Continued .....
By this time in his
playing career there was a great deal of interest from international clubs
but in some cases the club was not prepared to let a young talent leave
and in others it was considered that the Argentine people's affair with
Maradona was too overwhelming. However by 1982 the time had come when Boca
would agree to let Maradona sign to Barcelona in what was considered to
be the biggest transfer deals.
At the young age of
22 in 1982 to be worth $7.2 million, Maradona was starting to feel the
burden. The price tag added to the injuries he was getting due to the constant
marking by defenders his time with Barcelona was not what would be considered
to be easy. Falling ill with hepatitis and an injury in his first season
with Barcelona did not make the burden of the price tag any easier. After
a sending off incident in a match against Athletico Bilbao the club would
finally accept to let him leave the Nou Camp.
In sharp contrast
to his time with Barcelona the move to Napoli saw Maradona more than prove
himself by transforming this relegation candidate club to a winner of both
the Scudetto and the Italian Cup of the 1986-87 season. Napoli had never
won the Italian Championship and beating the likes of Milan from the North
with the combined talents of Ruud Gullit, Van Basten and Frank Rjkaard
(?) was so incredible that Maradona was becoming a football god to the
Neapolitans. With Maradona Napoli would carry on to win their first ever
UEFA Cup in 1989. Added to the World Cup he won for Argentina the 1986
- 87 season is considered to be the pinnacle of the Maradona years. However
his career started to tumble shortly afterwards.
The experience of
Italia '90 was one that he most likes to put a block on his memory. Having
come so close to a second World Cup but not been able to win it felt like
no achievement what so ever to Maradona. The allegations due to failure
of a drug test and the fact that Argentina knocked out Italy in the tournament
meant that he had to leave Napoli and Italy for Seville FC in Spain.
However due to several
complications he would also had to leave this club and head back to Argentina
for Newell's Old Boys. He would make several appearances before an injury
would force him to hang his boots. He then attempts management but like
in his playing days the passion and addiction to football was so great
and at times underachievement was what he found so frustrating. And it
was not long after that Maradona would have a heart problem that would
take him so close to his death. Since then he left for treatment in Cuba,
one of the few countries that has succeeded in its system of free health
care for its citizens. The treatment in the Cuban clinic has indeed saved
his life and since then he has been able to make several appearances including
his testimonial match in 2001 participated by many international players
of his time and attended by many of his Boca fans among others. In his
tribute Argentina has requested FIFA to retire the No. 10 shirt.
The life of Maradona
had the roller coaster ride but what is clear is that his addiction is
that of football. In a country like Argentina a poor kid who makes it from
the slums is more representative than the president as he put it. His originating
from the slums was what shaped his life and aspirations and his main criticism
has always been that many famous footballers did not speak enough for
or represented the poor. In fact many of them like him had risen from the
slums. Many hope that he recovers so that the world does not miss its greatest
footballer.
11
Back
2 of 2