Just how GOOD was Diego Maradona Actually?

Before I tell you about his life, I'd rather tell you about what he meant to people, and at the same time what he meant to me. Fifty minutes ago, I was sitting in my desk, finishing up some details on my mini-documentary on the life of Gerd Muller, and as I sat there, I had no idea that I would probably spend what was left of my day writing what else but another documentary. Regardless, as I took a break and unlocked my phone, I saw the words I wasn't at all ready to hear echoing in my head. Rest in peace, Diego Armando Maradona. I was so struck by this headline, I picked up my phone and called my dad to tell him what had happened. This would seem like a perfectly acceptable reaction if it wasn't for my dad being about ten meters away from me in the living room. I guess that, in a way, perfectly encapsulates how stunned I was by what I had just read. I'm very young, too young to have watched him while he still played, and that might make you think that I'm in no position to be feeling his death so profoundly, but back when I was a child and times were simpler and I spent most of my time in dirt fields playing football with random kids I had met five minutes prior to that same match, I heard his name nearly every day, being pronounced by those same children as they fought for who'd have the right to roleplay as him for the length of that same match. There's a certain purity in seeing children be so attached and easily seeing such deep meaning in the name of a man they never met, but really, it wasn't about the man, but about the legend he created for himself. Being Maradona was quite simply being football itself, it meant being the dream of every child who ever asked if they could be Maradona for a day. Funnily enough to tell you his story, I'll have to start by when Maradona himself was a child, dreaming about others like kids have since dreamt about him. He was born in October 30th of 1960 in Villa Fiorito, one of Buenos Aires' villas miseria, which can be directly translated as miserable villages, as they are like slums where the poorest of the poor struggle every day to gather as much resources as possible to build for themselves a life worth living. After four girls, Diego was a blessing, the first boy in the family, though eventually he would have two younger brothers. With his family being so large, their issues only grew larger as the mom had to stay at home full time to raise the children, with a eighth of them depending on the father's salary as a brick layer to survive. At exactly three years of age, the biggest adventure of his life would start as one of his cousins gifted him a football for his birthday. The young boy would grow so attached to it and treasure it so much that when he got older he would sleep with the ball inside his shirt, as he feared his mom would steal it away in the middle of the night since she constantly worried about football distracting him from school. As you might imagine, his family valued education a lot, knowing it would likely be Diego's only way to escape poverty. He soon began playing for his hometown club, Estrella Roja, but not much time would go by before he took on a bigger challenge. One of his friends played for Argentinos Juniors, one of the biggest clubs in Buenos Aires, and was so impressed every time he played with Maradona that he would go up to his coach and ask if he could bring in another kid for trials. As he showed off his skills in the next training session, the coaches would be in complete and utter shock at what they saw, a young boy moving the ball around so smoothly it seemed more like wizardry than dribbling. They could not believe what they saw, and this is not just an expression, they truly did not believe so much so that they would ask him for his ID, expecting him to be much older than what he claimed to be, regardless of him being much smaller than other kids his age. As soon as his age was confirmed, there was nothing more to decide, Maradona was a part of the team and the coaches would put in extra hours trying to help develop this one-of-a-kind talent. The main coach who watched over him that day would eventually write a book about his relationship with the young boy, where he wrote They say every person gets a miracle in their lives, though they might not realize it. Me, I certainly did. My miracle came in a rainy Saturday in 1969 in the form of a young boy who did things with a ball I had never seen before. Soon, he took on the challenge of playing for the youth team, who were known as Los Chabolitas. As the story goes, a very young Maradona would lead them to 140 victories in a row, becoming so famous locally that the club would get him to perform tricks at halftime to entertain the fans who came to watch the senior team. Oddly enough, this stance would become so famous that he would even show up in an Argentinian TV show juggling with household items like oranges and water bottles. By October of 1976, as Diego was still only 15 years old, he would get his debut for the senior squad of Argentinos Juniors. He would be kept on the bench until well after halftime as they trailed behind 1-0, something went down that Maradona himself described in his autobiography in this way. The coach fixed me with a stare as almost as if he was asking if I would dare to step into the pitch at this time, but I wasn't gonna back down. I held my head high and looked him in the eye. That was enough for him to know that I had to come in. As he called me up, the last thing he told me was, go in Diego, and play like only you know. If you see the opportunity, don't hesitate to nutmeg someone. Though they would still go on to lose that day, it would be the first chapter in Maradona's career as he shifted his way across the pitch with intelligence and sleight like very few others could, and if you were wondering, yes, he did get to nutmeg someone, and for the first of what would be hundreds of times the stadium erupted with an olé for Diego Armando Maradona, or that night as he so poetically said in his book, felt like