El pibe de oro

Like the most naive of debuts, mine would start with the very best there is in the repertoire. And in the realm of football there is no better role than that of el pibe de oro, the one who did anything with a sphere at his feet, be it an adidas ball in a world cup final or an apple during a tv show, he who is the symbol of a nation and the peak of football aesthetics. What sparked my imagination was an interesting article by Ian Hawkey in the London Times (here).

However, I won't be so much daring as to keep trying to find further adjectives for Diego Maradona's twenty years of football, or to recount all that he has attained along the way.

"Beyond everything else, no ball ever had a better experience than when it was at his left foot.” - Jorge Valdano

Quite frankly Maradona has a rather particular relationship, to say the least, with the British. Since denying his achievements is close to impossible, they limit themselves to composed language when they mention the actor who they consider synonymous with the drama of La mano de Dios to which they assisted in a Mexican June night of 1986. In actual fact, it is hihgly unlikely not to find a reference to this match whenever he who cannot be mentioned is in the news [which is to say quite often]. One of the most remembered encounters in the history of the game, the 1986 World Cup semi-final had a significance way beyond the field of play and a place in the final.

“Before the match we all declared that football didn’t have anything to do with the Falklands. That was a lie. We hardly thought of anything else. A lot of Argentinian boys had been killed over there. This was revenge.” - From El Diego

To top it all he scored a game with the help of "God's hand". Till this day Diego hasn't been forgiven for his infamous act. And subsequent encounters between the two nations proves the point (does a rather notorious scene between Becky and Pablo ring a bell?). Hawkey's contribution brings us to the latest confession, which cannot really be described as a sign of good will. In fact in an episode of Maradona's most recent tv venture he declared “He who robs a thief gets 100 years of pardons”. Seems like he would have been an international diplomat in another life! And on this I am pretty sure. Look at how he put his rivalry with the only other person who reached such otherwise-unseen level of football, Pele':

“Who was the best out of us two?” asked a beaming Maradona. “My mother thinks I was. Pele’s mother thinks he was.”

And now? Fans wouldn't bemoan at another Anglo-Argentine clash on German soil next year. In the meantime Diego practices cha-cha, presents tv shows, and copes with the no less arduous task of technical director of his beloved Boca Juniors. And is he investing some of his money into Brighton & Hove Albion together with Osvaldo Ardiles? Oh no but that's another story...