Sport

Kenny Archer - Diego Maradona's extraordinary talent elevated him high above the thugs

Kenny Archer

Kenny Archer

Kenny is the deputy sports editor and a Liverpool FC fan.

Argentina's Diego Maradona evades a lunge from Belgium's Guy Vandermissen during the opening game of the 1982 World Cup.
Argentina's Diego Maradona evades a lunge from Belgium's Guy Vandermissen during the opening game of the 1982 World Cup. Argentina's Diego Maradona evades a lunge from Belgium's Guy Vandermissen during the opening game of the 1982 World Cup.

“Pele had nearly everything. Maradona has everything. He works harder, does more, and is more skilful. Trouble is that he’ll be remembered for another reason. He bends the rules to suit himself.”

That quote isn’t chosen to re-open the debate about the world’s greatest footballer; obviously another Argentinian and another Brazilian need to be in the mix (Messi and Bobby Firmino, in case you’re wondering. OK, OK, kidding: Ronaldo; yes, the real Ronaldo).

The identity of the man who uttered those words is what’s important.

Alf Ramsey.

Yep, the man who selected ‘Nobby’ Stiles to ‘shackle’ Eusebio during the 1966 World Cup, and threatened to resign when FA officials suggested that the Manchester United midfielder shouldn’t be picked.

Even that arrant little Englander had to acknowledge Maradona’s brilliance, even if he (predictably) didn’t like the whole package.

Yet to suggest that Diego bent the rules ‘to suit himself’ is simply to prize thuggery over talent.

As another stocky, one-footed, short-tempered footballer, I was keen to see what all the fuss was about at a World Cup. My earliest memory of Maradona is from the 1982 event. The impression received was that this tyro heading to Barcelona for a world record transfer fee (£3m!) was somewhat over-hyped. That his hair-trigger temperament would prevent him from becoming absolutely top class.

His World Cup ended early, even before Northern Ireland’s, Argentina’s golden boy sent off late on in defeat by their arch-rivals. My recollection was that his frustration at under-performing and, what’s worse, losing to Brazil, led him to kick out and get red-carded.

Yet watch the incident again and you see that Diego was sticking up for a colleague. Argentina’s Juan Barbas was kicked in the head by leaping Brazilian substitute Batista. So Maradona instantly exacted his own retribution, booting Batista in the guts.

Two red cards, obviously.

No, just one for Maradona, and not even a yellow for the Brazilian.

Summing up the ludicrous nature of officiating in those days, Maradona had been booked in the previous match against Italy, for protesting too vociferously about the harsh treatment he was receiving at the hands, feet, and elbows of his man-marker. Who happened to be Claudio Gentile. The literal personification of a man-marker.

Sure, Maradona cheated on that (in)famous occasion with his hand (of God) against England at the next World Cup.

But, in every single match he played, with club or country, opponents cheated with their feet. And hands. And elbows. They kicked and pulled and hit him.

An indication of those different times was the savagery inflicted on Maradona when he played for Barcelona in Spain, where football was far from the tiki-taka of this century.

A compilation of clips has been going around of all the scything, lunging, vicious excuses for tackles made by England players against him at that 1986 World Cup.

Every one of them cheating.

Diego’s genius was in scoring a goal with his rule-breaking moment.

Then pouring a bathful of salt into the wound by adding probably the greatest individual goal ever scored.

Some might argue he didn’t make the most of his talent – but he made a hell of a lot of it. Not one but two Serie A titles for Napoli, the first southern Italian side to become national champions.

No other player has ever won a World Cup almost on his own; single-footedly, you could say.

Go beyond the goal clips from Mexico 1986 and you’ll see a series of chances created by Maradona and presented on plates for team-mates…who proceeded to spanner them wide or over, or to miss the ball completely.

Like Peter Canavan in 1995, despite their diminutive stature they were head and shoulders above their team-mates in terms of ability.

The difference was that an appalling piece of refereeing went against ‘Peter the Great’ whereas it had gone in favour of Maradona.

The modern game is faster, more intense than ever, but Maradona (like George Best) would still have excelled; indeed it’s likely that he’d have been almost unstoppable with officiating which actually protected attacking talents like him.

Pele had been kicked out of that ’66 World Cup – fittingly in England – but it wasn’t until the 90s, and after the damage inflicted on Dutch legend Marco van Basten’s ankles which prematurely ended his playing career, that officialdom finally clamped down on the hackers.

Now, forwards are far too protected, rewarded with penalties for feather-light touches which wouldn’t have disturbed a curl on Diego’s head.

Still, rather that than the butchery of the past.

The debate will rage on about the greatest ever footballer - but Maradona was the game’s greatest ever talent.

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SATURDAY night will be a bitter-sweet occasion for Cavan football folk. More than 23 years since their last All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final, only their second such appearance in half a century – and only a select few will be privileged enough to be allowed into Croke Park.

This column obviously wishes them well, wishes them the very best. Obviously they’ll need it against a dominant, superb Dublin side.

If wishes were horses then Cavan will be at the races, perhaps even able to pip the Dubs at the post. However, even in this extraordinary season, it’s extremely hard to envision anything other than a comfortable ‘home’ win for the light blues.

The twists and turns of time and timing, fate and fortune, mean that great talents such as Cian Mackey and Dara McVeety won’t be on the pitch. There have been other fine footballers from the Breffni County over the past 20 years who haven’t got this far either.

For the good of football, another upset would be wonderful. Fingers crossed for all those fine Cavan folk we’ve dealt with (and been helped by) over the years - and apologies to the many I have forgotten: Siobhan Brady, Kevin Og Carney, Paul Fitzpatrick, Eamon Gaffney, Oliver Galligan, Mark Gillick, Terry Hyland, Owen McConnon, Aogan O Fearghail, Declan Woods…