Muller got screwed with a yellow ,ruling him out. Messi should have been booked there instead of him. Muller was arguably one of the best players in 2010WC and he would have made a huge difference against Spain. Maybe this would be 2 reasons but idk lol
@@delk1299 Muller and Schweinsteiger are not even worthy of cleaning Maradona's shoes, after they retire they will be forgotten forever, Schweinsteiger already is completely irrelevant.
I think they are jealous of Maradona's legacy as a player. I would say it's inferiority complex.
Muller you mean the space interpreter
To this day I still can’t get over the fact that he left out both Zanetti and Cambiasso the year they won The Treble with Inter🤦🏾♂️
Isn't surprise me he is known to take substances that affect thinking well
Samuel too
@@sidneysun3865 Samuel did take part on South Africa 2010's list. He got injured on the second match against Korea and that was it for him.
Here in Argentina it's always about "recambio" or refreshing/renovation as I can translate so cambiado and Zanetti were too old and from a generation that failed before according to most people's opinions. We are dumb like that here , I guess that's what happens when you have to many winning players around the world
@@mondrometal I get the thinking but if you want to win the WC you have to pick the best players available and regardless of their past failures Zanetti was still the best Argentinian full back in 2010 and Cambiasso was still a top midfielder. I honestly still think that had you picked a coach who knew what he was doing Argentina could've won it that year.
Maradona is the best example of great players who are terrible managers.
With a squad like Argentina 2010. A good manager might have won the World Cup with better tactics and player management.
I’d say sampaoli was worse than maradona
Spain was quite strong
@@homersimpson6585 of course Sampaoli was worse. Maradona is a terrible coach but at least he brought us to quarterfinals. Sampaoli almost got us knocked out in the group stage
@@LechuKawaii Bielsa got knocked out in the Group Stage, doesn't make him worse than Maradona
@@homersimpson6585 Sampa is an idiot but his squad was far more limited than in 2010. In 2010 Aguero Di Maria Higuain Mascherano were household names that were a world sensation. By 2018 most of them had already been cursed for the NT and underperformed massively.
The tie he is wearing at 0:42 is the low point of his post-playing career
Our expectations for you were but... HOLY FUCK!
Loll that boy was wearing all of Albuquerque's wall paintings.
hey! not fair, tie is pretty cool tbh I own one like those
These documentaries are quality❤️
I know right!!!
And sad thing is rather than discuss the video people are making new video requests🤦
He has gone forever Alfie 🇦🇷😭
That's a constant in Argentina:
We play with our hearts and not with our heads.
Sometimes it works, most times it does not...
We love players being ''termos'' and think that it shows they deserve a spot for the NT even if they do jack at games.
Man couldn't manage himself, let alone manage argentina
@@gabrielnemirovsky421 bruh Sabella is the best argentina's coach since Bilardo
@@franciscogerbi2631 I think he was speaking of Jorge Sampaoli.
@Martin Oscar Barboza sabella need to change tactics bcuz messi,aguero and higuain come to WC with injuries,messi with 1 years of waist injurie,aguero and higuain with ankles injuries,the worst part was di maria injurie in midle of WC
If Netherlands won the penalty shoot out sabella would be remembered even less
now hes dead 😭😭😭
That team if they had a proper coach could have won it although Germany, Spain and the Netherlands where fierce in 2010.
Nah
I don't think so purely because you can say that about most argentine squads. Particularly 2002/2006, those squads were stacked, even in defense which is a spot Argentina is constantly lacking at. But a bad Group Stage and a Lehmann on god mode prevented it
Hyde Hill so the team would have been better if the team was better😳
@@delk1299 Yeah same here, i too think argentina of 2006 was just brilliant, they weren't dependent on any one player.
Mile high and basement low. Dude has lead a colorful life no doubt. A footballing legend who could have a longer career if only he could stay sober and fit.
Best XI of players that didn't win any trophy of all time
Can't say Tottenham
Basically Tottenham Hotspur
Lmao
Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 would be up there, a fine squad of players, lost everything at the final hurdle
@@afcjonny1 AC Milan in 2005
Bayern 2012
Argentina needs to keep a coach for a longer time period! They've always fired their coaches if they didn't win the world cup or the Copa America!
No Coach was ever allowed to build his team and develop it over 5,6 or 7 years.
Over the last 20 years Argentina had a TON of international stars but NO clue what to do with them!
It's really a shame...!
Right now I think they’re actually giving time to Lionel Scaloni to build his team.
