The Badger 30th November 2020
Sport
32 An Ode to the Greatest: Diego Maradona
Charlie Batten and Max Kilham Diego Armando Maradona, the Argentine great, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, passed away at the age of 60 after suffering a cardiac arrest. His status within the game is matched by few. Therefore, it only seems right to pay tribute to a man so instrumental to football culture, both in Argentina and globally. Maradona was born on the 30th October 1960 in Lanús, a province within the capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires and quickly became involved in football. He was first scouted at the age of eight by Argentinos Juniors, a team based in Buenos Aires. He remained with the club for much of his youth, making his professional debut for the club at the age of 15. He quickly established himself as a prolific goalscorer, with 115 goals in 167 appearances for the club. In 1981, he joined historically rich Argentinian club Boca Juniors, where he began to make his name on the global stage. As for his international career, Maradona made his debut at 16 for Argentina but was omitted from the 1978 World Cup squad. He was involved in the 1982 World cup squad but it was
Nazionale Calcio a disappointing tournament, with Argentina going out in the second round courtesy of Brazil and Italy. After the tournament, Maradona made the switch to Europe, signing for Spanish club Barcelona for a world record £5 million fee. However, his international career is where he achieved his greatest feat, winning the World Cup in 1986, picking up the Golden Ball along the way. It is widely regarded as the greatest World Cup performance of all time, as he finished with five goals and five assists in just seven games. Of these was the famous ‘hand of god’ goal and incredible solo run, both against England in the quarter-finals. In 1990, Maradona led Argentina toa second consecutive World Cup final,
only to lose 1-0 to West Germany. In 1994, Maradona was sent home after a failed drug test, with Argentina exiting the tournament at the round of 16, courtesy of Romania. He ended his international career with 34 goals in 91 appearances. At club level, his time at Barcelona was successful in that he managed to pick up two Copa Del Rey’s in his two seasons there, but he was also marred with injuries which contributed to the Barca board selling after only two years. His final game for Barca ended with a mass brawl between himself and his teammates against Athletic Bilbao players who had been taunting him with xenophobic insults. Next for Diego was Napoli. If he wasn’t a legend of the game
already, this period certainly cemented this notion. He was welcomed in Naples to a stadium full of 75,000 fans who believed that their saviour had finally come. When he joined, Napoli had begun to stagnate, and their last two league finishes were 10th and 12th and over his 7 years there the team was rebuilt into one of the best teams in Italy. Whilst Maradona was there, Napoli picked up 6 trophies including 2 Serie A titles as well as a UEFA cup. These were the first titles in Napoli’s history, setting a precedent for future prominence within Italian football. His playing career was not all rosy. He left Napoli after a 15-month drugs ban after his cocaine addiction was brought
to the surface in 1992. He ended his playing career with stints with Sevilla and Newell’s Old Boys before a return to Boca Juniors. His time in management was short and sweet, with the highlight being his position as Argentina manager from 2008 to 2010, in which he reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup. Maradona represented the flawed protagonist. A man so gifted with the ball at his feet throughout his career that despite his shortcomings, he still represented an exuberance and enjoyment for the profession he achieved so much in. A World Cup legend and one of the greatest. Diego Armando Maradona, you will be missed.
Ennoti
Reynolds’ Wrexham Revival Max Kilham Sports Online Editor Fifth-tier football club Wrexham AFC have been taken over by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in a move that has provided new perspective to the footballing landscape. Founded in 1864, the club is widely considered as the third oldest club in world football and is set to extend its rich history under the new owners. Whilst it is far from uncommon for wealthy owners to takeover football clubs, being taken over by Hollywood actors certainly is. There was clear support for the move from Wrexham supporters as Wrexham Supporters Trust Members voting at 98.6% in favour of the bid. As per BBC Sport, ‘Deadpool’ star Reynolds had this to say about the takeover: “This is the third-oldest club on the planet and we don’t see why it can’t have a global appeal. “We want Wrexham to be a global force.” Whilst the move has clearly
be made, and no one can blame a lower league club like Wrexham for trying to attain greater publicity, is football heading towards a landscape in which the extravagance of documentary is influencing football to a greater extent than football influences itself? The game is moving towards a commercial utopia, a structure that is demonstrated by the rumblings of a European Super League. However, Wrexham’s potential success could certainly be fruitful for all sections of the club. Manager Dean Keates spoke with the new owners and had this to say about their discussion, as per BBC Sport: “We had a conference call. Obviously they are extremely busy men. There were one or two things we spoke about, about the club going forward. “They are very humble, how they speak. They are very excited by the project and looking forward to working with the football club, developing it infrastructure-wise and taking it forward.
“The biggest thing for me they spoke about was the infrastructure of the football club.
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Ennoti been greeted with feverish anticipation from the Welsh club’s supporters, there are concerns as to the motives behind the move. Will the club become a marketing opportunity enabled through a documentary-style TV show? Or will the club continue to build from its roots through the play on the pitch? However, director at the club, Spencer Harris, disagreed with this notion. As per BBC Sport, he conveyed that a documentary is not the sole focus for the new owners: “I think the documentary fits
into their vision and we think it’s an exciting opportunity to take the name Wrexham right across the world. “Is it the only reason they are doing it? I don’t believe that... there are easier ways to make a documentary!” A number of documentary series have been broadcast in recent years, with Tottenham Hotspur a part of the ‘All or Nothing’ Amazon series. Lower league teams such as Sunderland have also used documentary to boost their brand. Whilst there is clear money to
“They are very humble, how they speak. They are very excited by the project and looking forward to working with the football club, developing it infrastructure-wise and taking it forward. “People have worked and sacrificed a lot for this club. It now looks like the baton is going to be passed on and we’re probably going to have a lot more funds available to take us to the next level. “That’s not just league position, it’s going to be hard, but it’s going to make us a lot more competitive and the infrastructure side is going to be big.” There is little doubt that this move will transform Wrexham both financially, and likely, on the pitch. The question is, if this project is a success, will this set a trend for similar financial takeovers within lower league football? Only time will tell.