This book "Hand of God: Maradona" was compiled for supine braces in 2017 and first published to understand the ball emperor, only for fans to exchange and learn, because the author of this book, Jimmy Burns, is an Englishman, so some views may be a little biased, I hope you can read rationally.
Diego Maradona's first conquest for the nation was in 1971. He was only 11 years old at the time and represented the Argentine Junior Team in the Junior Champions Cup in Uruguay. This experience can be said to be a disgrace to Maradona. Since the players are all small children, they must stay in the homes of local residents. Most of the players in the Argentine National Junior Team come from middle-class families and are financially better off than Maradona. So they lived in a big, spacious house in Uruguay. Maradona, because he came from a shantytown and could not afford his room and board, was fostered in an unemployed black family with no running water. Two years later, when Maradona traveled again with the Argentine junior team to Chile, the situation of the accommodation improved significantly. Since Chile was already ruled by General Pinochet, the Chilean government was very friendly to Argentines, who were also governed by military personnel. Maradona and the whole team stayed free of charge at the five-star Carrera Hotel in Santiago, Chile's capital. The hotel was an important location for Pinochet's coup d'état. Just three months ago, in the presence of hundreds of Western journalists, Pinochet took the presidency of Chile.
Pinochet staged a coup d'état and declared the seizure of power at the hotel
From Maradona's hotel room, you can see through the window the largest square in Santiago, and in the distance is the official residence of the President of Chile. In the previous coup d'état, the democratically elected president Salvador Allende was killed by an air bomb attack on the official residence. The ruins there have not been cleared yet. For the young Maradona, it was an excellent opportunity to rest with his teammates. At that time, the remnants of political power in Chile were still active, but Pinochet had firmly grasped the foundations of the regime, so santiago did not experience unrest or unrest. What's more, Maradona is just a child. He was not concerned about the so-called political situation and longed to be able to perform at the San Diego National Stadium. He also wants to make the most of the opportunity to go out to compete, just give himself a vacation. The next morning at the Carrera Hotel, little Maradona refused to go downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast, but instead called for room service and asked the waiter to deliver the breakfast to his bedside. In the day's match, Maradona scored four goals for the team.
San Diego National Stadium held thousands of political prisoners in 1973
Back in Birafiorituto, Maradona has lost the lavish life he once had and the success that the crowd cheered. On the contrary, although he is about to become a great footballer, he cannot escape the real life in the slums for the time being. Given the chaos and dangers of Birafiolito, the authorities have been refusing to establish a permanent police station in that area. They believe that if a police station is established, it will be the target of long-term attacks. Security in Birafiolito is the responsibility of patrolling police dispatched daily. They ride minibuses and go back and forth in the community, but there are very few real police officers.
Maradona's parents were extra protective of their sons at this age, and there are signs that Maradona himself has built up a superhuman immune system. He is indifferent to the chaos at the bottom of society and the outbreak of people at the bottom, and he has completely immersed himself in the world of football. Later, when he recalls his childhood, he always compares the hard life of Birafiolito with his father's experience in the province of Corrientes. In contrast, he lived in the capital after all, and starvation in the capital in the sixties and seventies would not have happened at least, and in Corrientes, where his father had lived, this phenomenon abounded. Maradona argues that in areas like Corrientes, "everyone cannot escape their fate, and when any disaster strikes, no one can escape." "After all, living in the capital is a world of difference between living in the capital and in the countryside, and rural people will not be able to seek the right to live because of the inevitable nature of natural disasters." At least Than La Fiorito is a sincere community, poor but quite harmonious among the neighbors.
Today, Fiorito is still a ghetto of the poor
However, Maradona was unaware of another kind of catastrophe. In the early seventies, banditry was rampant in the slums of Buenos Aires. Several male friends of Maradona himself once kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl. The girl moved from the mountains of northern Argentina to the capital in search of work, initially to relieve the pressure of survival, but later had to return to her hometown because of the hardships of Life in Birafiolito. After being brutally gang-raped by gangsters, the girl did not dare to call the police. Out of fear and financial pressure, she left Birafiolito and hid the secret for decades.
No matter how much the incident affected Maradona, it definitely didn't change his desire to become a football star. Thanks to Maradona's outstanding performances, Cybolitas became the most successful youth team in Argentina. The team's No. 10 player has captured the attention of the world.
Maradona (third from left) with cyberlitas teammates
At the age of 12, Maradona crossed paths with Argentina's top clubs for the first time, with The Argentine champion River Plate being the first to contact Maradona. Although Diego's parents desperately wanted Maradona to train in River Plate as soon as possible, his coach Cornejo decisively declined the invitation to try out river plate. Cornejo had previously spoken to the head of the Argentine youth team, and they agreed that Maradona should wait until his value reached a certain amount before selling him. If they want to maximize the return on their investment, they must choose the right time, and it is obviously too early. In agreement with Cornejo was Dr. Palladino, the sporting director of the Argentine youth team. They want to keep their control over Maradona, and when he actually becomes a maximarian, they can make a lot of money.