They had a good coach that managed to get them to a WC final, it's not his fault that his supposed best player flopped and lost in extra time, most Argentina coaches managed to get the team to a final, after that the only common thing was Messi flopping.
The problem was never the coach.
@@1997lordofdoom lol
Your observation is true but I highly doubt more time would've changed anything for Maradona. In hindsight he should've been given the job after the world cup with a 2 year contract and if he flops replace him with enough time to hire a new person or they could've hired him for the Copa America which is less important than the world cup.
@@airslayer1564 and that paid off
You forgot the bit during the World Cup where he told Pele to "go back to the museum"
And that he said that he had his first time with a guy
That's the funniest 🤣shit I ever heard about Pele
I feel it's okay to have one or two Maradonas in the world to make us both smile and shake our heads. He scores on a clearly illegal play, and then mesmerizes the world with one of the greatest goals in history; he was prickly player, but one who stayed on his feet despite being blatantly fouled--and one occasion the victim of the Butcher of Bilbao.
The Algorithm is sick, RIP legend.
Maradona. The player that Messi will always wish he was as good as. For all his faults Maradona was almost a 1 man team at his peak. In an era of football where the opposition were actually allowed to tackle him. Maradona himself has stated that his 'goal of the century' was only possible because the England players played fair and didn't hack him down, as we can be sure any Italian defender of the time would have taken great delight in doing.
Just wanted to say these videos are fantastic, I like the sevens videos too but these long form explanation videos are class. Keep it up!
We will 4ever miss da joy, happiness etc,rip diego,thank u very much 4 wat u did 4 us.
I am 32 all these years I was praying to God every day thanking everything he as given me.. hoping that he's listening somewhere in Argentina but now the God is no more.. For me you are a God Diego :'(
Doesn’t matter now Rest In Peace Maradona❤️🕊
Great content! Keep up these longer documentary style videos they are brilliant to watch 👍
Maradona also promised (or threatened) to run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires if Argentina won the 2010 World Cup.
So it was for the best that his team was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
The gods unanimously voted no on that happening 🤣🤣
So this is how you are going to remember him?
This is no doubt the funniest HITC video I’ve ever seen
This is rapidly becoming my fav CZcams football channel.
11:45 Argentina fans actually made a banner asking Garce to "bring alfajores" after he was chosen
In Argentina it's normal to bring alfajores (a sort of pastry) back home to share with others after coming back from a holiday
Pls make a video about the Egyptian golden generation which won 3 afcon's in a row (2006-2010).
15:36 I assume Batista did nothing in the Argentina job, because less than five years later he wound up standing about a hundred feet away from me sweating like a pig on a humid Bocaue City night as his Bahrain team lost their opening World Cup qualifier.
Your assumption is right. Argentina hosted the 2011 Copa América and under Batista they barely made it through the group stage only to be eliminated by rivals, Uruguay, who themselves would go on and win the tournament. Sabella, the guy who was hired after Batista was pretty good though
@@bjehulk This. Batista's Argentina played like a low rent version of Barcelona. Lots of sideways passing, but not much real creativity in that team
Kenny Blankenship
Batista (and Maradona too), also wasted Messi. His formation forced Messi deeper into the midfield and it didn’t allow him to be a big enough part of the attack as he should’ve been. I mean just look at the stats. Messi scored 0 goals at both the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 Copa América. But under different managers and different formations, Messi scored 4 goals at the 2014 World Cup and 5 at the 2016 Copa Centenario.
@@bjehulk This is insightful. I tend to feel that managers shouldn't have that much influence over a player's performance but I guess the numbers don't lie.
He had won gold medals with the Olympic team...but just didn't achieve much with the proper National Team...managing youth and adults is indeed a very different piece of work!
A great documentary here and all people can do is to ask for new video requests in the comment section.
As a German, that 4-0 game is the first game that I can remember and I remembered that in 2014 and I basically knew we’d win the WC
7 underachieving golden generations, club or country
At least 4 of those are Argentina: Argentina 2015-2018, Argentina 2004-2011, Argentina 1995-2002, Argentina 1990-1994.
@@LaBandaRoja9 i was just about to mention it hahhaha
My favourite story of Maradona and his antics is of him partying in Cuba with a toilet seat around his neck only to turn around and see Fidel Castro in the room. Great video as always by the way.
@Juan José Oñate You sound like an American who was thrown out of Cuba by Castro and co.
@Juan José Oñate haha that name, america seems to still be doing a great Job at dividing the poor latin people xdddd but this time its for free... sad
@Juan José Oñate hur dur communism bad
Link?
