Am an avid follower of most sports, and my favourite has always remained football (Soccer). Now at present, am a die hard fan of Arsenal football club, and France, Germany and Argentina.
Argentina....And how did I become an Argentine fan for life??? Answer: Started watching soccer in 1985, and then came 1986 world cup.....and there was only one man...Diego Armando Maradona!!!!
Never before, or never since has a man single handedly taken his country to a world cup triumph, in any team sport. There has been Zidane, but then his French team was strong enough. Ronaldo in 2002?? No there was Rivaldo, Carlos, Ronaldinho in that team too. Surely Pele in 1958 and 1970? Well guys, the same team took the title in 1962 without Pele, so that speaks volumes. And that team had a whole set of super talented players, Vava, Didi, Santos, a certain Gentleman, Li’l bird, Garincha. Look in cricket, rugby, hockey...nowhere can you find a parallel for this achievement of Maradona.
Now I follow soccer religiously. Have seen some amzing players, noteworthy being Maradona’s great rival Lothar Matthaeus, The goal machine Juergen Klinsmann, Amazing Zizou, Pavel Nedved, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Javier Saviola, Ronaldinho (of course), Kaka, Lionel Messi, and the Unbelievably skilled Thierry Henry.
You see Matthaeus do a hard tackle, and then remember Diego tackling someone and think, like well which was better, Klinsmann sprints to a ball beating defenders, and you remember Diego’s speed and think...was he quicker? Ryan Giggs takes the ball beats 3 defenders and scores, and you remember Diego had beaten 5 of ’em to score. Ronaldinho and Zidane do some magical tricks with the ball, but you are not really amazed, cos you ave seen Diego perform not magic, but miracles before. Roberto Carlos scores with an amazing free kick, and you recall Diego’s free kick goals. Thierry "King" Henry, that most complete player after Diego, takes a down in doldrums Gunners team to triumph, inspiring his team with an amazing solo goal, taking the ball from his own half, and then provides perfect crosses for his teammates to score the winners, and you think well, "Equal to Diego?" And then you remember the goals against Belgium and England, the balls brought out of corners even when two defenders try to stop Diego, the perfect cross from which Caniggia scored the goal to knock Favs Brazil out in the 2nd round of 1990 World Cup, and you say, no brother, Diego was something else....Untouchable, incomparable.
Diego possessed all skills required for a footballer. Unearthly ball skills, amazing control, speed, game sense, low height, which gave him a lower centre of gravity and helped him stay on his feet, a strong physique, smartness, and Godly ball control. Also noteworthy was his inspirational skill, since soccer is a team sport. Took a run down Argentina to 1990 finals also, and as long as Diego was there in the 1994 world cup( first two matches), Argentina was winning.
Take club football. He took Napoli to a Serie A triumph. Before Diego, what was Napoli? After Diego, "oh ok, the club for which Diego played". The guys are not even in Serie A now, and I doubt if they are there even in Serie B. And imagine, Diego took them to triumph in what was the Best league at that time. Beating AC Milan, Inter, Juventus et al.
The closest man got to God in any sport (yes even better than Federer, Woods, Lance Armstrong, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Valentino Rossi).
Closing with a quote from the French great, Michel Platini, comparing Diego and Zizou
"Zidane does some extraordinary things, it’s true. But you have to put everything in context. What Zidane does with a ball, Maradona could do with an orange".
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