Their confidence in Maradona is absolutely well-founded. Maradona's childhood playmate and also his teammate Osvaldo Dallah Buona at Cyberlitas described how Maradona was treated in the team. All the enthusiasm of the entire team was focused on the rising star. "Not putting Diego on the river plate is a great blessing for the whole team of Cyberlitas. The privilege of being able to work with the world's greatest player in the future at such a young age is a blessing to all of us. Watching him omnipotent on the pitch, ten defenders in front of him were nothing. He scored many incredible goals and completed many unparalleled passes. What is remarkable is that with his outstanding talent, he is still a team player, able to give encouragement and support to teammates at all times. Whether on or off the field, you can feel his championship aura. He can always show a full leadership temperament, so that you love him more and are more willing to listen to his commands. ”
The young Maradona was interviewed by a local television station
At the same time, however, Maradona had begun to develop his theatrical talent on the field, which was also a hallmark feature of his later career. He is not too rule-oriented when playing football, and his expressions and movements are extremely exaggerated. Perhaps it can be said that the experience on the court has allowed him to master a lot of off-the-plate moves, which are important signs of his playing. Maradona is a man of great competitiveness. Once, when Cyberlitas lost a match, he lay in the middle of the field and cried. Deep in his heart, he had planted the genes of the strong, and he did not accept failure, especially failure that he did not expect. Argentine writer Alicia Duvenin-Otis devoted herself to the event when writing her biography of Maradona. According to Otis' description, a man went to comfort the heartbroken Maradona in the middle of the scene, saying, "Don't cry anymore, child." Sooner or later, you'll be the number 10 best in the world. Maradona immediately fell silent, and the man drifted away, like an angel guarding him. In another game, Maradona was so unhappy with the referee's decision that he was furious. Eventually, he was sent off by the referee and expelled from the stadium.
As a teenager, Maradona was thin and thin
In 1973, Cyberlitas became runners-up in the National Junior League, losing to Cordoba in northern Argentina in the final. The following year, Cyberlitas became a national champion. Within months, the Argentine youth's sports director offered Maradona his first player contract, promoting him to his home team. The argentine youth name comes from the origins of South American football. The team was founded in 1904. At that time in Argentina, football already had a broad working class base. Many local amateur teams have come together to form this professional club. In the British-controlled districts of Buenos Aires, the local working class was predominantly in the meat processing and export industries. They saw the British, along with the arrogant Spanish colonists, as capitalists who exploited and oppressed the people. At the beginning of the club's creation, the team was called "Free Men's Union". Later, they changed the slogan to a more cryptic "Martyrs of Chicago," referring to the shooting of a group of anarchist workers living in Chicago.
Argentine youth team in the twenties
In the early 1970s, the focus of Cyberlitas managers was on Maradona, who didn't seem to care much about the rest. Setimio Aloisio, the club's vice-president at the time, recalled: "We thought Maradona was the only kid in the squad who could be a first-tier star. All our hopes are pinned on this child. We watched him grow day by day and play better in every game. If there are other players who lack encouragement, we don't care much at all. In our minds, as long as Maradona plays well, this game is perfect. ”
On Diego Maradona's 15th birthday, he received a big gift from the club. This marked his special position in the team and really solved his personal financial problems. The team gave him a nice apartment, enough to live for their whole family. Just a few weeks earlier, Trota, the first to discover Maradona, had gone to meet with Cornejo and suggested that he should use the signing method to completely take Maradona into their hands. Trotta had intended to use legal means to take Maradona's future earnings rights, but Cornejo eventually insisted on his opinion and abandoned the plan. Because he always believed that there was mutual trust between himself and Maradona, everyone knew that he had raised this child, and he did not want to hurt everyone's harmony by going to court.
Newspapers in 1997 reported Cornejo's mentorship with Maradona
Cornejo and Trota must have regretted it now. Because the senior brass of the young Argentines have obtained permission from Maradona's parents to maximize all the business interests around Maradona. The young man's first two mentors seemed to have turned into two old tickets and became worthless. Cornejo has not forgotten the day Argentina youth coach Juan Carlos Montis found him. Montis said the home team now needs to recall Maradona. Cornejo still wants to continue coaching Maradona for even a year. However, he seems to be too far-sighted in this matter, and only cares about devoting endless enthusiasm to this child. Cornejo explained to Montis that the kid wasn't ready at the moment and wanted to talk directly to club president Prospero Consori. In front of Consoli, Cornejo burst into tears, claiming that out of concern for the future of his children, he must let Maradona stay in Cyberlitas for a while longer. Consoli's response was simple: the club had to think carefully about the team's financial planning.
Montis brought Maradona under his command
"I just stood there, facing the child I had worked so hard to cultivate, and I worked tirelessly for the crucial years of his growth. I know Diego better than anyone. I could only plead bitterly with Consoli, but he remained indifferent. He later said, 'I'm the president of this club, you just do what I say.' That's the whole process they went through signing Diego Maradona. ”
Maradona began his journey in a professional team
Between angels and demons
Uncover the unknown Maradona
This article is compiled from Jimmy Burns' book Hand of God: The Life of Maradona, published in 2010