Diego Armando Maradona died on 25th November 2020.
John Bethell looks back on the times he saw this football icon at the World Cup finals.
He was a flawed genius in life but an undoubted genius on the football field and for many the greatest ever.
My first memory of Diego Armando Maradona was seeing him at Wembley in 1980 when he slalomed past the England defence and prodded the ball just wide of the late Ray Clemence’s post.
He was nineteen years old but his prodigious talent had been evident from a much earlier age.
In fact. some had expected him to play for Argentina at their home World Cup in 1978 having already made his debut, aged just 16, a year previously.
But perhaps rightly coach Menotti decided he was too young.
His time would come.
Many a genius has lived a troubled, often unbalanced life.
Maradona can be compared to famous artistic and musical icons.
Jeanne Calment who met Van Gogh said the famous artist was rude, smelly and an alcoholic.
It would take too long to list the musical geniuses who have similarly over-indulged.
But in my view, you have to separate out their private lives and marvel at the magical artwork or musical brilliance they produced.
And the same is true of Maradona on a football field.
I would see him next at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 when he was arguably at the height of his powers.
It was the culmination of Argentina’s second triumph and Maradona’s contribution has been described as the greatest individual performance by any player at a Mondial tournament.
I’d watched the classic France v Brazil quarter-final in Guadalajara before flying into Mexico City to arrive in a thunderstorm.
Near my central city hotel were buildings still showing the aftermath of the earthquake from a year earlier.
Inside I saw Pele, with a small entourage, waiting for the lift.
His only challenger for the accolade as the greatest-ever footballer would take the stage at midday on the 22nd June in the expansive Azteca Stadium.
Much would be written about how Argentina beat England 2-1 in a match that featured two incidents that will live forever in the minds of all that were there.
From high up in the Azteca, it was clear to all around me that Maradona handled the ball past a despairing Peter Shilton. Most were amazed when the Tunisian referee and his linesman allowed the goal to stand.
Personally, I have always blamed the officials and take the pragmatic view that Maradona was not the first and certainly not that last player to score such a goal.
The only difference was that it was probably the most high profile example.
Clearly, it had a major impact in the context of the England v Argentina rivalry but you could understand why it was especially celebrated by some in South America (and perhaps in Scotland)
What cannot be denied is what came afterwards when the genius from Buenos Aires scored the greatest World Cup finals goal.
Though as with most clashes between those two countries, both before and after, there was more drama as England scored and then came very close to equalising in the closing stages.
But Argentina would progress to meet Belgium in a semi-final that again witnessed another Maradona masterclass.
It would also provide one of the iconic World Cup photographs captured when the no.10 was faced by no less than six Belgium opponents.
The climax of the tournament saw Argentina survive a West Germany comeback before Maradona helped Burruchaga breakaway to score the winner.
Four years later I was fortunate to be able to see four more Argentina matches at Italia ‘90.
These again can be seen through the focus on Maradona.
Particularly his perfect pass to Caniggia that allowed the striker to score the winner against Brazil after their great rivals had spent most of the game battering the Argentinian defence.
His penalty against the hosts Italy in his adopted Naples, after he had missed in a similar way in the Yugoslavia shootout.
And the trauma of that anticlimactic final when his country had two men dismissed and lost their title to a disputed Brehme penalty.
As with his life there were certainly some rocky moments.
And it would get worse in America in 1994 and continue unevenly afterwards.
But for this writer it was a privilege to see a genius of the greatest game in the world.
The greatest ever?
Pele, for me, was as talented and perhaps had a wider set of skills though he never had the chance to play competitive club football in Europe.
Both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored more goals and are surely comparable.
Though the modern players definitely benefit from the easier playing conditions in that they are shielded from the destructively cynical tactics adopted by opponents of Pele and Maradona.
But I think Diego Armando Maradona was the greatest when you combine talent with passion and will to win.
That wand of a left foot, the perfectly weighted pass, the balance, the innate control of a football and the love for the game.
For sure he was a flawed genius in life but an undoubted genius on the football field.
analysis - John Bethell
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