he held the sky on his hands for the first time. Quickly he gained what might have been his most iconic nickname, El Pibe. If you ever wondered what it was, a pibe is a boy, a street kid who's savvy and skillful. I think it was best described by Jonathan Wilson in his book Angels with Dirty Faces. He said a pibe is a boy who makes his way through life with a combination of charm and cunning, encouraged almost to never mature into adulthood. Perhaps that was what led Maradona into the erratic lifestyle he would be known for. The 5 years he spent at Argentinos Juniors he went from a street kid to a big time celebrity, even he has said that his rise was too fast and in part what caused him to go off the rails. Still, there's a lot to be said about those years, after only 11 matches at senior level he got called up to play for Argentina in a friendly match against Hungary, over the next year he would play 4 times for Argentina in another 84 at club level, and with him getting 2 goals and 2 assists in his last match before the players got called for the 1978 world cup, it all seemed lined up for his name to be on that list, but then, it just wasn't. Maradona was devastated but more than that he was angry, which would only be made worse as Argentina became world champions. He would focus all of that into his game and the next year with 22 goals the 18 year old topped the goalscoring charts and Argentinos rose to 2nd place tied with Velez Sarsfield. Unfortunately as a playoff between the two had to be played, Maradona was left to the side as he had been red carded in the previous match, and his team would get trashed 4-0. Over the summer he got a chance to play for the national team but not in the way he wanted as he was called up for the under 20 world cup, still Maradona would set a tournament ablaze getting 6 goals over the 6 matches he played, but even as they became world champions it was clear Maradona was set for a much bigger stage. The next year with 43 goals in 45 matches the story would be quite similar with another 2nd place finish and with Maradona once again watching his team get knocked out in the playoffs as he set the game out this time due to illness. Before that we still had time for Maradona to gift us one performance for the history books, as they faced Boca Juniors goalkeeper Hugo Gatti was quoted saying that he wasn't worried about Maradona and that he was too fat to scare him. I'm guessing Gatti regretted those words when a 19 year old Maradona made him pick up the ball from the back of the net 4 times in the same match as he got himself a poker. The Boca fans though were so impressed with his performance by the young man that he would sing out his name in what would be in a way the ending to this chapter of his career, finishing his time at Argentino Juniors with 116 goals in 166 matches by the age of 19. The next choice Maradona had to take would be something that would shape his image and career forever. Wanted by both the star-studded River Plate and a struggling Boca, Maradona would let himself not only get swayed by the fans who had showed love to him even when he played against them, but also by one key point, Maradona simply preferred to play with the odds stacked against him, and off to Boca he went, as after all they were the team he supported since he was a young child. To celebrate his time at Argentinos a match between the two teams was set up with Maradona playing one half for each team, as he let go of the club who made him a man. Over his only season with Boca Juniors, one issue arose that might have been why he was so quick to leave, his relationship with Marzolini, Boca's coach and one of their legendary players, who was quick to warn Maradona that he was not gonna get special treatment at this club and that he was to behave like any of his teammates. Maradona's ego had been growing day by day and of course he did not stay kindly to these words. Regardless, the first memorable match of his time would come in the form of his first Superclásico as he faced River Plate, it would of course be remembered for his incredible performance overall, but also for the one goal he scored that night, in which, in classic Maradona fashion, he dribbled several players and even the goalkeeper before slotting it in. This goal made the stadium erupt and Marzolini was not immune to the excitement, kneeling down in front of Maradona and extending his arms towards him. Maradona's genius was undeniable and untameable, so much must have been his excitement that curiously Marzolini suffered a heart attack later that day, though he would come out fine. Later on the season, as Boca faced Rosario Central, it all came down to a penalty by Maradona in order to clinch the title, but he would miss. Maradona would show how much he hated losing once again, falling to the ground as he yelled out in frustration. The next match they would face Racing and once again Maradona had to score from the penalty spot and of course he would not disappoint, scoring and winning the Argentinian League for the first time. He would finish his day by joining the crowd celebrating, getting carried on their shoulders bare-chested, he had finally conquered Argentinian football and there was nothing left for him back there. But as rumours of his next move floated around, something he had been waiting for a long time finally happened. Maradona was called. It was time to play the 1982 World Cup. It would be played in Spain, which would be a funny way of spicing up his transfer rumours, since Barcelona seemed to be the main candidates. Regardless, Argentina was in a transitional period with older players who seemed far beyond their most effective years and some inexperienced ones and among all of this mess they rested their hopes on, of course, an other than Maradona. After all, most Argentines had by now gotten used to see the man perform miracles, so why not once more, right? Well, the teams were ruthless and they realised that if you stop Maradona, you stop Argentina. As they faced Belgium, Maradona barely got on the ball seeing