On the football field, there are not only conflicts and disputes as opponents, but also brotherhood as a teammate. And this kind of brotherhood is different than Jinjian's brotherhood, there is the inheritance of Messi and Xiaoluo as two generations of Nokamp kings, there is the hero pity of C Luo and Kaka with very different personalities, there is also the liver and gallbladder of Da Luo and Zidane, and there is also the perseverance of Maradona and Caniggia, Valentine's Day is coming, looking back at Maradona and Caniggia's two "centuries of history", the brotherhood of the two is like the beautiful love in our eyes.
origin
"God was too bored to be bored, so he created the Children of the Wind." This sentence is a portrayal of the relationship between Argentine fans in Maradona and Caniggia. Both were born in Buenos Aires, one became famous in Boca and the other debuted in River Plate, it was football that intersected the trajectories of their lives, and it was football that wrote a legend for them.
With his outstanding youth performances in Boca, Maradona moved to Barcelona in 1982 and joined Napoli, where he played the longest career in 1984, with Caniggia, 7 years younger than Maradona, going to Serie A four years later than Maradona. Both ushered in the peak of their careers in Italian football, but never played for the traditional Giants of Serie A, and naturally did not intersect at the club, but the Argentine national team became a bridge between the two.
Maradona was selected for the Argentine national team in 1977 at the age of 16, and 10 years later, he waited for his good partner in the Argentine national team, and in 1987, at the age of 20, Caniggia was selected for the Argentine national team, when Maradona had led Argentina to win the Hercules Cup, the poor Maradona was born with a rough face, with a smooth body that was trained by climbing and rolling, Caniggia's long hair fluttering, and there was also a leaf-free elegance under the rapid running.
Caniggia once complained that the Atlanta period (1989-1992) was the best period of his career, and it was during this period that Caniggia and Maradona sparked on the World Cup stage, and in the summer of Italy in 1990, Caniggia and Maradona, who played in Italy, gave fans around the world a taste of their duo. At that time, Maradona was not in the same state due to ankle injury, and the flamboyant Caniggia became a great wingman for Maradona, losing to Cameroon in the first round, Argentina almost out early, facing South America's sworn enemy Brazil in the round of 16, Maradona in the middle of the road attracted many defenders, Caniggia swam to the left side of the gap, and then Maradona passed through the Brazilian player's crotch to Caniggia in the gap, who calmly swung past the goalkeeper to score in the empty goal! It was the only goal of the match, and it was thanks to this goal that Argentina successfully eliminated Brazil. Maradona was unhurried in the face of three Brazilian defenders, and Caniggia's just right running position and wonderful handling of the ball were also particularly wonderful, and finally Maradona's pass was called the "assist of the century".
Caniggia scored four goals for Argentina in the World Cup, the most famous of which were two goals, all from Maradona, in addition to the assist of the century, the second goal was the 1994 World Cup group stage against Nigeria, Maradona's fast free kick helped Caniggia score his second goal of the match, this assist made Maradona the most assisted player in World Cup history, and this was Maradona's last assist in the World Cup.
Extinction
In the 1990 World Cup, Argentina had no chance to replicate the glory of the previous World Cup, although the semi-final eliminated the host Italy, Caniggia's header broke the record of not conceding a goal in the 518-minute World Cup, but because of the yellowing of Caniggia in that game, Argentina lost 0-1 to Germany in the World Cup final. Maradona, who has always been stubborn, has always been angry about this, insisting that if Caniggia competes, then the last person to laugh may be the Argentine.
In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Maradona played only two games and was sent home after the ephedrine doping drug was detected, and Caniggia scored only two goals, both of which were scored against Nigeria, one of which came from Maradona's assist, since then, Maradona has bid farewell to a 17-year Career in Argentina, and Caniggia has also embarked on a downward spiral in the Argentine national team. By rejecting the haircut rules of national team coach Daniel Passarella, it was difficult for Caniggia to get another chance to play in Argentina. Although he was named for The 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where he was sent off for insulting referees on the bench, Caniggia did not get even a minute to play in the 2002 World Cup, when he was sent off the bench for insulting the referee.
Since Maradona left the Argentine national team, Caniggia's career has also taken a sharp turn for the worse. Both were banned for cocaine use before the 1994 World Cup. However, the story of the two continues at the club. Maradona returned to Boca in 1995, the same year that Caniggia, who had been assassinated and disfigured in Portugal, also returned to the Argentine league as a River Plate youth player. On July 15, 1996, the two joined hands for Boca Juniors, maradona once again assisted Caniggia, and the excited two kissed for six minutes in front of the audience. Gustavo, a veteran photographer in Argentina, recorded the kissing moment between the two with a photo that immediately appeared on all the newsstands on the street and became an eternal classic moment in football. Years later, when Gustavo revisited the photo, he said: "In the adrenaline-filled football field, the players will use kisses to express their friendship and emotions, but this photo of the two kissing has caused a lot of controversy." ”
After the kiss of the century, the two football careers also officially came to an end, Maradona chose to retire in the following year, and Caniggia played the last heat of his career in the Soviet Super League after a brief sinking.
The fate is over
On November 25, 2020 local time, Maradona died of cardiac arrest at the age of 60, and Argentina mourned for three days.
For Maradona's death, Caniggia also sent a condolence at the first time: "I was shocked by this news, he is my soul mate. I hope you will understand that I have nothing to say now. I just want to tell your family that I will accompany them through this difficult time. ”
Caniggia's life after retiring from the military was also unsatisfactory, and in September 2019 he and his wife, Mariana Nannis, divorced and fell into a lawsuit to divide the property. Admittedly, the kiss of the century between Caniggia and Maradona sparked dissatisfaction with Mariana Nannis, who said in an interview with the media at the time: "I think Maradona must have fallen in love with my husband." Gustavo, the photographer who originally photographed Kiss of the Century, later said: "In fact, Caniggia's wife did not like this photo very much, and even asked Caniggia to stay away from Maradona." ”
Caniggia rarely appeared in front of the camera after retiring, and the few interviews he gave to the media always avoided the topic of Maradona. In May 2020, Caniggia spoke about Messi and Maradona in an interview before Maradona's death, praising Messi but stressing: "Diego is the best football player in history, it's easy to play with him, when I take action, he knows what he's going to do. I also know what I have to do to get the ball. ”
In November 2021, in an interview with the media on the first anniversary of Maradona's death, Caniggia said with tears in his eyes: "I always say that I am touched by what they have done (Napoli fans mourn Maradona), look at Napoli last night, they will still do it a year later. Because Diego is a legend, a myth, he is a man who has left a legacy in the history of football that no other player has left behind. ”
"That's all Diego left behind and I get excited about it every time I see him being loved on the pitch. Not just in Argentina, but at the All-World Cup. It's something that can't happen to other players, and after 10 or 15 years, Maradona is still Maradona. ”