THE ARGENTINIAN ‘FOOTBALL GOD’ DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA RAISING THE WORLD CUP IN MEXICO IN 1986.
CAGAYAN de Oro — I was not surprised when Argentinian ‘football god’ Diego Maradona died of a heart attack at his home in Argentina at age 60.
An age where he was supposed to enjoy the fruits of hard earned labor when was young. His lifestyle of drugs, smoking, and bad food ruined his old age just like many other football superstars like George Best who passed away early in their old age.
Diego a week earlier came out of the hospital after getting an operation of a blood clot in his brain. He survived the operation but his heart was too weak and he died in his bed and was found by his nephew already cold.
I was in my second year college at the University of San Jose-Recoloetos in Cebu City taking up Mass Media and Communications when Diego scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the semis of the World Cup in Mexico.
Very few Filipinos watched or were aware of football then except me and many of my Bosconian mates who were brain washed by the Salesians of the beautiful game from elementary until high school.
There was no cable TV, no internet and yet some news from CNN at the old ‘The Boulevard’ sports hangout resto along Jones Avenue near the Cebu Capitol, would make my day after spending some hours waiting for the World Cup results.
I would order only one bowl of chicken noodle soup that would cost only P25 plus a Pepsi Cola. There I saw the highlights of the World Cup over CNN everyday when the then Ted Turner run Cable News Network was still run by true journalists.
It was then that I fell in love with Diego. I was cheering for Argentina from the start and jumped off my chair when he scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal against England. He then became my idol, and my man when he beat five English defenders to score the greatest goal of the World Cup to put Argentina to the final against West Germany.
Sadly after winning the 1986 World Cup, Diego moved back to play in Italy and there were no more news about him on free TV until the next World Cup in 1990 where he led Argentina again in the final against West Germany but this time Argentina lost.
I was already a sportswriter with Sun*Star Cebu during the 1994 World Cup in the USA. My best friend Jong-jong Gacasan who migrated to the USA, during that time even gifted me with a World Cup USA hat that to my suprise when I looked up the tag it showed that it was made in Vietnam.
The USA World Cup was the last one for Diego and that tournament was the worst for him as he broke my heart when he was booted out of the tournament after testing positive of several performance enhancing drugs. After the USA World Cup it was all down hill for him. It was then that I stopped following him.
I am no Argentine who consider Diego as a ‘god’. For me Diego is great on the pitch but off the pitch he was no saint. Despite of his shortcomings, he was a great father to his children and later in his 50’s has started to reform even tried coaching the Argentinian national team although unsuccessfully.
Finally this vices when he was younger, the drugs, the smoking, and the bad food caught up with him. It is not us to judge him. But for me when he was on the pitch he was the best. Goodbye Diego finally you can hold ‘The Hand of God’. GOD BLESS (l.biantan@gmail.com)