how aggressively they were tackling him. The second match with Hungary got their hopes up once again as Maradona scored twice in a nearly perfect performance. By the third match it became clear, as they faced an El Salvador squad who had gotten brutally destroyed 10-1 by Hungary, it was quite simply a bloodbath, which ironically ended with Argentina getting in front by no else but a penalty. Regardless, Argentina had made it to the second group stage, but with that came tougher opponents, in their Italy and Brazil. First came Italy, and man marking Maradona was Claudio Gentile, who was, to say the least, a scary defender to face, brutal and nicknamed after Libyan dictator Gaddafi since he had also been born there, Gentile was the anti-Maradona and he proved very efficient. The last match would be Brazil and it was quite simple, Brazil had one of the greatest squads ever, and as much as people hoped that the opportunity to face Zico head to head would inspire Maradona to pull off some kind of magic performance, it wasn't the case, with Brazil leading 3-0, Maradona had been once again arrested by tough fouls for the whole game, and eventually he would have enough, and kick Brazilian midfielder Batista in the groin area, to which he would get a straight red. Maradona would slowly walk off the pitch, defender Alberto Tarantini approached him, ruffled his hair trying to ease the pain, but it was all being broadcasted to the world, it was the end of Maradona's World Cup dream, and he walked off the pitch, in tears. As the memory of this unsavory day wore off, Maradona got closer and closer to Barcelona, until the deal was finally closed for no less than 5 million pounds, making him the most expensive player of all time, Maradona would against Valencia, and quickly made an impression as he managed to score Barcelona's only goal, despite the loss. By his third match for the club, he would debut in the Cup Winners Cup, and get his first hat trick against Apollon Limassol, totalling already 5 goals in 3 matches for his new club. Despite the promising start, it would quickly be notable that this season wouldn't be as great as it could have been, despite Maradona's 5 goals in 4 Cup Winners Cup matches, he would end up missing a match as he was diagnosed with hepatitis, and Barcelona just didn't manage to pull through without him. Now trailing in the league and seeing the two domestic cups as their last hope of success, this season Barcelona sacked Udo Lattek and signed Menotti to replace him who oddly enough had been Argentina's coach in the season of 1978, the same coach that decided not to call up Maradona. Regardless, the two hit it off and were very successful for the remainder of the season, winning both domestic cups after facing Real Madrid in each of the finals. Despite scoring in each of the two legs that made up the Copa de la Liga final, Maradona's performance in the first leg became exceedingly notorious as he became the first ever Barcelona player to get a standing ovation by Real Madrid fans at Tabernabéu, as he scored an incredible solo goal to double Barcelona's lead. As they went into the 1983-1984 season, Maradona seemed to become more and more adapted to this squad, forming an incredible partnership with German midfielder Bernd Schuster and seemingly more comfortable around the new coach who seemed much more willing to cater to Maradona's every desire, with one of the stories that stands out being how he allowed Maradona to change the training schedule whenever he felt like sleeping in in the morning. But Maradona's eccentricities don't end here, and sometimes even Manotti got tired of his behavior. One time in a game against Mallorca, Maradona refused to enter the pitch, because despite having brought with him 6 different pairs of boots, none seemed to fit his criteria, Manotti had enough, and scolded him until he got up and went into the pitch. A few games into the season, things seemed to be heading up, Maradona was in good form, even getting another Cup Winners' Cup hat-trick, but then Andoni Koikocea, better known as the Butcher of Bilbao, met with Maradona and the outcome was a broken ankle, and 3 months off the pitch. As he came back from such a tough injury, Maradona showed that nothing could stop him from shining, scoring twice in 68 minutes against Sevilla. Even with Maradona back and performing up to standard, Barcelona seemed to once again find themselves in a tough situation, and after choking a 1st leg 2-0 win to Manchester United, getting knocked out of the Cup Winners' Cup and finishing La Liga in 3rd place, it seemed like they would have to once again rely on the Copa del Rey to salvage their season. And as they reached the final, Maradona would have to go through no other than the Butcher of Bilbao once again. Maradona was tormented for the whole match, and the fact that by the end, Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 didn't help and as Bilbao player Miguel Sola decided to provoke Maradona, he had butted him, as the other players came towards him, he elbowed one in the face and knocked the player out cold, hitting him with his knee. From this moment on, an all-out brawl broke out and there was no way of stopping them. By the end, there were over 60 people injured and after a back and forth with the board, it was decided, there was no longer a place for Maradona at Barcelona. Despite all of this, there was no lack of interest for Maradona, with him eventually leaving to Napoli for yet another world record fee, this time of 7 million pounds. Napoli was, to say the least, an odd choice. At the time, Serie A was the biggest, most talented league in the world but was by far dominated by the northern giants of Juventus, Milan and Inter, while Napoli, in all of their history had won 2 Coppa Italias, that's all, not a single league title. They weren't a big team and they didn't even seem to be building up towards becoming one, but if you remember what I said earlier, Maradona seemed to always profit from discomfort, shining the brightest when it was least expected of him, and so he did. As much as you can claim that Napoli had up till then been an unsuccessful club, their fans were as effervescent as they get, and with the biggest name in football joining their team, well, it was a recipe for something notorious. The day he arrived, the newspaper joked about the city's poor financial state, saying we might not have a mayor, houses, schools, buses or even sanitation, but none of that matters because now we have Maradona. 