For the Argentinians, Maradona is not just football - he is the spiritual totem of Argentine ; it is the self-imagination of the Argentine people; it is the savior of the Argentine nation.
At the same time, he is also one of the symbolic figures of the global left-wing movement.
If we want to find the ultimate individualism in the group sport of football, then there is only one option:
Diego God Maradona
For a nation like us with a long history, it is actually difficult for us to truly understand the confusion of those emerging countries. Therefore, to understand Maradona's greatness beyond football, we must start from the formation of the country in Argentina.
A brief history of Argentina
Argentina was founded for a short time.
Before the 19th century, Argentina was colonized by Spain for three centuries.
Since the defeat of the two invasions of the British army in Argentina in 1806 and 1807, the victory of the anti-British struggle has inspired and promoted the struggle of the people in the La Plata area to oppose Spanish colonial rule and the struggle for independence. After nearly 50 years of struggle, the Confederate Republic of Argentina was founded. After the founding of the country, with the encouragement of then President Samiento, a large number of European immigrants arrived in Argentina. British forces began to occupy an important position in the Argentine economy.
After entering the 20th century, Argentina's GDP once reached the seventh place in the world.
But as an emerging country, finding a symbol of the national spirit is an unswerving goal .
Diego Maradona Growth Story
Many years later, facing the messy riverside of Vera Feorito, Maradona will recall the distant afternoon when his father took him to play football.
At that time, he had dirty faces, with a pair of liar-like eyes, cunning and bright eyes, messy and thick hair, wearing an Argentine striped shirt, his knees were covered with wounds covered with disinfectant, and a football tied with old socks.
He was born in a slum in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. His father was a Guarani and his mother was a descendant of immigrants from southern Italy. As the son of a factory worker, Maradona has despised the powerful since childhood. He is proud of his bloodline and origin, calling himself "cebecita" (the black boy), and taking the lead in speaking out for the oppressed class.
Maradona's career started with the Argentine youth team and gradually showed off her talents. After becoming famous, Maradona was repeatedly invited by the riverbed representing the middle class and the rich. But in the end, he took the initiative to choose to throw an olive branch to Boca:
Glory is more important than money, so I chose Boca, Boca needs me .
After the initial running-in was not smooth, fans rushed into the Candela Stadium in San Justo and wanted to beat Maradona's teammates. Even though the leading elder advised Maradona not to participate, "Diego, the newspapers say that these bastards don't pass the ball to you and don't want to run for you." Maradona still stood up to protect his teammates:
" Whether you are rushing to me or not, this will definitely not work. What effect can you do this? Nothing is useful! Tomorrow, we won the game, at least I won't! "
This move completely won the hearts of teammates.
From this level:
Maradona is the natural captain .
Since his time as a player, Maradona has been choosing a team that can represent bottom-up power:
Argentine youth, Boca youth, Barcelona (Barca was not a giant at that time), Naples , Seville , Newell old boy.
So when he decided to bring his talent to Europe, his first stop was Barcelona, which was hit hard by the Spanish government in the post-Franco era (Franco was a Real Madrid fan).
Italy has always been divided into north and south, with strong north and weak south, and the wealthy clubs are all in the north.Compared with the fashionable Rome and Milan , Naples has a high population density and a large number of immigrants, coupled with the destruction of cholera in 1973 and the 6.9-magnitude earthquake in 1980, Naples looks like Italy's "Africa". Naples was also one of the poorest cities in Europe at that time.
When he moved to Italy, Maradona despised Platini, who "exudes a strong perfume smell and is full of official voice", and repeatedly refused to allow Milan to pay high salaries with Ferrari .
In the end, he chose to join Naples, which had just succeeded in relegation.
" I want to be the idol of the poor children of Naples because they live the same life as I used to be in Buenos Aires."
In terms of religion, Naples has a deep Catholic tradition - before renaming the name of Maradona Stadium, the naming of Naples' home Sao Paulo Stadium comes from the Catholic story, the apostle Paul docked the ship in Frigorota, Naples when he was heading to Spain today.
When he was negotiating for transfer to Napal team , there were even fans in Naples tied themselves to the railings of the stadium with chains. Some people went on a hunger strike just to ask him to go to Naples; after he arrived there, the people of Naples loved him "like their children". Maradona once recalled in a documentary:
At that time, I felt that even though Naples was a place full of lunatics, I still felt as comfortable as I was at home . The showdown between
and the Northern team is like David challenging Goliath.
But Maradona chose this most difficult road.
In just a few short years, Maradona completely conquered Naples. So when it came to Italy World Cup , Argentina played against Italy in Naples. Although Naples still supported its national team, they also played slogans that moved Maradona:
" Diego in the heart; Italy is in the song. "
"
" Maradona, Naples loves you, but Italy is our motherland. "
Even so, when Argentina scored, there were still cheers from Naples accents.
