Maraodona, Simply Great Part 2 

Once an American sports commentator said that the great ones are loved at the beginning of their career, hated in the middle and once again loved at the end. This probably being because at the start they are young and as we see them improve we take enthusiasm as we see them grow in their talent. They naturally are not fully developed and make mistakes along the way but this can be overlooked given their youth and yet when they manage something spectacular this we praise all the more for the reason that we also forgive their faults. Maradona was at that stage of his career and because he was not over 20 was allowed to play for Argentina in the Youth World Cup of 1979 inJapan.

It was the second of such tournaments to be played and Argentina would be present coached by Cesar Luis Menotti, the man who had lead Argentina to victory in the previous world cup. All while leaving Maradona out of the squad in the believe that his 17 years of age would not let him deal with the pressure. However that had been the year before and now all was different. Maradona , not only would be on the team; he would even be the star attraction along best chance of winning the trophy.

Maradona shined in this tournament from start to finish and though I did not see any of their games till they reached the semifinal I read about how Argentina won every one of their games. This in no small part due to Maradona who scored four goals of his own while assisting his teammates specially Ramon Angel Diaz, who scored six. Argentina was in the semi-final and it was after this game that I started to fear him specially since he did not play for Italy. Argentina played the semifinal against Uruguay.

The first half of this match was dominated almost in its entirety by Argentina; who spent most of the match in Uruguay’s half of the field but despite this were not able to score. Maradona had made many an incursion through that tight defense of Uruguay only to be stopped usually by a foul which today would have meant almost an automatic red card for the player but in those days only meant a warning and rarely a yellow card. In one occasion I even recall a Uruguayan player brutally pulling Maradona down from behind by his shirt.

The second half would see Uruguay go forward more and even play slightly better though this did mean more space in the back for Maradona ; who took advantage in creating more opportunities not only for Diaz who scored at the 52 minute mark but himself. Maradona scoring at the 74 minute mark what could be considered the one that put the game out of Uruguay’s reach, who despite their famous “ Garra Charruga ” were not really going to bounce back.

Next was the final and the Soviet Union and I must confess as I watched the game at my sister’s house I would have preferred to see the Soviets take it but this was not the case. The first half ended with a blank score but only because the Soviet Union and their goal keeper some how managed to keep it such. Argentina and Maradona had dominated and should have been wining but what mattered was they were not. I even recall in incident were Maradona passed three players in the mid field. Not that this was rare for him as when he got in to a run with the ball and his short legs plus his short stocky frame; which made it very hard to knock him off the ball but on that occasion the 3^rd Soviet player tried to stop him by grabbing on to his arm. It was then that while his arm was being held by this Soviet player Maradona broke his arm free, all while not only not falling down but keeping control of the ball.

The second half started with Ponomarov scoring for the Soviet Union at the 52 minute mark; much to my surprise and even delight as I was rooting for the underdog but this only served to motivate Argentina even more. Argentina went forward at that point with Maradona just about dominating everything, at that moment I saw what all the talk had been about as it seemed he moved at will. With this kind of pressure even a great defense like the Soviet Union was bound to crack as it did when Alves scored on a Maradona assist which came 68 minutes in to the match. With the score now tied Maradona continue controlling the midfield and the game and long it did not take for the lead to come to Argentina as again Maradona made it possible and though he could have scored he passed it on. Diaz did the honors 71 minutes in to the match. Argentina was now winning and with the way they were controlling the match almost not allowing the Soviets out of their own half, it was clear to see that there were more chances of Argentina scoring a third goal then the Soviet tying it at two but I still hoped the Soviets would pull it out despite strong pressure from Argentina. Naturally the Soviet’s defense was tenacious but this would not be enough as from a free kick Maradona with 76 minutes gone put the game out of reach and the title in Argentina’s hands.

Maradona had shown the world what he could do, playing not so much as a goal scorer not that he was incapable of scoring but as selfless playmaker. This being due to his incredible vision that allowed him to always stay one jump ahead not only of the defender but the team’s defensive scheme and his lighting instincts of being able to execute a move as fast as it came to mind. This making thought and plays take place at the same time while most had to think first then act.

Maradona’s statistics were good though not outstanding if one considered that he had played six games and scored six goals which was not bad but then again Diaz from his team had scored 8 goals in the same six games. Assists he also had had but there was more to it then just numbers. I once heard Howard Cossell ; (American sports broadcaster) say that statistics do not always tell us the whole story and in Maradona’s case nothing could have been more true. During that world cup he had been unstoppable in the midfield, making it that Argentina had dominated every game from the midfield. A supremacy that did not always lead to goals but to danger for the other team.

As for myself I considered him to be almost too good to playing in a youth world cup but then again why shouldn’t he? After all it was a tournament for those under 20 and he was 18 still. I even started to think how it would be if he could be as dominating in the up coming world cup in Spain as he had been in this youth world cup in Japan? Argentina would surely win the world cup was what my mind guided me to think, this naturally being a horrible prospective being that it would have meant them winning two in a row and Italy going since 1938 with out a title. Fortunately then Maradona would be playing against stronger and more experienced competition.

This tournament was an important point in Maradona’s career as he was no longer a novelty but one to take in series consideration as perhaps the world’s best in the same category as the greats of that time that included Rummenigge , Keegan, Zico , Platini , Rossi and a few others though none of them in their teens like he was. However with praise also came fear of what he could do on the field, this meaning that from that tournament on every time he stepped on to the field he was literally a marked man! After all, fully exposed his talent had been. This meaning defenses worked harder and many times dirtier just to stop him, very often committing fouls against him that today would give a referee no reason why not to show the red card. In those days the rules of the game being slightly different as tackling from behind was not so much punished as it is now a days.

Life became hard for Maradona at that time, as greatness was expected of him and anything else was considered a bad game for his standards. Clubs also started a bidding war for him in an attempt to make him leave “ Argentinos Juniors” (his club at the time) and eventually an offer would come from Spain’s Barcelona for what then was an astronomical 6 million dollars. This was a figure unimaginable at the time but in a strange twist of events a group of Spaniards living in Argentina offered Argentinos Juniors the same amount not to sell Maradona . Barcelona however would not be denied by any such efforts and raised their bid to 12 million making the sum even more amazing. Maradona’s club in this bidding war opted to sell Maradona to Boca Juniors who did not waver to transfer him to Barcelona for the sum already mentioned of 12 million, however this transfer would not take place till after the world cup.

Maradona was now in the middle of his career in spite of not even being out of his teen years and this is when he started to in a sense be hated by some, myself being one of them as his strengths had been exposed all too clearly now it was a question of those who faced him to find his weakness. These however were hard to find but they did exist, first one was that though his left foot was capable of the impossible; his right was average. He though capable of extreme greatness on his day could be even less then average on his off days which fortunately for the rest he did have from time to time. The truth being when he was having his day and doing to the maximum what he and only he was capable, the other team was simply done for. Yes, one could always resort to double or even triple marking, dirty fouls and other such tactics which would keep him at bay for a part of the game but eventually it would be like trying to stop a tornado.