Diego Armando — Rebel Star
Why D10S was more than just a football player
Diego Armando Maradona was an icon in many ways.
Of course, he was a footballer. Possibly the greatest of all time. Immortalized through his goals, his dribbles, his left foot and the 1986 World Cup.
But Maradona was more than that.
For many people he embodied the tragedies, hopes and passions of a generation. Maradona went from rags to riches — the classic hero. Brought up in the favela’s of Buenos Aires and a product of the pain inflicted by the Videla regime, Maradona was a bird who just could not be caged. Whilst the ashes of Videla’s violence were still smouldering, he brought joy to a nation and continent when he led Argentina to World Cup victory in Mexico City 1986. But he didn’t stop there. His flame burnt aggressively and was never extinguished in spite of the many clutches that tried to smother it.
Who remembers the face of the young genius, only 21, in Spain during the World Cup finals of 1982? The Italians had figured out that the only way to stop Maradona was to literally kick him out of the game. Claudio Gentile became Diego’s shadow, fouling him 44 times, a feat that…