When Maradona came, the Naples loved him "like their own children"; when Maradona went, he had become the God of the Naples.
After Maradona's death, the entire Naples team wore the retired No. 10 to mourn its eternal owner Maradona
After becoming famous in Naples, someone had hoped to use 1 million US dollars to purchase his portrait rights, on the condition that Maradona needs to have dual nationality .
comparison, Maradona refused without thinking:
"There is no price to be an Argentinian. It is impossible to buy me how much money I give up the dignity and pride of being an Argentinian."
Maradona has always regarded the efforts of the national team as the most important thing in the world.
There is only one ideal in his heart:
represents the Argentine team to play
Battle of the Horse Island
Until After World War II , the extremely complex historical origins of Britain and Arabia still profoundly influenced the relationship between the two countries.
After World War II, although Britain was a victorious country, its huge wartime loans also made the British finances breathless. In addition, the colonies ruled in the past were independent, and the British economy continued to decline since the late 1940s;
Argentina became rich in reliance on exporting grains and livestock products in the 1950s, and people's lives rose to the level of advanced countries; at the same time, Argentina's export share to the United Kingdom was also reduced from 40% to 3%.
Therefore, the de-Britishization of Argentina has given Argentina the economic confidence to take action with the UK.
However, compared with a stable growth economy, Argentina's domestic politics has always been in an extremely turbulent state - the 20-year confrontation between the government and the left guerrillas still affected the economy after all:
By the 1970s, Argentina's inflation and unemployment soared, and the people lived in dire straits.In 1976, the Argentine military launched a coup and Galtieri came to power.
However, the military government's coming to power brought about inflation rates of more than 600%, GDP down by 11.4%, manufacturing output of 22.9%, and salary of 19.2% compared with the original one. After receiving support from the people, the union decided to launch a long-term general strike to oppose the military government.
In order to cope with the severe economic situation and social contradictions, the Argentine government headed by President Galtieri decided to suspend negotiations with the British government to resolve the dispute between the Cambridge Island by peaceful means and resolve the Cambridge Island issue through force.
results are known to everyone. According to Maradona,
" British people killed them like birds ".
Revenge
Maradona himself is very opposed to the Falklands War, and he never even concealed his contempt for the Argentine military government. However, as a believer in Juan Peron , Maradona hopes to protect the entire Argentine nation and bring psychological pleasure and comfort to innocent people through his performance.
Argentina met England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, which was later called the "War of the Gods".
Before the game, Maradona led the Argentine players to make a vow of revenge:
"Defend our flag, avenge the dead relatives, and defend the living!"
In the sixth minute of the second half, Maradona distributed the ball to his teammate Baldano , whose shot was blocked by England defender Hodge, and then passed back to goalkeeper Hilton. At this time, Maradona raised his forearm high and used Diego's hand to pickpocket the Englishman 's wallet, Argentina led 1:0. After the game, Maradona called this handball "half is the hand of God, and half is the head of Maradona", which extended God as the ultimate master of whether to score or not, thereby further humiliating the British;
Later, the "hand of God" transformed Maradona from personality to divine character.
12 on October 30, after
12, the Maradona Church was founded - every person who joins the Maradona Church has to go through a special baptism:
New believers need to take off their tops, change into Maradona's No. 10 jersey, use a real ball to copy the "Hand of God" of the 1986 World Cup on the football field, and then kneel in front of the altar with the sculpture of Maradona's avatar, touch the supreme "Bible" with his hand - Maradona's autobiography "I am Diego swears:
"Our Diego shot on the court, your left hand that is regarded as sacred, you created a miracle, your achievements will be remembered in this world, just as your achievements are remembered in heaven, let us feel happy every day, and forgive those journalists, just as we forgive the Naples Mafia, guide us away from temptation and rescue us from Avilanje (formerly FIFA president), Diego."
But after three minutes, even though there were thousands of doubts about the "Hand of God", facing such a magnificent and pure football talent, Barry Davis, a commentator of the BBC, had to sigh:
And you have to say that is magnificent.