70 000 people showed up at San Paolo Stadium just to see Maradona get presented to them. This was a record that lasted until 2009, when Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid. This transfer was, to say the least, bizarre, but in classic Maradona fashion, at least, you were guaranteed to be entertained. Maradona would clearly struggle to adapt to the physical and ever increasingly tough Serie A, and would only win 2 of his first 17 league matches, which is an undeniable horrendous stat, but you gotta take into consideration that the prior year, Napoli finished 1 point off of relegation. It seemed like Maradona would not be able to perform a miracle for this team, but then, it quite simply clicked, and Maradona only lost 1 of his last 17 league matches of the season, managing to score 11 goals over those same matches, and though it was clearly too late to fight for anything more than a top half spot in the league's table, Napoli now looked genuinely promising. A Maradona who had struggled all of his life with tougher opponents had joined the toughest league in the world and managed to adapt, taking hit after hit and still never stopping in his pursuit to get a ball in the net. Napoli would have a much better start to the season in their second attempt to make the most out of their time, with the brightest of stars making up parts of their squad, only losing 1 of their first 11 matches, with Maradona even going on a 5 match goal scoring streak. By the end of the season, they totaled only 5 defeats, but with 11 draws, they would finish 5 points behind champions Juventus in 3rd place. Regardless, one thing was sure, in 2 seasons Maradona had managed to take a nearly relegated side to get qualified for the UEFA Cup, and that is quite simply, the stuff of legends. Over the summer came Mexico's World Cup of 1986 and it would be the biggest moment of Maradona's career and likely the most iconic World Cup of all time, but one interesting fact that I'd like to point out is that to start with it should have been Colombia 1986, but due to an all out civil war and the recurring drug problems the country has been known for, FIFA forced them to let go of the opportunity in But to their dismay, Mexico City would be hit by an earthquake of 8.0 magnitude on the Richter scale and with a repair cost of up to 4 billion dollars, the stage for the World Cup was nearly in ruins. If any World Cup ever needed a savior it was this one, but with Argentina's performances in qualification and friendly matches seeming largely uninspired, it seemed unlikely that would be taking the center of the stage at this tournament. All of this would be made even worse as Maradona was given the captain's armband and long time captain Passarella would take offense to being stripped of his armband and would leave the national team soon before the group stage. As they matched up with South Korea, Maradona's biggest fear was real. This World Cup would follow the same route of the previous one, with teams coming into matches committed to stopping him even if that meant that they had to break him physically, but Maradona was now 26 years old, more determined, more collected and you could see in him that he had learned and he was different. After every hard blow you could see his frustration but in no circumstance would you see him losing his focus on the match and by the end of it Argentina won 3 to 1 with Maradona assisting all of their 3 goals. The second match would be his trial by fire. After 2 years with Napoli, the world bullied Maradona to now be a much tougher player, able to withstand the toughest of beatings but would he be able to do it while facing the creme de la creme of Italian football, all gathered in one team? Well, 6 minutes into the match a penalty put Argentina behind but Maradona did not back down, he railed up the squad and went at the opposition with a never seen ambition in his eyes and the Italians could simply not get a hold of him. As if he saw the tackles come in slow motion, Maradona effortlessly evaded every single effort to bring him down and by the 36th minute he would get the goal that secured the tie and just like that, he had beaten the demons that had followed him since the fabled 1982 World Cup disaster. The third match would be an easy and straightforward 2-0 win for Argentina over Bulgaria as Maradona added another assist to his World Cup tally as they went into the knockout stage. In the last 16 they would draw none other than Uruguay, their eternal rivals, the two countries are only separated by a river and have been footballing rivals ever since they faced each other in the final of the first ever World Cup. This match should be acted out in intermittent bursts of energy as the tension between players constantly halted the game's development, regardless Argentina would come out on top with a 1-0 win that would lead them to what might have been the most memorable match in all of football. The match would strangely start at midday to suit European time zones, as the cameras glanced at Maradona you could see in his eyes his distaste for the Englishman who stood before him, just like most Argentines Maradona had not forgiven the English for the Falklands war which Argentina had lost 4 years prior to the match. The first half would be played out at a relatively boring pace with England trying to break up the rhythm as much as possible, seemingly being content with stopping Argentina rather than beating them, and soon half time would be upon us before any of the teams got a goal. 6 minutes into the second half, it happened, it was right there in front of everyone