Aug 14, 2023
Verona Villa D'Este, Tivoli
Like he owed us something. Napoli's tifosi responded with a banner reading "Maradona, you are our love, but Italy is our blood". Football (or soccer for our American friends), as we know, was invented by the English – at least, the sport as such, with most of its rules. Just as we weren't prepared for 'Leo', we won't be prepared for a better player. "This boy doesn't even reach Messi's ankles. For years we wanted, wrongly, that boy from Rosario who had almost grown up in Spain to become Maradona. Because in times of post-war, post-dictatorship and winding roads to yet another economic debacle (believe me, we know a thing or two about that in my country), Maradona sowed the flowers of joy in a barren soil. But as Mauricio Codocea of the Argentinian edition of The Jugo Mobile explains, his compatriots may be the last to hold him in such high esteem have standing. How could it be possible that Lionel Messi was "below" Diego Maradona in the eyes of his compatriots? We feel it the way Messi feels it. Because football for us – as I said – is not rational.
First, because it's about both of them. Moreover, tomorrow will belong to both of them. Why is he not with me as he is with them? Maradona gave happiness to those who had nothing, he returned a smile to the soldiers who returned from the Malvinas (Falklands) with a broken soul and a wounded body. He showed a way to those who never had, nor would have, nor will have opportunities. After a nice seventh place, the club became 21st and last in the 1947/48. Two years later, the club became champion of Serie B. The return to Serie A was celebrated with a sixth place and the club also managed to finish in the top six for the next four seasons. After Lionel Messi finally achieved his dream of winning the World Cup, the iconic number 10 has cemented his place among the best players ever.
So how can we explain that the two greatest players of all time are Argentines? The best players in the world often play in the best leagues, but as you'll see in this list, this doesn't always have to be the case. You will have to apologize for this attribution. In this round, the team lost to Uruguay and Brazil and drew against Paraguay. The four best countries of this tournament qualify, which are Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay. Africa: 2 places for 29 teams. He played for five clubs in his country, mainly Racing Club and Boca Juniors, winning four major titles and scoring 86 official goals with both teams combined. There was also a decisive penalty kick in the last minutes of regular time of a match at the 1998 World Cup: Brazil – Norway: in the 88th minute, Kjetil Rekdal scored 1-2 for Norway, which then qualified for the eighth finals second in its group behind the same Brazil. Yes, in our lack of rationality we do – and the man is so good that he took the blame! There they lost to neighboring Uruguay and had to make do with the silver medal.
Portugal and Hungary made the best impression, West Germany, England, the Soviet Union, Uruguay and Argentina lived up to expectations and North Korea's qualification was nothing short of sensational. 9 countries took part in this tournament, which was played in Argentina from April 1 to April 22, 1985. Because Argentina's 'problem' remains. Because that's Messi too: a man we Argentines have wasted for almost a decade and a half, on and off the field. For us, Maradona was the greatest because he was a poor man, like millions of us, who showed that it was possible to reach where none of us (rich or poor) could go. In 10, 20 or 30 years we will wait for another one to come, even if we say to ourselves again (as we said after Diego) that there will be no one like Messi. It sounds unbelievable that we didn't allow ourselves the same in the national team.