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Maradona's merits Troubled Argentine star a complex case study
Posted: Tuesday January 11, 2000 05:12 PM
Two summers ago I was standing in a hallway at the Stade de France, roughly an hour before the World Cup Final between France and Brazil. Pele was a few steps away, surrounded by a thronging mass of sweaty journalists, all eager to get a word with the great man. The Brazilian legend was being pushed this way and that, simultaneously giving interviews in five languages. All of a sudden, there was a commotion at the other end of the hall. The herd of journalists turned their backs on Pele and stampeded past me like a bunch of buffalos in heat, knocking over a FIFA minion and his stack of papers. When the dust cleared, I was left alone with Pele, his bodyguards and one of his public relations flaks. "What is happening?" a puzzled Pele inquired. The PR guy sighed and shook his head slowly. "Maradona is here," he replied. The mere appearance of Diego Armando Maradona had turned a platoon of rumpled hacks into a gaggle of hyperactive schoolboys, to the point where an interview with Pele became near insignificant. The point of the story is that there is nobody in the history of the game that elicits the same kind of visceral response that Maradona does. It is impossible not to have strong feelings about him, one way or another. Pele was arguably the greatest player of all time. But his camera-friendly face and reasoned opinions seem to pop up everywhere these days. The man is a commodity, a sponsor's dream, loved by all and reassuringly wholesome. Not so Maradona. If Pele is the girl next door you would want to bring home to mom, Diego is the body-pierced, leather-clad Jezebel, all danger and excitement. When he was hospitalized last week, some feared it would be a re-run of those self-destructive rock stars, snubbed out by self-abuse. Hendrix, Joplin, Cobain ... Maradona. Why not? As it happened, he is better now and out of danger. Sure, he'll get another round of scolding harangues from the world press. People will bring up the Hand of God nonsense and his ban from the 1994 World Cup. And his fans, blinded by love, will probably buy the party line, espoused by his mother who insists: "My son is too fat. There is too much salt in his diet. That's why he is ill." No, that is not why he is ill. He is ill because he has a substance abuse problem and the sooner we accept it (as he himself has done), the sooner we can get over it. Most agree that Maradona was the largest larger-than-life character in the game. Which is probably why most either hate him or love him. To be indifferent to Maradona is to either not love the game or not understand anything about it. Oceans of ink have been devoted to chronicling his footballing Prowess, and there isn't much more that can be added. Suffice it to say with a little more luck and a lot more good judgment, he might have even won four World Cups, surpassing Pele. In 1978 he was surprisingly left out of Argentina's World Cup-winning squad. In 1986, he led one of the least talented Argentine teams in history to victory over Germany in the final. In 1990, after somehow defeating heavily-favored Italy in the semifinals, 9-man Argentina was bounced out in the final by Germany on a highly dubious penalty. And we'll never know how 1994 would have turned out if Maradona hadn't been banned in the middle of the tournament. Given the fact that there were no overpowering teams in that World Cup, it's fair to say Argentina, with Batistuta, Balbo, et. al. would have had a decent shot at winning it all. But what really sets Maradona apart -- and what the English-speaking press is often loath to give him credit for -- is the fact that he stood up for what he believed. Sometimes his opinions were valid, other times half-baked, but he had the guts to speak out. He was the driving force behind an attempt to form an "international player's union" a few years ago. Had it worked, it could have brought some sanity to a game which sometimes appears to be spinning out of control. It might also have given some power back to the guys who actually do the work, but have little input in the decision-making process. Alas, it never came to fruition. Maradona had made way too many enemies by then. The fact that he was among the first to speak out against corporate greed and the pervasive influence of television did not help either. The flipside came later in his career, when he turned paranoid and started seeing mafia plots everywhere. In one infamous television appearance two years ago, he went so far as to call Pele a pedophile, an accusation as unfounded as it is ridiculous. Perhaps it was the beginning of the end, the start of a long slide into insanity. Or perhaps he knew exactly what he was doing all along and simply didn't care. Another factor for which he is rarely given enough credit is his tremendous will to win. Great athletes go into battle believing they will triumph and loathing defeat. Think Michael Jordan or Michael Schumacher. Maradona was the same. When he moved to Napoli in 1984 for a then world record US$5 million, he joined a team with little talent and even less tradition. In a magical six year period he led Napoli to two Italian titles and a UEFA Cup. He played in the toughest league in the world at the time and triumphed weekly, shooting himself up with painkillers and simply gritting his teeth when the pain became unbearable. Nobody, bar Pele, had been No. 1 for as long as he was. For all his problems, for all his megalomania and personal demons, perhaps the most amazing thing is the fact that everywhere he went, he was adored by his teammates. Perhaps that should be the most telling point. It is very easy to criticize from afar, but those who were close to him - those who worked with him every day - had nothing but praise for him. Some day we may encounter another Pele, another player with his extraordinary set of skills and talents, another star with the winning smile and the ability to capture the imagination of millions. But there will never be another Maradona.
Extra TimeSo much for those who thought the World Club Championship would be a gigantic mismatch. Necaxa wholly outplayed Manchester United, while South Melbourne managed to hold Vasco da Gama scoreless well into the second half. Al Nassr's loss to Real Madrid was the result of a lucky rebound, an unimaginable goalkeeping screwup and a dubious penalty. And Corinthians' second goal against Raja Casablanca was seen by no one, bar the referee. The real story is that the minnows have more than held their own against their big name opponents. Maybe FIFA's idea wasn't so premature after all ... London-based Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com. To submit questions or comments to Gabriele Marcotti, click here.
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