The first time I watched Maradona play was at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
I've been a German fan since that year, so for me (and my dad), Maradona was a potential opponent.
My dad told me many times about the 1986 World Cup and how terrible Maradona was. For example, his "hand of God" for England, and the well-known goal of the century.
For example, in the 1986 World Cup final, Argentina led Germany 2-0, then was chased to a 2-2 draw, and then Maradona instigated the goal to seal the championship.
In the 1990 World Cup, I watched it intermittently, and I only remember whether it was on the record or in the news, and I saw argentina vs. Brazil. My dad said he had always admired Brazil's Kareca, a game that seemed like Brazil had hit the goalpost many times and pressed Argentina; when Maradona took the ball alone to attract the attention of everyone in Brazil, Caniggia sent Brazil home with a single knife.
It's really just a one-man run, and the result of the race changes.
I said Maradona was a real cow, and my dad said it was, and he used to do that in 1986.
In the early 1990s, various newspaper broadcasts about Maradona often used the phrase "Maradona, the king of the ball".
There are even cross-talk sketches that talk about him, probably similar to this kind of stem:
"Maradona, the King of Balls!" "Oops, the cow pulls more than the horse!"
In that era when the media was not developed, the word Maradona also entered popular culture – not limited to football.
At that time, the only ball kings I heard of were "Ball King Bailey" and "Ball King Maradona".
By the way, when it comes to the king of boxing, it is "King ali", "King of Boxing Tyson".
So I remembered: Maradona was the king of the ball.
At that time, when the newspaper said that the small and flexible players, they liked to use the nickname "short-footed tiger". For example, Zhao Dayu in Guangdong and Peng Weiguo later. It's a matter of course, "Maradona is also a short-legged tiger!" ”
Then came the 1994 World Cup.
I watched Argentina vs. Greece, i can't remember whether it was live or recorded, I remember it was 4-0, Batistuta a hat-trick, Maradona scored a shot in front of the box, after the goal, he roared at the camera, I was shocked. How good his technique was, I didn't understand it at the time. The impact of this emotion is really fresh in my mind.
Later that year, after scoring for Fiorentina in Serie A, Barty went to the corner to stand at the waist. My dad said that Argentines are so passionate.
"But Maradona is the one who comes crazy."
My dad used the phrase "people come crazy", and in our Wuxi dialect, emotions are complex.
There is a derogatory side, describing a person as a wave; there is a positive side, describing a person as really tough and can withstand the big scene.
Later Maradona was known to be banned from ephedrine.
Argentina was later eliminated by Romania.
I remember that the Romanian champions at that time were Raduccioyu (a blonde killer), Dumitrescu, and Haji , the "Maladona of the Carpathians" at that time. When I say this in the news, I have wondered: Why do you want to use Maradona? I know he's cow, but how much bull is he?
That year, Saudi Arabia reached the Round of 16 of the World Cup, and Oviland entered a thousand miles to ride alone. The media said it could be compared to maradona's long-distance raid in 1986.
I thought: Why is Maradona everywhere?
Then two years later, it was rumored that the Boca youth team was going to come to the workers' stadium to play a game, everyone said that Maradona was coming, and the elders even wanted to take the train to the workers' stadium to see. I was a little dazed.
The red one was Ronaldo, who was said to be very much like Maradona after scoring that magical half-time goal against Campostra.
I thought: Why are you talking about Maradona again? How many goals has he scored? How bullish was he at his peak?
In 1992, there was a soccer game on FC called Goal 2, and the game was a rare perspective on FC (similar to 45 degrees in Paladin 1).
There are no player names, but there are player values, three: speed, shots, tackles. 10-point scale.
But the number of argentine midfielders is: 12, 12, 11.
I initially thought it was a data overflow. Later guessed, that was referring to Maradona.
Just as Maradona faded out of football, I started looking for his tapes.
Watch Argentina's 1986 World Cup matches, watch Argentina's 1990 World Cup matches. Watch his matches at Barca and Napoli.
Then, I felt that my worldview had been shaken.
Before and after, I didn't see how to do it: a person playing football, with a clear purposeful "I just want one person to break your entire defense line", rushed over. I've seen many breakthrough masters, but some of them are flashing and moving, taking advantage of the situation to fight back, taking advantage of the void and so on. As densely frontal hardened as Maradona in 1986, it's gone.
Against South Korea in 1986, his assists decided the victory. Against Italy, he forced a goal from a small angle from the side of captain Sirea. Two all-time goals in England's history are not mentioned. A Romario-esque grab point in Belgium bounced into the far corner, a breakthrough four-man pushed into the far corner.
I didn't know what ball sense was before, and watching Maradona play, it was a bit of a feeling (and two years later, when Bergkamp and Zidane touched the ball, they gave me a similar feeling).
I also understood why the height was very different, but at that time many people loved to praise aliens like Maradona - balanced, the ball sticks to the foot, between the square inches, any part of the foot can handle the ball softly, can not be dragged, can not be pulled, can not be surrounded, people are like a ball dripping and slippery.