but the referee, the most infamous goal the game has ever seen, la mano de Dios, the hand of God, an Argentine miracle or an English curse, it truly can be wherever you project onto it, but objectively it was a mistake by the referee, who would not notice as Maradona leapt towards Peter Shilton and got his hand on the ball to secure Argentina's first. As most Englishmen still stared baffled at their screens asking how such injustice could have taken place, 4 minutes after Maradona got the ball again, and with 12 touches, Maradona got past 6 maybe even 7 players to get what was quite simply remembered as the goal of the century. that even the English were able to contain themselves from just jumping out their sofas Maradona was like a superhero and he had just taken flight in front of millions. The match would end 2-1 as England pulled one back but regardless, as unlikely as it might have seemed at the beginning of the tournament, Argentina were now 1 win away from being at the World Cup Final. As reductive as it might seem at that point, the match against Belgium was nothing more but a formality, Argentina gave them no chance winning 2-0 with of course 2 goals by Diego himself, and what a pair of amazing goals they were. The second especially feels like it has been sort of forgotten only because of how huge the 2 goals against England were but that's a whole other story. In the final they would face West Germany who relied on Lothar to stop Maradona, which I guess you could claim he at least got as close as anyone to being successful in a way as despite the 3-2 win which came in a dramatic form with Argentina losing their 2-0 advantage in just 6 minutes only to get back on top 3 minutes later with Maradona's only goal contribution being an incredible assist for that same winning goal. As Argentina went from underwhelming to World Champions, Maradona had been involved in 10 of the 14 goals scored by Argentina over the 7 World Cup matches, scoring or assisting against every team but Uruguay, who he actually had a wrongfully disallowed goal against. As we took a look into Maradona's future, one question was evident, if he could carry Argentina to a World Cup over 7 matches, could he carry Napoli to a Scudetto over a full season? Well, the next season he started in great form scoring in all of his first 4 matches and though Napoli would lose their UEFA Cup first round match with Toulouse, the season started looking very promising. It would be 23 league matches before Napoli recorded their second defeat of the season as they slowly earned the respect of every so-called big team in Italy, racking up victories against the likes of Juventus and AC Milan. Soon after it, Napoli officially became the new Italian champions, they added a Coppa Italia as the club lived their most successful season ever, 3 years after nearly getting relegated. Only one man was responsible for that drastic change and the city was absolutely in love with Maradona and it was quite simply, the God of Naples. With this victory, we now knew we'd get to see El Pivet play in the European Cup, unfortunately the draw wasn't too kind at all and he'd draw 6-time winners Real Madrid and despite managing to hold them to a 1-1 draw at San Paolo, a defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu ensured they were out of the competition. Domestically that was an odd year as well, Maradona would get 15 league goals managing to top the list of the top scorers for the first time since he joined Napoli and would manage to hold them at the top of the table but with 8 league games to play, 3 points of advantage over 2nd place AC Milan and out of every other competition, Napoli would somehow choke the 2nd consecutive Scudetto losing out by 3 points. This disastrous ending was so shocking that still to this day some fans believe that the team was forced to play poorly by the Italian mafia. The following season, 1988-1989, they would fall behind in 2nd place, this time to Inter and by a much more significant amount of points. But the focal point for which that season is remembered is the UEFA Cup. There was the dream they would one day win something more than the league now that Maradona had let the fan's imaginations run wild but from an objective standpoint I don't think many had big hopes of it happening. But as a matter of fact that season, Napoli went into the 64-team knockout style tournament looking promising, defeating PAOK, VFB Leipzig and Bordeaux in an assortment of relatively straightforward matches but in the quarterfinals they would face Juventus, who were longtime domestic rivals in each and every way and though over the last years Napoli had proven to be superior with Maradona frequently outclassing the Bianconeri star player Michel Platini, it would be an all new endeavour to do it in the UEFA Cup. And the first leg would prove just that, with Napoli losing 2-0 in a very convincing match by Juventus. Two weeks later, it was time they met again and a miracle was very much needed to go through, but once again, if there was a team that was getting used to miracles at this point it was certainly Napoli. After just 20 minutes a penalty by Maradona would inspire the comeback and right before halftime the match would be tied. Now it seemed like everything could be wrapped up quite fast but Napoli seemed to be interested in taking the more dramatic route, waiting till the last minute of extra time to score by Alessandro Renica and lock their way in the semifinals. If Juventus had been a tough matchup, Bayern Munich in the semis was even tougher, considering they had been to an European Cup final just two years prior and were on their way to win the Bundesliga once again. As Napoli faced them in a first leg in San Paolo they would win 2-0 with Maradona assisting the second, and the celebrations would be so loud and so wild that residents of that earthquake-prone part of Italy would legitimately complain to the authorities, claiming they feared one day they would cause a tremor to start. Honestly, that's just kind of hilarious. At a way leg, Maradona