I'm stunned that Maradona was only 60.
He's lived enough lifetimes' worth of adventures for anyone aged 90+!!
Gifted, flawed, hated, loved.
There'll be much raging debate now over his legacy...was he the greatest of all time? Was he simply a cheat with great skill? Do we overlook his obvious flaws and terrible life choices?
I find him hard to love, as an England fan...the Hand of God lives long in the memory.
The full picture (I've taken the liberty of quoting
@Lord Blackadder's excellent post below, with which I agree completely) is more nuanced.
Was he "simply a cheat with great skill", or an outrageously talented and gifted footballer who also happened to be a cheat?
A more complex, and fairer (and fuller) picture of Maradona (man and player) would refer to both that astounding goal scored against England - an exhibition of the sort of insanely surreal and skilful brilliance one normally only sees, or dreams about, in football in fantasy - and the Hand of God goal, both of which occurred in the same match.
To be fair to the man, - and his memory - it is important to acknowledge that he could do both: Score one of the most spectacular goals ever scored in a competitive match - one where it mattered (too many so-called "greats" can score scintillating stuff against minnows, but cannot deliver footballing artistry - and accuracy, and composure and unnerving skin - at the top level, when playing a game where the outcome matters against credible opposition) and cheat, shamelessly, with a knowing snigger.
The thing is - and this is where one can question choices he made - is that, once successful in his chosen field, he never seemed capable of outgrowing his background, or transcending it, and becoming even greater than the world that moulded him, as a man, as a flawed character and as a fearsomely talented footballer.
I completely agree.
I don't believe you'll ever see something like this written about Pele:
"He was a racist, he cheated, he used heavy amounts of drugs and alcohol, and he was violent and abusive. No amount of talent on a football pitch should make us overlook the kind of person he was off the pitch."
True, but
@Lord Blackadder in his excellent post below, sketches out the context and background (some of which was also covered in an obituary piece in today's Guardian) that gave rise to Maradona.
In that sort of environment, in the minds of many who came from such places, where everything is stacked against you from birth, playing by the Queensbury Rules - and subscribing to the notion of "fair play" - is for those who wrote these rules (whom they are assumed to benefit), not for those who excavate - or manufacture - advantage in clever and opportunistic - and sometimes unscrupulous - play.
Maradona was emblematic of fútbol criollo, the unique style of football developed in South America that emphasized individual artistry and dash - and was not above cheating when opportunities presented themselves.
The creative, subversive nature of fútbol criollo was a cultural counterpunch against The Man as represented by the European colonial footballing powers' staid and industrialized ideas of teamwork and 'fair play'.
While Europe had its creative players from the very beginning, South American football elevated the role and character of the gifted individual into a key facet of the game, without which football today would be unrecognizable.
If one man ever captured all of the qualities we associate with fútbol criollo, that man was "El Diego" Maradona.
I think claims for the "best" player are really impossible to evaluate, because players played in different eras and prior to the latter half of the 20th century there is little to no footage to compare. For example, many credible observiers who watched both Garrincha and Pele play claim the former was a better player. The only record we have of Matthias Sindelar on the pitch are a few newsreel scraps. In contrast, modern players' entire careers are documented on video.
The closest I think we can get to an evaluation is to declare a player "one of the best players ever" and Maradona certainly qualifies for that.
Excellent post.