I don't know if Maradona is the first star in history, but I think that saying that he is the player with the best ball feeling in history probably won't have too many objections.
Didn't Platini say it all? "What Zidane can do with football, Diego can play with oranges."
I remember re-watching the video, and what impressed me the most was not his 1986 two heavenly and earthballs against England – the most cunning handball and the most magnificent goal of the century – but Argentina vs. South Korea.
Maradona didn't score in that game, but he was the focus of the game. It wasn't just him who scored the goal, but also:
I watched the Korean team do everything rough and dirty — we are all familiar with the Korean team's conduct — greeted Maradona all over the body, and Maradona fell countless times; but every time, whenever it was possible to stand up, he would desperately stand up and move forward.
For example, a ball like this: the man who shoveled him fell down on his own, and Maradona climbed forward.
In addition to the ball sense of skill, in addition to balance, there is also his hun and tenacity.
At the beginning of 1997, I read a magazine and said that there are many evil leaders at the moment. For example, Cantona (the King of Manchester United at that time), such as Matius (who was at Bayern and Klinsmann at that time), such as Chilawite (who was roaring south America)... But the most vicious man, the toughest and most chaotic demon king, is maradona.
We all know his broken things. The 1982 World Cup was stamped with a red card, and in 1994, the ban was detected as a problem, which indirectly led to Argentina's exit. As for what kind of shooting reporters and the like, it is really continuous. But miraculously, I don't know if lice are more than itchy debts and more worries about everyone getting used to it, or if he is too outstanding, so that at that moment everyone seems to acquiesce, "This is maradona's doing?" Well, that's it. ”
Everyone tacitly accepts that he is an angel + a devil. Everyone seemed to accept that he was an outside of football, but he played really well, so... That's it."
Two years ago, a friend of mine who worked in a bank in Argentina started by talking about Gino Belgium, and she said that Argentines still like Ginobili because his personality — cunning, enthusiastic, desperate — is very Argentinian. I asked, what is the most favorite personality of argentines? She replied to me this way:
"Argentines still love Maradona the most."
I objected, saying that maradona had brought the Argentine national team out of that broken result in the first few years, and my friend said that he had no way to lead the team, but he was still qualified to toss it, which in turn showed that Argentines loved him a lot.
Cunning, passionate, desperate, unscrupulous for victory, intimidating, and a bunch of things, but it does make Argentines on top of the world.
Maybe that's the feeling, right?
The more maradona biographies and videos I watched, the more I understood the feeling.
He was not of high birth. He was a young genius who became famous. He was given a red card for stepping on the stomach at the 1982 World Cup. He was kicked out of the 1994 World Cup on drugs. He was a mess as a coach. He shot reporters. Even before his most glorious moment, the 1986 Goal of the Century against England, came the infamous Hand of God. All this dark side created his controversy, and also created the image of Maradona, half angel and half devil.
He can obviously play the most beautiful football in the world, but often he does not play elegantly, but fiercely, tenaciously and hunkily. He has a lot of problems, but no one should say that Maradona is not playing hard. No one can question his desire to win, his madness, his tenacity and boldness. Immortal skills, but sprinkling rolling also has to win.
"People are going crazy".
After Maradona, Argentina produced many people: Ortega, Galardó, Emmar, Riquelme, Dalisandro, Saviola, Tevez, Messi... Everyone was said to be Maradona's successor, even if the style was very different, even if the figure was not the same.
Around the same time, the United States is also, but any swing man who can fly and shoot will be said to be Jordan's successor...
Those who can constantly look for a successor are god-level beings.
Regarding the 1986 World Cup, I read a biography that deals heavily with Coach Bilardo, mentioning some details. For example, the previous Argentine big man Passarella has always been unhappy with Maradona, but Maradona's technology is to impress other teammates. For example, before the World Cup final, Maradona was actually a little jealous of the West German goalkeeper Schumacher, who was known as a bad boy like him. For example, when Bilardo saw Argentina leading West Germany 2-0, he became nervous because he felt that it was too smooth, because he knew that West Germany was a reversal master, and he wanted Maradona to look back at the steel captain of West Germany at the time, Rummenigge, and look at his solemn eyes. When West Germany reached a 2-2 draw and saw it as it set to reverse Argentina, Bilardo himself collapsed.
But Maradona calmly delivered an assist to win the World Cup for Argentina.
So Bilardo concluded that Maradona was tougher than West Germany, which was then known as the toughest reversal machine in football history.
In that World Cup, world champion Argentina scored a total of 14 goals, Maradona scored 5 goals and assisted 5 goals.
I reckon most people who look at Maradona have more or less mental processes.
First know that he has the title of the king of the ball, and then know his broken things. Watching his videotapes revealed that his versatility was flawless beyond the limits of mortals, but the more he watched, the more he found that his tenacity gave people such a great appeal.
Probably, I thought I was watching a hot-blooded juvenile comic, and the more I watched it, the more I found that it was actually a gangster movie, and finally I loved and hated him, but at the same time I felt:
Although it is very political, this cargo kick is really beautiful!
