When Diego Maradona joined his new squad in Spain, he couldn't help but feel that it was a big deal. Barcelona bought him for a record transfer fee. Boca Juniors and Argentina Juniors reportedly sold him for $7.3 million, and Maradona's salary was more than $500,000 a season. People jokingly called the deal "Maradollar." At the same time, Maradona also retained the right to commercial advertising, that is, any money earned by advertising through the use of his face or name had his share.
Maradona's new club is different from Boca Juniors, with Barcelona's stadium being large. Barcelona has the largest fan club in the world and Maradona's style on the pitch has impressed his new team-mates, who are eager to learn his skills quickly.
However, in the sunny sky, several dark clouds have appeared. For some time before his family came to Spain, he felt very lonely in the big house he bought in Barcelona. He constantly visits nightclubs and attends various evenings to kill his time.
Some even say he first contracted drugs in 1982. If so, maybe he's trying something new to try to fill a kind of emptiness. If he was an addict from then on, it is questionable that he later took part in the anti-drug march in the city of Barcelona. However, the warning signal began to flash. His use of drugs later caused him even more pain, and the problem began in Barcelona.
Many of his personal unhappiness came to an end as his family moved from Argentina to Barcelona, but other problems remained. Some of the problems were physical, as early as when he arrived in Barcelona he contracted hepatitis (a liver disease) and he had to give up some races as a result.
Later in 1983, in a match against Spain's Bilbao. Maradona was injured as a result of a foul on the other side. His Achilles tendon was severely damaged and doctors fixed three nails to his ankles. Maradona was so dissatisfied with the treatment given to him by the Spanish doctors that he insisted on bringing in his former doctor from Argentina. Treated by argentine doctor Oliva, he quickly threw away his crutches.
Some have some controversy over the Treatment for the Argentine doctor, who is said to have been with Maradona for a long time, dr. Oliva, who has allowed the star to adopt a "strong man" posture that leads him in the wrong direction, rather than giving him a full rest according to the treatments other doctors have said, thus allowing the body to fully recover.
As a result of repeated injuries, barcelona fans' attitude towards Maradona has also changed. At the same time, Maradona felt that his will was tormented. At the time, it was uncertain what kind of performance the new player would have on the Spanish pitch. After all, maradona was not yet a great international star when he moved to Barcelona in 1982. The deal with Barcelona was made before the 1982 World Cup, when Maradona had not yet played the 1982 World Cup.
Argentina was one of 24 teams to compete in the 1982 World Cup, which was held in Spain, and some of the matches were in Barcelona. For many Spaniards, it was their first chance to see the new Barcelona striker play. Unfortunately, however, Maradona did not make a very good impression on them.
It was the first time Maradona had played the entire World Cup, but it was a disappointing Trip to the World Cup. For example, in barcelona in the Argentine-Italy battle, Maradona was stared at by a defender named Claudio Gentile. The Gentile, nicknamed Libyan leader "Gaddafi," mercilessly kicked Maradona's tibia and knee.
Maradona later said: "In my entire football career, I have never been guarded like I was guarded by Gentile. And Gentile said: "Playing football is not ballet, football is a man's business." An article about Maradona was published in the Barcelona press, with the headline calling him "Little Dona, Little Woman." What they mean is that Maradona is too delicate in the harsh international football arena.
Perhaps it was the comments that ignited Maradona's anger and inspired him to be more aggressive in his next game. Five minutes before the end of the match against Brazil, Maradona was sent off the field with a red card for a foul. It was a particularly bad foul. In response, one reporter wrote: This is a meaningless, psychopathic attack. The foul also didn't help their team, which eventually lost 3-1.
Due to Maradona's rather bland performances at the World Cup, it's understandable that Barcelona fans didn't immediately hug their new players. Instead, they wait to see what he will do for their team.
But with Diego Maradona scoring a couple of important goals for Barcelona, everything started to go really smoothly. Maradona's first season with Barcelona, Barcelona won the Spanish league. In 1983, Maradona scored a goal with teammate Schuster that allowed Barcelona to defeat their old rival, Real Madrid, and win the Copa del Rey. At the beginning of the new year in 1984, Maradona, who had just recovered from a foot injury, scored two goals, giving Barcelona a victory over Sevilla (Spain). In maradona's 36 league games for Barcelona, he scored 22 goals.
But at the same time, Maradona also had a mediocre number of performances. When Barcelona were eliminated in the 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup, the fans were extremely disappointed. Maradona didn't play well in that game, but the reason was that the doctors gave him painkillers in order to get him out of the game.
