Argentina beat Scotland yesterday, 1-0, in an international friendly. It was Maradona's first match in charge of the national side.
I've been following the buildup to this match on BBC's Football page and what's fascinating is how Maradona remains larger than life. I read that Maradona was received as a hero in Scotland for his role in defeating England in the 1986 World Cup. A good deal of the Scottish apparently still love that shit and will always revere Diego. The press was going nuts for him for a multitude of reasons but it was certainly interested in whether there would be a handshake between Maradona and Scotland's English assistant manager, Terry Butcher. Butcher, still in an unforgiving mood after Maradona's "Hand of God" goal versus England in that World Cup, had said he wouldn't acknowledge Argentina's new boss. You can read about what happened after the match in this Daily Mail article.
From a WHS perspective, Maradona is seriously on fire. He had set the world ablaze with his off-pitch behavior and struggles (blew up to like 300 pounds if not more) and bounced back in many ways (lost the weight) to become manager of one of the most talented teams in the world. Remember that he was also extremely vocal against George W. Bush and appeared at rallies with Hugo Chavez. Scorching. I can't even begin to scratch the surface of the on-fireness of Diego Armando Maradona.
A good start would be to somehow see a screening of or get our hands on Emir Kusturica's documentary, which I thought was called "El Pibe de Oro" but maybe it's changed?
Maradona by Emir Kusturica - trailer:
Holy Shit:
Hand of God:
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2 comments:
That 2nd goal is spectacular. I like how the announcer says 'thank God for futbol and thank God for Diego Maradona.'
Correction - I meant 1st Goal, the 2nd one "Hand of God" as you call it is great too. BTW why is it called Hand of God?
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