Juan José Oñate still better than the Republic of Germany
Fantastic video, Funny, Informative and nostalgic...God his rants where something...
Algorithms. Rest in peace Diego.
RIP Diego Maradona
Just another funny anecdote...after being announced he was taking Garce to the World Cup...a flag in the farewell game in Buenos Aires read "Garce trae Alfajores" which means "Garce bring back alfajores (which is a kind of sweet here that people usually bring back home when they travel)" basically telling the guy to bring back souvenirs from South Africa. It was joke even for the most ardent Maradona fans. Some people said Maradona chose him because Garce knew how to smuggle drugs or was his facilitator.
In a weird way the country believed we owed to him to be a manager since he was a hero as a player, and that maybe it could keep him sober and save his health, but it was all for nothing in the end, and we wasted a very good squad that World Cup.
In shock that he passed, what a legend, i will never forget you Diego Maradona
How can anyone be shocked? Cocaine and shitty lifestyle kills pretty fast
This video hits different now. #ripeldiego
AFA never let me down. Keep on the good work, guys!
13:10 thats why i love Maradona. when Schweinsteiger accuses him of being disrespectful, Maradona dispespects him some more
RIP Diego Maradona. Despite his flaws (and there were a lot of them) as manager and indeed in his latter days as a player, we should remember him for being THE magician.
Rest well Diego.
RIP Maradona.
RIP
Rip legend
I will say one thing about him and that is that Argentina wouldn’t have got anywhere near winning the World Cup in 1986 if it wasn’t for him. As an English fan I couldn’t believe he got away with the first goal against us but the 2nd was sheer genius.
Fantastic video mate
Video sugestion: The crazy carreer of el Magico Gonzalez, someone that could have been an all time great but refused to play for Barcelona because they wer "too keen on winning"
Critical but still respectful, very nicely done video
RIP Diego. Always entertaining.
⚽Diego Armando Maradona (1960 - 2020). A legend. A player who changed history. Some people hate him, because of his personal life. I love him, because we love football.⚽
I will give credit that he shielded his players and believed in them.
Then again fielding one holding Midfielder against that Germany squad was.... questionable at best
Yeah..about that "shielding"
Have you ever heard about the 6-1 match in bolivia?? Up until that point Maradona publicly said that Carrizo was his keeper..he had all the faith in the world in him
Turns out, a week after the massacre, he went out saying his main GK was Andújar, that he never had any doubs about it...while Carrizo (with just a couple of matches) was never called up again
The end
@@spdutahraptor777 I didn’t know about that.
May he RIP 🙏🏽
So no one is gonna talk about the fact that the man died two months after this video was made??
Argentina could’ve won the 2010 World Cup if they had a decent coach
I disagree, they had a great team but than Spain team was something else
@@canarycatchup yeh
Canary Catch-Up
Spain was no doubt an overall better team, but if Argentina had the manager who was able to build a team around Messi, kinda like how Pep structured Barcelona from 2009-2012, I think they would’ve had a chance to beat Spain. I mean directly after the World Cup, Argentina beat Spain 4-2 in a friendly. Sure it was just a friendly but this Argentina team had some serious talent.
Nah, even with 10 Messi playing they're still leagues behind that Spain team that dominated international football for 5 years.
@@canarycatchup That Spain team also lost to Switzerland. Incredible? Yes. Invincible? Not a chance.
All time Premier League 11 vs All time La Liga 11
And same could be done for other Leagues
SeriesA, League1 and Bundisliga
As a Series and ranking which league comes 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th in historic 11s
The La Liga 11 would win easily.
@DDeglane16 yes, i mean from early days
@@randomdude2368 Serie A
@@yourdadhasadogfilter2505 to be honest the serie a 11 is very good
RIP Legend. May you Rest in Peace.
What is the link between HITC Sports and HITC Sevens
I've always wondered the same thing.
The link is both work for HITC.
All I know is the three(Michael,James and Alfie) are pretty close.Alfie does Hitc sevens cause he doesn't really fit in Hitc sport and it was better for him in many ways since Alfie likes to make videos about old players and stuff,not something hitc sport does as hitc sport is really focused on present events.While James also does Elecspo which is a e-football channel.
Scarves
hitc sports and hitc sevens are from the same company with different style of content and stuff
you forgot to mention how maradona forced riquelme into retirement for veron who he didnt even play.