would be remembered by something quite particular to him. Before kickoff as he was sporting a windbreaker and shorts, Maradona put on a show almost like back when he was a child entertaining the Argentinos Juniors fans at halftime, and still to this day the video of that warm-up routine goes viral every once in a while. The man was seriously born to entertain. Honestly, after putting on a show like that, Bayern had been at the very least intimidated. Maradona won the mental game, and after assisting Napoli's second, it was coming closer and closer to reality. Napoli were in the final, and there they would play Stuttgart, with many claiming that the true final had been the match with Bayern, but still, with a Stuttgart team with players like Jürgen Klinsmann, there was the possibility of things going south. Considering that back then the final was still played in two legs, the first one would once again be in Sampaholo. The city was already celebrating, the Napoli fans seemed to think they had it in the bag already, but a goal by Stuttgart inside 17 minutes would freeze the crowd. It would be a long sequence of risky attacks by Napoli coming to no avail, until, in the 68th minute, Maradona once again used his hand to sway a game in his desired direction. He controlled the ball with his left hand before shooting and being stopped by yet another handball, this time by the defender, and one that would be seen by the referee, giving Maradona orders to take a penalty. Then he would convert, leveling out the game before, with only 3 minutes left to play, Maradona would feed a pass to Careca so he could get Napoli the late win. The second leg would not disappoint either, with thousands of Napoli fans travelling to Germany and with plenty of goals, first by all amount to give Napoli the lead, a player whose name ironically means German in Portuguese, but quickly Klinsmann would tie the match once again, only for defender Ferrara to score a rare goal coming off of a Maradona corner to give Napoli the advantage once again. As the second half started, Maradona would assist Careca to put Napoli well ahead, though they would still be in for a scare as Stuttgart pulled two back before full time, but it would not be enough, Napoli were champions of Europe, Maradona had helped achieve what many claimed to be impossible once more. Despite all the glory, one issue was becoming more and more prevalent, Maradona who had Napoli had been introduced to the Camorra, which to make things simpler, is the Italian Mafia, and as anyone in the 1980s that had to deal with them, he was soon shown the world of drugs and addiction, Diego was a troubled young man who was forced to put on a strong appearance in front of the cameras, but as anyone in that position he would be vulnerable to the drugs, soon building up an addiction to cocaine, almost like a defense mechanism, his persona seemed to take a hold of him, perhaps still sober enough to see what was being made of him, Diego asked the Napoli president to sell him to another club, it honestly seems like he was just trying to run away from his problems but the president would refuse, and Maradona would reluctantly stay, as he saw what was left of his former self slowly burn away. Over the next season he would manage to lead Napoli to another Scudetto, racking up 16 goals over that league season, but how could that be possible? Between doping tests and withdrawals, how was a coke addict still managing to play football at the highest level? Well, first of all you have to take into account that Maradona was purely and simply special, but besides all that, there was an entire operation built around the man to ensure that he would still be able to perform, every Sunday he would play, after the match he would be let go and only would be back by Wednesday, after days of binging drugs and alcohol, then from Wednesday to Saturday he would be put through a workout routine to sweat out every drug from his system, as another player's urine would be sent in Maradona's place, to the anti-doping labs, and by Sunday it would once again be ready to play, and start the cycle once more. This insane carousel would be played out for a whole year, as the operation turned out relatively successful, with the public remaining unsuspectful of the dark path Maradona was following, but once the season was over and the summer came around it was time for the 1990 World Cup, being played in Italy, Maradona would be playing with home advantage in a way, but that would be about the only thing going Argentina's way, as several key players were out on injury and even as they got to say that at least Maradona was okay, that wouldn't last too long, with an ankle injury coming in the start of the tournament, though he would be able to keep playing, not missing a single minute. The three group stage matches would show that Argentina had clear weaknesses and the first of the bunch would be the most obvious in that sense, though Maradona still put on a show, oddly enough, mostly coming from little juggles and tricks he pulled off in the sidelines to entertain the audience, Argentina would lose by a single goal against Cameroon. As that match seemed like one to forget, Maradona's post-match speech would make it as memorable as any other, with a match being played in Milan, where Maradona was certainly not as appreciated as in Naples, Maradona said the following, the only pleasure I got from this afternoon was to discover that thanks to me the people of Milan have stopped being racist, today for the first time they supported the Africans. The second match was an important one, as Argentina faced the Soviet Union, whoever lost that game would be out of the tournament, with a broken leg Argentina's first choice goalkeeper would be out soon, and once again, it seemed like Argentina could not catch a break, but then, and I cannot stress this enough, something happened again. As the ball was heading towards the Argentinian net, Maradona got his hand on it to stop the Soviets from going in front, and the referee saw absolutely nothing, and