Barcelona met Bilbao again on the pitch and Maradona acted like a child. In the last match against Bilbao, Maradona suffered a serious kick injury to his ankle. Maradona had a fire in his heart, and it didn't take long for him to join a scuffle with the Bilbao players. The King of Spain was present to watch the match, and barcelona fans scoffed at Maradona's lack of cultivation.
Barcelona fans are also dismissive of Maradona's late-night habit of playing, and Argentines may sometimes be unhappy about something about Maradona, criticizing his performance on the pitch. But they have always loved their national hero deeply, and Barcelona fans do not have that complex.
Barcelona fans don't have a very good impression of Maradona from being a man to playing football, and if he has been performing well on the pitch, they may have a better impression of him. But the club had to pay the newcomer a huge salary, and FC Barcelona didn't find what they expected from Maradona, and Maradona didn't find what he was expecting in Barcelona. Unfortunately, Maradona still describes his experience in Barcelona as the "most frustrating period" of his life. Both sides decided that a transfer was the best option.
In 1984, Maradona came to Napoli in Italy. Barcelona received $13 million from the deal, while Maradona also got $6.4 million. But, more than money, Maradona got the support of fans he couldn't get at Barcelona. In Italy, Diego Maradona played the best football of his football career, and the star of professional football shines the brightest light.
On July 5, 1984, when the 24-year-old Maradona appeared at the Naples airport, the citizens of Naples extended a heartfelt welcome to him. The crowd was so ecstatic that the club had to hire a maradona stand-in so that the real Maradona could reach its destination. He was greeted with colored balls and fireworks, and the smiling Maradona triumphantly walked into the St. Paul's Stadium, where 85,000 fans stood up and applauded him. He said in Italian to his new admirers in Italy: "Buona sera, Napolitani." The crowd was jubilant.
This was only the beginning of the climax of the Napoli "Maradona fever", which later reached a feverish level during Maradona's years in Naples. People are so excited because their new football hero has a strong working-class color, and Naples is a working-class city. Maybe it's because Maradona has Italian blood. Whatever the reason, whether it's Maradona, or anyone else, it's hard not to respond positively to the love that the Italian people show him. Maradona's reward for this is that he dedicated the best years of his football career to Napoli.
Maradona settled in Italy and began to get to know the new country and people. He visited the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, and most Argentines and Italians were Roman Catholics. Maradona had the privilege of visiting the most senior Catholic figure. Maradona also took on the role of UNICEF Envoy, and along with his younger brothers Hugo and Laro, played several charity games for the organization.
Maradona is now a very famous figure, having received many invitations to parties and parties. He met a woman named Cristiana Sinagra at a party. Although they were not married, Maradona fell in love with her during that time. Cristiana named her son Diego Amanda, a child who has loved football since childhood.
Maybe that's how he is, and sometimes Maradona deals with people who aren't authentic. Members of the Mafia (a social criminal organization) began to seduce the star when he attended a gala hosted by the Kamora family, and through this relationship he had easy access to illegal drugs. Later evidence suggested that it was during this time that Maradona became addicted. People around him, such as his teammates later said, had no idea that any ominous signs were happening to Maradona. While this doesn't seem to directly affect his football career, his constant addiction to cocaine has implied a crisis that could erupt at any time in his career.
Despite constant problems in his private life, Maradona performed exceptionally well on the football pitch during this time. In his first season, he became Napoli's top scorer, scoring 14 goals in 30 games. In one match against Lazio, he scored straight from a corner, while another time he shot wide into the net from midfield.
In the 1985/86 season, he continued to show his strong momentum. In a game between Napoli and Juventus, he broke through the opponent's goal with a direct free kick, and Napoli won 1-0. It was the first time in 13 years that they had defeated their enemy, and the whole city was celebrating victory.
Over the past few years, Maradona has matured a lot as an athlete and his style has improved day by day. At the same time, he has a better understanding of international competitions. This was later fully demonstrated at the 1986 World Cup, where he took home the winning trophy for the Argentine national team with an unparalleled performance.
He temporarily left his club and came to Mexico with the Argentine national team. In his second World Cup, Maradona scored two goals that will never be forgotten. One grain is because of infamous, while the other is entirely because of his unstoppable genius. No one will ever forget how Maradona sent the ball into the goal with his hand in order to win. At the same time, he carried the ball through the entire England team's defensive line and shot the ball into the goal is also the most magnificent poem in the history of football.
