Probably because Maradona is too deeply rooted in Argentina, over the years, as long as there is a rising star in the Pampas whose technical characteristics are slightly similar to Maradona, he will often be named "Maradona's successor", Ortega, Saviola, Dalizandro, Aimar, Tevez, Riquelme, Messi, Aguero... A series of star-studded names that dazzle people to see.
Among the many "Maradona successors", if you ask who is the person whose technical characteristics are closest to the old horse, I am afraid that there is only a matter of opinion. If you replace the question with a temperamental disposition, I am afraid that you will get a different answer. But if the question is changed to who is the first Maradona successor, the answer is probably not controversial, there is only Ortega, the man nicknamed "Little Donkey".
To be sure, Ortega does resemble Maradona. The same small player, the same breakthrough master, the same creativity, and even the temperament is quite similar: untamed and a little cunning, often not playing cards according to the routine, making it difficult to predict their next move. As long as it appears on the pitch, it represents a huge variable in itself.
More coincidentally, Ortega's fledgling time coincided with the end of Maradona's career, making it hard not to make some associations. So, when a generation of football kings were still playing on the green field, his first successor was freshly baked. In 1993, against old rival Germany, Ortega was called up for the Argentine national team at the age of 19, so it is not difficult to imagine the great hopes he was pinned on.
Such a being, who at that time could be called "Argentine football hope", naturally qualified for the World Cup, and appeared in the United States in the late summer of 1994 along with maradona, Batistuta, Caniggia, Simeone, Redondo, Balbo and other famous stars.
Because of Maradona's presence, Ortega naturally can only be with the bench, sitting on the sidelines and watching a generation of football kings lead Barty and Caniggia to play against the opponent and lose their armor. According to the assumption, this year's Ortega is in a similar situation to Brazil's Ronaldo, not so much counting on them to save the team, but to familiarize themselves with the atmosphere of the World Cup early on and prepare for the next World Cup.
However, the same people do not have the same life. Brazil's Ronaldo has been sitting on the sidelines, while Argentina's Ortega has become the protagonist overnight. Because of Maradona's "horse's lost front hoof", the leaderless Argentine team had to push the still immature Ortega to the forefront, even if it was a knockout match against Romania, this key battle that could not be lost, the Pampas Eagles had to pinch their noses to let Ortega serve as the tactical core.
Since it can be named "Maradona's successor", Ortega is obviously real. In the focus of the match against Romania, the performance of the "little donkey" even exceeded the expectations of many fans, and the passers were very imaginative. Unfortunately, because of the loss of Maradona's Optimus Pillar, the entire Argentine team seems to be lost, coupled with the opponent is exactly the peak of the Haji, the media and fans also took out by the media and fans to compare with Maradona's midfield master (PS: Maradona in the Carpathian Mountains), the fledgling Ortega after all lack of experience, can only swallow the bitter fruit of failure.
Because of his young age, the media and fans did not harshly criticize Ortega, but had a lot of expectations for it. After Maradona officially withdrew from the Argentine national team, Ortega simply took over the old horse's number ten jersey, and it is conceivable what kind of expectations he carries, which is not inferior to the expectations of the old enemy Brazil for Ronaldo.
By the time of the 1998 World Cup in France, Ortega, who was at the peak, did let the fans see maradona's shadow for a while, not only passing and shooting, and was one of the brightest stars in the group stage.
It is worth mentioning that it is with the help of Ortega that the "God of War" Batistuta performed a hat-trick against Jamaica, reminiscent of the past of Barty's hat-trick with the help of Maradona four years ago, and Ortega's identity as "Maradona's successor" was further confirmed.
However, the higher you stand, the worse you fall. In a quarter-battle against the Dutch, Ortega fell from heaven to hell, from "Maradona's successor" to a sinner.
It is better to go back in time to the big battle that is destined to go down in history: Argentina conceded a goal first, but the "little bug" López quickly equalized the score, plus Simeone caused Newman's second yellow card, Argentina once played eleven against ten, and there was a great potential to catch up. However, at this crucial juncture, the "little donkey" broke into a catastrophe.
In the face of Stam's defense, Ortega fell to the ground in pain without any physical contact, as if he had encountered a malicious foul from his opponent, and his acting skills were not superb. If it weren't for the repeated slow-motion replays, it would be difficult for fans to confirm whether Ortega was faking it. Unfortunately, the referee on duty is not far from the scene of the incident, and naturally will not be deceived by the "little donkey".
The Dutch who escaped from death were naturally indignant, and even goalkeeper Van der Sar ran out to rebuke Ortega. Perhaps intending to confront Van der Sar, or simply trying to get up from the ground, Ortega stood up in front of Van der Sar. However, the superb acting Ortega encountered a hidden master this time, only to see Van der Sar fall to the ground like a bullet, as if Ortega got up and hit his chin with the top of his head viciously. So, the referee on duty did not hesitate to show Ortega a red card.
Exquisite acting but suffered from it, Ortega's bizarre red card, and "good traveler drowning, good rider fall" is quite similar to the same thing, people just want to forget it is difficult.
If it is only a red card, at best, Argentina and the Netherlands play ten people, but what really makes Ortega unlucky is that shortly after he left, Bergkamp completed the earth-shattering attack against Ayala's defense. Naturally, this black cauldron can only be thrown to Ortega to carry, just like Beckham a few days ago...
After the frustrated World Cup in France, Ortega gradually went downhill and waited until the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Although the "little donkey" is only 28 years old, theoretically still the peak, but his state is far from four years ago, Argentina even returned home early in the group stage.
Fans' memories of the "post-Maradona" Argentine team often only stay on the "god of war" Batistuta. As everyone knows, Ortega and Barty have partnered for three World Cups, which is also one of the offensive cores of the Argentine national team. Compared to Barty, who always shows himself as a hero, Ortega's experience is more like the epitome of the Pampas Eagle in those years.