We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use this site. Analytics cookies are only activated with your consent. For details, read our Privacy Policy.
Few players have “struck oil in barren land” the way he did; in that sense, he may have no equal in football history. Less complete than his great and historic rival Pelé, yet even more of a pure genius, no one matched his ability to transform an average team.
An extraordinarily charismatic and deeply divisive figure, as loved as he was hated, he carried his teams on his shoulders and thrived in underdog sides, teams that, like him, went against the grain. A true anti-conformist, his idol was the great Ricardo Bochini, Independiente’s number 10, whom Diego admired immensely, though he differed from him in both characteristics and indomitable spirit. Bochini was almost an enganche, a classic playmaker, whereas Maradona, whose best version was probably seen between Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors, at least up to 1982, was a hybrid between an attacking midfielder and a second striker, equally inclined to set up teammates and to finish himself. Compared to his compatriot Messi, however, Diego was less of a team player in the broader sense and less of a game orchestrator; in many matches he could disappear for long stretches, only to decide the game with an extraordinary, improvised moment of brilliance. In Europe he immediately clashed with the Barcelona hierarchy, who never truly embraced him, and he found his ideal dimension at Napoli, a mid-table side that he felt deeply connected to on an emotional and psychological level. There he was idolized, cherished, and driven by the love of the people, giving everything for the cause and leading the Neapolitan club to two incredible league titles, in a highly competitive Serie A, as well as several other trophies never matched since. His relationship with the national team was not always straightforward, but as in Naples, in 1986 Bilardo had the shrewdness to build a hardworking, defensively structured team of honest players, with Diego as the attacking catalyst, at times even acting as a true second striker, leading them to an extraordinary triumph, one they came close to repeating again in 1990.
