Maradona's Birthday: Looking back at the life of the football king, blue is his brilliant background color
October 30, 2023, is Maradona's 63rd birthday.
Looking back at Maradona's career at the football stadium, the color of his jersey has changed many times. But the brilliant colors he creates, but with a touch of blue. Blue is the undertone of Maradona's brilliance.
Today, we look back at Maradona's career. Looking back at his blue story.
One. Blue and white Argentina: The World Cup has made a classic
Maradona was born in Argentina, a country that loves football. Like many Argentine boys, Maradona was hooked on football from an early age. For Maradona, it was his life's pursuit to be able to represent his native Argentina and win the honor of his old rival Brazil.
In the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, the Argentines touched the Hercules Cup for the first time under the leadership of players such as Kempes and Passarella. The Argentine team in the 1978 World Cup did not have Maradona.
In the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Maradona participated in the World Cup for the first time. This time, however, he and his Argentina did not produce great results. Against Brazil, Maradona's red card cost him two years of not being in the national team.
In 1985, under the leadership of Bilardo, Maradona was once again selected for the Argentine national team. The 1986 World Cup in Mexico was the year he made a name for himself around the world.
Especially in the 2-1 elimination of England in the quarter-finals, Maradona created two classics: the Hand of God and the Consecutive Five.
Especially for the second goal scored by the Argentine team, Maradona dribbled the ball into no man's land, and successively shook the ball through the siege of five English players to intercept and send the ball into the gate of England. This goal is known as one of the classics of world football.
In the final, Argentina's Maradona made a free kick and two assists to help Argentina beat the former Federal Republic of Germany 3-2, standing on top of the world for the second time. Maradona became famous all over the world.
Another classic of Maradona was the 1990 World Cup in Italy. In that World Cup, Argentina, who had made it all the way to the final, scored only five goals in the field of athletics. All five goals were related to Maradona. In particular, the match of Brazil, the old rival of the 1/8 finals. Maradona started in midfield and connected the Brazilian three-man defence. In the face of the fourth-man blockade, he assisted Caniggia to score and help Argentina beat Brazil 1-0.
In the 1990 World Cup, although Argentina failed to defend the title. But Maradona's performance was enough to make the Argentines proud.
In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Maradona scored the final goal against Greece, which turned out to be his swan song. In 2008, Maradona took over the Argentine team, although he did not lead Argentina to great results as a coach this time. But his record as a player is enough to make him and all Argentine fans proud.
Two. The blue of Naples
In addition to the blue and white of Argentina, Maradona also has a touch of blue that he will never forget. This blue is the blue of Naples.
Naples is the third largest city in Italy and the largest city in southern Italy. However, because of the gap between the north and the south of Italy, Italy's strong teams are concentrated in the north. The southern city of Napoli has never had a record in its history.
However, in July 1984, a blockbuster transfer detonated Italian football. That is Maradona's transfer from La Liga giants Barcelona to Napoli.
$7.5 million is a small amount of money today. But at the time, it was a sky-high price. Maradona's arrival detonated the entire São Paulo Stadium. Many fans come here to witness the coming of God with their own eyes. Many fans will never forget the spectacle.
At that time, in Serie A, AC Milan had the Dutch Three Musketeers; Inter Milan has the German troika, but Naples only has Maradona. But that's enough. Maradona's arrival gave Napoli the capital to compete with the northern team. At that time, in Serie A, Maradona vs. the Dutch Three Musketeers, and singled out the German troika was a topic of conversation among fans at that time.
In May 1987, Maradona led Napoli to their first Serie A title. Napoli have made the leap from being a relegation team to being able to compete with the giants of the north. This transformation took only 3 years. Since then, Napoli have won the Coppa Italia, the Italian Super Cup, the UEFA Cup and the Serie A under the leadership of Maradona. All of this is Maradona's best gift to Naples.
Although the glory of the past is gone, Napoli's long-time fans will still tell their children about those glorious days. The legend of the football king and the southern Italian city will forever remain in the hearts of all fans, especially Napoli fans.
Three. Boca Juniors Blue
For Maradona, in addition to the blue of Napoli and Argentina, there is also a touch of blue that he will never forget. This blush comes from the blue-yellow of Boca Juniors, a giant club in Argentina.
Maradona made his debut at the Argentine Youth Club. But his true love belongs to Boca Juniors. River Plate approached him after the Argentine youngsters hit the ground. But out of love for Boca, he firmly rejected River Plate.
In 1981, Maradona got his wish and joined Boca Juniors. In his first Boca Juniors years, he scored 28 goals in 40 games for the team. Help Boca Juniors win the Argentine top league. This glorious period became the beginning of his landing in Europe.
In 1994, Maradona tested positive for urine at the World Cup and was banned worldwide for a year.
At the end of the year, it was again Boca Juniors who welcomed Maradona's return with open arms. He returned to Boca with seven goals. Maybe it was fate, maybe it was a coincidence, but his last match at Boca Juniors was against the century-old rivals River Plate. Everything was where the dream began, and Maradona ended his playing career.