Yeah, this is a really sore spot for some fans. Riquelme was THE #10 for Argentina, THE playmaker, but due to some drama between him and Maradona, that was the end. It's sad, he deserved one more world cup. Veron apparently had trouble with Maradona as well during the world cup - this eventually lead to a public argument between the two years later, at a friendly for charity. No joke.
Juan riquelme was some player
Riquelme was on his prime un 2010 :(
@@Kenny-Blankenship Argentinian here! Maradona seems to have left the 2010 squad with several feuds among players and HIS OWN STAFF, just like he seems to have beef with almost every player from his generation. The guy is a piece of work.
@@laurocoman I like your Username! 👍🏻🙂😎
Can you do one on Mexico's round of 16 curse?
@Juan José Oñate I don't disagree on the lack of talent. But I'm interested in what Alfie can pull from the depths of the archives. There are also plenty of teams that lack talent and go on these incredible runs. Also #noerapenal.
The tie he is wearing at 0:42 is the low point of his post-playing career
@@AndresNavaHurtado La neta si era penal, rafa no tuvo por que meter ese pisotón ya robben habia perdido el balon
@Juan José Oñate been a pumas fan since 08 everything u said is completely true , they haven’t produced shit since 2010 when they won their last league title
@Joe Dirt’s Mullet hell no they r not 😂😂😂trust me although I do agree gallardo was really good
Wish he could have seen Messi and Argentina win it all this past World Cup. RIP.
RIP ICON
it’s nice that alfie has returned to his shouting roots
This was a good dive into Maradona's lead up to, appointment and stint as Argentina's coach.
I was shocked to see the Inter treble winners left out of his squad. Not too shocked about them being a bit hodgepodge on the field.
What about a video exploring how good Maradona's teammates for the 86 WC were? Did he really win that WC by himself leading a bunch of scrubs?
@HIM1984 he really didn't have the 2010 inter players in the squad? that makes no sense
@@stevetheiii477 Crack is whack!!! Lol.
Regardless of being a cartoon character & being utterly inept he has style wearing two watches at same time 🤗
Maradona is the GOAT.
Argentina had many fantastic players during that time ,if they had a better coach they definitely could've won something during that time.
Another fun fact / When Brazil beat Argentina on home soil, it was onlly the second time Argentina had lost in WC Qualifiers at home after the 1993 0-5 to Colombia. Afterwards Ecuador also beat Argentina in Bs As in 2016 (0-2)
Great video
This video gives me a couple of new video suggestions for you:
7 Players Who Have Really Let Themselves Go Since Retirement
7 Coaches Who Did Well In Big Jobs Despite A Lack Of Experience (probably a better way of saying this).
German Burgos, lol.
RIP 🙏🏻
Rip maradonna 😔😔😔
I think Maradona as well as Gascoigne would be excellent assistant coaches for their national teams. Probably not the right personalities to have at the wheel but worth having them around for their passion.
Maradona has no emotional control and is generally a shitty person. He acts out like a child and really shouldn't even be considered capable of taking on the responsibilities of a team's janitor.
@@gibospartan6185 I'm presuming you're English before asking u the question that follows, excuse me if you're not. Why is it English people always turn into a cross between the St. Peter and Judge Judy whenever they refer to Maradona? My guess is you're niether St. Peter, Judge Judy nor one of the greatest footballers that the planet has produced. Still you judge him on his imperfections and fail to acknowledge his genius. That sir, is a loser's mentality. 😊
@@ChrisMeerkat In fact I am english and I believe many english people may dislike him purely based on his success as a footballer. I personally recorgnise his insane talent and his place as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Few have come close to his skill and that should not be in any doupt. Regardless, off the pitch he acts like a child and I think he is an absolute asshole.
'Still you judge him on his imperfections and fail to acknowledge his genius'
As you said, I very much judge his imperfections. However while I didn't mention it in my previous comment, he was a footballing genius and I wouldn't deny that. I just think that being one of the best footballers to ever live does not excuse hims for being an asshole. Sure, every football fan is passionate about their club and their players and we put them up on pedistals, but at the end of the day, the way people treat each other is far more important than any accolade.
@@gibospartan6185 There is no denying the man's talent or passion and the respect he has outside of England. Trust me, he's a living God. You can't deny his passion. If i were manager of Argentina, i would appoint him just to give a motivational speech at the end of the half time talk before sending them back out. He didn't fail as a manager through lack of knowledge or passion. I'd keep him clear of tactics and fitness tho. Nobody has the skill to understand his tactics or the heart to take his kind of fitness regim other than him. To me his personal life is his business, shame he couldn't play longer tho. The skill of Messi, the acuracy of Ronaldo and the flare of Ronaldinho.