the match went on. It's honestly incredible how many times the story repeated itself in Maradona's career, regardless from this moment on, the game was swayed in Argentina's direction, and they would end up winning 2-0. The final match against Romania would be another poor showing ending in a tie, neither Argentina nor Maradona were performing well, but somehow they were now in the knockout stage. The first team that would get a chance at eliminating the world champions would be Brazil, now a weaker team having lost legends like Zico and Socrates, Maradona would face his two teammates It seemed like the stage was set up for Argentina's inevitable doom, but one thing that had been taken as a massive blow to their squad turned out as their salvation. Second goalkeeper, Goicoechea, who had taken over the spot would go on to have an incredible performance, saving Argentina over and over again, and long enough for Maradona to have what could have possibly been his last great moment in a World Cup. Getting the ball in midfield, would go through most of the Brazil squad before getting a pass that put the rest of them behind the ball as Caniggia slotted it in in the 80th minute to get Argentina a spot in the quarterfinals. Regardless, the next match would be another awful performance, Maradona was clearly off his game and Argentina were hanging by a thread. As the match ended in a goalless draw and the penalty shootout started, Maradona would miss his, and if it weren't for Goicoechea saving a couple of penalties, it would have been the end of the dream. Then came the match that would set everything ablaze, as Argentina faced Italy in their home soil, Maradona would be as incendiary as one could be, going out of his way to shame Italians for how they discriminate against Neapolitans and asking all Neapolitans not to fight for Italy since their country does not care for them. To say the very least, Italy as a whole was getting seriously fed up with Maradona. Going down at first but being saved by Caniggia once again, Argentina would rely on the penalty shootout to save themselves once more. It would start relatively normal with the first exceptional moment coming as a fired up Goicoechea saved yet another penalty only for no other than Maradona to step in. As the stadium roared in disdain for the man, he would calmly stuck it in the net, only for Goicoechea who by now must have felt truly invincible to save the final penalty and send this beautiful Argentinian squad to the final of the World Cup. As Argentina met Germany in the final, it would turn out as quite simply one of the worst displays the world had seen at that stage. It would be the first World Cup final to have a player be sent off, a second one would follow with Argentina being reduced to 9 men shortly after, Germany scored the only goal of the match through penalty. By the end of the match, as most of the Argentinian squad protested the sending off of two of their players, Maradona simply cried. The greatest of all time seemed to watch himself from afar as his body failed him and as he failed his country. Back in Italy, Maradona was no longer loved like before. Knocking out Italy turned many against him including the mafia who no longer protected him, it seemed like everyone there was out to get him. And soon they would, with drug charges and wiretaps coming seemingly out of nowhere not a single Napoli official would be present in court as Maradona was issued a 15-month ban from playing football. The city he loved and gave his everything to had turned his back on him. 15 months later, even though there was interest from bigger more renowned teams, Maradona who had 70,000 Neapolitans expecting him the day he arrived now left the city completely alone as he looked to find new life playing for Sevilla, getting reunited with Carlos Bilhardo who had coached him through his iconic 1986 World Cup. His time there is one of his most forgotten seasons and taking into account what preceded it, it is understandable. The previous season Sevilla had finished in the bottom half of the league table and hadn't been in the top four in over 20 years so when Bilhardo announced to the squad that they must now rely on Maradona and fade into the background as he put on his show there wouldn't be much contest, so much so that the current captain would hand over the armband to Maradona as it would simply be strange to see him without it. And training was moved to the afternoon to suit Maradona's well... nocturnal habits. His first performance set the fans up with high hopes, inspiring Sevilla to beat Bayern Munich 3-1. Despite this great start Maradona would only manage to get Sevilla a seventh place finish though he would leave his mark for the many iconic moments he would share with the fans. In one occasion as he prepared to take a corner kick one of the fans would roll up a piece of tinfoil and throw it next to Maradona. Knowing him this was a clear invitation for him to show off his skills and of course he did, flicking it up and juggling it to the delight of the home fans. One thing that would be remembered from his time there was how well he got along with everyone. Lots of stories of him having fun with teammates and coaches have been told, my favorite one being how once he spotted the director wearing a fake Rolex and surprised him with a real one as a gift. One thing would cut this great relationship short and it would be Maradona getting recalled after two years to play for Argentina. Sevilla didn't want him missing games because of international friendlies but he would leave without their permission. From then on things got sour and Maradona started missing games and as he started looking overweight the club looked for a reason to send him away. So Diego obliged and finally returned home to Argentina, joining Newell's old boys where he would barely spend any time due to disagreements over his contract, playing only six games though it would be long enough for him to start a diet that would convince him that he could get fit in time for that summer's World Cup. And