Diego Maradona

[leicsmac]

As other people have said, a deeply flawed genius. Wanted to win, to do things to the max and didn't care if it broke rules or broke people while doing so.

 

But he wrote himself into footballing immortality for both club and country in a way none of the modern stars since Zidane have been able to. Incredible talent especially in a time where such talents were less protected on the pitch.

 

Enjoy whatever comes after, Diego.

[UpTheLeagueFox]

The GOAT for me.

[ozleicester]

Come to the conclusion there is no such thing as the GOAT.

Maradona had skills that left me breathless... but, (even more so for players like Pele and Best).. he played at a time when defenders simply crunched you if they couldnt take the ball.
 

In the modern "protected" game, it is impossible to comprehend what he may have done.

 

The post career problems are a sad but unsurprising footnote.

Im just so happy to have been able to live in a time when we could all dream of being him....we could watch him play (live on TV) and  then go out to training the next week alongside a dozen others who wanted to be Maradona.

For me. like Pele, and Best.... Maradona with a football was the perfect example of.... "The Beautiful Game" 


 

 

https://memes.yarn.co/yarn-clip/3d1cf17e-4237-4c45-a2c7-ada5037a408b

Edited 26 November 2020 by ozleicester

[CosbehFox]

Product of his surroundings. 
 

Before Maradona, Argentine football was workmanlike and thuggish. Then they had the saviour.

 

Its seriously underrated how much of a proper captain he was when leading Argentina in 1990 and Napoli in the late 80s. Especially as injuries mounted. He was fouled something like 13 times in the opening 90 game against Cameroon - having watched the game this summer in lockdown, we aint talking Grealish fouls either, rough treatment. 

[Zear0]

Amazing how on minefield pitches he was able to play with such incredible skill and control and make the game look easy.  Let's hope he's remembers for the outrageously talented footballer he was than the other issues he went through.

 

Still, Peter Reid should have just hacked him down...

[Fox92]

1 hour ago, Zear0 said:

Amazing how on minefield pitches he was able to play with such incredible skill and control and make the game look easy.  Let's hope he's remembers for the outrageously talented footballer he was than the other issues he went through.

 

Still, Peter Reid should have just hacked him down...

Looking back at the footage of Hand of God I don't know how he even beats Shilton to the ball. How tall was Shilton compared to Maradona!?

[purpleronnie]

 

[David Hankey]

I read folk are saying Maradona was better than Pele, no. Yes, he had his days but the 'Hand of God' bollocks did it for me.

[David Hankey]

7 hours ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Product of his surroundings. 
 

Before Maradona, Argentine football was workmanlike and thuggish. Then they had the saviour.

 

Its seriously underrated how much of a proper captain he was when leading Argentina in 1990 and Napoli in the late 80s. Especially as injuries mounted. He was fouled something like 13 times in the opening 90 game against Cameroon - having watched the game this summer in lockdown, we aint talking Grealish fouls either, rough treatment. 

That's how football was played then. Players didn't get names like 'Chopper' Harris or 'Bites yer leg' Hunter for no reason. Unlike today's pansies who fall over if a feather touches them.

[StanSP]

 

[CosbehFox]

53 minutes ago, David Hankey said:

That's how football was played then. Players didn't get names like 'Chopper' Harris or 'Bites yer leg' Hunter for no reason. Unlike today's pansies who fall over if a feather touches them.

Harris and Hunter were from a different era 

[Fox92]

56 minutes ago, David Hankey said:

That's how football was played then. Players didn't get names like 'Chopper' Harris or 'Bites yer leg' Hunter for no reason. Unlike today's pansies who fall over if a feather touches them.

Fans probably didn't moan then. Nowadays fans moan at anything.

 

I see it at City games all time, both sets of fans. One player puts a bad challenge in and fans are up "should be off"/"booo"/"disgrace".

 

You want challenges to happen but then boo when a good one does happen.

[CosbehFox]

57 minutes ago, David Hankey said:

I read folk are saying Maradona was better than Pele, no. Yes, he had his days but the 'Hand of God' bollocks did it for me.

Pele never played in Europe. Most of goals scored in the São Paulo State Championships. That’s akin to him bagging a load of goals in the FA Cup against Leyton Orient and Morecambe. Never won a World Cup golden boot. 
 

He never led a team such as Napoli, a provincial sleeping giant in the mould of Newcastle into two league titles and an UEFA Cup (at a period where it was harder to win than the European Cup). Of course at a time where Serie A was incredibly defensive and full of the World’s talent - (in his Maradona’s first season the likes of Zico are even at Udinese). 
 

Then you compare both players in their international teams. In 58 and 62, Pele wasn’t first choice and Garrincha was Brazil’s hero. 70 he was in the worlds best team and he was out scored. 

Maradona in 86 had some support but by the time 90 come along Argentina were bust. 82 he was raw, booted around and then sent off. Not dis-similar to Pele’s 66. 
 

Pele is football’s biggest fraud and to even have him in the debate about greatest footballers is an absolute travesty it repeatedly comes up. 

[CosbehFox]

6 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

Fans probably didn't moan then. Nowadays fans moan at anything.

 

I see it at City games all time, both sets of fans. One player puts a bad challenge in and fans are up "should be off"/"booo"/"disgrace".

 

You want challenges to happen but then boo when a good one does happen.

World Cup’s began to change after the 82 with Battison and Schumacher. Before 1990, FIFA told the ref’s to be more harsh. Didn’t stop Maradona getting kung fu kicked in the chest in the opening game 

[Countryfox]

[Mark_w]

21 hours ago, ealingfox said:

Personally always wondered why he got so much of the grief for the Hand of God incident when really the vast majority of it should have gone to both the lino and the ref for being utterly blind cvnts.