RIP Diego Maradona 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷
"as well as telling one specific journalist something I originally recorded, but now I'm not going to say..."
ah yes, the famous "you have it inside". It became a meme afterwards
WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU GOD
I like the picture where he did a Wakanda greeting, after snorting coke.
RIP Diego
Thers was no tactics. It was just good players go out and play.
Yea I feel like in Football managers use bad tactics and gameplan and the team loose but the players end up getting the blame by fans and the media
Unbalanced talent was the biggest factor i think. Argentina need to nurture their kids to think that football is not all about scoring or attacking.
2010 was totally the worst, they could have 11 players full of at least good central/supporting strikers, but only 1 or 2 at most decent player in other positions...
I remember watching the world cup match in 2010 live when they played South Korea and the reception diego got in the warm up was something I will never forget RIP Diego the ball is pure 🙏
Rip💔
Rest in peace Maradona
Beautiful video, Alfie! Day 2 of asking for sub-Saharan African clubs best XI btw
Fly high Maradona
When mentioning how safe/shit houses the FA are with managers, you could of mentioned Roy Hodgson getting the job over the fans favourite at the time Harry Redknapp.
who is here after his death RIP
Please try do the 1996 South Africa squad that won the African cup of Nations!!
I watched his documentary movie several times when flying
Can you please do a video about the decline of Scottish football?
“He played, he won; he peed, he lost. Ephedrine turned up in his urinalysis and Maradona was booted out of the 1994 World Cup. Ephedrine, though not considered a stimulant by professional sports in the United States or many other countries, is prohibited in international competitions.
There was stupefaction and scandal, a blast of moral condemnation that left the whole world deaf. But somehow a few voices of support for the fallen idol managed to squeak through, not only in his wounded and dumbfounded Argentina, but in places as far away as Bangladesh, where a sizable demonstration repudiating FIFA and demanding Maradona’s return shook the streets. After all, to judge and condemn was easy. It was not so easy to forget that for many years Maradona had committed the sin of being the best, the crime of speaking out about things the powerful wanted kept quiet, and the felony of playing lefthanded, which according to the Oxford English Dictionary means not only “of or pertaining to the left hand” but also “sinister or questionable.”
Diego Armando Maradona never used stimulants before matches to stretch the limits of his body. It is true that he was into cocaine, but only at sad parties where he wanted to forget or be forgotten because he was cornered by glory and could not live without the fame that would not allow him to live in peace. He played better than anyone else in spite of the cocaine, not because of it.
He was overwhelmed by the weight of his own personality. Ever since that day long ago when fans first chanted his name, his spinal column caused him grief. Maradona carried a burden named Maradona that bent his back out of shape. The body as metaphor: his legs ached, he couldn’t sleep without pills. It did not take him long to realize it was impossible to live with the responsibility of being a god on the field, but from the beginning he knew that stopping was out of the question. “I need them to need me,” he confessed after many years of living under the tyrannical halo of superhuman performance, swollen with cortisone and analgesics and praise, harassed by the demands of his devotees and by the hatred of those he offended.
The pleasure of demolishing idols is directly proportional to the need to erect them. In Spain, when Goicoechea hit him from behind - even though he didn’t have the ball - and sidelined him for several months, some fanatics carried the author of this premeditated homicide on their shoulders. And all over the world plenty of people were ready to celebrate the fall of that arrogant interloper, that parvenu fugitive from hunger, that greaser who had the insolent audacity to swagger and boast.
Later on in Naples, Maradona was Santa Maradonna, and the patron saint San Gennaro became San Gennarmando. In the streets they sold pictures of this divinity in shorts illuminated by the halo of the Virgin or wrapped in the sacred mantle of the saint who bleeds every six months. And they even sold coffins for the clubs of northern Italy and tiny bottles filled with the tears of Silvio Berlusconi. Kids and dogs wore Maradona wigs. Somebody placed a ball under the foot of the statue of Dante, and in the famous fountain Triton wore the blue shirt of Napoli. It had been more than half a century since this city, condemned to suffer the furies of Vesuvius and eternal defeat on the soccer field, had last won a championship, and thanks to Maradona the dark south finally managed to humiliate the white north that scorned it. In the stadiums of Italy and all Europe, Napoli kept on winning, cup after cup, and each goal constituted a desecration of the established order and a revenge against history. In Milan they hated the man responsible for this affront by the uppity poor: they called him “ham with curls.” And not only in Milan: at the 1990 World Cup most of the spectators punished Maradona with furious whistles every time he touched the ball, and celebrated Argentina’s defeat by Germany as a victory for Italy.