he surely did, losing around 26 kilos over a few months as a stronger Argentina squad somehow once again struggled to get qualified for the World Cup that people had made their requests well heard. We want Maradona one last time and he would join the squad with the likes of Batistuta and Diego Simeone who had played with him at Sevilla. As much as Maradona's impact in the games could be argued it is a fact that as he joined Argentina he would not lose any more qualifying matches and would secure a spot at the World Cup. As it seemed like another incredible quest for world domination was bound to start Maradona decided he could not cope with the expectations of the public and left the squad. The media would be all over this decision camping for days at the gate of his house trying to get a better explanation but Maradona had enough and he would come out the house with an air pressure rifle and shoot at the reporters with the cops arriving soon after. Despite all this mess Maradona would eventually return with some claiming that who convinced him to get back was FIFA themselves who were worried the tournament lacked a star player and told Maradona that if he came it would be exempt from drug testing and as a matter of fact started this time Argentina were one of the favorites to win it something that we now realize didn't fit Maradona's likings. In the first match against Greece Argentina were unstoppable with scoring twice in the first half by the 60th minute everything went full circle as Maradona got the ball at the edge of the box he shot it right at the left top corner and the goalkeeper did not even move. As the cameras showed the celebration Maradona ran straight into the camera as it focused on his face his eyes bulged towards it with pupils as dilated as they could possibly ever be. The entire world saw it Maradona was playing a World Cup while on drugs. The second match would see an equally dominant Argentina who despite going down at first would bounce back with two goals by Caniggia the second of which assisted by Maradona. As the match ended authorities showed up by the sidelines and Maradona was taken into drug testing still smiling through it all. In a way everyone knew the outcome the next day Sepp Blatter would announce Maradona had been found to be positive for ephedrine a common drug in doping scenarios giving the consumer increased strength reducing fatigue and all sorts of other enhancements. Without Diego Argentina would lose their next two matches and be out of the World Cup sooner than later. The last few words said by commentator Clive Tildesley in what would be Maradona's last ever World Cup match would be Maradona again oh they just can't seem to get the ball off him can he get a goal he deserves one that should be a penalty surely look at this nobody can say that he is finished. After serving another 15 month ban Maradona would join Boca Juniors one month before his 35th birthday over the year there would be glimpses of Maradona's magic but with disappointing performances he got heavily criticized by the media and by the end of the season after kissing Caniggia in the lips and being also criticized for that Maradona would announce that he was retiring as he and I quote was tired of seeing his daughter's cry. By August of the same year he would move to Europe to get rehabilitation from his drug use but instead only more stories of sex workers violence and drug abuse would come out of his time there. Somehow in 1997 despite all of this Maradona came back from retirement to join Boca once more and even though only five minutes after getting back on the pitch he would score his first goal from a free kick this comeback was the wrong approach as soon enough another test would come positive and though Maradona's lawyers managed to get him back on the pitch through claims that he had been set up as he came back he told the media he would only give up if his dad fell into some illness and though that didn't happen it was his dad who asked him to retire as he could not take the stress brought upon the family by the media who tried to condemn Maradona for nearly everything. Even after he announced this decision the media insisted that he had tested positive and all of this was a cover-up but eventually the federation would announce that for once Maradona had been negative and that was it Maradona would never play football again he would still be around coaching playing charity matches making newspaper covers for the wrong reasons but in the end it was always Maradona the man who made so many believe magic was real and it lived inside those four white lines as I finish writing this it's the day after Maradona's death I don't think I've ever focused so much on one of these stories I like to tell and still as I go and check some data next to his name I read the word deceased and it just doesn't feel real he's been among us for what someone as young as me seems forever I see the covers of the newspapers and all of them reference him in large bold letters Lekip's cover reads that God has died Marca references one of his quotes if I die I want to be reborn as a footballer to be Diego Maradona once again several make witty remarks to the end of God I scroll through social media and see the several posts of some of football's greatest saying goodbye to their friend or idol Messi claims he can't leave us because he is eternal Cristiano laments that he left so soon and says the void he leaves behind will never be filled Mertens who took over as Napoli's all-time top scorer says he apologizes for every time his name was ever written besides the god of Naples football is truly in mourning and no words will explain the loss we've experienced but if I can say something to end this I'd like to take you back to one of the quotes I told you about in this video he said in his first match for Argentina's Rony Arzy felt like he held the sky in his hands I just hope that now the sky can gently hold the brightest of stars in its grasp thanks for watching and rest in peace Diego one day I'll tell my kids about you