Maradona's nickname was El Pibe de Oro, the Golden Boy, and this nickname stayed with him throughout his life. Of course, there will also be various media to give him king (English), rey (Spanish) and other titles.
But I have always suspected that the title of "King of the Ball" was given to Maradona by the Chinese media.
My guess is that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the World Cup broadcast was gradually spread in China, and many media teachers at that time were somewhat romantic. After witnessing Maradona's miracles and his victory in 1986, he was directly crowned the king of the ball, right?
Of course, if you really watched him play football, and watched it live, the passion is understandable - after all, we later learned the result, and re-watching the video of watching him when he was young, I still think it is so moving.
When Maradona scored his second-century goal against England in 1986, it was well known that England and Argentina had fought in the Falklands War, which was a national showdown.
The narrator, Victor Hugo Morales, has a legendary commentary. I recommend it for everyone to listen to it.
Even if you don't know Spanish, you can get goosebumps when you hear it.
Original Spanish:
"... there Maradona has it, they mark him two, he steps on the ball Maradona, starts from the right the genius of world football, leaves the tendal and goes to play for Burruchaga. Always Maradona! Genius! Genius! Genius! Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. Gooooool! Gooooool! I want to cry! Holy God, long live football! Golaaaaaazooo! Diegoooool! Maradona! It's to cry, forgive me. Maradona, in memorable tour, in the play of all time! Cosmic barrel! What planet did you come from? To leave so much English on the road, so that the country is a clenched fist screaming for Argentina? Argentina 2 - England 0! Diegol, Diegol! Diego Armando Maradona! Thank you God, for football, for Maradona, for these tears, for this Argentina 2 - England 0."
Rough meaning - of course far less passionate than the original text:
"Maradona got the ball! Two men were pestering him. Maradona touches the ball, the football genius sprints to the right, get rid of the third man, and give Bruchaga! Or Maradona with the ball! talented! talented!! talented!!! Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa goal!!!!!! goal!!!!!!!!! I'm going to cry!!!! Dear God! Long live football!!!! goal!!!!! Diego scored! Maradona! It's enough to bring me to tears, forgive me!! Maradona, an unforgettable rush! Historic gigs! Which planet are you from? To wake up so many Britons? Come and make the whole country wave to Celebrate for Argentina?! Argentina 2-0 England! Diego! Diego! Diego Armando Maradona! Thank God! For football!! For Maradona! Tears for all this!!! Argentina 2-0 England !!! ”
I'm not Argentinian, so I can't feel their excitement. But I watched this video many times, with this commentary, and each time I was so excited that my back was cold.
Imagine that in the world, there has indeed been such a person who is very confused in many things, but just relying on football skills and his passion can make hundreds of millions of people feel the joys and sorrows of heaven or hell.
Such a remarkable skill, such a flawed but also so infectious temperament.
After watching many videos and reading many biographies, I can also understand why my father and the earlier generation of people who watched Maradona loved him so much.
Although I think when I watched him live, I was still young, and I felt more of an emotional impact.
With one of the few excellent techniques in the history of football, coupled with the few tough personalities in the history of football, on the World Cup stage, at the time of national grievances, he sent the goal of the century and led the team to the top. Such a thing will explode the world in any era, right?
Not to mention his time, which was probably the last personal hero era. Since then, football has become increasingly industrialized and systematic. Cases of individual heroes forcibly turning the world around are becoming rarer and rarer. That kind of personality, that kind of skill, that kind of person, all passed with that era.
I was too young to understand. It wasn't until later, when Klinsmann and Maldini retired one after another, that I felt that the world of football that I was familiar with became more and more foreign. I began to understand the feelings of people a little bigger than me, towards Maradona.
I caught up with the end of Maradona, not quite sure, but already felt very impactful. People who have really experienced that generation probably feel more intensely, right? After all, the world is changing too fast, and I am also old enough for my father to brag about Maradona – probably later, when I talk to younger people about Messi C Ronaldo and Zidane, the children who came after me were like listening to my father say Maradona when I was a child, half curious, half dissatisfied, right?
So, still:
What we can make up later is far less than the feelings of those who really experienced it at that time.
So if the latecomers were shocked by Maradona, then probably the real Maradona felt by the witnesses was ten times more shocking, right?
After the 1994 World Cup, a TV station made several sets of lyrical MVs.
For Van Basten, who had been injured for a long time at that time, it was Zhang Hongliang's "Do You Know I'm Waiting for You".
For Maradona, it was Zhao Chuan, "I Finally Lost You".
In those days, it was a very lyrical confession.
I remember one of the scenes where Maradona was shoved down by several people, got up, the referee didn't judge, a group of people ran away after the ball, Maradona's lonely back. lyrics:
"I finally lost you, in the crowd."
"Which planet are you from?" Maradona in 1986 had Victor Hugo Morales ask such questions.
Now, football, and our planet, have finally lost such a Maradona.