Diego Armando Maradona 1960 - 2020

Guldbamsen wrote: One of my favourite players growing up...alongside Ruud Gullit.  (...)

One of my favourite players growing up...alongside Ruud Gullit.
Watching the recent documentary about him and it all makes sense. How many times have we come across the story of some underpriviliged and extremely poor person making a huge name of him/herself...and then struggling to cope with the sudden kiss of fame?
With Maradona though we’re slightly passed that. Imagine being looked at and talked to like you indeed were a living god.
I’m not sure any sympathetic person can cope with that in a healthy fashion.
I’ll always remember his skills as a footballer before anything else though. He was one of the finest players ever to adorn the grass.
RIP Diego

Lewian wrote: Well I'm a German and a football fan, but honestly, to me football is one thing (about which I'm pretty passionate), nationality is quite another (about which I'm not - ultimately we're all the same and whether we're born in the country of Maradona, Beckenbauer, Buffon, Alf Ramsey, or a country like India that didn't have any international football success is just a coincidence meaning nothing). The English can have their World Cup 1966 as far as I'm concerned; actually the goal was taken away from them again, see 3:48 of this one:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R1u5ddl2RU I wasn't around in 1966 but I was around in 2010 and I enjoyed it tremendously (actually watched this in London with some German friends and lots of annoyed English fans around, but they were not annoyed about us, rather about their team). As far as Maradona is concerned, he was obviously a troubled soul with more than enough of a dark side, but he gave happiness and amazement to loads of people through his playing. Many footballers and many people all over the world cheat once in a while but not many of them will be remembered like Maradona. (By the way if he or Pele is truly number one isn't really very important either. They did what they did and they won what they won, and that's it. In football there are two teams and it's about who of them scores more goals. It's not individual sport and for sure it's not a personality contest.)

I agree with most of this. But I will give my two cents on Maradona anyway.

I do believe he was a deeply flawed soul. Part of it may have been due to his origins and the fact that he became a celebrity even before he ever played his first professional game, living a life almost impossible to live.

I also believe he might have been the only player constantly being judged upon his behaviour instead of his prowess. Simply because it was politcally correct to hate on Maradona.

Take for instance the comments on this thread. I can imagine Pelé was the best player of his generation. However, there is simply not enough footage to consider him better than Maradona other than fragments of poorly shot old videos (or if the people commenting here are over 70 years old and effectively saw Pele play during his prime, which I don't think is the case).

Finally, and I don't think anyone can argue this, Maradona was simply the most impactful individuality on a team. Pelé had a constellation of stars next to him in Brazil, the same with Messi in Barcelona, and the same for almost any other great player you can think of.

Maradona did miracles both with Argentina and Napoli. In adversity, he thrived even more. He proudly was the symbol and icon of the weak and oppressed. And that's why he generated such unmatched passion among fans.




Edited by Morningrise - November 29 2020 at 18:07

Edited by Lewian - November 29 2020 at 15:48

https://images.app.goo.gl/Ffcc5oayZGrNjAfr5

Morningrise wrote: I guess the reason why the so called hand of god in a quarterfinals game is so meaningful and painful to you even to this day must be because of the lack of accolades England has internationally in football.

Morningrise wrote: Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: The difference is that if the England goal wasn't a goal (I've never seen anything definitive either way) then it was a linesmans mistake. Maradona cheated with a deliberate hand ball. One is definitive the other is debatable, one was an honest mistake the other cheating. If you've never seen anything definitive related to that illegal goal, was because you never wanted to see in the first place

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: The difference is that if the England goal wasn't a goal (I've never seen anything definitive either way) then it was a linesmans mistake. Maradona cheated with a deliberate hand ball. One is definitive the other is debatable, one was an honest mistake the other cheating.

If you've never seen anything definitive related to that illegal goal, was because you never wanted to see in the first place

The difference is that if the England goal wasn't a goal (I've never seen anything definitive either way) then it was a linesmans mistake. Maradona cheated with a deliberate hand ball. One is definitive the other is debatable, one was an honest mistake the other cheating.

Morningrise wrote: chopper wrote: Sadly in the UK he will always be remembered for punching the ball over Shilton's head. I believe he is much more remembered for the 2nd goal from that game. The double standards from english people never ceases to amaze me. They still complain about Maradona's lack of sportmanship even 34 years later, but rarely do they say a thing about the 1966 finals they stole from Germany.