Maradona, Simply Great (part two)
Maradona, Simply Great (part two)
After this game Maradona played brilliantly against Hungary, the team that had literally destroyed Costa Rica 10 to 1. Argentina defeated Hungary by a comfortable 4 to 1 with Maradona not only scoring two goals but showing the form that had earned him so much praise. Costa Rica and an easy match would follow in which Argentina could afford to lean back in their win which came in the form of an unimpressive 2-0 victory which was enough to qualify them second in the group and in to the next round where they would play Italy and Brazil.
First match for Argentina in the second round was vs. Italy whom they were favorites to beat. In fact many people expected this group to be decided between Brazil, (impressive winners of their first three games) and Argentina with Italy not having much to say. This given the fact that Italy had not even managed a win in their first three games against Poland, Peru and Cameron and had only quailed due to having scored one more goal than Cameron and not even having a better ratio.
The game started with both teams tying up the mid field in what came to be pretty much a stalemate and Maradona being followed every where by Juventus’s Gentile; whose name in Italian means gentle. It was with foul after foul that Gentile would more or less neutralize Maradona as in reality there was no other way to stop him however regardless of which the referee did over look a few shoves against Maradona. Gentile however was booked with a yellow card though I have no doubt today it would have been a red but those were different days.
In the second half Italy went back on defense and let Argentina attack while Italy played the counter attack; trying to take advantage of the free spaces Argentina’s defenders Passarella and Tarantini were leaving behind. This a tactic that worked as Italy thanks to goals by Tardelli and Cabrini went up 2-0. Maradona then started struggling and even showing frustration that showed as he for the second time in the tournament on a free kick struck the post. Passarella however would pull one back but it would end in a 2-1 defeat for the champs or better yet as far as I was concerned a victory for Italy. Argentina in a group where being first meant going through to the semifinal while being 2nd or 3rd meant elimination had lost their first game, all of which making victory against Brazil imperative as a draw would serve as little consolation.
Brazil however contrary to Argentina had a team that was renewed after the 78 World Cup; them now being younger, more motivated and above all at the top of their game having won their first three games in which they scored 10 goals. This was what Argentina was up against with players who were past their prime like Galvan and Olguin, who even in their prime had not been that good and with a system of play that had become all too studied by opposing managers such as Bertoni’s diagonal attacks in to the box. As for Maradona, he might as well have been playing on another team as he was disconnected from his teammates; who had not really incorporated him in to their tactical system.
Despite these odds Maradona, did not play badly and even came close to getting a penalty and perhaps even should have after being tackled from behind by Junior; however a penalty was not given. Brazil however on this day was inspired and playing up to their full capabilities while Argentina like a team that had accepted that theirs would not be to win two titles back to back. Three would be the total of Brazil’s goals for the day while Maradona would be remembered for his foul that would earn him the only red card I ever saw him get.
After the World Cup in Spain a ton of criticism fell on Maradona, and not to defend him but to perhaps try to make some see that if one looks at his performance during that world cup in which Argentina lost 3 out 5 games, solely for his merits not those of his team. His playing was not so bad. Two goals, two times hitting the woodwork and fouled an enormous amount of times not only by Italy but every team he faced; perhaps with the soul exception of Brazil was what can also can be said about his time in Spain 82 yet some only mentioned how he had not lived up to expectations. Specially Pele, claiming Maradona was a spoilt child who had been over inflated by the media and that he could only fall on the field when touched. Naturally Pele never at a loss for words when putting down anybody specially great players of the day such as he once did with Zico; in the hope of keeping his name in the press specially since his playing days were long gone
Some even claiming that because of his so called “poor performance” in the world cup he might even loose out on his contract with Barcelona though this did not happen as in 1982 he was transferred over to the Catalan giants for about 5 million pounds,