When Maradona said he wanted to leave Napoli, some people tossed wax dolls stuck with pins through his window. Prisoner of the city that adored him, and of the Camorra, the Mafia that owns it, he was playing against his heart, against his feet. That’s when the cocaine scandal erupted, and Maradona suddenly became Maracoca, a delinquent who had fooled people into thinking he was a hero.
Later on in Buenos Aires the media gave a further twist to the knife: live coverage of his arrest, as if it were a match, to the delight of those who love the spectacle of a king disrobed and carted off by the police.
“He’s sick,” they said. They said, “He’s done for.” The Messiah who came to redeem southern Italians from their eternal damnation was also the avenger of Argentina’s defeat in the Falklands by means of one sneaky goal and another fabulous one that left the English spinning like tops for several years. But when he fell, the Golden Boy was nothing but a numb-nosed, whoring phony. Maradona had betrayed the children who adored him and brought dishonor on the sport. They gave him up for dead.
But the body sat up. Once he had served his cocaine sentence, Maradona became the fireman of the Argentine squad, which was burning up its last chances to reach the ’94 World Cup. Thanks to Maradona, they made it. And at the Cup once again, as in the old days, Maradona was the best of the best until the ephedrine scandal hit.
The machinery of power had sworn to get him. He spoke truth to power and you pay a price for that, a price paid in cash with no discount. And Maradona himself gave them the excuse, with his suicidal tendency to serve himself up on a platter to his many enemies and that childish irresponsibility that makes him step in every trap laid in his path.
The same reporters who harass him with their microphones, reproach him for his arrogance and his tantrums, and accuse him of talking too much. They aren’t wrong, but that’s not why they can’t forgive him: what they really do not like are the things he sometimes says. This hot-tempered little wiseacre has the habit of throwing uppercuts. In ’86 and ’94, in Mexico and the United States, he complained about the omnipotent dictatorship of television, which forced the players to work themselves to the bone at noon, roasting under the sun. And on a thousand and one other occasions, throughout the ups and downs of his career, Maradona said things that stirred up the hornet’s nest. He wasn’t the only disobedient player, but his was the voice that made the most offensive questions ring out loud and clear: Why aren’t the international standards for labor rights applied to soccer? If it’s standard practice for performers to know how much money their shows bring in, why can’t the players have access to the books of the opulent multinational of soccer? Havelange, busy with other duties, kept his mouth shut, while Joseph Blatter, a FIFA bureaucrat who never once kicked a ball but goes about in a twenty-five-foot limousine driven by a black chauffeur, had but one comment: “The last star from Argentina was Di Stéfano.”
When Maradona was finally thrown out of the ’94 World Cup, soccer lost its most strident rebel. And also a fantastic player. Maradona is uncontrollable when he speaks, but much more so when he plays. No one can predict the devilish tricks this inventor of surprises will dream up for the simple joy of throwing the computers off track, tricks he never repeats. He’s not quick, more like a short-legged bull, but he carries the ball sewn to his foot and he has eyes all over his body. His acrobatics light up the field. He can win a match with a thundering blast when his back is to the goal, or with an impossible pass from afar when he is corralled by thousands of enemy legs. And no one can stop him when he decides to dribble upfield.
In the frigid soccer of today’s world, which detests defeat and forbids all fun, that man was one of the few who proved that fantasy too can be effective.”
You should apply for the position of the Maradona apologist while you're at it.
He's overrated
RIP to the GOAT
At least with all his craziness he did better than most coaches in the previous tournaments, the previous copa America and world cup have been absolutely horrible.
Or could it be that the team of 2010 scrapped it through with their sheer talent?
@@zomgbrattodilolrenzor6081 they couldn't even scrape through the 2nd round last time
@@Drewbinsky69 The quality pool of 2018 is not as good as it was in 2010 and 2014.
As an Argentine when I think back on that squad all I feel is terrible disappointment. Because of my countrymen's idiocy legendary players like Zanetti, Cambiasso and even Riquelme missed out on what was their last world cup opportunity and furthermore Argentina missed out on a higher caliber team, all because they chose to speak out against Maradona. Still makes me sad and bitter to this day. #vamosargentinacarajo!
"YES!"
-me, when this thumbnail popped up in my recomendations