 

How many players do you think would genuinely fess up to having handled it in that situation, then or now? Would you? I certainly wouldn't have.

100%. If Vardy did it to win us a Semi-Final we'd love it. It's exactly the sort of thing he'd have gladly done pre-VAR, wheeled away in front of the opposition fans, cupped his ears, and be treated like an absolute hero for. Players should have a win at all costs mentallity, that's their job.

[spacemunky]

Phenomenal player.

 

Terrible person.

 

RIP

[David Hankey]

3 hours ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Pele never played in Europe. Most of goals scored in the São Paulo State Championships. That’s akin to him bagging a load of goals in the FA Cup against Leyton Orient and Morecambe. Never won a World Cup golden boot. 
 

He never led a team such as Napoli, a provincial sleeping giant in the mould of Newcastle into two league titles and an UEFA Cup (at a period where it was harder to win than the European Cup). Of course at a time where Serie A was incredibly defensive and full of the World’s talent - (in his Maradona’s first season the likes of Zico are even at Udinese). 
 

Then you compare both players in their international teams. In 58 and 62, Pele wasn’t first choice and Garrincha was Brazil’s hero. 70 he was in the worlds best team and he was out scored. 

Maradona in 86 had some support but by the time 90 come along Argentina were bust. 82 he was raw, booted around and then sent off. Not dis-similar to Pele’s 66. 
 

Pele is football’s biggest fraud and to even have him in the debate about greatest footballers is an absolute travesty it repeatedly comes up. 

We're all entitled to our opinion. Pele didn't cheat.

[Crinklyfox]

I can understand anyone revering Maradona's skills, he was a brilliant footballer.  I also appreciate that many here may be too young to have watched the 'Hand of God' incident as it happened and seen it knock us out of the World Cup.  If you weren't around at that time it's unlikely that you will appreciate the sheer hatred felt by many towards Maradona.

 

I now understand that there's going to be a minutes silence for Maradona before the next round of PL games.  A decent gesture, but not one I wanted to see.  Personally I hate cheating in any sport, and it's not something I forgive or forget.

[CosbehFox]

3 hours ago, Crinklyfox said:

I can understand anyone revering Maradona's skills, he was a brilliant footballer.  I also appreciate that many here may be too young to have watched the 'Hand of God' incident as it happened and seen it knock us out of the World Cup.  If you weren't around at that time it's unlikely that you will appreciate the sheer hatred felt by many towards Maradona.

 

I now understand that there's going to be a minutes silence for Maradona before the next round of PL games.  A decent gesture, but not one I wanted to see.  Personally I hate cheating in any sport, and it's not something I forgive or forget.

Aye wouldn’t want to mention the absolute booting he took off England in the same game 

[That_Dude]

I feel that the people bringing the hand of god and/or saying that he was a great but a cheat, will never be able to fully comprehend what Maradona was and represented. And I truly feel sorry for them. 

 

Many others greats have scored more goals, been more consistent, won more trophies. However I don't think that anyone of them has ever incarnated football, its origins and its passions like he did. He didn't lived and breathed football, he was football. What made him stand out among the greats, aside from his unbelievable football skills, was his joy to play the beautiful game and unwavering will to win, at all costs. No matter if it was on the world stage or playing a 5-a-side with some pals.

 

Many try separate the footballer from the man and that's a mistake in my eyes. He played like he lived, for the better or the worse. It was him (and his team) against the odds and the world. The visceral love or hate he inspired are the result of his uncompromising way of life, be it on or off the pitch. I do believe that he never forgot his roots and had a genuine love for his country and the fans of the clubs he played for. People admired his skill but also recognized themselves in his flaws. He brought them joy and pride and that's why he was the ultimate champion of the underdogs.

 

He might have died relatively young but lived more than many of us ever will ever do. He was one of a kind and I hope that he'll finally find the peace he never had throughout his life, wherever he now might be.

 

 

 

I'll leave here three vids (especially the beginnings of the first and second ones) that sum up for me what Maradona was. If you have an hour to spare, it's well worth the watch. Mute the music though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT: Feck 2020.

Edited 27 November 2020 by That_Dude

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

9 hours ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Aye wouldn’t want to mention the absolute booting he took off England in the same game 

 

Alright Mundial Mag

[Stinkenzo]

I think more people have forgiven him for what he did than they would forgive an Englishman for doing the same thing

[CosbehFox]

7 hours ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

Alright Mundial Mag

😂 I am a sucker for any player who has the ability to push average clubs to greatness. (Cough - Vardy).
 

There’s a cultural difference in what people define cheating. In the UK, the prolonged targeting of a player isn’t but a handball is. 
 

As times progressed this has weakened slightly. Suarez and Henry aren’t called cheats with such assertion for example. Equally not many remember Maradona handballed again against USSR in WC90 in a Suarez esque fashion on the line. 
 

Talking of the romantic in me - anyone with time on their hands, take a look at Serie A in 84/85 when Maradona debuted for Napoli. Verona won it. Torino 2nd. Refs were drawn at random to stop fixing. The whole league has talent. There’s also the nuts 78/79 season when Perugia finished the season unbeaten but finished 2nd (too many drawn games). They are one of only three teams to ever finish a Serie A season unbeaten. 

[Lionator]

7 hours ago, Walkers said:

I think more people have forgiven him for what he did than they would forgive an Englishman for doing the same thing

There's not a Footballer who hasn't cheated at some point. Think of the amount of goals we've scored from Vardy looking for contact in the penalty box. It's part of the game. The ref missed it.

 

Wold recommend the Asif Kapadia documentary if you get to see it, it's incredible.