Now, on major video platforms, this goal is often associated with a live Uruguay football reporter Victor Ugo Morales (to show emotions, I posted the commentary on the two versions of the Western-Chinese version):
"La va a tocar para Diego, ahí la tiene Maradona, lo marcan dos, pisa la pelota Maradona, arranca por la derecha el genio del fútbol mundial, deja el tendal y va a tocar para Burruchaga... ¡ Siempre Maradona! ¡ Genio! ¡ Genio! ¡ Genio! Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta... Goooooool... Goooooool... ¡ Quiero llorar! ¡ Dios Santo, viva el fútbol! ¡ Golaaazooo! ¡ Diegoooool! ¡ Maradona! Es para llorar, perdónenme... Maradona, en una corrida memorable, en la jugada de todos los tierpos... Barrilete cósmico... ¿ De qué planeta viniste para dejar en el camino a tanto inglés, para que el país sea un puño apretado gritando por Argentina? Argentina 2 - Inglaterra 0. Diegol, Diegol, Diego Armando Maradona... Gracias Dios, por el fútbol, por Maradona, por estes lágrimas, por estes Argentina 2 - Inglaterra 0. "
" He wants to pass the ball to Diego, there is Maradona there, and two people are by his side. Maradona received the ball, and the genius of world football started to move forward from the right wing of the court. He left the wing and wanted to pass the ball to Brucharga... or Maradona! genius! genius! genius! There, there, there, there, there, there! The ball has entered! The ball has entered! I'm going to cry, God, long live football! What kind of goal is this! Diego's goal! Maradona! Forgive my crying, Maradona, for the unforgettable run, for this greatest goal from ancient times to the present! The cosmic kite, which planet did you come to the human world? You threw many Englishmen behind you, and you made Argentina cry with a clenched fist! Argentina 2-0 England! Diego's goal! Diego's goal! Diego Armando Maradona! Thank you, God, for football, for Maradona, for those tears, for Argentina 2-0 England. ”
No athlete has conquered football in just three minutes in two completely different ways: the devil and God - except Maradona.
He scored with the hand of God and the century, punched and kicked, and sent the English home.
"Although we often say before this game that football has nothing to do with that war in Malvinas Islands , we know that many young Argentines died there, and the British killed them like they killed birds... Our game was a revenge. "
Cornered
June 29, 1986, Mexico World Cup - This World Cup final, which was later praised as the "War of the Gods" by later generations, was staged in Aztec Central of civilization Mexico City . Maradona fell at Aztec Stadium , symbolizing West Germany of the capitalist Group, officially crowned God:
maradona cried after the game and said:
Our victory did not reduce the price of bread. I hope that we football players can solve people's problems like playing football, how good it would be!
Perhaps, lifting Hercules Cup cannot reduce the price of bread;
Perhaps, the performance of Argentine athletes cannot solve people's problems like playing football;
Perhaps, Maradona's goal cannot revive the dead relatives.
However, Maradona has brought a spiritual relief to this country that regards football as life - is just like the Catholics believe that the Holy God comes to the world to save the suffering mortals .
1928, Argentine writer Borocoto (author of "Boca Youth History") suggested building a statue for an imagined "Pibe" (Spanish, boy) to satisfy Argentina's football culture and self-imagination:
The boy's face is dirty, with a pair of liar-like eyes, cunning and bright eyes, messy and thick hair, wearing an Argentine-style striped shirt, his knees are covered with wounds covered with disinfectant, and a football tied with old socks
If the statue can rise one day, many of us will take off our hats and pay tribute to him, just like in a church.
Beyond football
Maradona has always regarded himself as "the representative of those who do not have the right to speak":
Whether it is Al Fangxin or any politician, it doesn't matter to me. What I think of is ordinary people, and I am very close to the people. If I were to my opinion, I would definitely run with the people with the flag.
Maradona has always been the leader of the left and has made great wishes to speak out for the people. His belief formation period should have been in the early 1990s, especially during the US World Cup.
He always believed in his innocence and thus hated the United States and FIFA.
So he and Castro became close friends.
In 2005, Maradona returned to his hometown with Serbian director Emir Custurica. By the dirty river, he said:
Mao Zedong and Cartersro are the politicians they admire the most, and the mainstream Western politics represented by Bush Jr. is the object he hates the most
Fidel is just like my second father, I owe him a lot
Cuban revolutionary leader Castro once commented on Maradona:
" Diego He is a very good friend and very noble. There is no doubt that he is a magical athlete; and he maintains friendship with Cuba and does not bring any material benefits to himself. "
"I am innocent, I want to find all the evidence-even when I reach 60, I will kick open the door of FIFA and ask them for the truth."
It's a pity that at the age of 60, he had already gathered with the two he admired the most in a place of abundant water and grass.
ending
"Diego, now do you want to call you your Excellency?"
" No! I will always be me! Maradona! "
Maradona's His life was in line with the identity of football related to communities, countries and nations, and imply left-wing discourses such as international politics, class struggle, and national independence;
His performance on the court strengthened the self-imagination and construction of the Argentine nation;
As the belief of "Maradona", he perfectly interpreted the football game as a "religious ritual" and always played an important role in shaping the cohesion of nations and countries.
When Maradona waved his hands to celebrate freely, suddenly, the Argentinians seemed to have really seen the imagined Pibe half a century ago to save them.
"If this statue can rise one day, many of us will take off our hat and pay tribute to him, just like in a church."
"Thanks to the Holy God for coming to the world. "
