Maradona a tribute.

 

 Maradona a tribute.

One of the most celebrated football players of all time Diego Aramando Maradona is no more! He has left an indelible mark in the field of sports and games. His legion of fans will remember forever the incredible legacy he has left behind. Born in the slum of Buenos Aires he reached the pinnacle of glory as a footballer. His is the story of rags to riches and a life to be emulated. As a child prodigy he showed his ball juggling skills at the very early age of 10. He was not selected for the 1978 World Cup team as he was just 16 years old then.  But had the rare honour of leading the Argentina’s junior team in the Junior World Cup Championship in 1979. He brought laurels to his country by annexing the Cup in the finals played against Scotland. He excelled in shooting free kicks into the net which is a difficult job to do in soccer.

The Hand of God incident: In the 1986 World Cup quarter final match against England he scored a goal using his hand; considered a foul in soccer. The referee not noticing the error allowed the goal. Later when the controversial goal became a point of discussion in every forum he said,” The goal was scored a little bit by the hand of God, a little by the head of Maradona”. A few minutes later in the very same game he scored the goal of the century. He went past a maze of five English defenders and scored the greatest individual goal of all time. In the final of the tournament he led Argentina to a 3-2 victory against West Germany. In all he scored ten of the sixteen goals scored by Argentina in the tournament.

He played for his country in 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994 World Cup events. He had to leave the 1994 world Cup tournament midway as he tested positive for the drug ephedrine. He proved his mettle in the club games as well by scoring 259 goals in 490 matches. He had a fairly long stint in European Club matches. He played for Spain’s Barcelona first and then moved to Naples to play for Napoli between 1984 and 1991. Under his stewardship Napoli won the UEFA in 1989. He is almost a demi- god and quasi- religious figure in Naples. Now the Mayor of Naples has decided to rename the San Paulo stadium after Diego Maradono.

Maradona was an ardent admirer of the great leaders of Latin America like Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Chavez. He was drawn to the polemical politics of his country by championing the cause of socialism. He considered Fidel Castro his second father and accepted his invitation to be in Havana for his de-addiction   treatment. He tattooed the image of Che Guevara on his right arm and the image of Fidel Castro on his left leg. His friendship with Fidel continued till the death of the Cuban leader. Maradona’s eventful life has also left a lesson to the younger generation that drugs could ruin the career of even a wizard like Maradona and create havoc on the health leading to death.

In an internet poll conducted by the FIFA the Brazilian hero Pele and Maradona were elected as top players of the twentieth century. Maradona’s extraordinary legacy will be etched forever in the annals of sports.                                                       --P.Vijayakumar.

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