In the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, Argentina met England. The Battle of the Falkland Islands was still fresh in everyone's mind, and the teams of the two countries met on the football field, and the tension was self-evident.
At this time, Maradona's reputation was in full swing, and England coach Bobby Robson believed that defending Maradona was the key to preventing Argentina from winning, and Robson warned his players to keep an eye on Maradona at all costs. Neither team scored in the first half, but just a few minutes into the second half, Maradona ran towards the ball that flew towards England's gate and found himself facing only England goalkeeper Pete Hilton, an Argentine who was only 1.65 metres tall and 15 centimetres shorter than the Englishman. But when they jumped into the ball at the same time, Maradona jumped higher than him, slapping the ball into the net with his hand. England goalkeeper Hilton immediately appealed to the referee, however, the referee did not see Maradona handball, and his whistle was effective.
Maradona's only wish was to see his team win this game, and he was instinctively using any method to achieve that. It was the referee's duty to determine whether the goal was valid or not, and although England complained and the television replay clearly showed maradona's action as a foul, the goal was still legally recorded. Maradona attributed this victory to God's inspiration, so the "Hand of God" has since entered the annals of football.
The debate among fans about this goal has never stopped. However, Maradona's next goal was a pure demonstration of his superhuman talent and superb skill, a goal that was never doubted. From the time of Argentina's half, Maradona single-handedly dribbled through England's entire defence, his foot touching the ball only 7 times, but he ran almost 60 metres with an unbelievable ball in 10 seconds. England defenders were thinking that sooner or later he would not be able to control the ball, but maradona had swung the ball past them before they tried to shovel the ball out, and Maradona showed them how to make the impossible possible. Finally Maradona's thrust once again passed through the Hilton-guarded Gate of England.
The goal caused incredible excitement. This day will go down in history as one of the greatest goals in the history of the World Cup, and another testimony is mexico's Azteca Stadium.
Thanks to Diego Maradona' credit, Argentina won 2-1 over England, who returned home with shame. Argentina then eliminated Belgium, Maradona sent the ball into the net with an "acrobatic turn" and Argentina won the match 2-1. Argentina reached the final with West Germany, where Maradona did not score, but he organized the defense quite well at the back, allowing his teammates to score three goals in front, while Germany scored only two goals, and Argentina won the 1986 World Cup.
At the closing ceremony, Maradona kissed the World Cup and lifted it high into the sky. He is the hero of this World Cup, the emperor of football, he scored 5 goals in 7 games and showed the world the best of football skills.
Maradona's fantastical football skills continued after the World Cup triumph, returning to the 1986/87 Italian Serie A, where Maradona's masterpieces were repeated. In the match against AC Milan, he crossed two defenders and scored from near the small penalty area line in front of goal. He led Napoli to the Italian First Division, scoring 1 goals in 29 matches. This is not only the first time napoli have won the First Division, but also the first time that a southern Italian team has overwhelmed a northern team to win the title.
The following season, Napoli started out in trouble, having been challenged by Inter Milan on their way to the Italian Serie A. Inter have excellent German players such as Andrés Bremer and Rotal Mateus, who make up an invincible team. However, Napoli won the UEFA Cup final in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1989 and won the UEFA Cup.
The Italians celebrated the victory emotionally and for a long time, and this was the first time that the Italian team enjoyed the honor of UEFA Cup. Decorations of blue and white (the color of the Napoli team uniform) flutter everywhere, and people compose songs about the hero who led them to victory. A portrait of Maradona appears on the huge walls of the city, where someone paints a picture of little Diego lying in the arms of a saint. Some call him the Emperor of Football. It is also said that Naples has three of the most attractive places: the Bay of Naples, Mount Vesuvius and Diego Maradona.
Maradona seems to be perfect, he is a hero of both Argentines and Italians. No one will ever forget how his magical feet allowed Argentina to win the World Cup and how Napoli won the Italian League and the UEFA Cup. A star rises high and shines on world football in an unattainable place.
Milestones in Maradona's football career, 1982-1989:
In 1982, he played for Barcelona, Spain
In 1984, he moved to Napoli, Italy
He led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico
In 1987, he led Napoli to win the Italian First Division
In 1989, he led Napoli to win the UEFA Cup
Between angels and demons
Uncover the unknown Maradona
This article is compiled from Jimmy Burns's book Hand of God: The Life of Maradona, which was published in 2010 and first published in 2018 as a game for fans to exchange and learn.