@Fobal @antohan @oneniltothearsenal (anyone who has lived in South America when Maradonamania was building)
Don’t know if any of you were around then or were fed the hype of the 15yr old version, but wanted to ask how accurate this account is? That Maradona was already a star before he even debuted?
Vid revealed some things I didn’t know especially the Barcelona-Boca bit and concentration camp contract… the late 70’s timeline obviously Venn’s with Platini and Zico and it sounds like Maradona was - according to Guerin Sportivo - already the one to beat before the other two came to prominence, so
they had to wrestle it from
him… not the other way round?
Certainly some twists adding new light to what I thought was a well worn narrative!
I enjoyed him as a little kid in Boca in 81, prior to that, the buzz was already on. The Maradona from Argentinos Jrs. was an injury free, healthy, more forward oriented beast and goalscorer. In time after injuries, abuses and his always present since day one tendency to play for others (while making big differences invididualy) made him mostly an offensive midfielder.
By1980 he was a huge part on Argentinos Jrs. being 2° or 3° in the League (I can't exactly recall) while scoring galore, he already had some Goalscorer titles too and he was just 20.
He was a freak since day and so enjoyable to watch in many senses (maybe more than any player ever, that's why he is so appealing till today).
Diego even as a kid in the 70's, and still a bit sellfish like any other player with such talent while being young, was still very assertive, his malabarisms, skills, improvisations where almost always driven, direct, team oriented, with the almost perfect pause or acceleration of the play in case. This is something that many absolute mavericks like Ney or Ronnie Gaucho or phenomenal players like Di Maria or even absurdly talented players like Djalminha didn't had in such grade, or to be actually fair, in a lesser proportion in their game.
From the all time genius or phenoms with a tendency to add a quote of entertaining, flamboyant touch, I think he is more or less on his own. Meaning a player as assertive as Pele, Zico and Messi (that god forbid us, of course were entertaning as hell) but with a lesser degree (specially while getting older for various reasons) in his goalscoring output.
Regarding Seria A in the 80's, that is perhaps my favorite era with all those extraordinary 10's like Zico, Platini, Diego and cia (micah Richards opinion regarding Linekre's era was so wrong, I wanted to pounch the TV haha). So leaving aside technical aspects and what we might consider who is more talented than other, those fellas and others in that period where absolute wonders, some with excellent carreers in huge teams that would rightfully challenge and beat Diego in that always vague consideration as an undispute sole best player.
Also 10's where present all over the world, people in general (even more right now) would only give credit to players making in it in Europe or as much recognition (like Rivelino) to those that had succeess in the Golden 20th Century era of WCs that BTW worked as the global televised showdown with lots of mystic and mistery involved. In those days (70's and 80's) in Southamerica (and in the 90's to a lesser degree) there where players like Alonso, Bochini, Francescolli, Ruben Sosa, that would make the competiton for people's undispute love and consideration quite hard, more when being a kid.
